Angel Face Eau de Parfum - The Sixth Fragrance from A DOZEN ROSES

In 2011, A DOZEN ROSES, a fragrance collection inspired by the emotions that roses can evoke, was launched at Neiman Marcus. Roses have inspired poets, artists, designers, and perfumers, including A DOZEN ROSES -  a modern, eclectic, and sensual collection of fragrances created with a passion for art, perfumery, and unique bottle designs.

A DOZEN ROSES fragrances are luxurious, delightful, and inspiring, spotlighting their shared rose essence uniquely. They may even win over some who have forsworn rose scents. Angel Face ($110), the newest and sixth in the series of a dozen, is likely to do that.

The perfumers for each of the fragrances (earlier Givaudan) have been given free rein to create the fragrances in the collection based on original artwork and the emotion of the roses that inspired them. The results are artisanal or niche scents, themselves works of art. Each original fragrance is imbued with A DOZEN ROSES' signature 100% natural rose absolute essence wrapped in a complex, contemporary blend.

A passion for roses in art is showcased on the front and back of each fragrance bottle in the collection, paying homage to the beauty of the rose. Works of art themselves, the bottle designs (created by one of the two company founders) evoke complex emotions and passions similar to the scents within. I'm really partial to the design of Angel Face ($110), which depicts purple roses accented by green foliage. I saw the tester at Neiman Marcus from three rows away and hustled over to spray my first whiff. That same day, I received a sample in the mail from A DOZEN ROSES, along with a beautiful signed, numbered print of the design. It's relatively small, so I may have a frame here for it.

Angel Face Eau de Parfum was inspired by Falerina's garden from Boiardo's Renaissance epic poem, Orlando in Love. In spite of its unfinished state and some deficiencies in rhythm, Boiardo's Orlando in Love is considered a magnificent work of art, echoing the poet's ardent devotion to love and loyalty, shedding warmth and sunshine.

Called "Enchanting, Enticing, and Desired,"  Angel Face is a fruity floral fragrance. It lures you with a haloed, fruity mist of two top notes: luscious black current and apple. The heart notes envelop you in a purple haze of flowers - peony, violet, jasmine, and lilac. The top and heart notes are spellbinding, and of course, there's always the rose absolute that binds the collection. I stood at Neiman Marcus wanting to chat about the beautiful opening with a perfume lover, but I couldn't find anyone who wasn't already occupied.

The dry down is big, with prominent patchouli, roasted tonka, and vetiver. Patchouli is the base unit of an entire class of perfumes called chypres, and there are many fans of the genre. The scent of natural patchouli is described as earthy and herbaceous with a rich green heart and a woodsy base. Ever popular, it grounds Angel Face, transforming it from "just another rose-based floral" to an earthy one that even those who avoid rose fragrances may enjoy.

Angel Face is now available at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Think it's a coincidence that the beautiful purple bottle resembles the Angel Face rose I used to grow? For more information, check out the company's Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of A DOZEN ROSES and mittagonggardencentre.com.au

A DOZEN ROSES Holiday Collector's Set

I receive many press releases about holiday gift sets and can publish only a few. The A DOZEN ROSES Holiday Collector's Set ($85) caught my eye because I love my A DOZEN ROSES fragrances. It has a catchy tag line, "Wear Your Passion."

The set contains four 8.5 ml rollerballs of four A DOZEN ROSES fragrances.All four fragrances contain A DOZEN ROSES' signature rose absolute blended with other intoxicating notes.

• Gold Rush - one of my favorites, "the sexy scent with blackberry, neroli, and bittersweet chocolate
• Iced White - another favorite that I somehow failed to purchase (cannot have everything I want), "the cool scent with white peony, white primrose, and white musk"
• Shakespeare in Love - another beauty, "the romantic scent with jasmine, gardenia, ylang ylang, and fresh pear"
• Electron - another one I purchased, "the shocking scent with green tea, violet, cattleya orchid, and neon musk"

I'm sure you can purchase this gorgeous collection at Neiman Marcus. How you could part with it is another story.

Photo courtesy of A DOZEN ROSES

A DOZEN ROSES Amber Queen Eau de Parfum Spray

I loves roses - and rose-based fragrances - and I've loved every fragrance in the A DOZEN ROSES line, some more than others, I'll admit. The newest in the series, Amber Queen Eau de Parfum Spray ($110, a $15 price increase over earlier introductions) has arrived at Neiman Marcus. I bought it the instant I skin-tested it.

