The Fool's Rose

[thecaitycat]

Purity of ideal, unsullied innocence, liberation from base desires and worldly trappings.

White rose, frankincense, verbena, and angelica root.

In the bottle
It's almost like sour lemon candy in the bottle, I think owing to the verbena and frankincense. Like Lemonheads!

Wet on skin
It's still a very candy-like scent but not as much so. I can smell a little bit of rose, but the frankincense and verbena still dominate. It's not what I was expecting, but it is pretty. It's a happy scent.

Dry on skin after 30 minutes
Once this has a chance to sit for about ten minutes, a bit more rose peeks out, and the rose continues to peek out rather than come forward and say "Hello!". It's not a citrusy scent, but the verbena and frankincense continue to give this that lemon candy edge without being overly sweet or, well, citrusy. Sophisticated herbal lemonheads, if there were such a thing. I like it.

Thoughts
I thought this would be much more rose-forward, but it ended up being more verbena-forward. This is not a scent meant for seriousness! This is a lot of fun and a blind bottle I don't regret buying.

[lady_pandora]

I've been spending a lot of time with verbena lately, since I've been using an almond-verbena body wash, so the verbena blast that starts out The Fool's Rose was super familiar to me. It's not a really lemony verbena on me, but definitely herbal, just this side of medicinal, very clean and soothing. I could see it being a TAL scent for healing.

 

The skin scent is almost all verbena at first, while the throw is incensy from the frankincense. I can't really pick out rose, but one quirk of my skin is that rose and frankincense are usually pretty seamless on me, and that happens here too. The rose reads as just an extra dimension to the frank.

 

Over the course of the scent, the verbena fades out and I'm left with mostly frankincense, very pretty. I could see wearing this when I'm not feeling well or need a pick-me-up. I wouldn't call it a rose scent per se--if you're not a huge rose fan, you might still like this.

[AraliaShine]

Optimistic sassafras! The opening of this is dominated by a shiny happy verbena. The initial sweetness could read as thick lemon syrup or hard candy, but to my nose it's more leafy/bright. This wet stage reminds me of the golden mittens of sassafras leaves gleaming in the sun. The rose is demurely peering through the leaves and she's all softness and petals. As it warms on my skin, more frankincense emerges accompanied by a twist of dried-- almost powdered ~lemongrass~ maybe? Perhaps that's still the verbena with the angelica root lending a dusty herbal haze. Either way, this is a really uplifting, cheerful scent that feels rounded and sunny without any of the sharp/sour vibes I often find in citrus or rose blends.

 

A pleasant surprise, like a stretch of open highway with clear skies ahead, beckoning you to roll down the windows and just breathe in the day.

 

ETA: My grabby hands satisfied by a bottle, I just wanted to clarify that my initial sassafras impression is not the root(beer)y rich dark brown scent, but a leafy yellow spicebush aroma. For a double dose of bright sunshine and roses, this pairs really well with Sept HG. If you're wanting more of the rose, try pairing it with White Rose HG-- divine both ways!

Edited June 13, 2018 by AraliaShine

[zankoku_zen]

Lemon grass and white roses. It's a very lemony rose. Bright, cheerful, and citrusy. It smells like light, innocence, and purity. Good throw and wear length.

[samanare]

Lemon and rose. I still found that lemon is the strongest in this scent over the rose, and it's a sweeter verbena scent, as opposed to cleaning supply smell. Nice longevity, I just wish the rose was stronger in this scent.

[Mjanefh]

I adore this scent! Verbena has quickly become a favorite note of mine since my dive into the world of BPAL and this is a winner for me. The rose is very soft, the frankincense is not too strong and it all blends together very well with the shine of verbena. It smells like a lovely summer-y feminine perfume with no one note standing above the others. Lasts for hours!

[annemathematics]

this has a candy-like sweetness when first applied, dries down to something that smells like a department-store-esque kind of blend. verbena-focused, with a swirl of frankincense and a twist of angelica. the rose is so meshed in that it's hard from me to single it out. I tried this on a random whim for the theme and the angelica, and upgraded to a full bottle. good throw and lasts over twelve hours on me.

 

there is something very happy and carefree about this scent. wearing it brightens my mood! bpal: the best medicine

[purestmaiden_]

In my bottle, this smelled very verbena-heavy. However, on my skin the frankincense and rose are the main players. They blend together to create a gorgeous, woody, incense-y rose scent. It's less rose-forward than other rose/incense combos like Rose Cross or Lorraine Cross. The verbena and angelica root are present in the background to add a bright, tart note to the scent and prevent it from getting too heady. It's a gorgeous, unique scent. Though it's got rose in the description and name, I'd definitely recommend it to those who aren't normally a fan of rose scents.

 

This scent has medium throw but crazy wear length for me. When I wear this scent, I can still smell it on my wrists when I wake up the following morning.