Whenever I am given a bouquet of roses, I instinctively lean in to smell them. What a disappointment! Most roses are bred to be completely scentless, and the only fragrance that clings to them is that of green foliage and wrapping paper. Being deprived of perfumed roses, I have a sentimental fondness for tea rose scents that remind me of freshly cut flowers. My most recent contender for a pretty English rose is Diptyque Eau Rose, a composition so uncluttered and straightforward that it manages to succeed where many rich blends fail.

At first glance, Eau Rose does not appear to be exciting—it is a bright rose etude painted in pastel colors. What quickly becomes apparent is that it retains this effervescent, uplifting character throughout its development. The fragrance does not have any metallic sharpness that sometimes accompanies fresh rose notes, nor does Eau Rose veer into a powdery direction. It hums the same happy tune, but it sings well.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

I admit it. I am a perfume Casanova. The moment I meet Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue, I immediately go through my roster of amber favorites. I have to make sure that we have not met before. The classical amber accord based around labdanum is an ever popular fragrance style. It is sweet and warm. It is redolent of vanilla, the perfume note equivalent of an easy tune. Add some incense or dark woods, and the amber becomes sexy and dark. The problem is that after a while this theme gets repetitive, unless a composition offers some new and original twist.

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Some perfume materials have an unwavering place of honor—rose, jasmine, sandalwood. Ylang ylang, on the other hand, has often been called “a poor man’s jasmine” and given various inferior descriptors. Today, of course, that proverbial poor man must be swimming in cash to afford ylang ylang oil in his perfumes, but ylang ylang still loses in a competition with jasmine. I would like to come to its defense and explain why ylang ylang is such a fascinating material that should be compared to nothing but itself.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

I am glad that I did not review Chanel No 19 Poudré within the first few days of wearing it. My initial impression was negative, but today I realize that it was so mostly because No 19 Poudré is not No 19. It also does not have the brilliant, original character of its predecessor, nor does it leave such a deep imprint in one’s memory. What No 19 Poudré does well—and the reason I came around in my opinion—is to create a soft, tender veil around its wearer. It is comforting and mellow, a sip of warm green tea to the original’s dry white wine.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Does anyone else wear any of the Krizia fragrances? Although some of the best in the collection have bit the dust, Krizia exemplifies such an ebullient and vivacious side of Italian perfumery that it should be explored for this reason alone. Thankfully, the elegant floral K de Krizia by the great Maurice Roucel is still around. Unfortunately, some of my favorites are gone*: Teatro alla Scala, a composition of amber and tobacco, the coffee laced Spazio Krizia Donna as well as the effervescent and sexy Krazy Krizia. The latter is particularly fun—imagine Guerlain Shalimar dressed up for 1980s.

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