My garden is crazy with roses these days. They splash pink and mauve near the street and waft fruity, peppery fragrance to my neighbors’ porches. I’m greedy with them, and four vases of Madame Isaac Pereire, La Reine Victoria, and Jude the Obscure in varying stages of decrepitude crowd the dining room table (I love their perfume best just as they start to shrivel), and another few vases are crammed on the mantle.
But other than on the stem, the scent of roses doesn’t move me. Sure, I love the occasional spritz of Guerlain Nahéma when I’m feeling over the top, and a dose of Parfum d’Empire Eau Suave is marvelously fresh on a warm day, but otherwise rose can feel institutional and even dowdy. But now, when my garden is flush with roses, it seems right to revisit two often overlooked rose-centered fragrances: Lancôme Miracle and Estée Lauder Intuition…
