Marc Jacobs Lola: A Review

First things first - the bottle is absolutely gorgeous, I defy anyone not to fall in love with the OTT plastic floral cap. Marc Jacobs has proved he is very adept at choosing/designing kitsch bottles that make you go all gooey eyed and scream 'I want!'

As for the fragrance itself, Lola is described as 'Seductive and Alluring' which is a break from the fresh and youthful theme of Daisy. Lola has notes of Pink Peppercorn, Pear, Rose, Fuschia Peony, Vanilla, Tonka Bean and Creamy Musk.

I would describe Lola as pretty rather than seductive, the top notes open with a blast of pear and grapefruit, the floral notes come through quite quickly and the sillage and longevity are fair.

The dry down is soft and creamy and for me this is the best stage. Lola leaves a nice aura of 'pleasantness' on the skin and this lasts for a few fair hours before fading away completely.

Lola is not adventurous or anything that we have not seen before but that does not take away from the enjoyment at all, sure we've seen billions of fruity florals over the last few years but that doesn't make Lola bad in any sense of the word.

I'm not sure I agree with the description of 'Seductive and Alluring', perhaps 'Flirtatious and Sexy' would be more apt. Lola would suit a man if he was the type of guy who could get away with fruity florals without turning too many heads, I certainly don't feel uncomfortable wearing it.

Will I get a bottle? Probably, not so much for the juice just because I find it incredibly hard to resist that bottle!

A Quest for the Perfect Rose: Une Rose by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

Rose is the one note I seem to struggle with, I don't like it when it is overly feminine, I hate it when it is overly boozy (I'm talking about you Voleur du Roses!) and I'm really not keen on it when it is nuclear like YSL's Paris. My quest for the perfect rose has been quite long and for the most part utterly unsatisfying. I've tried all of the usual suspects: No. 88 (where is the rose?!), Paul Smith Rose (a dull rose solifloral), Black Aoud (so so so so close but just that little bit too much) and Voleur du Roses (too syrupy for my taste). I was just about ready to give up until I started reading about Une Rose...

I had a brainwave, if I wanted to find a good rose, and I mean a really good rose then who better to look at than Frederic Malle?! For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last ten years Frederic Malle is a 'Perfume Curator' who commisions the worlds greatest perfumers to make a fragrance for his collection with a huge budget and complete artistic freedom. The collection currently consists of 18 scents and can be found exclusively at Les Senteurs and Liberty.

Une Rose was created by Edouard Fléchier 2003 and is described as 'The intoxicating, earthy aroma of a garden rose pulled from the ground with its roots' (now that's more like it) and that's exactly what it is. The top notes are deep turkish rose and stay that way for quite a while, the gernanium adds balance and prevents it from becoming to dark, as the fragrance develops the 'earthy' notes start to come through. Fléchier created a 'truffle' accord to represent the deep, damp earth and this adds a masculine and slighlty animalic facet. Une Rose dries down to a powdery and earthy rose which is completemented by the most fantastic note of red wine (described as wine dregs in the notes list), this boozyness is subtle and adds a rich quality.

The sillage and longevity is good, just be careful when applying, the top notes aren't too strong and it would be too easy to apply too much and not realise. As the fragrance develops it does get stronger, so you wouldn't want to bathe in it. Une Rose is available in 50ml and 100ml EDP as well as a set of 3 x 10ml travel sprays and the Beurre Exquis body butter.

Can I consider my quest for the perfect rose fragrance over? I think I would be incredibly hard pressed to find a rose fragrance as deep and dirty as Une Rose and I think that I will get through my 50ml bottle very quickly. I have learned in the world of the perfumista you must 'never say never', another more perfect rose may come along but until then I will be quite content with Une Rose.