Sunday 4 May 2014

A Tattoo Named Desire: Vero Profumo Rozy edp review, and musings on perfumer bias

The Rose Tattoo House in Key West, Florida
I would have written this post earlier in the week, and blame Birgit of Olfactoria's Travels for the delay. Yes, I have been devouring one of her book recommendations, Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard, and much of my free time this week has been lost to that.  It was a chilling, truly electrifying read, and I heartily endorse her selection.

Then, thanks to Tara of OT, I have had a sample of Vero Profumo's Rozy edp for a little while now, and have tested it a number of times.  At least six in fact, toggling between wrists to preclude 'wrist bias'.  And I am going to spell it 'Rozy' rather than '.rozy.' as per the bottle, if you don't mind, because of the risk of grammatical confusion - and the fact that I am too lazy to 'dot my full stops', as it were.


Source: Bloom Perfumery

So...the leviathan that is mainstream perfumery trundles on apace with its unseemly number of launches every season, but as readers may have noticed I mostly tune out to that.  Instead, my ears are at least half-cocked to the latest niche launches.  The blogo-planets seems to be moving through the house of Vero Profumo at the moment, with numerous reviews appearing - notably of all the Rozy variants, but also Mito, Rubj and Onda.  Less so Kiki, though I do like that one.  We also seem to be in a bit of an En Voyage Perfumes phase, and one of Liz Moores for that matter, though I have yet to try her line.  Not so long ago Perfume Land was reverberating with reviews of Neela Vermeire's original trio, followed by a delightful aftershock of acclaim for Ashoka, while Puredistance has also caused a few spikes of interest, most recently with its launch of BLACK.

The Vero Profumo range I spied at Mussler Beauty, Stuttgart

But right now, if I had to 'call the market', I would say that Vero Kern's work is riding particularly high and capturing people's imagination, not least because Vero herself is such a vibrant, original and down to earth character by all accounts.  I would venture to say that she is the perfumer equivalent of Vivienne Westwood crossed with Germaine Greer.  A number of my blogger friends have met Vero in person - several times even, properly hanging out with her, indeed! - I am thinking of Freddie of Smellythoughts, for example, and Val the Cookie Queen of (mostly) Australian Perfume Junkies.  And then of course at the recent workshop in London hosted by Bloom Perfumery, a number of other perfumistas and bloggers had the opportunity to meet Vero and learn more about the inspiration behind her work, including Tara herself and Sabine of Iridescents.

Tennessee Williams and Anna Magnani ~ Source: swide.com

So the collective reports of meet-ups with Vero Kern have predisposed me to like her even more, which is what I mean in the title by 'perfumer bias'.  I really, really want to like all of Vero Kern's work, because I admire and am drawn to what I know of the woman.  And I am conscious that I have probably tried harder with her fragrances than I would if they had been the latest release by Parfums d'Empire or Parfums de Nicolai, say. I will also admit to having been nervous about testing Rozy. As I wrote to Val via Facebook: 'What is Rozy like?  Sounds a bit massive / 'out there' from the notes?', to which she replied: 'Not massive, just gorgeous.'

Notes: Rose d'Orient, lilac, peaches, passionfruit, honey and sandalwood

But whilst I have instantly taken to scents like Kiki edp, Rubj edp and Mito Extrait and Voile d'Extrait - the opening of Mito edp remains a little acerbic for my tastes - Rozy has proved a bit more of a challenge.

Determined to keep this pink theme going ~ Source: Wikipedia

The inspiration for Rozy has been well documented in other reviews, namely that Vero Kern's muse was the Italian actress Anna Magnani, especially in her role as the lusty, headstrong and hot-tempered Serafina Delle Rose in the Tennessee Williams play, 'The Rose Tattoo'. According to one rather sparse plot summary I found online, it 'tells the story of an Italian-American widow in Louisiana who has allowed herself to withdraw from the world after her husband's death and expects her daughter to do the same.'  To be fair, Rosario the husband isn't dead all the way through, and the play also involves dressmaking, smuggling, long distance lorry driving, adultery and betrayal, together with rose tattoos on the person of practically everybody except Serafina herself, though she does experience a sort of 'rose tattoo stigmata' early on in the story on learning that she is pregnant. The film was mostly shot in Key West, and the house where much of the action is set is still known as Rose Tattoo House.

