I’m happy to hold my hands up and say that the intricacies of fragrance creation are usually lost on me, and I tend to base my opinion on fragrances purely on whether I like them or not. Therefore, I’m a pretty rubbish candidate for reviewing scents with any level of depth beyond “I like the way it smells”.
I’d never actually heard of Roger & Gallet before I was invited to the press event just before I went on holiday, but I really enjoyed finding out more about the brand who specialise in all variants of fragrance including the prettiest little soaps and of course, personal fragrances.
Up until I started blogging I had a very closed mind with fragrances and wouldn’t give them the benefit of the doubt. Since I’ve attended fragrance workshops through the blog, I’ve learned to allow fragrances time to develop and take into account the fact that our own pheromones will alter the way something smells; so if I don’t like the smell of something on someone else, it doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t like it on myself.
Rose Imaginaire is a good example of this as on paper I thought this smelt way too floral for my tastes and to be honest, if I wasn’t part of my role to spend time getting to know products to give them the full work-over, I probably would’ve left it there. Rose Imaginaire doesn’t actually contain rose as a scent, but it does hint at a rose-like aroma. The top notes are fruity (wild Italian strawberries and mandarin), the middle notes are more floral without being too sickly (Jasmine and Violet) and the base notes head a little more woody with Patchouli and Sandalwood.
It is the sort of fragrance that has a bit of bite on first spritz, but settles down nicely to a pretty, gentle scent that isn’t too intrusive or overly girly. It’s definitely more of a day fragrance as it’s clean and delicate and I’ve been wearing it for a couple of weeks as my day fragrance.
In all honestly, it isn’t something that I’m head over heels in love with, but it is a scent that I enjoy wearing and that works in harmony with my own scent, so I’ll definitely finish the bottle; which is again pretty (in pink) without being too girly. I think Roger & Gallet have got the balance right with this as it’s the sort of fragrance that I think a lot of us would be very happy wearing daily; it isn’t Marmite and I don’t think anyone would find this off-putting, but again it’s quite a safe fragrance so I don’t think many would fall in love with it either.
Currently available exclusively at Marks and Spencer priced at £28.80. I think this might be a special price as it’s usually £32.
Disclosure: PR sample.
