Harrods Rose
Bond No. 9 × Harrods (2010)

This kicks off with rose (no surprise there...) with red berry sweetness and citrus to balance the sweetness. A tiny pinch of bleue cheese gardenia hides underneath, while tuberose joins the rose, providing what I can best describe as "pink loudness." I think some of the sweet brightness may be coming from violet as well.

Given time, the tuberose becomes prominent, with the rose acting as more of a sweetener, while orange blossom joins to add a citrusy lift. Things get soapy a few hours in, and eventually, honey joins in under the soap. Once this hits the soapy honeyed tuberose stage, Harrods Rose seems to stay put and last for hours. At this point the Fracas influence is undeniable, but the smell is nice and the opening rose portion modernizes it enough to not feel like a rip-off. Not really what I’m into, so I’m voting neutral, but this is well made.

What sets HARRODS ROSE apart from the crowd is the hefty dose of ambrette, which to my nose actually ends up making this more of an ambrette than a floral perfume. There is an exotic feeling here, rather oriental, but not in any of the usual ways. No patchouli, no vanilla, no incense/oud, no culinary spices. What's more, to me this composition is not sweet at all. I detect no fruits whatsoever, just a huge helping of ambrette, along with a lovely bouquet of narcissus, rose, and tuberose. To my nose, the narcissus is by far the most dominant of the three floral notes.

I happen to love ambrette. Small wonder, then, that I love HARRODS ROSE! Although this comes in a gold-streaked light pink bottle and is marketed to women, my suspicion is that there are some gents out there who would appreciate this not-so-pink perfume very much. This is probably another case where the name builds up expectations, and people quite reasonably assume, "Oh, another rose perfume: pass." In fact, HARRODS ROSE is not a rose perfume--it's a hidden treasure!

A nice fruity, floral, rose scent. Elegant for day, but not enough punch for night. I was surprised that it was not an opulent rose. Harrods is such an opulent store with oud incense burning at the shrine to the Egyptian, owner's son and Princess Diana. This scent is like a dainty, English tea party attended by women wearing pearls. Not my style, but I appreciate the loveliness. The musk and wood are very subtle and almost nonexistent on my skin. My skin destroys sweet florals, so it only lasted 3 hours.

Beautiful, refined, sweet and floral, feminine, distinguished and very distinctively from Bond no 9...The initial spray is zesty fruity and guess that it must be due to white narcisse...very nice and pleasant and certainly different...then, I can detect tuberose heart notes, familiar from other Bonds...Harrods for her, Saks for her, Saks en rose; on this occasion the tuberose is lighter than in both Saks but very similar to Harrods for her..Dios mio!..I love this note,,,finally the musk, amber and cashmere base notes arrive slowly and they envelope you in a wonderful comfort zone of sheer luxury...Another memorable beautiful experience from the NYC House...Big thumbs up