Source: findyourtattoo.net

Google the name 'Rozy', however, as I did in an idle moment, and in that well known resource of Urban Dictionary you will find a much less rumbustious kind of a gal:

'A cute and very sweet little girl living in Connecticut who likes to sleep with cuddly gray sweatshirts on, sleep with her chubby and very soft bunny, stay up all night working on English essays...' and more in that vein.

So banish that image of a Rozy 'perzona' from your mind right off the bat, though lilac could be thought of as a bit of a demure, cutesie note I guess (FM En Passant springs to mind.)  But not here....

Anna Magnani ~ Source: Wikipedia

Okay, so I have written down my impressions each time I have tried Rozy edp...The opening is a bit of a shock, and not the sort of thing I usually like - powdery in a musky, intense way. Texturally I am reminded of PdN Sacrebleu, which hits you with an opaque 'wall of stuff' that I am at a loss to describe in more detail. Sometimes, but not on every test, I detected a slightly sharp, angular quality to the opening that quickly subsided.  On one such occasion my thoughts also drifted to some unidentified boozy-fruity-woody scent by Frapin - or maybe Ginestet's Botrytis.  The fruitiness morphed into more of a distinctively winey, woody, almost menthol-y scent.  I have written 'corked claret' to evoke the woody undertow, and also 'cough syrup'.  For what Rozy most resembled after about twenty minutes or so was Halls Soothers in blackcurrant flavour - possibly cherry, but a dark, deep fruity one for sure.  But as I say, sometimes Rozy skipped this very brief Soothers stage and segued from the musky opening straight into 'broadly beaming fruit'.

For up next is a phase that was uniformly present and much more winsome and accessible - more in the style of Rubj (which I like a lot), but Rubj oozing with honey, and with different flowers.  It is a radiant phase, bright and upbeat, and still noticeably fruity. I get more of the peach at this point - the passionfruit may in fact have been what my nose read as blackcurrant earlier? - and the rose and lilac are pushing through, drenched in honey.  Now honey is a tricky note for me at the best of times - Viktoria Minya's Hedonist was all kinds of wrong on my skin, for example, as Freddie is my witness! - but the honey here is one of the highlights.

A bolt of silk fabric, doing a good impression of a rose ~ Source: ebay.com

As Rozy wears on and becomes generally more attenuated, predictably I like it even more.  Images of Greek yoghurt laced with honey float into my mind, or a shower creme based around honey and milk.  This is the most beautiful part - a silken, honeyed, milky lava, flowing at an almost imperceptibly slow speed.

And then, in the far drydown - on most occasions, but not all - Rozy bites back again, when the honey note turns ever so slightly urinous - what Elena of Perfumeshrine once described as 'honeyed piss' in connection with Absolue pour le Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian.  This is phenylacetic acid, apparently - or something behaving very much like it on my wrist.  I can tolerate it these days, as my threshold for animalic notes has greatly come on since I first developed an interest in perfume.  It made me smile, if anything.  There was still a trace of it on my skin this morning after yet another wearing last night.  I should give Schiaparelli's Shocking another go, as I may be ready to meet that same animalic note there again...

So, believe me, I tried to love this, but a diva fruity scent like this was always going to struggle to reel me in. Even Plum by Mary Greenwell, one of the few 'big fruity chypres' to get under my radar, can be a mistake on some days.  But apart from the fuggy wallop of the opening, and despite Rozy being fruitier than I normally go for, I do genuinely like it, and just wish I liked it even more!

