New Niche Fragrance Review: Strange Invisible Perfumes The Rose With The Broken Neck + Visual Title Sample Draw

sip rose 1

I love a visual title. My favorite example of this is the title of the Harlan Ellison short story “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”. Just the title conjures up myriad artistic possibilities to bring it to life. Another example of a visual title is “The Rose With The Broken Neck”. The Rose With The Broken Neck was a track on an album produced by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi. In collaboration with Jack White and Norah Jones they were inspired by the music of spaghetti Westerns and they used instruments that were used in those soundtracks. What I think this says is a great title can lead to a creative product. In the case of The Rose With The Broken Neck perhaps our most talented botanical perfumer Alexandra Balahoutis was inspired to create a new limited edition perfume for her Strange Invisible Perfumes line.

woman_with_roses_by_saperlipop

Woman With Roses by Saperlipop

The olfactory version of The Rose With The Broken Neck uses a set of noted to figuratively break down the rose. From dousing it in cognac, then dredging it in spice before exposing a woody stem this is a perfume which lives up to the potential Ms. Balahoutis has always shown in the botanical perfume discipline where she works. Her ability makes you forget she is using all natural components. The Rose With The Broken Neck is a beautiful perfume….period. It is an example of olfactory art….period. It lives up to its title in every way by stressing the rose throughout its development.

sip rose 2

The Rose With The Broken Neck opens with the rose drenched in cognac. The first impression I got when I wore this was boozy intensity before the rose arises out of the alcoholic haze. I prefer the acrid feel of cognac over the smoother tones of rum which is the usual alcohol component. The sharp edges the cognac brings is something different as it makes the rose work overtime to get noticed in the early moments. As the alcohol burns off vanilla and nutmeg pick up the spicy facets of the core rose note and they transform The Rose With The Broken Neck from barfly to gourmand. I was so impressed with this transition because as I write this I can see a reader thinking it might be abrupt. Ms. Balahoutis’ touch, and understanding, with these botanical ingredients allows for a smooth switch in character. As The Rose With The Broken Neck moves in to the base there is another kind of distinct transition to woods as guaiac and vetiver take over the latter stages of development. All of this is done with precise skill to make all of this flow evenly.

The Rose With The Broken Neck has average longevity and below average sillage.

TheRoseWithTheBrokenNeck

There have been some who have advanced the thesis that natural perfumery cannot be considered olfactory art because it does not contain synthetics. I wish I could make those naysayers sit down in front of The Rose With The Broken Neck, and others of Ms. Balahoutis’ fragrances, and challenge them to say these do not rise to the level of olfactory art. Art is art and should be experienced as a whole composition not judged solely on its components. The Rose With The Broken Neck is another example of how Ms. Balahoutis’ deep knowledge allows for her to accomplish anything she wants to do; even living up to a visual title in a bravura performance.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Strange Invisible Perfumes.

Thanks to Strange Invisible Perfumes we have a sample of The Rose With The Broken Neck to give away to our US readers only. To be eligible leave a comment naming your favorite visual title or your favorite Strange Invisible Perfumes fragrance. The draw will end on May 8, 2013.

Editor's Note: The Rose with the Broken Neck is a limited edition for Spring 2013

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

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, EIC

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34 comments

  • Lisa says:

    Hard to name a favorite when it comes to Strange Invisible Perfumes, but for now I’m madly in love with Black Rosette. It’s such an exquisite example of what a gifted perfumer Alexandra Balahoutis is. Thanks for the draw opportunity…

  • Deanna says:

    “There have been some who have advanced the thesis that natural perfumery cannot be considered olfactory art because it does not contain synthetics.” Would love if you could expand on this at some point — wasn’t all perfumery natural at one point? Why would synthetics make better art? Isn’t creativity with limited materials the very definition of great art? This is so perplexing!

  • Alissa says:

    I’ve been borderline obsessed with Strange Invisible’s Lyric Rain since I read about it some time ago. While I don’t think I’ve ever actually had the opportunity to smell any SI Perfumes in person, your description of The Rose With The Broken Neck definitely got my attention. I’d like to get better acquainted with these natural perfumes, especially since you’ve convinced me how artful and well orchestrated they are.