A dream come true. Smooth. Sensual. Magical. Amber Queen wraps you in luxury with apricot, clementine, a hint of ginger, and the warmth of glowing amber. Its crowning glory is an exotic Bengal rose accord and a Dozen Roses' signature rose absolute.

The description doesn't tell you a lot, right? I may not do better, but here's my take.

You may remember the premise for A DOZEN ROSES, a fragrance collection inspired by the emotions that roses can evoke. It launched exclusively last July. Roses have inspired poets, artists, designers, and perfumers, and they inspired the fragrances of A DOZEN ROSES - modern, eclectic, and sexy fragrances created with a passion for art, perfumery, and unique bottle designs.

My favorite of the original collection (the first three in the line) launched a year ago was Gold Rush. Gold Rush is a rush of ecstasy - a sexy, rich scent, meant for the wild, confident gal. This gal drinks tequila, loves Kiki de Montparnasse lingerie, and spends her weekends at cocktail parties. Gold Rush is a blend of blackberry, neroli, and ylang ylang layered with the richness of bittersweet chocolate and ebony woods, all wrapped with the aura of the gold rush rose and the collection's signature rose absolute. This sultry fragrance comes in a black bottle highlighted by yellow. I bought Gold Rush, but I can't say that anything about its wild gal personality resembles me today.

Amber Queen reminds me of a tamer Gold Rush. It's sultry, but not as sultry as Gold Rush - it's much more office-friendly. I didn't get the press release for Amber Queen (I'm disappointed about that!), but I read on Fragrantica (clearly they got the PR) that the top notes are ginger, apricot, and clementine; the middle notes are damask rose and rose; and the base note is amber.

It's a unique rose fragrance. The rose isn't dominant. Instead it offers a beautiful and subtle mélange of fruit and flowers. It opens with a fruity blast, but quickly dries down to a fruity rose garden with an amber understory. It's a smooth, polite amber, one that's sure to please.

Sandy Cataldo and Lynn Welsh Emmolo founded the fragrance line A DOZEN ROSES. I met Lynn at Neiman Marcus, where I had an opportunity to see her watercolors, which have been used for the bottle designs of A DOZEN ROSES. Both women are beauty veterans, and they have cited a long list of inspirations for their creations, including Guns N’ Roses and the 1989 film “The War of the Roses.”

Anyhow, Amber Queen just arrived, but I was told it's selling briskly. One sniff, and you'll understand why.You can visit your favorite Neiman Marcus now or order online (one screen shows it as a pre-order, but another shows it as available now). If we are lucky, there may even be a gift with purchase coming up at the next Neiman Marcus beauty event.

Update 1/3/13: I have learned that the nose for Amber Queen was Givaudan perfumer Irina Burlakova.

Photo courtesy of Neiman Marcus, melarcher.com, and fanpop.com

Electron, The Newest Addition to A DOZEN ROSES

There's a new member of the A DOZEN ROSES family: Electron ($95). I'm sure you remember the launch of the first three family members last summer. The newest addition will be available exclusively at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman on February 12.

Electron - clean, fresh, fabulous - is a shock to the senses. A DOZEN ROSES is unleashing a new, electrifying rose to create your bouquet. Is there anything better than the clean, fresh smell of flowers?

Electron's energizing fragrance is a stunning combination of "Electric Pink Rose" (whatever that is) blended with a jolt of green tea, violet leaves, and cattleya orchid and then supercharged with neon musk and A DOZEN ROSES' signature rose absolute.

I sing the body electric - Walt Whitman

I've had a chance to test Electron, and I love it. It opens with a dose of roses and violets, transporting me to a garden with the top notes. As the scent matures, I can smell the green tea, but I'll have to admit I don't know what cattleya orchids smell like. Many have no discernable fragrance, but hybridizers have been working to develop the fragrance of these orchids. No matter - the rest of the notes are lovely.

The bottle blooms in vibrant colors of lime green and bright pink. A fresh rose is juxtaposed against modern, abstract, original artwork showcased on both sides of the bottle. Lynn Welsh Emollo, one of two A DOZEN ROSES founders, created all of the art that has graced the bottles of A DOZEN ROSES. I had an opportunity to meet with her at Neiman Marcus a few months ago. At that time, I saw her amazing portfolio, including the design for the Electron bottle. What a talented woman!

I have no idea why those letters, "ADR," are superimposed on the photo above. What you'll see when the fragrance launches are the beautiful pink and greens spring colors. What you'll smell is even more exciting. Check out Electron when you get a chance - soon.