And I remain as keen as ever to meet Vero Kern some day. And her dog.  And I don't even like dogs - or most dogs, certainly!  That's perfumer bias for you.

Source: Facebook


PS I would be interested to hear whether you are prone to 'perfumer bias' in relation to any particular fragrance line or collection of that perfumer's work, and how this plays out in your sniffing experience?


34 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post Vanessa.
I am sure that, like you, I felt more compelled to try harder to like Vero's perfumes than others. I happen to like Rozy and Onda but I totally struggled with the others and still I tried. Any other house and I would have given up after the first sniff. I have similar feelings towards a few other houses, and even shops. My negative bias list is even longer, I think. There are lines and houses I really don't like the look of, their asthethics, advertising, price policy, PR gimmicks, etc. piss me off. I rarely try their scents and if I do I am slightly reluctant. I do recognise when I like them, even go after a sample or a decant, but I doubt I will ever buy a FB of a brand like e.g. Tom Ford or Bond No.9 even when they came with a little djinni in the bottle. Brands to communicate with their customers in various ways and in my view it's impossible to be unbiased by it. I'm not too worried about it, but heavy bias from bloggers do make me angry. Oh, you've just been given a luxury box of XXX or been sent to Morocco for a weekend and you happen to like the product really really a lot? Quel surprise.....

Asali said...

I so want to smell this now... I don't have a problem with 'honeyed piss', (my problem in AplS is cumin), but as I wrote in a comment to Tara's lovely post; my problem is normally with rose. I do have high hope for this one, though.
I think perfumer bias/ with a more boring word brand loyalty is quite normal. Something works for you, or you have sympathy for the person/brand then you'll naturally stick to it. I can hardly imagine someone *not* having this behaviour...
And on another note; Shocking! Now, you made me sit up straight, very curious, must try at some point :-)

Vanessa said...

Hi Asali,

I was very pleased to take the 'honeyed piss' in my stride - I have some on my skin again from today's wearing - it's that time of day! The rose is not very prominent in the composition, I wouldn't say - I pick up more on the fruit, but then I tend to do that with potentially problematic notes, same with musk.

The 'perfumer bias' notion is not as clearcut as I may have indicated. For it may not be born of liking someone's work already. I developed my interest in Vero Kern around the time Onda came out, but Onda didn't work for me, was too 'grown up' and whatnot..yet from that time onwards I have been on a bit of a mission to find a Vero Profumo scent I really could feel a visceral attraction to! So that is not 'brand loyalty' based on good past experience in the classic sense - that is coming from a different place. More like aspirational brand loyalty if you will!

Tara said...

I agree, V. I definitely feel I want to like the perfumes of female indie perfumers in particular. These woman are generally hugely inspiring and putting their heart and soul into their work. The bottom line is though that while you spend more time trying to get to grips with their fragrances it can't make you like them - as you found out! So I think it's a fair predisposition to give them a good go rather than an actual bias, as you suggest.

Rozy was always going to be a tough one for you but I thought you had a good shot with the edp. Never mind. All Vero's perfumes have such strong personalities there can't be many people that love them all.

BTW who is giving away free weekends to Morocco and can I get on the mailing list?!

Vanessa said...

Hi Sabine,

Thanks for your very insightful and detailed comment! Having written this post, I looked back at it and thought to myself that I could so easily have chosen to feature two out of the three variants of Mito, as I love them fiercely in much the same way that I do Zelda, which also showcases galbanum teamed with magnolia.

But I was moved to write about my conscientious testing of Rozy edp, because I was interested in my mindset and the process I went through - this strong sense of being well-disposed towards Vero Kern, and the corresponding wish to bond with her creation. So I thought the notion of positive perfumer bias (for completely innocent reasons) was more interesting to explore, even if I found Rozy a challenge. In that way, though, it is certainly a perfect olfactory expression of the personality of the actress in question - or her character in Rose Tattoo, certainly.

