Rose Cross

[sarajane]

A profound symbol of an individual’s personal initiatic process, spiritual refinement and evolution, synthesis, grace found as a result of trial and suffering, and the alchemical process by which we transform the raw essence of our souls through light in extension. This is a holy oil, a representation of the triumph of spirit over matter: purest rose with sacred frankincense.

Ooooh frankinsence. And rose! Well, I can smell some nice rose (maybe a white? It smells like the rose in Katrina Van Tassel) underneath that accursed FRANKINSENCE!

[muteddragon]

All rose, no frankincense. Unless I'm just not recognizing it. I'm layering it with Swank for a Persephone - ish scent.

[Ankica]

Pure Rose.

In the begining a bit warmer, later a bit thiner...

[HKB]

It smells like a dusty rose. To me it's almost exactly like Black Rose. I think I slightly prefer the latter.

[mari4212]

Oh, this is just lovely.

 

I've been trying out a few different rose scents since I first came to BPAL. With this last imp pack, I was debating between this and Harlot, and ended up switching to this one in the last minute.

 

...That was a very smart decision on the part of my gut. Really, I should have tried this one out a year or so ago, given how much of a church girl I am.

 

At first it blooms very strongly rose, almost single-note rose for a half hour or so. That seems to be standard for me and rose blends, as both Marie and Two, Five, and Seven did so as well. But while Two, Five, and Seven dried down to include a very green/grapey note as well, and Marie muted down almost entirely, this just softens, and adds in the woody incense note that I loved from the rare times we'd pull out the thurifer at church.

 

My one complaint is that the rose dies back a bit more than I'd want when it's on my skin. I'll have to try a bit on my hair as well, to see if that will keep the rose stronger longer.

 

Unless something else from my new pack knocks this out of the running, I know what I'm wearing Christmas Eve!

[Venneh]

Seeming balance between rose and frankincense; then again, the former has tended to dominate two-note blends like this, so we'll see how this goes. On my skin, it's still pretty equally balanced, which is something in and of itself. Depending on how this goes, this may end up being a stealth bottle. ...And the rose ends up domming the frankincense. Of course. *sigh* Swaps/sales.

Edited December 27, 2009 by Venneh

[Saya]

Dusty, old lady, rose. Yuck.

 

[bubbleybubby]

Ooooh frankinsence. And rose! Well, I can smell some nice rose (maybe a white? It smells like the rose in Katrina Van Tassel) underneath that accursed FRANKINSENCE!

 

That's it!

 

I was trying to figure out what rose this reminded me of!

 

I love Rose Cross and I love Katrina Van Tassel. I don't know why I didn't realise this sooner!

 

I am not a big floral lover, I normally go for foody scents. But this rose is so sweet and not as green/fresh cut stems as some of the others, I really like it.

Edited February 13, 2010 by bubbleybubby

[CitizenBree]

This is pure rose on me. I don't get anything else out of this. But I LOVE roses, so it's a REALLY good rose scent. I'm really going to have to do a side by side death match with some other rose scents to determine which one I will buy a bottle of.

 

 

edited to add words for better context!

Edited February 18, 2010 by CitizenBree

[Caerphilly]

This is just all rose on me. From the imp to dry down, lovely, lovely roses. Not too powdery, or sweet, or heavy, not too dry, not too crispy and green. The frankincense is there in the background, but so faint, it just compliments the rose. If I didn't have so many BPAL rose scents I would probably get a bottle! It reminds me of Black Rose, without the darkness. The Rose without the slight musky paperiness. So many other rose scents this reminds me of that are blended, but this is just rose. Great throw and lasts a long, long time! Again, !!!

 

Also, reminds me of The Miller's Daughter, The Little Wooden Doll, and it does smell like the rose in Katrina Van Tassel, as other people have mentioned.

Edited March 18, 2010 by Caerphilly

[quigza]

Honestly, this is rose all the way through on me. I was hoping for a little something else in it. But, my skin apparently is not amenable to that.

 

Rose, rose, rose.

