Oriflame Mirage: fragrance review

One of the few and far in between fragrances composed by Françoise Caron for Oriflame (as per the company's official info), Mirage had the stunning visuals to turn heads even before smelling its intense "magical broth" scent. The intensely green bottle and the red-haired heroine representing it, dressed in emerald flowing gowns (red enhancing the green) had me salivating even before holding the lovely rollerball vials they used to make and trying it on my own skin with all the apprehension reserved for ritualized experiences.

This most striking of colors, green being the color of horror movies and sorceresses' brews, is taken for a wild ride in Mirage. The peppery, mysterious and lush smell of vetiver and sticky, sweetly spicy peppery resins engulf its core of dark, gothic rose with thorns attached. One can almost feel the ache of those "pricked thumbs" and the foreboding of [the] "wicked [which] our way comes" as per Macbeth's second witch's famous lines. But unlike Lady Macbeth you won't long to wash it off your hands, if it catches your heart. And it very well might, unless you're of the gourmands and fruity florals brigade, in which case step away like hordes of Huns are stampeding down your path.

Unusual for Oriflame fragrances Mirage was very potent and with a high sillage, making it a true love-it-or-hate-it perfume. And I say "was" because it is discontinued. In the hopes of having it re-introduced, even under another name, I am writing this elegy of its emerald-hued heart of darkness.

A Taste for Rose: Exploring the Many Nuances of Roses

May and June are traditionally the months when the queen of flowers, the rose, makes its regal appearance in gardens across the world. Shakespeare said it well "At Christmas I no more desire a rose. Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows; But like of each thing that in season grows." [from Love's Labour Lost] Ovid wrote: "The sharpest thorn often produces delicate roses" and a Turkish proverb claims "Thorns and roses grow on the same tree".
Rose has captured the imagination of all cultures, of all men. Its association with beauty, romance and physical perfection dates back a long, long time ago and doesn't show any signs of waning. All it asks is our appreciation. Like in Saint-Exypery's Little Prince, we must tend our rose (literal and metaphorical), for it to bloom and to reach its peak. But bend to actually smell the roses, literally, and you find a nuanced, multi-layered cornucopia of fragrant notes, evolving, tingling, provoking you into reaction... Rose isn't a simpleton.

The Rose Family
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple’s a rose
 ~Robert Frost (1874–1963)  

There are Five English Rose Fragrance Descriptors
According to David Austin Roses, the following descriptors, much like in wine and tea (or indeed like perfume!) serve to guide like a compass into how rose can have specific nuances in its scent profile.

Myrrh: An aromatic, anise-like scent; among roses it's found almost exclusively in English roses.
Fruity: Because the rose is related to apricots, pears, apples, strawberries and others, fruity notes often surface.
Musk: A romantic scent, it often comes from the flower's stamens. People are especially sensitive to the scent.
Old rose: The classic rose fragrance, it's found almost exclusively in pink and red roses.
Tea rose: A strong scent — like that of fresh tea — that often dominates a flower. Other fragrances can become evident over time.

An Expert's Favorites 

Michael Marriott handles as technical director and head rosarian for David Austin Roses and along with fellow scent expert Rober Calkin regularly oversees the production of roses. Not every variant can fit the needs we have. As Elenor Roosevelt once said: "I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall".

Here Marriot has chosen his top David Austin roses, based largely on their scent. His list of favorite rose variants:
Gertrude Jekyll: Marriott says this is considered the quintessential old rose fragrance: strong, rich, complex and well-balanced. (USDA Zones 4-8)
Munstead Wood: Also a strong old rose scent, it features notes of blackberry, blueberry and damson plum. (Zones 5-9)
Lady Emma Hamilton: A strong, fruity fragrance (pear, grape and citrus) that complements its orange and yellow coloring. (Zones 5-9)
Scepter'd Isle: With a strong myrrh fragrance, this variety has won the Royal National Rose Society's award for fragrance. (Zones 5-10)
Harlow Carr: Another old rose floral scent that complements a classic old rose form. (Zones 5-9)

Read more tips on appreciating the scent of live roses on this link
pic mmdelrosario.hubpages.com