Like you, I have many more negative reactions to houses, tuning out almost completely to some of them, sometimes for the most trivial of reasons, like the bottle style, or the number in the range, or the font or the complexity of the brand name, or that of the individual scents. I am doubtless doing some houses a great disservice, but there it is is. You sometimes have to make snap decisions about things or you would sink without trace when faced with all the choice on offer...;)

Unknown said...

If you go on their mailing list you will have to believe in fairies/pixies and homeopathy. Be careful what you wish for...

Vanessa said...

Hi Tara,

I think you are right that it is the female perfumers who inspire and attract us the most: the likes of Vero Kern, Neela Vermeire, Shelley Waddington, Mandy Aftel, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Laurie Erickson, Liz Moores - to name just a handful.

And I *do* like Rozy - the middle radiant fruity bit, and the silken honey bit in particular - but the opening is the chief challenge. And I don't normally go for lilac, peach or honey - or they are not favourite notes, say. Hmm...I am not sure if I am big enough to experience the Voile d'Extrait, though it sounds so powerful and affecting that I feel I should go for it!

Yes, a free weekend to Morocco - if it could be with no blogging strings attached - sounds good to me. Aldi did send me those creams I suppose, and I will be reviewing them soon, though not 'to order'...;)

Tara said...

Well you're making full disclosure of the Aldi face cream freebie so that's the main thing )

Yes, I did see you did like it just found those two facets a deal breaker. I haven't spent much time with edp yet because I've been so wrapped up (literally) in the Voile. I'd be surprised if I chime with it though because of the honey.

You are so right with the perfumers you've named. I feel like spending the money I can't afford on Bombay Bling! just because I like Neela so much!

Oh and thanks very much for the kind linkage.

Asali said...

Aspirational brand loyalty, great category :-)

Carol said...

That is one I would like to try one of these years. Kiki is wonderful! With regard to wanting to like perfumes that a certain perfumer has made, I totally get that. But I also have to ask (after reading some of the comments) - the perfumer is the person that actually makes the perfume, right? What is the different between a person who actually makes the perfume and some who is the instrumental in bringing it about? I'm thinking the difference between Providence Perfume/Charna who actually makes the juice, and Neela Vermeire who doesn't.

I'm confusing myself now!!

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh - this has been giving me a head fit all day. If I don´t try and write something down now I will disappear into a big cookie abyss next week and that will be that. Absolutely brilliant post as ever. Very thought provoking.
Firstly - do give the Voile a go, it really is quite different to the EdP. I love the haze of lilac and peach in the EdP ( I am sure that I have mentioned that before) ......... The Voile is minus that. I remember very clearly a couple of years ago reading about Rubj EdP and it called my name. I got a sample of it and saved it for New Year´s Eve. I made a ritual out of applying it, and the rest is history. I commented the other day that Vero´s perfumes find their wearers, and not the other way around. I believe that. I am learning to like Kiki, but having never cared for lavender it has been a challenge. I do not blindly love everything, but I can appreciate that they are all works of art. That in and of itself might be too much for some, but change the life of others, as I know the VPs have done. I agree with what you say regarding the work of indie perfumers out there. They are artists, and as so I hope I can work my way through their body of works because I am interested. Interested being a key word that brings me to "bias" very nicely.
Biased? Yes I am. Haha. I could go as far as to say with regard to some (I won´t mention in writing who they are) that I have absolutely no interest in testing them. They annoy me. The more commercially produced, disguised as "niche, über- expensive and taking people for a ride fragrances ...... Hmmmm. I wonder who they are?? I wouldn´t wear them even if I liked them. Is that really snotty? Luckily with Mitos and Rozys and Zeldas I am happy. Am I rambling? Does anything make sense? Off for a shower, a dab (because a little dab will do you) of Onda Extrait, a bag of Maltesers and off to bed. Long Live .vero.profumo. :)

Vanessa said...

