WHAT I SMELL: Rose Etoile de Hollande opens with a bright peach layered upon aldehydes, which is then quickly followed a disconcerting clove note. What opens and pretty, soon becomes strange and sour and somewhat biting. Thankfully the rose steps out a bit which helps to soften the clove, but there remains a sharpness that I am hoping will dissipate. After around 15 minutes or so, the rose retreats and the peach once again makes it to front and center. The peach is tangy and bright. I wouldn’t say it’s juicy, but it does have a warmth about it which cuts the sharpness experienced from the first 15 minutes. This is strange. Where’s the rose? All I get is peach and more peach. More strange is that another 15 minutes it seems like I am back to the beginning with the sharpness that I experienced earlier and a bit more rose than all the peach. After a lengthy dry down, Rose Etoile de Hollande becomes slightly woody and much softer with hints of heliotrope. And after even a few more hours, you’ll notice a very light smoky incense leather added to the mix. Rose Etoile de Hollande overall is rather pretty and comforting, but it’s all peach and little to no rose. Surprisingly, for a Mona di Orio fragrance, Rose Etoile de Hollande sits close to the skin and is rather light in its projection. Overall, it’s a beautiful fragrance in the end. I just wish there was a little more rose and a little less peach.
Top notes are aldehydes, white peach and bergamot; middle notes are rose, cloves and geranium; base notes are leather, patchouli, cedar, heliotrope, vanilla, benzoin, amber and peru balsam.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: peaches
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ROSE ETOILE DE HOLLANDE: peachy, bright, semi-sharp
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ROSE ETOILE DE HOLLANDE: Perfume-Smellin Things, Olfactoria’s Travels, Cafleurebon
BOTTOM LINE: Rose Etoile de Hollande is perplexing to me. I really want to like it, but something is holding me back. I think it’s the peach. It’s just a bit too dominant for my tastes. However, if you love a good peach note, I can see how this could be wonderful. It’s no Mitsouko, but it is nice.
- Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Floral
- Nose: Mona di Orio
- Classification: Unisex, but leans feminine
- Expense: $230 for 100ml EdP
September 23, 2013 at 11:45 am
I didn’t get any peach from Rose étoile de Hollande, and it is kind of my least favorite of the line . . . maybe if I got peach, I would have been more enthusiastic . . .
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September 23, 2013 at 5:43 pm
Daisy – I posted this on Facebook Fragrance Friends earlier and there were 2 camps. The group that didn’t smell peach and the group that did. I think the rose that i used is a type that smells of peaches. In any case. I didn’t like it at first, now I am growing to like it. The hubby hates it!!!
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September 24, 2013 at 11:51 am
I didn’t get peaches, otherwise I think I would have liked it more . . . I’m not sure if I could hate it though. I thought it was pretty innocuous!
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September 23, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Unfortunately, I didn’t try this one. On what you have said, I think I wouldn’t like it. I don’t have any perfume that has fruity notes, I’m all about wood, resins, leather and some more wood 🙂
Recently, I’ve tried from Mona di Orio their new perfume… if you have the opportunity! I recommend you to try it! Interesting dark floral…
Juraj
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September 23, 2013 at 7:07 pm
Juraj – I seem to be like an old lady as I get older I like the florals…fruity not so much, but once in a while OK. I tend to stay away from woody and leather…but I never say never because I always prove myself wrong. As for the new Mona di Orio Violette Fumee which I believe you’re talking about…it really is a nice and sophisticated violet (which I typically don’t care for) with a beautiful incense note. I reviewed it here: https://thescentedhound.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/les-nombres-dor-violette-fumee-by-mona-di-orio-parfums/
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September 30, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Yehhhhhhhh Les Nombres d’Or kinda suck ey
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October 1, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Actually, I really like the dry down… but yes, the hub hates it immensely.
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