Absolue Rose or Die

I loved this one on paper, but on skin, the balance of notes is quite different - fortunately, it's even better!

Rose or Die is a smoky, woody, black tea and rose scent. There is no citrus listed in the notes, but there is definitely a bright citrus-like note to my nose - it smells just like the fragrant smoke from citronella coils. The smokiness really comes out on skin especially. This to me is very much like Nest Indigo's older sister, but with rose and citrus instead of fig, and added smoky overtones.

After about 30 minutes the notes blend together beautifully. This smells like enjoying a *strong* lemon iced tea in a rose garden, with a citronella coil burning to keep the bugs away. It's tart, floral, tannic, spicy, woody and creamy. Just fantastic. I wish this stage lasted longer, but 3 hours in we have reached the dry down, which is mostly a sweet iced black tea. Sadly, the citronella is gone, but a bit of the spicy woods remain.

This has strong projection for 2 hours and then fades to almost nothing, though it lasts faintly on skin for around 6-7 hours.

If you like Nest Indigo, definitely give this one a try. It is a little less versatile because of the smoke, but would be a great scent for cooler weather, evenings, dates, and going out. Will have to do more testing to see if it is worthy of a full bottle, but impressed so far. 9/10 scent but besides the initial few hours I was not impressed with the performance, so 8/10 total score.