A-Rovin'

[zankoku_zen]

A perfume for mistresses and masters of a very specific trade: sultry red musk, heady jasmine, tobacco leaf, red sandalwood, hay sugar, golden honey, sweet carnations, and warm leather.

[nok]

A-Rovin is a beautiful, rich, full-bodied perfume that lives up to its description and would comfortably be at home amongst the Lupercalia themed fragrances. When it first hit my skin, I clumsily thought it smelled in league with Mme Moriarty (vintage, at least), but it didn’t take long for A-Rovin to find its own voice on my neck.

 

Reluctant and cautious are two words that accurately summarize my feelings toward jasmine notes in fragrance, which can sometimes come across as stuffy & bitter (especially the Sambac variety) yet as I began to notice the jasmine note in A-Rovin moving front and center and realized it would likely become the prominent theme around which all other notes orbited, thankfully its revelation as the centerpiece was not met by any aversion on my part. This is primarily because of how well blended it is. There are no sharp points, nothing prickly, nothing treble-y, nothing feels out of place. It is a large, warm, sweeping jasmine perfume bookended with sweet notes (listed as hay sugar and honey) on one side and, though not published in the notes list, what my nose detects as something slightly reddish/purple plummy on the other end. Again, evoking memories of Mme Moriarty (a beautiful perfume but one I have not worn in some years).

 

Wanting to sate my curiosity, I put on a little bit of Mme Moriarty to compare to A-Rovin. The side-by-side punctuates the differences between the two in terms of a literal comparison, but the feeling/atmosphere each perfume evokes is not entirely dissimilar. Mme smells more like a ‘high art’ perfume, it is vivid and complex and feels like a special occasion scent. A-Rovin is cozy and ‘sensual’ in comparison. It has a strong cuddle-up vibe (hard to pull off with jasmine, in my opinion). It also has a beautiful come-hither depth lurking under the jasmine notes without veering into cavity inducing sweetness or anything that would make this grown man feel awkward wearing. It feels like a jasmine perfume that slithers and sneaks up into the air as opposed to the bold announcement of Mme. Both are great, but A-Rovin makes a better case for being a daily driver type of signature scent.

 

It's undeniably sexy and radiates carnality. Looking at the collection this perfume originates from and the description for A-Rovin, it’s safe to say Beth 100% achieved what she set out to accomplish with this one.

 

I highly recommend this. It is not remotely challenging to wear. It is one of those perfumes that I feel inclined to keep adding more of to my skin after just a few minutes, which is to say it's the kind of perfume that will make people want to move in closer and get a better smell. I would also classify this as a “jasmine for people who don’t typically like jasmine”, as the way the notes are arranged here present the jasmine in an easily digestible manner which is completely free of anything challenging or off-putting. The blend is seamless, almost like the perfume melted into itself, completely unified in all aspects.

 

Sillage and longevity are both stellar. 5/5

[hhelix]

Wowza, this one’s a bombshell. The indolic jasmine is intoxicating when wet, then retreats and behaves on the dry down. The musk, tobacco, carnation and leather are discernible at one time or another, with the hay sugar and honey.playing supporting roles  The sandalwood is MIA. The dry down is a vintage treat, an old-school perfume that is eyes-rolling-back-in-head drop dead gorgeous. Must love heavy florientals to pull this off. Full bottle worthy and glad to support the cause.

[marared]

"Floriental" is a good word for this one. I bought it to support the cause, because I'm not usually a fan of flowerbomb scents, but I've been surprised by stranger blends, so I gave it a try.

 

It is a BLAST of stanky jasmine right out of the bottle and a little terrifying, to be honest. But if you can survive the first minute of HOLY COW JASMINE, it suddenly morphs into something else entirely. The jasmine is still there, but it takes a backseat to honeyed carnation. Even the red musk, normally a note that I amp to high heaven, is way down there in the mix. The leather & sandalwood are a supporting base that keeps the flowers from running amok, and the final result is very classy, a very adult woman who's got her sh*t (and probably everyone else's) under control.

 

Queen of the Honeyed Heart is a sister scent that's pinker and sweeter, but that same Fabulous Woman In Control kind of floral.