  • TaffyJ says:

    I absolutely love Fire and Cream. It is very much of an era gone by. Retro sexy.

  • Yile says:

    I really love the scent of Aquarian Roses 🙂 Its a beauty thats hard to describe! 🙂

  • Gloriana says:

    Visual title ?
    Bullet with broken wings by Smashing pumpkins
    I haven’t tried strange invisible perfumes but I think I would love rose with a broken neck

  • Somerville Metro Man says:

    Deanna- The thesis goes like this; perfume prior to synthetics was meant to re-create nature or seen as functional to cover up unpleasant odors. With the advent of synthetics with the use of coumarin in Fougere Royale in 1884 was the beginning of expanding the perfumer’s palette. The thesis goes that now they were not limited by the ingredients of nature and could have the ability to create things not of nature and combine things to create whole new accords never imagined by those perfumers pre-synthetics. There is also a belief that synthetics are a necessity for longevity as fixatives and that longevity somehow is important to considering what is or isn’t olfactory art. I hope it is obvious by the way I write about the best of the natural perfumers that I do not agree with this. As the discussion has become more focused over the last year with the community attempting to create a language of olfactory art all its own I want to make sure that when I encounter a natural perfume that is as good as The Rose With The Broken Neck is that I at least label it for what I believe it to be.
    Mark

  • ringthing says:

    As a rose, spice and woods lover, this sounds fantastic! My favorite visual title is A Lab On Fire What We Do In Paris is Secret. The mind boggles with possibilities 🙂 Thanks for the draw and review.

  • brie says:

    Mark-
    thank you for that wonderful response to the question posed by Deanna for that same question popped into my mind as well. there are some beautiful natural perfumes out there from some wonderful companies (sonoma scent studio, 1000 flowers, providence perfume co, tallulah Jane, strange invisible perfumes and i could go on and on) and I do consider them olfactory works of art…nice to see that you agree :)!!!
    As always great review!

  • Sarah Lathrop says:

    I am so curious about this one! Strange Invisible Perfumes seems like such a lovely line. Of the scents I’ve smelled, I like Fire and Cream best.
    I do live in the U.S.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • Tama says:

    Thank you, Mark, for creating a big lemming! This sounds fantastic. As far as the art goes, I think it requires even more artistry and skill to create a truly fantastic natural perfume.

    My favorite SIP is Magazine Street, so far.

    I’m in the US, in case it matters.

  • sujaan says:

    I too have some very favorite naturals, SSS and Providence, also Slumberhouse, that’s natural too, right? Currently my favorite SIP is Fire and Cream and this Rose sounds great! I love the idea of a “barfly to gourmand” journey.

  • breathesgelatin says:

    Not sure I quite understand what a “visual title,” is, and I haven’t tried any Strange Invisible perfumes. I’d most like to try Moon Garden or Epic Gardenia. I do live in the U.S. Thank you for the draw!

  • Michelyn Camen says:

    Sujaan, slumberhouse uses a high proportion of naturals but the fragrances are not Natural. SSS creates both natural AND synthetic fragrances. Always with beautiful raw materials
    Breathesgelatin – A visual title in another song “trippin on a hole in a paper heart” by stone temple pilots or using harlan ellison again..the documentary about his life- called dreams with sharp teeth. Your mind pictures an image, just like you can picture a rose with a broken neck
    Visual titles evoke emotions where note and numbers do not

  • Lori L says:

    Fire and Cream is my fave SIP and I’m in the US! This one is going to be great. Thanks for the draw! 🙂

  • Martha says:

    My favorite visual title is The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. I’d love to win a sample of the perfume with the ominous name. The roses, and the white face photos in this post are deliciously creepy. I’m in the U.S.

  • Mary Carol says:

    My favorite from Strange Invisible Perfumes is Fair Verona. I live in the US. Thank you for the drawing!

  • Maggie Mahboubian says:

    Visual titles make so much sense when related to fragrance. So many perfumes are named after their main notes, but when a perfumer chooses a visual title, there’s more to the picture. I’ve always admired Alexandra Balahoutis’ name for her line, Strange Invisible Perfumes, simultaneously quoting Shakespeare and capturing the tone of her work.