[fairnymph]

Deep slightly brownish and maybe even olive-greenish golden oil. Intense, heavy, with a sour tinge from the rose - strikes me as the rose from the Empress and the Miller's Daughter and a lot of the older DC'ed blends - but stronger here than in any of those scents, barring maybe the Empress. The frankincense is similarly strong, a bit sickly sweet and heavily cloying and overall this blend is so pungent in the imp that I literally jerked my head back reflexively.

 

Even more sour and no less pungent overall. There is also a vegetal note, almost spicy, that reminds me of pimento here - I would not be surprised if it WERE actually an unlisted note in this blend. The frankincense is one of the smokiest types I've encountere, also very dark, woody and sweet - though not as sweet as some types, in combination with the other attributes I find its sweetness here particularly repulsive - I never like frankincense, but this one of the worst if not the worst I've encountered. I also get something that reminds me of the clove & fir combo in Red Rose - for some reason these blend strike me as quite similar, more so as this dries.

 

Not a morpher, although this does seem to mesh more overtime, it's still a very repulsive scent to me. Pungent, sour rose and, almost rotting, darkly, sickly-sweet and smoky woody frakincense - it's the worst sort of rose combined with the worst sort of incense and it is utter fail, though true from imp through all it stages. True FAIL. Strong throw, but fortunately it does fade a bit. Egads. This blend really drives home for me just how much I abhor frankincense.

 

[Myrrha]

Rats! I was really hoping to love this one.

 

I like rose scents and can never understand why others don't. This is why. The rose note is deep and rich, which is good, but it also smells somehow harsh. It tickled my nose. I guess it is just too strong.

 

Frankincense is not the best note on me. Here it just adds more fume-y dryness to the already harsh rose.

 

This one did not morph much once the frankincense came out. I washed it off after an hour.

 

 

[FathomBelow]

In the bottle: Faint delicious rose smell.

Wet on skin: Pure rose – but not the dusty, dry rose in London. This one is sharper or fresher somehow, probably from the frankincense (although I always associate frankincense with dusty tomes and the like, I don’t actually know what it smells like, so this is an education!)

As it dries: This doesn’t morph much. It stays the same delicious, refreshing rose.It is a touch sharp. I love it, but I can see where the accusations that this is "harsh" come from.

After it dries: Still the same. The only problem is, it’s very faint. This would be one that I need to slather.

Final opinion: Even if the perfume were only so-so, I would love it for the name and beautiful website description alone. As it is, this is perfectly lovely – think Princess Guinevere embroidering at the window of her father’s castle, looking out onto a wild enchanted forest on a cool, misty autumn morning.

 

[moon_lemming]

I only smell sweet pink rose in Rose Cross, from start to finish. Although in the finish it gets a bit odd. I have had a LOT of my recent tests end up with "has new-carpet smell of awfulness" in the notes after drying, and this oil is joining them. It might be the frankincense doing it here, or it might be a chemistry thing. I wish I could be more specific, but I'll have to leave it at that.

[INFJ4w3]

Rose Cross smelled beautiful in the bottle. And the first time I put it on, it was a faint and subtle 100% tea rose scent.

But the second time, it came on so strong it made my eyes water. I started coughing and sneezing, too. It smelled like plasticky industrial-strength rose, if that makes any sense at all.

My SO complained and wanted to know if I'd spilled the whole imp.

This is definitely not for me. I've been noticing that BPAL rose and I don't really go together. 1 1/2 stars out of 5. It might be different for you if you're a fan of this note.

And the frankincense? Missing in action.

[Duck Mountain]

Much prettier in the vial (soft warm rose), on my skin it becomes much heavier on the frankincense - not that this is a bad thing - but then the whole thing becomes very sour / bitter.

 

Not much to say except it just doesn't work on me.

[Ashenrook]

In the Bottle

Warm rose with a little bit of frankincense mustiness.

 

On Skin: Wet

Mmmm. Lovely. At first I am more inclined to say that this is rose water that I'm smelling, but it started to turn out to be not so wet and more fresh and green. Like a beautiful pink rose, new in-bloom.