[birdieflyaway]

YES. I am here for this. It scared me at first too with that jasmine, but THEN it turns into this sweet, reddish tobacco dream. This is a fun ride and my first shanty love. 

[groovyrooby]

This is a jasmine-musk bomb on me! Tested from a decant that rested a few days.

 

Big, wet blooms start out slightly funky (which I love). The leather builds up from underneath and combines with the musk to give it a hot & spicy cinnamon feel, without the burning arm feel that the real deal gives me 😢 

 

This is super sexy. Almost too sexy and grown-ass-woman boss-bitch sexy for me. But I know that's a lot of people's jam, and if its yours, you are going to LOVE this. It's outside my norm, but I will definitely have fun playing with this imp and test-driving that feeling a little more.

 

As a great spicy floral, this reminds me a bit of Midnight Bonfire, which was similar but more smoky than spicy, and more in my comfort zone.

 

 

[DigitalCoyote]

Wet:JASMINE. SUGAR...and hay.

 

I expected this.  I amp jasmine and sweet anyway.  The hay note is usually close enough to wood on my body that it gets boosted but not to 11 like wood almost always seems to go on me.  I think that's carnation flashing by but it's being crowded out by the sweet smells.

 

Semidry: Musk is sitting on the jasmine so it behaves.  Tobacco and sandalwood are there quietly.  I don't know where leather is off galavanting.

 

Dry: Musk, jasmine, sandalwood, and a faint hint of leather.

 

@groovyrooby is right about it being warm but not cinnamon burning on the skin.  I struggled with when I would wear this both times I've tried it.  I don't usually think of myself as sexy and this feels like expensive-sexy-in-expensive-formal-wear to me.  I'm kind of overwhelmed by it because of the dissonance between this image and my usual way of going.  I do, however, think I like it.

[feyofthefellwood]

I tend to be wary of both jasmine and red musk, but have also found blends containing these notes that I love. I'm also a big fan of the other notes listed here, so I took a chance on a decant of A-Rovin' (plus, it's another scent for a good cause!). The jasmine and red musk tend to be pretty high-pitched on my skin unfortunately (not sure if because of skin chem or just my perception), so I miss out on some of the less bombastic notes until long into the dry-down. It's nice overall and I'm glad I tried it, but it's probably not one I'll reach for much.

 

Edit: a year later, and I'm reaching for my decant more than I thought I would . . . It still gives me a headache if I smell it straight on, but if I wear it under my clothes it's gorgeous. 

Edited January 17, 2022 by feyofthefellwood

[zankoku_zen]

Honeyed jasmine and red musk. Hints of hay and red sandalwood. Heady, sexy. Great throw and wear length.

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: Honeyed jasmine and carnation. 

 

Wet on my skin: Honeyed jasmine, carnation, and hay! I recognize this hay note from Hal and Kubla Khan!

 

Dry: A-Rovin' is like Hal and Kubla Khan had a baby, and maybe For Each Ecstatic Instant was watching through a window or something. It takes the best parts of each of those two scents and makes a sultrier, slightly darker and headier sibling to both. Honeyed jasmine, spicy carnation, and sweet hay are at the front of this for me, atop a bed of warm, sexy red musk, sandalwood, and sweet-smoky tobacco. Not really getting any leather at this point, at least not as a discernible note of its own. It's a sexy, warm, mature but not antique musky floral with something more exotic about it than your typical jasmine-based floral. Very red-purple, not at all a white floral. After a few hours, it has barely morphed at all since drydown, aside from the warm leather coming out just a bit to support the other notes, which is really really nice. Jasmine and red musk usually behave pretty well on my skin, but I have to agree with above reviewers that this is NOT an overpowering blend for either of them. Well blended, neither timid nor unnecessarily overpowering, and ...someone above mentioned boss-bitch sexy? Yeah, that's a good descriptor for this.  

[rhonorv]

(Disclaimer that I love jasmine!)

 

100% agreed that this is similar to Hal, though I find it much less sharp. It's almost all that heady jasmine note when wet, but very soon after putting it on, A'Rovin gets sweet and smoky and stays that way, like a fancy jasmine incense. It's really well blended.

