Beauty Review: Kiehl’s Aromatic Blends Patchouli & Fresh Rose – Deborah Tan

Kiehl’s Aromatic Blends Patchouli & Fresh Rose

Growing up, I always saw the rose as a cheesy flower. The flower silly girls insist their boyfriends buy them, the flower girls pretending to be sophisticated love, the flower boring people choose. Whenever friends asked me what my favourite flower was, I would sniffed at any suggestion that the rose could be mine. I didn’t like the rose because people associated it with romance and love, I didn’t like the rose because of all the silly meanings attached to it.

But as you grow older, you come to realise that being obstinately resistant to something just because it’s popular is silly as well. It’s like a desperate cry that says, “I’m different. Really!” Although the rose still doesn’t rank as one of my favourite blooms, I have become one of those who appreciate just how well-rounded a flower it really is.

It’s beautiful and its uncomplicated look makes it a great decoration choice. Compared to the hydrangea or the peony, it’s hardier and it lasts longer in a bouquet. And then, there is the scent.

I know what you’re thinking. Rose = bandung, right? Not so. A true rose scent – not a chemical composition – is divine. If you’ve not come into contact with a well-made rose essential oil, you need to find a chance to do so. Because it is only when you have had a sniff at pure rose essential oil, can you begin to appreciate the heady, intoxicating scent of the flower WITHOUT the saccharine overtones.

I like the scent of rose but I don’t like it when it’s mixed with other notes, as with what you’ll find in most perfumes. If I like a particular note, I don’t want it to change or morph into another scent. So, when Nicolette from Kiehl’s told me about the brand’s new Aromatic Blends, Patchouli & Fresh Rose, I was very excited.

Kiehl’s launched its range of Aromatic Blends last year with four series – Vanilla & Cedarwood, Orange Flower & Lychee, Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit, and Fig Leaf & Sage. The beauty of these scents lies in the fact that they are uncomplicated. Made with 1/3 of the ingredients found in most fragrances, these scents contain a higher concentration each key ingredient to give a purer expression of the notes. The newest Patchouli & Fresh Rose is no different.

The rose oil in this new range of Aromatic Blends is extracted using copper vessels used over 100 years in a labour-intensive process to produce an oil with a scent closer to that of a living rose.

The entire range consists of a Body Cleanser, a Body Lotion and an EDT.

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To ensure that the scent really lasts, layering is important. This means taking a shower with the cleanser, which is also formulated without sulfate-based surfectants, massaging on the body lotion, and then spritzing on the EDT. I found the entire experience luxurious and utterly blissful. Lost in the heady scent of the rose, I felt as pampered as I would be in a spa.

At the launch last year of Aromatic Blends, we were asked to pick out our favourite scent. Although I liked the Orange Flower & Lychee, and Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit ones, I didn’t really have a clear favourite. With Patchouli & Fresh Rose, I can now say I do have a favourite scent in the Aromatic Blends family.

Thank you, Kiehl’s, for producing this fifth scent. I really, really like it.

Kiehl’s Aromatic Blends Patchouli & Fresh Rose is available at all Kiehl’s stores islandwide. This set of body products was given to Material World for review purposes. All opinions are the author’s own. You may read our advertising policy here.

About The Author: Deborah Tan is a founder of Material World. After 10 years of working in magazines Cleo and Cosmopolitan Singapore, she is now a freelance writer/editor who works on this website full-time. She likes liquid eyeliners, bright red lipsticks, tattoos, rock & roll, Mad Men, and Suits. The Earl Grey tea addict is looking forward to Kiehl’s adding something with bergamot in it. Follow her on Twitter @DebTanTweets.

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