New Perfume Review: Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery Rose Encens (Laurie Stern) + A Pre Raphaelite Christmas Draw

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 'A Christmas Carol', captioned 'Xmas 1857-8

 I am unapologetically Christmas Obsessed.  “Christmas creep” is a non sequitor for me; my house is fully decorated by the first week in November. I love the music, the shopping, and all the carbs; I love giving presents, I love getting presents. I have Christmas clothes and Christmas jewelry, and of course Christmas perfume. I love every bit of the crazy. In fact, I thrive on it.  Some call it commercialism, I call it unbridled joy, and I don’t plan on cutting back any time soon, with all due respect to minimalists everywhere.

The Beloved Dante Gabriel Rosetti

But there comes a point each year when I take my inner Griswald firmly by her Santa hat, sit her down with a moose mug full of eggnog and call it done.  Everything is twinkled, tinseled and jingled; it’s time to take a deep breath and relax in to the “all is calm”, “peace on earth” portion of the holiday. And this year Laurie  Stern at Velvet & Sweet Pea Purrfumery has come up with the perfect fragrance for this: Rose Encens

John William Waterhouse The Magic Garden

Rose Encens opens in Laurie’s garden, with succulent blood oranges and vibrant, aromatic lime. (I’m always amazed at the richness of Laurie’s citrus; there’s never any unpleasant sharp or sour notes, just a wonderfully fragrant, mouth-watering juiciness.) Within a few minutes, the roses begin to unfold….dozens and dozens of roses.

The Soul of The Rose by John William Waterhouse

You get the feeling of being surrounded by roses in a garden, the lovely scent wafting in the air all around you, and yet there’s also the slightest hint of green, which gives the effect of a freshly cut bouquet. Rose Encens is a must-have for any rose lover; I can’t think of any other rose fragrance that smells this realistic.

John Singer Sargent. Fumée d'Ambre Gris. Detail of  Incense Brazier

But what has made this perfume magical for me is the Frankincense. It’s so seamlessly blended into the rest of the notes that I didn’t even realize what it was initially; at first I thought Laurie had found some especially gorgeous, warm roses for this new creation. But once the Frankincense took the spotlight, there was no mistaking it for anything else. It is incredibly beautiful, with a depth I haven’t experienced before in any other incense fragrance. But here’s where the magic came in: it’s like serenity in a bottle for me.

A detail from the Briar Rose series by Sir Edward Burne-Jones

I have never been particularly into aromatherapy. Although perfume in general is very therapeutic for me, the actual practice of aromatherapy is not something I’ve ever explored. But I started noticing that every time I wore Rose Encens, I felt noticeably calmer. This was astonishing to me, since calm is not something I am accustomed to feeling in mid December.  I could feel my heart rate slow down. 

Laurie Stern, Natural Perfumer  and founder for Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery

This happened time and time again, at home, at Wal-Mart, at the doctor’s office. My very own Christmas miracle, courtesy of Laurie Stern!

Hymn To A Rose John Duncan

Please don’t  think this is a seasonal fragrance; you could and should wear Rose Encens any time of year! Citrus and roses and incense can be enjoyed in every season; this would be gorgeous for Valentine’s Day, and any Mother would appreciate getting such beauty on the day we celebrate her.  But Rose Encens truly has been perfect for me during the wonderful madness that is December and it’s going to be a holiday tradition for me from  this year forward.

Notes: Blood orange, lime, rose, resin essences

DISCLOSURE I purchased my own bottle of gorgeous & serene on December 8th, and am already a third of the way through it.