    Thank you for raising this issue of what constitutes art in perfumery. One of the oldest definitions of art is mimesis which refers to imitation or the act of resembling. Just because pre-synthetic perfumes imitated or attempted to resemble that which already existed in nature did not mean they were not art. They were interpretations nonetheless and very much in keeping with the realist tradition of the time.

    The introduction of synthetics expanded the perfumers palette and allowed them to explore more options, but to claim that it is not possible to create art with a natural palette is simply polemical. Not all natural perfumers are creating soliflores and many mixed-media perfumers are doing just that. So would a soliflore perfume not be considered art? Furthermore, there is a whole other argument about art versus craft; let’s save that for later . . . We need to do some serious work about this issue before we make claims. Hopefully, a discourse can begin.

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    the SIP fragrance that has always fascinated me is Fire and Cream…as far as visual titles are concerned, Serge Lutens always choose intriguing images and descriptions to describe the personality of his fragrances!! i reside in the US

  • Lauren says:

    I have been dying to try Strange Invisible Perfumes and the rose with the broken neck sounds amazing.
    My favorite visual title might have to be “Through a Glass Darkly”. It’s visual, but it doesn’t paint the clearest picture (and neither does the film). The film is as beautiful as its title sounds.

  • Ginny M says:

    I really wish I knew more about this line. I’m dying to sniff Black Rosette, Lady Day and Magazine Street, but I already know I love Fire and Cream!

  • Maureen says:

    I always liked the title “East of Eden” and The song “East of the Sun” . I have never tried any Strange Invisible Perfumes, but I’d love to try The Rose With the Broken Neck…such a great name. I live in the US.

  • Meg T. says:

    My favorite SIP scent is Aquarian Roses. I just was able to smell a sample of Aquarius too, which is part of their Zodiac line, and it was amazing. Something about those Aquarians 🙂 I sampled The Rose With the Broken Neck before Valentine’s and it is amazing. Hope luck is on my side for this one!! 🙂

  • Hemla says:

    I searched the song. it’s really nice, I’ll listen to it a few more times to further soak it in, but wow, love how multidimentional this perfume sounds, with so many evolutions… hope I win an introduction to this one 🙂
    visual title… never thought of that… let’s see I have a book titled ‘Let Food be Thy Medicine’ (quoting hypocrates) I always loved how this title stands out, and is so… visual.

    Hemla

  • Debra says:

    I love Fair Verona – both the title and the scent. Such an interesting conversation about what makes something art. Or not. I am always interested in the artists intent. What world are they working to create? What sensations, moods, feelings.

    Thank you for the generous give-aways. Always appreciated!

  • Stacey says:

    I sure love Strange Invisible Perfumes. It’s one if my favorite lines. My equal favorites are L’Invisible and Urban Lily. Really want to try this one!

  • mridula says:

    My favouite has to be Arunima. They surely come up with beautiful names at Strange Invisible Perfumes. Thanks for the draw.

  • Laurels says:

    Haven’t tried any SIP before. This one sounds wonderful. My favorite visual title is probably The Floating Opera by John Barth, although I suppose there’s an auditory element there also.

  • Steve T says:

    I have not yet had the pleasure of trying any of the Strange Invisible Perfumes line, but I very much intrigued by Peloponnesia. I would love a scent that transports me to my memories of Greece in the summer, and it seems like this would be the one. If the cypress is anything like that in Tom Ford’s Italian Cypress, and the citrus and sea air notes are as present as I hope, I might be looking at a new summer signature scent.

  • wefadetogray says:

    I guess my favorite visual title would be London After Midnight (band and old movie name) or Garden of the Arcane Delights (Dead Can Dance) or Dew in the Grass (Sea Wolf). I think I can go on and on so I will stop 🙂
    I havent tried any SIP perfume yet though I’d love to!
    I am in the US

  • Omer M. says:

    My fav. visual title would be “Jasmine my attire” of course notes of jasmine with leather and oud.
    Or “Swimimng with sharks” w/ notes of Patchouli and Mimosa

    US