 

On Skin: Dry

Still lots and lots of lovely rose. However... I've not smelled one whiff of frankincense outside of the bottle. I have a feeling that the case with that will be that it'll show up hours later when the perfume has just about vanished.

 

Afternotes

Nope... Still no frankincense, even after a hour. Just rose, rose, and more rose. Don't get me wrong. I love rose. But I'm kinda sad that I missed out on the possibility of frankincense.

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic grading scale of A to F, A being best, I would give this a B-.

 

This is for two reasons, while I really do love the scent and I will happily keep, and use, the imp... 1) I can't see myself wearing this scent out and about. The rose water-like smell just screams after-bath to me. And even then, there are other go-to scents like Waters of Notre Dame and Rome that I'd likely use first. 2) Being there was supposed to be frankincense in this, and I didn't get any, this was more of a let down than a pleasant surprise (as in the case with Fledgling Raptor Moon and being all "Hey! The clove and patchouli don't go crazy on me! Sweet!"). So since Rose Cross was distinctly lacking this scent, it affects my overall score.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Rose and frankincense.

 

On skin: Rose and frankincense, simple and a little "conventional"... but how beautiful it is! The incense adds a full depth, and grounds the light, airy rose. It reminds me of something non-perfume, but I can't recall what. Rose Cross really does evoke spirit (through rose) and matter (incense), with the rose dominating at first then deepening as the incense comes forth. Lovely, graceful, watery, quite feminine. Colour impression is a pale reddish-pink bleeding into white. It's almost identical to Cicuta, although much purer and lighter.

 

Verdict: Rose Cross is lovely in its simplicity and airy/grounded contrast. Even though Othello and The Last Rose of Summer are my preferred roses (they're more complex and interesting), I think I'll keep my imp around!

[Celune]

In Imp: Deep woods, old florals, menthol, a touch of sweetness

On Wet: soapy roses, woods, a bit of sweet citrus

On Dry: deep rose, touch of menthol, a bit of citrus/orange

 

I rather like the dry down of this one, but it is a bit soapy on my skin. Similar to what some would call "old lady" perfume, therefore must use in moderation.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

I'm always looking for the perfect rose blend. Rose Cross is a pure rose and frankincense blend, and I detect some patchouli. This isn't the almighty Spellbound, but it's something I may consider a partial bottle of.

[Altaira]

Right out of the bottle, the rose is strong. But not a fresh, juicy rose; a drying (but not at all dusty), concentrated rose. The frankincense rounds it out well, adding a level of mystery. Rose Cross makes me want to wear velvet and go exploring outdoors, or maybe in an antique book store.

 

After about an hour it settles down into a generic "rose" scent. Rose is one of the few florals I like, but I tend to amp it so all rose blends end up smelling very similar. I may need to death match in the very near future.

 

Right out of the bottle, the rose is strong. But not a fresh, juicy rose; a drying (but not at all dusty), concentrated rose. The frankincense rounds it out well, adding a level of mystery. Rose Cross makes me want to wear velvet and go exploring outdoors, or maybe in an antique book store.

 

After about an hour it settles down into a generic "rose" scent. Rose is one of the few florals I like, but I tend to amp it so all rose blends end up smelling very similar. I may need to death match in the very near future.

[cupcakegernade]

For some reason, this smells like a freshly clean bathroom on me, and I have no idea why.

[countessmouse]

I've gotten a little leery of rose scents because they tend to go soapy on me; however, I am happy to say that I'm glad I braved this one. The rose is a beautiful, white soft rose with just a hint of frankincense. Not overpowering at all. Quite lovely!

[calivianya]

I received this as a frimp from the Lab. I'm a huge fan of frankincense, but I really don't like rose, so this could go either way! I really hope the frankincense overpowers the rose.

 

I'm definitely getting a lot of frankincense with a rose undertone when this is wet. I'm finding it surprisingly pretty at the moment. Within five minutes, though, the rose takes center stage and wrestles the frankincense into submission, and it stays that way. What a shame.