Tammy Schuster, Sr. Contributor

Art Direction: Michelyn Camen

Thanks to Laurie Stern of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery  we have a draw for a registered reader USA resident for a bottle of Rose Encens. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Tammy’s review, and if you have a favorite aroma that calms you this time of the year.  If you have a favorite Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery, please let us know.  Draw closes 12/31/2016            

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

 

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20 comments

  • doreeniyogini says:

    I so want to try this one. Laurie’s fragrances are masterpieces. And the combination sounds so ethereal. Great choice of art – really pulls me in as I am a huge pre-Raphaelite fan. And I love Tammy wove in the theme of christmas – though I totally get this is a fragrance is for any and all seasons. I do love frankincense now – but also fir, cliche as that is. I really do just love it. Thanks for the draw – I am in the US.

  • ringthing says:

    I love the sound of Rose Encens! Rose and incense are two of my favorite notes and I especially like how Tammy describes the introduction of the roses in this perfume, the opening of “dozens and dozens of roses.” My favorite rose and incense perfume to date is DSH Inner Sanctum, one of my winter favorites, perfect for this time of year. I would love to try Rose Encens, I’m in the US. Thanks to all for the generous opportunity!

  • Ellen M says:

    It sounds like a perfect marriage of beautiful notes. I don’t think I have a fragrance that I find particularly calming except perhaps for Basilica, by Soltice Scents. Must be the incense. Thanks for this lovely draw. I live in the USA

  • GrandmaGaga says:

    I would love to try this; I have never really learned much about aromatherapy and kind of thought of it as a ‘hokey’ idea but after giving it a bit of thought after reading this article, I realize that all ‘smelly things’ ARE aromatherapy…scents evoke feelings and memories deep in our brains and definitely affect us in good and bad ways. Unless we are masochists or enjoy feeling melancholy, we tend to select scents that are uplifting in some way. I am in the US and appreciate the chance to try this!

  • Diana Devlin says:

    I love that this fragrance has frankincense in it. I tend to wear perfumes with that note in it during the winter. I have a limited edition perfume from Laura Mercier that has a lot of frankincense in it and it reminds me of church. But there really isn’t any floral notes in it. So I’m extremely intrigued to smell Rose Encens because I love rose fragrances but have never smelled any that combined it with frankincense. Thank you so much for doing this review because I am going to try to get my hands on a bottle (unless I win this one, of course!)
    I live in the U.S.
    Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    Thanks Tammy Schuster for the review. Rose is one of my favorite note in perfumes. Blended with incense seamlessly is another plus point & I am impressed. If it’s like serenity in a bottle, like rose garden or bed of roses then it is definitely for any perfume wearer. My favorite rose-incense blend perfumes that I really enjoy wearing are: Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, Serendipity by JoAnne Bassett and Potion Royal Black DSQUARED². Waiting in the mail for discontinued Amouage Tribute oil. Would love to try Rose Encens.
    Thanks to Laurie Stern of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Perfumery for the generosity & Cafleurebon for providing the opportunity to participate by letting me in the draw on my relative address in NY, US.

  • fazalcheema says:

    I am intrigued due to the notes such as blood orange, lime, and frankincense. Moreover, this can be worn anytime of the year and has green elements which also make it suitable for Christmas. The aroma that calls me down is citrus. I have not tried any Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery creation so far. I am in the US.

  • Amber says:

    It sounds so delicious and who doesn’t need some relaxing during the holiday season! I’m in the US, thanks for the draw.

  • Dusk says:

    I love how evocative this review is. Roses in a garden, a fresh-cut bouquet – sounds absolutely delightful. I find a similar calming effect from Maria Candida Gentile’s Rrose Selavy – it smells like pink rose petals and herbal tea, and it’s both elegant and entirely soothing. Must be something about rose! On the other hand, I also find Slumberhouse Norne incredibly calming and comforting, it’s my happy place. People talk about it being a dark scary forest scent but I find it completely serene. I am in the US. Thank you for offering yet another amazing giveaway!