Hi Sabine,

I am on a lot of mailing lists - for press releases, not samples as such - and I must confess to not reading a lot of them...maybe I've missed a 'magnanimous' offer or two, though I am sure that would have caught my eye! ;)

Vanessa said...

Hi Tara,

Yes, I shall remain objective in my review of the creams and their presentation, but Aldi's agency definitely saved me a tenner there. ;)

I feel like you about Neela's work - I'd spring for Ashoka, if I didn't have a massive amount of Bois Naufrage to get through already, which is in somewhat similar territory. And her scents are pricey, but I would like to 'buy into the brand', so to speak.

Vanessa said...

Hi Carol,

You are absolutely right to raise the point about whether this bias is felt towards the actual perfumer or the creative director of the perfume house. I guess I am using the term loosely and mean either, ie whoever is the 'public face' of the brand, which would be Neela Vermeire, say, in our instance here - or Linda Pilkington for Ormonde Jayne - or Roja Dove indeed, for his own line!

I must retry Kiki - I was so surprised to find a perfume with lavender that I really liked, though it is pretty tame there.

Vanessa said...

Hi Val,

Appreciate your taking the time to marshal your thoughts on the Vero Profumo line before falling into the cookie abyss, especially as you are well acquainted with the lady herself.

I figured Rozy Voile was as you describe it, which is in line with Freddie's and Tara's reviews - I wondered in fact if the VdE might be even more like this brief blackcurrant / woody interlude I experienced sometimes with the edp.

I like your comment about Vero's perfumes finding their wearers - as cats find their owners, or so they say - I am sure that is the case. And I have myself specifically enabled another friend to be 'found by Mito', acting as middleman in the process. ;)

Kiki is an interesting one, because I really like it - and as I was saying to Carol above - I don't get on with lavender as a rule.

I can also sense that when one of the VPs is right on someone, it will be this big, visceral attraction I was talking about - these are not polite, office-appropriate scents that you could almost give blindly to someone. And yes, 'interest' is very close to 'bias' in all this - I am genuinely curious about the next release and I could cite so many perfume houses - also some niche ones - where I really am indifferent to what is coming down the pipe, because they haven't captured my imagination in the same way. Vero is such a larger than life character that even her online persona, which is what I know of her, piques one's curiosity.

Vanessa said...

PS Ooh look, the dots are back!

Vanessa said...

That notion was really the trigger for this post, though it has only just got a name!

Ines said...

Yes, after reading all of the reviews, I am pretty sure I would like this. I don't mind the dirty notes in Absolue pour le Soir. ;)
I'm also happy to see your tolerance of those notes is rising. :)

Vanessa said...

Hi Ines,

Yes, we have joked in the past about having perfume tastes at opposite ends of the spectrum - well, that was probably a bit of an exaggeration even at the time. But now I think I am - if not rushing exactly - making steady progress towards your end!

Sarah Waite said...

Hi Vanessa,
Perfumer Bias is such an interesting idea. I have too experienced that sensation of really wanting to enjoy a sample because the perfumer is so likable. Especially with tiny brands who might engage you in a charming email session and you get the feeling you'd have a fine time sharing a coffee somewhere. Equally, I have the opposite response when I feel someone disengages me. That said, there is only disengagement for me, with the Tom Ford brand, who's extraordinarily sexist advertising means I just couldn't consider writing a review of one of their perfumes. I don't even go to smell them anymore. I have a friend who pinches her son's black Orchid. She borrowed my dressing gown during a hangover recently a left an imprint on it that lasted for ages. It quite upset me that I liked it!

Vanessa said...

Hi Sarah,

That is a perfect description of how 'perfumer bias' could evolve!

