Once again, Marlen is joining me. Today we are bickering about Rose Ikebana, one of the scents in the Hermessence collection, a quartet of unisex fragrances created by Hermès house nose Jean Claude Ellena and released in 2004. Each perfume is meant to evoke a particular fabric: Rose Ikebana is silk, Poivre Samarcande is velvet, Vetiver Tonka is wool, and Ambre Narguile is cashmere. Hermès has said there will be more to come in the series, and it is rumored that the next perfume will be based on leather. Rose Ikebana has notes of rose tea, infusion of petals, peony, magnolia, pink peppercorn, zest of grapefruit, rhubarb and vanilla honey.

He says: Rose Ikebana was created to reflect the touch of silk on the skin, but in my opinion, is nothing more than another bland and uninspired floral. Yes, it is pretty. Yes, it is soft. Yes, it is silky. But is it new? Is it groundbreaking? Does it scream “Buy me?” I don’t know folks…there are so many rose scents on the market these days, that it is surprising to see yet one more, perhaps less interesting than the rest and yet more expensive…

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