L'Eau Rose
Balenciaga (2013)

This latest of the Balenciaga name rip-offs is another in the watery line. Cristobal must be turning in his grave.

It is the very lightest of scents, as were its antecedents, PARIS and PARIS L'ESSENCE. The blackberry is immediately apparent, the rose only slightly so and the background again as with the former two, is harsh and unpleasant. The fruit and floral depart quickly - there is no richness here - it's like those martinis where the bottle of vermouth is shaken in the general direction of the glass, but never makes it actually into the glass.

A light watery non-scent with a harsh base. Unpleasant, to say the least.

Hidden roseA fruity opening leads to a rose drydown, and rose clearly plays the lead. A mild violet impression - Balenciaga uses a lot of it in recent scents - is followed by a wood based base note, cypress mainly on my skin. The rose is synthetical and on my skin never develops into anything noteworthy. It is a very discrete composition with limited silage and projection, and a longevity of three hours. A rose is a rose is a ???