Steel Roses: A Self-Aware Fairy Tale is a series of rose-themed scents released by Sucreabeille. the first six of these scents made their debut for valentine’s day 2019, with Chapter 7: Wood Rose released as a sweet sequel for valentine’s day 2020.
originally, i had prepared my
review of the first six scents which i had purchased and/or received with
purchase; then recently i was pleasantly surprised to receive drams of all
seven scents for free from Sucreabeille,
no strings attached. i wasn’t asked to review them as a condition of receipt
and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Sucreabeille and as always, all
opinions remain my own.
==
the first three scents in the
series have a common ‘greenness’ about them while still taking the rose theme
in different directions.
Chapter 1: Briar Rose (wild rose, lavender fields, a spellbound
forest at night, a sprig of rosemary, cedar, freshly ground clove, bergamot)
is very true to its namesake as a rose hidden behind an enormous hedge of
thorns, awaiting prince charming’s arrival.
the green herbs are the dominant
aspect here – the lavender in this scent is of the more herbaceous variety, and
the greenness of the scent is further amplified by the presence of the cedar,
rosemary, clove and bergamot. there’s a touch of rose underneath all of it that
stops this from being just pure distilled greenery in a bottle though. i didn’t
get much morph from this scent over its wear; it has a low throw (approximately
a foot max) with about 3 hours of wear on skin and up to 6 hours in hair.
my thoughts? it’s not really
something i would find myself reaching for often, but this isn’t due to any
fault on its part – Briar Rose tries and succeeds at being a jack-of-all-trades in
the departments of calming lavender, quiet woods and herbaceous flora, but if i
was in any of those moods, i could think of better scents that i would prefer.
4/10 i would destash this if i could, but since that’s not possible due to mail
restrictions on liquids in Singapore, i’ll have to take a waste-not-want-not
approach with this one and find some way to finish it.
==
Chapter 2: Glass Rose (white rose, white musk, white thyme, a
summer rainstorm, neroli, gardenia, a perfectly ripe grapefruit, kumquat,
orange blossom, neroli, red mandarin, fresh dalmatian sage) vividly
transports me into one of my favourite movies (Spirited Away); specifically
Kamaji's boiler room in the bathhouse.
there’s quite a bit going on here
with the blend – i get a smorgasbord of citruses (citrii?) anchored with a good
dose of herby sage and thyme, which complements the smell of rain really well.
for a rose-themed scent, I’m struggling to find its namesake though.
the dominance of the green herbs
and the humid 'wetness' of this scent makes it a perfect atmospheric for Kamaji's
boiler room. on application, the herbs are much stronger and it evokes the
opening rush for the bathhouse in the evening; after about 45 minutes of wear,
the scent quietens down to reflect the boiler room at rest in the day. overall,
a relatively stable scent with low throw of around a foot, with about 3-4 hours
of wear on skin and up to 7 hours in hair.
7/10 as an experience it’s really
quite something, though for me personally it fills a very niche atmospheric.
even though i could watch the mesmerising bustle of susuwatari (soot sprites)
at work for hours, i’m not sure how often i would actually want to wear this
scent. i think i would reach for it only when a particular mood hits, so my
current dram will last me a very long time.
==
Chapter 3: Flame Rose (wild
rose, cedarwood, smoke, leather) is quite a masculine scent and to me it’s
like being with Robin Hood and his Merry Men, around a campfire in the dark
heart of Sherwood Forest.
straight out the bottle, i get
sucker punched in the face with the purest essence of leather. the leather note
in this one reminds me of Sucreabeille’s leather note in Khal Drogo – it’s not the
stuff of a dainty little handbag, but is a strong utility fighting leather that
brings to mind quivers and saddlebags and bracers, the sort of gear that the
Merry Men would have used.
the cedarwood and smoke give this
scent a nice masculine woodiness, with quite a strong undercurrent of greenery.
the rose however is barely there, next to non-existent. i suppose some part of
it is blending in with the green element from the cedarwood on application, and
the slightest hint of rose does appear after about half an hour of wear (albeit
under many layers of leather and wood). generally, this scent doesn’t morph too
much and has a low throw (approximately a foot max) with about 3 hours of wear
on skin and up to 6 hours in hair.
6/10 all things considered, it’s not a
bad scent and i’m glad i was able to try this one. i’ll enjoy finishing my
dram, though unfortunately the scent doesn’t wow me enough to move into
repurchase territory.
==
the next couple of scents lean
more towards a sweeter gourmand side of things for me and i greatly enjoyed
wearing both of them.
Chapter 4: Blood Rose (English rose, honey, sea salt, dragonsblood)
is to me like diving headfirst into a pool overflowing with Turkish Delight.
the scent overall is candy-level
sweet and i wouldn’t be surprised if there was a special mixing room in Willy
Wonka’s factory that smelled like this. in the bottle and on my skin, the honey
comes out a lot, so much so that there were brief moments when i forgot
it was just perfume and was tempted more than once to lick my wrist (thankfully
stopping myself in time though!). i also like that the sea salt and
dragonsblood provide a nice counterbalnce in the background to give this scent
more dimension and save it from going entirely 100% sugar explosion. the scent
remained relatively stable (mainly rose and honey, honey and rose) throughout
with a low throw of about a foot; i got about 3 hours of wear on skin and up to
6 hours in my hair.
7.5/10 as someone more partial to sweet
scents myself, i do like this one quite a lot. maybe not enough to want to get
a full-size or replacement, though i’ll enjoy finishing my dram of this.