  • Laurie Stern says:

    Wow, thanks Tammy for your delightful review of my Rose Encens! I love how you get how relaxing it is too. I think this year, as I turned 60, I needed to be surrounded by a million roses and to have some deep rest! Being a perfumer I always want things first of all to smell amazing, but I love how the naturals affect our psyche so much. I have kept many diaries for 16 years detailing my thoughts and effects of all of the oils I use. I never trusted what I read until I would personally experience the powerful feelings myself. When I was a wedding florist in my previous business, I always loved delivering to churches and being there pretty much alone, smelling the calming frankincense before things got really crazy! It was a moment of pure peace. Rose always makes me feel like everything is going to be OK, not to mention how much I adore the smell of the all of the 25 or more of the distillations I have of it! So happy you got it, Tammy! Thank you enormously! XOXO

  • Rae Lynn says:

    What a lovely review! Rose is one of my favorites, so I would love to try this and experience the calmness. Love the smell of Christmas trees at this time of year. I loved Tammy’s description of Christmas, when “Everything is twinkled, tinseled and jingled”. Thank you for the draw!

  • Gail says:

    Hi Tammy! DNEM. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your review. Rose Encens does sound like a miracle! The artwork is perfect too! 🙂

  • Claudia says:

    Love the review and I like the fact that Tammy says this is not a seasonal perfume, it could be worn yearound. I also love when the frankincense is well blended in a fragrance. This really does sound like a nice all around mellow relaxing fragrance and we could all use a little of that theses days. I am in the US and thank you for the nice review.

  • Cynthia says:

    I love the idea of “serenity in a bottle”. I too find rose scents to be calming. My only more calming scent is lavender. I have a small bit of Laurie’s jasmine based perfume and it is lovely. You can smell the organic fresh ingredients. I like the idea of frankincense with rose. I think it would be a great combo. Thanks for the review and the draw! USA

  • tiffanie says:

    Tammy, thank you for this thoughtful review, and many thanks to Michelyn for the evocative artwork. I am besotted with those images.

    Rose Encens sounds stunningly beautiful. I completely agree that roses are relaxing. A dear neighbor recently moved away, and before he left he gifted me with one of his rose bushes. It is, rather miraculously, blooming heavily right now, so I pick a new bud every few days. I take deep breaths from the flowers as they open in the warmth of the house. I am instantly calmed by their fragrance. I once had the experience of sniffing from a bottle of rose essential oil and could feel my heart rate drop as I breathed it in. I also love lavender essential oil for relaxation.

    A few weeks ago I found a room spray with frankincense and myrrh which I am finding perfectly calming for this season of the year. I am in the US and again offer heartfelt thanks to Tammy, to CaFleureBon, and to Laurie Stern for this generous draw.

  • doveskylark says:

    I’m happy that Tammy could find a comforting fragrance during this stressful time of the year. The frankincense note seems appropriate for this time of the year. I like to wear Nuit de Noel at this time of year.
    I live in the USA.

  • Terry says:

    I love Pre-Raphaelite art and I love roses! I really need to decrompress after an entire week of family and cooking so I would love to win Rose Encens. Happy New Year

  • karo says:

    I enjoyed the description of Frankincense in particular and the overall makeup of this fragrance with the citrus and incense. I think this company makes all naturals. I’ve smelled the tobacco one from Sweet Pea and it’s divine. I’m in the US. Thank You soi much for the draw.

  • girasole638 says:

    The art direction on this post really drew me in – I guess I have a soft spot for Pre-Raphaelites! I’m staying at my in-laws at the moment, so I could definitely use some ‘serenity in a bottle’ 😉 You make Rose Encens sound wonderful, Tammy! I tend to rely on lavender for calming, but I also love the smell of rosemary because it reminds me of the garden we had when I was a child. Thank you for the generous draw! I know most people won’t be resting tonight, as we ring in the new year, but I hope 2017 provides lots of opportunities for calm and rejuvenation!
    (Oh, and I’m in the US!)

  • hofken says:

    I enjoyed Tammy’s review and would love to wear this Christmas fragrance. The frankincense sold me. This time of year, my favorite aroma that calms me is pine. Like being in the middle of a Christmas tree lot. I have not yet had the pleasure of wearing a Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfume.