WHAT I SMELL:  Asphalt Rainbow opens with a sparkly zesty bergamot, like peppered champagne which retreats quickly and then flattens to a slightly soapy, rather milky floral.  The notes states that there are aerosols in the perfume and after 5 minutes it does feel like the perfume is sprayed through a can.  As such, the projected spray throws out the perfume and what was once soapy and milky, is now a bit gritty and rough-hewn.  There’s also a warmed hair spray effect that feels tinged with charcoal.  What’s strange about Asphalt Rainbow is that in some sense, it feels very “bathtastic.”  Maybe it’s the aerosol effect which makes it feel as if it was born in a 1950s blue tile bathroom.  On the other hand, there’s a grittiness about it that makes it go from blue tile bathroom to truck stop bathroom.  If you’re looking for your mother’s rose scent this is not it.  The rose is muted, flat and roughened.  For some reason, the perfume also reminds me a fabric store as there is a slight muslin feel to the fragrance, like it’s sheathed in bolts of the clean, yet unfinished fabric.  After around 20 minutes the rose comes to the forefront, and it’s big and powerful and much cleaner with infused musk and a light amber.  After 30 minutes, the perfume becomes much prettier, woodier and softer.  And while it is still big, it has moved from the bathroom to the garden. In the end, Asphalt Rainbow becomes demure, light and rather pretty with a very prominent clean musk.  Quite the journey if I say so myself.

From the Charenton Macerations website:

Asphalt Rainbow draws inspiration from the “break the rules” attitude of global  street art: a creative world movement that teaches anything can be a canvas and anyone an artist. Specifically exploring the concepts of distortion, reappropriation, and impermanence, Asphalt Rainbow borrows from a series of masterful street art techniques to craft an olfactive love letter to the street: a roughed up rose that’s been hyper-colored, torn apart and twisted on its head, then nailed to the wall for your sniffing pleasure. The arc of the fragrance mirrors the unpredictable lifecycle of street art: a re-envisioned rose accord that distorts and morphs over time like a fragmented floral collage stretched across urban walls and alleyways; its aerosol-tinged aroma ever-fading closer to background.

Featured: Rose Absolute, Rose Fragments
Accents: Spray Paint (Aerosols), Galbanum, Lily of the Valley, Lychee, Ylang, Saffron, Magnolia, Leather, Cistus,
Background: Asphalt, Detritus, Patchouli, Wood, Amber

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  An institutional bathroom; clean, yet slightly dirty.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ASPHALT RAINBOW: big, bold, large

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ASPHALT RAINBOW: No others found.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asphalt Rainbow is an interesting perfume.  The journey is rather fun and conceptually I love the idea.  But I love the idea more than the perfume.  However, I can tell you that the hub loves it, which says to me that this is a floral that is for those who don’t want their florals to be too feminine or too pretty.

• Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent: Floral
• Nose: Cecile Hua
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $100 for 30 ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique & Apothecary