 

It wasn't quite as sweet as I expected it to be given the sugar and honey; from the description I was almost expecting a jasmineified Bow & Crown of Conquest with the leather-carnation-sweetness combo, but this is decidedly A Floral. A really nice one for the jasmine-lovers and jasmine-curious!

[witchytwitchygirl]

Wow! This is one sexy scent, perfect for summer. I definitely get more honey in the bottle than on the skin, where a lusty, heady jasmine dominates. If I sniff close to the skin I get carnation and smoky leather, and I smell the musk if I think hard. Much closer to the skin than I anticipated, but not without a nice throw. I feel like there’s a gorgeous, delicious, incensey, floral haze around me—one that would make others want to get closer for a more intimate whiff. 

[VetchVesper]

I blind bottled this sucker. It came in a box with almost 100 other bottles for a decant circle. One of the many bottles had leaked ever so slightly and smelled glorious. Oh happy day when, after greedily huffing out the miscreant bottle, I discovered it was this one. 

 

The jasmine shamelessly flaunts itself and is gorgeous. Red musk underlaces it with a touch of lusty sweetness, and carnation and hay sugar add another dollop of complex confection. I don't register a typical honey smell in this, but it's plenty sweet, though far from innocent. 

 

The other notes are mild but present, providing a raspy, decadent warmth like silk sheets beneath the ravishing florals. 

 

I'm fighting the compulsion to buy another bottle. Just one might not satiate me. 

[theseagrows]

this one starts with tons of red musk and indolic jasmine. it's a hothouse flower for sure. there is sweetness from the sugar and honey as well. really pretty, the red musk dominates. this totally reminds of a BPAL from my past, but i cannot place it. later on i get hay, carnation, sandalwood and tobacco. never any leather, unfortunately. it dries down to primarily red musk with sandalwood and carnation i think. the jasmine is gone at this point. i like this one but already have so many red musk scents that i don't need to do a bottle upgrade.

[Little Bird]

I'm starting to love florals as I get older, but I seem to either want them to be gourmand or super sexy.  This one is super sexy with a thick, honeyed sweetness, so I love it to bits.  The jasmine, honey and hay sugar wind up smelling a lot like honeysuckle on a humid Southern night, the red musk isn't super strong and doesn't have the wine-like fruitiness that I often associate with red musk, but it is very sexy and there's a definite muskiness here, and the carnation adds a beautiful, dry spiciness.  It has a lot of beautiful depth to it that makes you want to keep smelling it and get in closer to it.

If you told me that A'Rovin was a fancy vintage perfume, I would not argue.  I'm so glad that I believed the well deserved hype and ordered a bottle of this beauty.

[tinyvulture]

Red musk blends often smack me in the face with red musk! Not so here -- the jasmine is the star, backed by tobacco and sweet carnation.  I can never resist a jasmine blend so I’m quite pleased. I am really not getting any red musk at all which is wild. I was also nervous that the tobacco would be overpowering (it can make me sneeze) but it’s very tame here as well. Yay! So overall, I have a jasmine with a carnation accent, perfect for me since I love both of those florals! It doesn't really seem related to sea shanties but I'm ot on TikTok so I don't even care about that lol.

[LavenderCoffee]

All these notes sound amazing to me but alas, all I get is jasmine. She steps up to the mic and goes full diva. I do get some honey and red musk soprano harmony, with a tiny hint of spicy carnation, but was really hoping for more tobacco, sandalwood and leather to cover the middle range and low end. Agree with the honeysuckle comparison, but this makes my eyes water a bit. 

 

BTW this shanty is a total ear-worm.

[Cali]

I think this needs more time to age for me, but it's lovely. I get some jasmine (and also agree with the honeysuckle comparison), RED musk and salty seas. My skin amps whatever the salt is a lil bit, but I do believe this needs some time in a dark corner for me to try it out again, later.

I WANT to love this, and I like it a LOT, but it's not quite there yet. It's similar to Mme moriarty to me, the new one, but watery-er. Maybe it's just my skin? Eh. Sticking it out, it's got so much potential.