Serge Lutens — La Fille de Berlin

Decanting from 2013 bottle (exactly like the one on the image).

A rose with thorns — literally, as Lutens describes her. Not the powdery, romantic rose of classic femininity but something darker and more unsettled: geranium and palmarosa make it green and slightly metallic at the opening, almost bloody, before the rose heart asserts itself as deeply jammy and honeyed. The moss and patchouli base keep it earthy and grounded rather than sweet. One of the more accessible Lutens but with enough edge to stay interesting — the kind of fragrance that behaves itself in public while smoldering underneath. Don't mess with her.

Notes:

Top notes: Rose, Geranium
Middle notes: Palmarosa
Base notes: Honey, Moss, Patchouli