500 Years

Dare I say, a dead ringer for the character of Fosca in Simone de Beauvoir's novel All Men Are Mortal? Fosca was an immortal man around the age of 500 when his story was recorded. It is more than naïveté to correlate this legend with that the perfume concocted, though even I must admit my struggle to come to grips with the fragrance, but no, spending more time with it has also unwrapped a commonality found in the happenstance. Here we have a rose encased in plastic, dug out from a cigar box tucked away in an unused attic. In Fosca, we have a heart beating dully as the day. Past loves have been forgotten. Their passions tumble under the stampede of generations, their smiles and heartbreaks pass by in a season.

It might've just been my body chemistry, but when I initially tried this out of the discovery set, it smelled like olives on me at first, which I found odd... but I just tried this again after about a month, and that olive smell is gone. Now it's just an initial citrus bite giving way to soft, gorgeous, spicy dark woods with a hint of chocolate. I am definitely going to give this sample a work out. I don't predict buying a full bottle because hello, expensive! I just had to spray more on, sitting here reviewing it because it started to get too skin scenty and I'm all over here like, "Baby, don't leave me!" Would definitely purchase if I had a much higher income!

This came in my Eldo sample set, and I really liked it! Not sure if it is office appropriate due to it being a bit on the stronger side but the the blend of rose and deeper richness of cocoa and woodyness was perfectly balanced to me with a nice muskyness that really lifts it up and makes it a bit more daring. For a small while I did get more of a jammy rose that reminded me a little of some Lush products but then it balanced itself out really well. However, I feel like if I was going to buy one of Eldos more expensive line, I would buy The Spice Must Flow instead as it was similar to this but contained a bit more spicyness that elevated it.

like other ELO scents i've tried, this one is very long lasting and very potent. it does have a distinct chemical note that never really goes away in my opinion, and yet i can't bring myself to throw away or re-gift the sample i have. i find myself continuing to reach for it to try and figure out what that intoxicating heaviness is lurking beneath the amber-cast rose and smoky bitter cacao body. definitely not a scent to wear casually, i think this would be best suited for a night you have long plans for (if you know what i mean). apply carefully, this scent is powerful and it WILL linger forever on whatever it touches.

mature and strong, definitely not suitable for me, but would wear well on, say, a self-assured older woman sitting down to nurse a glass of wine at the bar. she holds a mysterious smile, and the lingering smell of sweet rose and saffron entices you to follow her through the crowd—but if you get too up close, her smile turns sharp, if not fatal, and the sweetness starts to taste like dry burnt rubber in your mouth. you realize you might have taken on more than you could handle… the perfume almost overpowers your senses and begs you to turn away, but you almost don't want to. maybe that's the appeal.