Tom Ford is turning out to be pretty unpopular and I know what you mean about the sexist ads, though apart from the one for Violet Blonde - which was quite arty as well, in a purplish way - I must confess to never having seen them. That is a brand to which I can understand other people's objections, but to which I adopt a pragmatic approach, and focus purely on the scents. It's the same with Armani - I wouldn't pay full price for any of their exclusive ranges, but I enjoy dabbling in decants and Ebay. Oh, Violet Blonde I did buy at a duty free, but promptly sold a split of it to amortise the fairly average cost, as that is a regular line of theirs. Black Orchid Voile de Fleur is a big fave of mine, also Neroli Portofino and Shanghai Lily as you know.

I sense there may be lots of variations on this theme of perfumer bias!

Anonymous said...

Insightful discussion you've got going on here, V, and I'm glad for it! Here's my two cents worth on the issue of perfumer bias:

I think it would be foolish of me to claim that I'm immune to perfumer bias. On the contrary, I'm proud to say that I suffer heavily from perfumer bias. There are perfumers and brands that I am predisposed to, but I'd like to think that it is mostly on account of their past work rather than other values they might purportedly espouse (e.g. being green, being luxury, being a strong independent woman, etc.). In the case of Vero, I think her past work predisposes me to be biased towards her future work. But predispositions can change. I have a bias towards the house of Guerlain because of their classics, but recent modern releases (ugh, their exclusives are, for want of a better word, unexciting) have made me less biased towards what they might release in future.

I do also feel that positive perfumer bias may be a double-edged sword, because I might go into smelling a perfume having high expectations of it, only to find that I don't like it, whereupon I end up kicking up a ruckus about it, while being firmly aware that it is purely my subjective reaction to it.

As for negative perfumer bias, I don't think I'm specifically biased against perfumers per se, but rather some brands, because they embody certain values that I don't agree with. For example, I'm very turned off by brands that scam unsuspecting customers by charging ridiculously high prices in the name of luxury when the final product really is some cheap, slapdash composition of Ambrox Super and Iso E Super. I get turned off by brands that have men clamouring about its perfumes 'beast mode' and 'panty-dropping ability'. Will I try their perfumes? Yes. But I won't bother with writing about them.

Unknown said...

Vanessa, I saw that on of the big beauty blogs, and those are notoriously tricky. You can't run one without freebies and you're easily corrupted. The Morocco thing really happended and made me cross. (the company is one of my negative bias skin care brands so may be I was just ...biased?)

Vanessa said...

Hi Joshua,

Wow, I am getting some really long and thoughtful comments on here that are worthy of being mini-blog posts in their own right!

Your own particular perfumer bias based on past experience of a brand is the most logical and sensible. I agree that my bias towards Guerlain - also for heritage reasons - is looking a bit shaky now. I also think you are quite right about perfumer bias sometimes setting you up for a fall if your high ongoing expectations are not met.

Oh yes, I would also be against 'fur coat and no knickers' brands, which do exist, and I quite see how your - or most people's, indeed - sensibilities would be offended by crass sexual references to their perfumes!

Sarah Waite said...

Now then 'exclusives' that's a whole other can of worms! Interesting to read Joshua's opinions on them below too. I have tried to write a piece on them for Odiferess and then had to stop because it becomes a massive rant that would be hard work to read for many perfume lovers. They make me very angry! I'm very upset that Mugler has gone 'exclusive' in the latest launches, I thought that was a brand that had enough loyal followers to avoid all the snobbery and nonsense. Boo...!

Vanessa said...

Hi Sarah,

Haha - sorry to touch a nerve with my mention of 'exclusives'! I must say that even the 'regular niche' brands seem to be getting more expensive - the PGs and OJs and Piguets of this world are no longer around the £60 mark of my imagination...

annemarie said...

Thanks for leading such a fascinating discussion. I cheerfully follow my biases. Perfume is a hobby. My day job requires me to be as unbiased and analytical most of the time. Even gut instinct has to be identified as such. So with perfume I get to follow loves and hates with no need to justify those judgements. My only rule is, when commenting on blogs and forums , not to say 'xx is a terrible perfume' but 'I really hate xx'. My likes and dislikes are not universal. :)

Being a perfume blogger perhaps carries an extra responsibility to suggest why you like or dislike something. And that is what you have done - you have explained the basis of your reaction to something. Duty done!

