After having smelled hundreds — if not thousands — of perfume samples, sometimes it feels that many fragrances give in to the same tropes. Rightly or wrongly, it’s easy to dismiss them with a “been there, done that” cursory sniff. If I say “white floral,” you probably mentally sniff gardenia, tuberose and musk. Or, to get more specific, “beachy white floral,” “innocent white floral” and “glamorous white floral” bring to mind particular fragrance types. If you’ve smelled one, you can assume you’ve smelled them all.

So, when Phaedon Rouge Avignon was presented to me as a “rose incense,” I figured I knew what I’d smell next. After all, I’ve spent time with samples of Tauer Perfumes Incense Rosé, Terry de Gunzburg Rose Infernale and others. What I didn’t count on was a good-enough-to-eat infusion of raspberry and cocoa along with the rose and incense. It makes for an unexpected — and if you’re in the mood for it — appealing twist…

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