Photo courtesy of A DOZEN ROSES

A DOZEN ROSES, New Fragrance Collection Exclusive to Neiman Marcus

A DOZEN ROSES, a fragrance collection inspired by the emotions that roses can evoke, will launch exclusively at Neiman Marcus on July 17. Roses have inspired poets, artists, designers, and perfumers, of course. Now, they have inspired the fragrances of A DOZEN ROSES - modern, eclectic, and sexy fragrances created with a passion for art, perfumery, and unique bottle designs.

The creative fragrances are luxurious, delightful, and inspiring, spotlighting their shared rose essence uniquely. They may even win over some who have forsworn rose scents. The perfumers were given free rein to create the fragrances in the collection based on original artwork and the emotion of roses that inspired them. The results are artisanal scents, themselves works of art. Each original fragrance is imbued with 100% natural rose absolute essence wrapped in a complex, contemporary blend.

A passion for roses in art is showcased on the front and back of each fragrance bottle in the collection, paying homage to the beauty of the rose. Works of art themselves, the bottle designs evoke complex emotions and passions similar to the scents within.

A DOZEN ROSES is launching with three unique fragrances - each developed by a female perfumer at Givaudan. Although they share a signature rose absolute, the fragrances are very different.

Shakespeare in Love is a warm, comfortable scent, meant for the sweet, down-to-earth lady. She drinks red wine, lives in cashmere sweaters, and enjoys staying in on the weekends. It's a warm scent, luscious with jasmine, gardenia, and fresh pear, blended with creamy woods and vanilla, with a heart of blush rose and A DOZEN ROSES' signature rose absolute. Shakespeare in Love comes in a royal blue bottle.

Gold Rush is a rush of ecstasy - a sexy, rich scent, meant for the wild, confident gal. This gal drinks tequila, loves Kiki de Montparnasse lingerie, and spends her weekends at cocktail parties. Gold Rush is a blend of blackberry, neroli, and ylang ylang layered with the richness of bittersweet chocolate and ebony woods, all wrapped with the aura of the gold rush rose and the collection's signature rose absolute. This sultry fragrance comes in a black bottle highlighted by yellow.

Iced White is a clean, fresh scent - edgy and effervescent - meant for the cool, natural gal. She drinks gin and tonics, dresses simply in white cotton, and enjoys spending time outside. Iced White sparkles with a brisk mix of white on white: white peony, white primrose, and osmanthus. It cools down with vanilla, white musk, and rose absolute. Iced White was captured in a white bottle, accented by white, green, and violet.

I had an opportunity to try all three scents before this month's launch, and I am smitten! It would be hard for me to select only one. Sophisticated florals, the three fragrances are all captivating. They fall into that "I could live in these!" category of my fragrance collection.

I do have a favorite that might surprise you. It certainly surprised me. I would best be described as having a Shakespeare in Love personality. I do love red wine, and I'm likely to hang with the cats on the weekends. The divine Gold Rush captured my heart, even though I'm not a wild, tequila-drinking party lover. I was in my younger days; perhaps some vestige of those crazy days lies dormant in my personality.

Gold Rush will appeal to men - I have no doubt - but it's also for a confident woman, one who knows what she likes and isn't afraid to make a statement. While all three draw my nose to my arm, with Gold Rush I detect notes that are familiar. Rose, neroli, and ylang ylang are among my favorites. Enlivened with a thoroughly intoxicating blackberry and warmed by the chocolate and ebony woods, the familiar notes are suddenly new.

It's almost a tie between the other two for my affection. I like them for different reasons. Iced White is clean and fresh, with a powdery dry-down that I adore. Shakespeare in Love snags me as it settles in. The soft vanilla, paired with rose, is comforting.

The fragrances have arrived at the Neiman Marcus doors listed below, but are not scheduled to be available in store until July 17. I suspect you can sample the testers if you ask.

You can enjoy the passion, art, and perfumery of all three and decide which one you'll take home. Each 3.4-oz. fragrance is priced at $95. You will be able to purchase it at neimanmarcus.com (available now) and the following Neiman Marcus locations.

Neiman Marcus Doors
Beverly Hills
San Francisco
Coral Gables
Atlanta
Honolulu - Ala Moana
Chicago - Michigan Avenue
Chicago - Northbrook
Las Vegas
Short Hills
Dallas - North Park
Dallas - Willow Bend
Fort Worth
Houston Galleria
Newport Beach
Tysons Galleria

Photos courtesy of A DOZEN ROSES