Vanessa said...

Hi annemarie,

I was amused to hear about the distinction between your analytical day job and your 'cheerfully biased' perfume hobby, and do understand the reasons why!

I think you are absolutely right that there is a world of difference between saying that a perfume is not in the style one likes, and dissing it altogether. And in truth I liked phases of Rozy, but couldn't get on with it altogether, though it wasn't for want of trying - *or wanting*! Where Vero Kern's range is concerned, I take her artistry and use of quality materials more or less as read, even if a scent doesn't work for me - it is abundantly clear from other reviews that for some people Rozy really hit the spot - and I do think it represents the character of its muse very well.

Suzanne said...

Hi Vanessa. Great post and much food for thought here, both in your actual post and in the comments. I would say that yes, I have a bias towards niche perfumers who are beloved in the blogosphere (beloved for their creations and also for their personalities or ethics) - but in the end, this bias simply results in me giving their perfumes more sampling time and a more studied attempt at understanding these perfumes; it doesn't, however, lead me to anything more if the perfumes themselves turn out to be not my thing. In other words, my bias won't lead me to write a glowing review of something that I feel no connection with, but it is there, affecting me sometimes in good ways (blogosphere love is what made me keep trying with Frederic Malle Le Parfum de Therese, and I'm so glad it did, because now I can't imagine not having that beauty in my life) and sometimes in bad ways (when I find that I don't like the creations of certain beloved niche perfumers yet feel too worried to write anything truthful about *not* loving them ... too afraid to go against the grain of the blogosphere in general).

Moving on, though, I loved certain descriptions of yours about Rozy - and because I really do enjoy rose scents, honey scents and Vero's perfumes in the extrait versions, I have a feeling I'd love this one.

Vanessa said...

Hi Suzanne,

Thanks for your meaty comment in return! I think perfumer bias manifests itself in similar ways for us both, for though I will make more effort with the brands I am drawn to and rooting for, if I ultimately fail, I fail. Glad you persisted with Le Parfum de Therese and that it led to a deep bond - I had something similar happen with Amouage Lyric Woman, which I initially dismissed as smelling vaguely of curry. Or do I mean Epic?

And I am *very* prone also to the worry about going against the grain of the blogosphere in general. I felt that about posting this only partly glowing review of Rozy, when I could so easily have 100% raved quite sincerely about a couple of the Mitos. You see perfumers on Facebook pick up on favourable reviews of their work by bloggers and draw people's attention to these posts on their own wall - and obviously they wouldn't wish to do so with a lukewarm account. But it is what it is...so I am concerned about slightly going out on a limb even with this review of mine, which I hope people will take as positive on the whole.

I think that with your tolerance for much fiercer perfumes than me you would get on famously with Rozy - or pretty well for sure!

Anonymous said...

Great post, Vanessa. Not sure if I have a bias toward niche or toward things that everyone seems to love (although I do pay attention to certain people's opinions, because we have similar taste), but I have a bias toward people who I think are awesome. :) And Vero Kern fits that bill to a T, so I'm pretty excited to try Rozy.

Vanessa said...

Hi Natalie,

'A bias towards people who are awesome' is exactly right! I do also have a bias towards perfumes that seem to get a lot of love in the blogosphere, but only up to a point. Meaning that if I sense they are never going to be my cup of tea from the notes or whatever I don't harbour unrealistic expectations, despite the groundswell of opinion in that direction. ;)

Vanessa said...

Like you, I tune into what 'certain people' think of something, whose taste is congruent with my own.

Gil said...

Vanessa, I'm nominated you for the Liebster Award because of how much I love BaP - feel free to check it out :) http://mywritingwoes.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/the-liebster-award/