WHAT I SMELL:  Oeillet Bengale opens with a sparkling bergamot, followed very quickly by pepper and rose.  It’s spicy, herbaceous and incredibly medicinal.  The turmeric is pronounced along with the clove. Oeillet Bengale is all about the spice as it seems to be geared more towards being a herb mixture meant to put on grilled vegetables than something you would wear.  At the same time, it smells like Band Aids that have been treated with some kind of built in medicine.  The fragrance does pulse off the skin as if the heat of your body helps to make it radiate.  You would think with this herbal spice combination that the fragrance would seem heavy, but it doesn’t.  After around 20 minutes, the fragrance deepens a bit and it seems to slip down further into the spice.  But there’s some light at the end of the tunnel as the drydown begins to feel more floral as it evens out and becomes slightly powdered and dry and tinged with incense.  In the end, Oeillet Bengale turns into this exquisite spiced floral that has me completely entranced.  You wouldn’t have guessed that from what I wrote just a few sentences before right?

From the Aedes de Venustas website:

A Flower on Fire.  A rose that wants to be a carnation, set ablaze by an exotic spice explosion. Red petals turned black by frankincense.

Top Notes:  bergamot, white pepper

Middle Notes:  rose, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, turmeric, clove

Base Notes:  Tolu balsam, labdanum, ylang-ylang, benzoin, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Lucrezia Borgia.  The spices and herbs brought from the east were used by her perfumer to create this exotic, beautiful, yet dangerous mix of mystery.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE OEILLET BENGALE:  fascinating, spicy, incomparable

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OEILLET BENGALE: Grain de Musc, CaFleureBon, Now Smell This

BOTTOM LINE: The first time I wore this all I got was a Band Aid smell and I really didn’t care for it.  In subsequent wearings, I start off not caring for it, but then it weaved this spell on me and I find myself bewitched by it.  Oeillet Bengale is complex, of great quality and a seducer.  I just reviewed another fragrance by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Arquiste L’Etrog Acqua…this it the exact opposite of that on every level and what an incredible addition to his line of creations.

• Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent: Citrus Aromatic
• Nose:  Rodrigo Flores-Roux
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $240 for 100ml EdP