==
Chapter 5: Black Rose (wild rose, rich dark chocolate, fresh
vanilla bean, burnt sugar, whiskey, bourbon, an old library in a dusty castle,
patchouli, a cold creamsicle on a hot day, really good bacon) made me rub
my eyes to check if i had read the scent list correctly, because it looked like
such a random hodgepodge of components. chocolate with bacon? whiskey with
ice cream? and how in the world do these fit into an “old library in a dusty
castle” vibe?
the scent reminded me of those
mystery boxes on MasterChef where the judges would sometimes add unexpected
components to throw people off, and woe betide the contestant who tried to use
everything because not all of it is meant to go together. though as it turns
out, Black
Rose did in fact showcase all of its components beautifully (albeit not
at the same time) – i was really pleasantly surprised to find that the scent
actually worked really well, with one of the most interesting morphs that i’ve
experienced so far.
picture this: it’s a beautiful
evening to relax and unwind. you open a box of valentine’s day chocolates from
a special someone, and pop one of those little truffles in your mouth. it melts
slowly, luxuriously, a decadent chocolate tinged with rose, so good that you
close your eyes to savour the experience. as the last tinges of chocolate fade
from your palate, you decide to follow it up with a drink, the good top-shelf
stuff, none of that cheap supermarket alcohol. you add some clear ice to a
beautiful rock glass and pour a good measure of whiskey and bourbon over it.
then you take yourself and the glass into your private library, with
floor-to-ceiling shelves all filled with books, and settle down in your
favourite chair to read, pausing only to take the occasional sip. the perfect
way to end a perfect day.
that’s really the level of immersion in the journey that
this scent takes you on – in the bottle, this is a chocolate rose gourmand that then
goes 180 degrees to a good whiskey / bourbon blended beautifully with a sweet
vanilla and a hint of patchouli. over the next half hour or so, the alcohol
remains dominant though with a comforting paperiness and faint touch of bacon.
the scent is relatively personal and lasts about 4 hours on skin, 8 hours in
hair.
i like both main scent profiles
very much – the rose/chocolate is absolutely delicious on its own (and i have
mixed feelings when it morphs, because on one hand i can’t bear to say goodbye
while on the other hand, the alcohol/books one is such an awesome replacement
that i can’t be too sad about losing the rose/chocolate). the alcohol/books is
a beautiful atmospheric that perfectly captures the joy of being in a
high-ceilinged private library with a good book in hand and a nosing glass of
fine whiskey on the side table.
9/10 amazing perfume, definitely something i’d love
to keep in my collection and will be replacing when i’m done with this dram.
==
the last two scents in this
series were the most rose-forward of the series and to my mind, represented two
very opposite kinds of princesses. sort of like the difference between Game of
Thrones’ Arya Stark and Sansa Stark respectively.
Chapter 6: Steel Rose (wild rose, English rose, white rose,
woodsmoke, patchouli, dragonsblood, metallic copper, metal, smoky incense)
is the Arya scent of the two. it’s a rose scent that reminds you that badass
roses have thorns, and aren't only sweet demure little things.
the scent is relatively stable
and doesn’t change too much after application, which i’m glad for. both in the
bottle and on application, i’m definitely getting the perfume’s namesake here
with a nice fragrant rose. what makes this one really unique is how the rose is
brought out beautifully against an awesome backdrop made up of a good quantity
of smoke and metal, which gives a very nice contrast to the sweetness of the
floral. overall, the scent has a low throw of around a foot, with about 3-4
hours of wear on skin and up to 7 hours in hair.
like Arya, this scent is feminine
in a strong independent way. this is a princess who doesn’t want to wait around
for a knight to come rescue her – she straps on her own sword, saddles up her
horse and goes forth to create her own future.
9/10 one of my favourites of the
whole set, and i would unhesitatingly purchase a full size of this to enjoy.
==
Chapter 7: Wood Rose (tiny wild roses blooming on the forest
floor, rich, spiced rosewood, vanilla laced with patchouli and sweet resins)
is, in contrast, the more Sansa-like scent of the two.
the scent is a very light and
soft one, rose-forward in the bottle and on application. there’s a smidgen of
sweetness from the vanilla and probably the resins, which is blended very well
with the rose. i was surprised though that even though the notes also listed
rosewood and sweet resins, these weren’t detectable at all to my nose no matter
how hard i tried. the result is a very gentle, demure scent, the kind that you
would expect from a lady at a formal tea party, the one wearing a gown and
making small talk in a soft voice while nibbling at little cakes and holding
her teacup with a pinky extended.
Wood Rose stayed a very
quiet and personal scent throughout without morphing, and the lightness of the
scent was probably a contributing factor to why it had the lowest longevity of
the whole set, barely making it past the 2-hour mark on skin and 4 hours in
hair. compared to the other scents in the series, this one wears as barely a
whisper, the lingering memory of a ghost rose long faded away.
like Sansa, this scent showcases
the other side of femininity – being demure is not a sign of weakness; a lady
is never without her own weapons and her armour is courtesy, both of which arguably
take more skill to wield than a sword and shield respectively. i enjoy wearing
this scent when the mood strikes me, though the lower longevity and
over-lightness of the scent forced me to take off a point from the final
rating.
6/10 i’ll enjoy finishing my dram, but will probably not purchase this after
i’m done.
==
the scents from the Steel Roses: A Self-Aware Fairy Tale
collection are available here,
though i understand that Sucreabeille will
be retiring the line for a while (hopefully only temporarily), so if you’re
interested in trying these out, july 1st will be the last day to pick some up.
all information correct at time of publishing.
all information correct at time of publishing.
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