I’m a borderline perfume hoarder. Spending hours in Sephora’s perfume section is not uncommon for me, perusing the latest selections. Learning the notes, the creative vision behind the brands, and actually smelling the creations…I find it to be titillating.
The fragrance house Henry Rose offers a chic selection of unisex scents with elegant packaging to boot.
The brainchild behind this revolutionary fragrance house is Michelle Pfeiffer. The greatest challenge facing the fragrance industry is arguably the lack of ingredient information available. Anytime you see ‘fragrance’ listed on an ingredient lineup, that word alone can play host to over 200+ undisclosed compounds as it’s regarded as an industry trade secret. Henry Rose aim’s to disrupt the secrecy around fragrance by disclosing every single compound. This level of transparency in the fragrance industry is groundbreaking.
There are currently 11 launches: Jake’s House, Last Light, Torn, Dark is Night, Fog, Smyth, Queens & Monsters, Sheeps Clothing, Flora Carnivora, Char, and Windows Down. All of these are described as being unisex and genderless. With that being said, there is definitely a personality to each scent, and as with most fragrances, I definitely don’t think these are a one size fits all unisex bunch. Some are much more masculine, some more feminine – it’s really all in what you are going for and prefer.
The first scent I tried was Jake’s House. Immediately I am wrapped in clean cotton. A salty, mineralic breeze blows through the curtains, and a cozy amber candle flickers on the nightstand. Jake’s House captures something so clean and fresh, yet still inviting. I personally really enjoy this scent. The most bizarre thing to me about it though is that my husband can’t smell it on me at all. He literally has no idea I put perfume on even when I shove his nose right over where I sprayed it. It’s bizarre! I’m not sure if it’s because it smells like fresh linens, but it’s definitely a softer wearing fragrance on me. Personally, I really love this one, but it’s not the one you wear when you’re trying to make a bold statement (which is normally my M.O.).
The most floral and powdery of the bunch is Last Light. Total honesty, this one is just not my cup of tea. It’s too soft for my personal liking both in the delicacy of the notes themselves and the overall wear. It definitely has the most feminine vibe of them all and reminds me of how my mother’s lipsticks smelled when I was a child. It’s described online as a fresh floral with woodsy notes…and this doesn’t translate at all, at least not on my skin. If you spray this on a strip of paper, it definitely smells as described and it’s really lovely. However, it completely changed on my skin, more so than any of the others and really just doesn’t work for me.
Dark is Night is rich. I’m talking caramel drizzled on a vanilla bean sundae with toffee bits sprinkled on top and a side of crackly waffle cone. It is gourmand and if you love amber-like scents, this will be your JAM. There is a base of patchouli with this one too, so it is a long lasting scent that will linger in your hair, on your pillow, on your coat collar. Wherever you spray it, it will remain with you until washed out – and then some. Upon initially trying this scent, I thought it could be full bottle worthy for me.
The greenest of the bunch is Fog. It’s crisp; effervescent almost. Airy. I would argue this is the lightest wearing scent of the 5 on my skin, and that was okay with me. This is not a scent I would normally go for as it pulls a bit too citrusy for my personal taste. I feel this is the most masculine of the collection, also. It smells nice on my husband! A hint citrusy and a touch soapy. I actually liked this on him quite a bit.
The full bottle worthy scent for me was Torn. Oh. My. God. When I sprayed Dark is Night I thought that was the winner until I tried Torn and there was no question in my mind which scent I would get a full size of. Soft, creamy gardenia petals. The freshly scraped pod of a vanilla bean. Tall aromatic green blades of vetiver. This scent is beyond sensual and all encompassing. The notes when you think of them all blended together are kind of odd which in my mind, the name Torn, could not be more appropriate. It’s not too floral, not too warm and sweet, not too earthy, it’s just…perfect. Categorizing this one is difficult and might leave you feeling Torn. The night I had this perfume on, I had been snuggling my baby. When I handed her to my husband, he immediately looked up and said ‘Wifey’. I knew I had found my scent. There haven’t been many scents on my recent perfume journey that have made him think of what I traditionally have smelled like in the past, but this was the scent that he associated with me – my personal scent.
I still have yet to try Smyth, and Windows Down as those all launched at later dates.
Overall, I feel this line has something to offer for a wide variety of people. I think it’s fantastic that they offer a sample kit to test prior to splurging on a full sized bottle. Even better? The cost of the sample set ($20) can be put towards your full sized bottle ($120) so you only ever pay the price of the full size, and there’s free shipping on orders over $75.
*This was purchased by me. All thoughts are my own.
Boldly Lauren 
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