Rose and saffron make such a perfect combination; it is no surprise that perfumers return to the theme over and over. There is L’Artisan’s lovely Safran Troublant, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s Cimabue, Agent Provocateur and Ormonde Jayne Ta’if, among others. Then there are the numerous rose + saffron + agar wood (aka oud or oudh) combinations, such as the much-loved and much-missed Dark Rose by Czech & Speake (I keep hearing rumors it will relaunch, but then it never does), and A.MAZE by The Peoples of the Labyrinths, and of course, the many variations by Montale. Washington Tremlett’s Black Tie is thus only one of many, and when I first tried it, it got tossed unceremoniously into my purgatory basket — not because I wasn’t sure if I liked it (I liked it right away) but because I thought I ought to try it next to its most obvious cousin (or at least, its most obvious cousin in my collection), A.MAZE, and I wasn’t in the mood at the time.
As sometimes happens, Black Tie lingered in the basket far longer than I anticipated, but I finally fished it out over the weekend and tried it next to A.MAZE. Agar wood is not listed in Black Tie’s notes (saffron, walnut, galbanum, salvia, rose, geranium, tuberose, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, musk), but the two fragrances are certainly similar — if Black Tie does not have an oudh note, it mimics one, albeit without the occasionally overbearing medicinal haze that sometimes announces the presence of agar wood. Black Tie starts out with hints of bright citrus and moves quickly into a sheer, greenish rose over deep earthy woods. It has a spicy warmth, but it is neither dark nor heavy (it wears nicely in hot weather), and the tuberose does not have much presence. The saffron is quite noticeable, but I would not call it overdone; Kevin, however, would beg to disagree. If you don’t like saffron, consider yourself warned.
Black Tie is nearly linear after the opening notes calm, and the dry down is very smooth. If you have struggled to love the Montale rose + oudh scents but found it rough going, Black Tie might be more to your liking: there are fewer jagged edges, and the sillage is (much) more manageable. A.MAZE is a more herbal scent, and the combination of henna, saffron and agar wood in that one lends it a more obvious medicinal cast, so that while I do love A.MAZE, the Black Tie wins out handily on the “wearable” front.
Washington Tremlett Black Tie’s lasting power is quite good, and it could easily be worn by either sex. It is available in 100 ml Eau de Toilette ($160). For buying information, see the listing for Washington Tremlett under Perfume Houses.
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This sounds lovely! I recently tried the L'Artisan Safron Troublant and loved it! Most of the food that I eat has saffron in it but having a saffron scent is very different!
Also worth trying for saffron: Comme des Garcons 888.
Thank you for this review! My favorites: rose and saffron! Must try — especially when it passed your tough test — xoxo
M, I think you will like this one — but maybe you're tougher than me
I like this one a lot too, but it gets less love at my house than its louder brother Royal Heroes. I am going to put this one on tonight while I read. Thank you for the review (and reminder).
I think Gregorio should give this one a try.
I need to give Royal Heroes another try, along with My Fair Lady. Neither of them attracted me as much at first sniff as the Black Tie. And have not yet tried their 4th, MPH (and don't love that name).
Thanks I will definitely search for this one too!
This line is new to me, but they sound worth trying. I adore Montale Roses Petals, Safran Troublant, and quite like A.Maze, though at first I dismissed it as a wimpier Montale…does that mean “more wearable” will smell like “less” to me?
Well, this one, like A.Maze, doesn't whack you over the head with oudh or anything. I wouldn't even swear there's any in there, although there is some nice dark woody stuff in the base. So — wimpier in that sense, but I don't find either this or A.Maze “wimpy”. Victoria at BdJ complains that the Montales lack subtlety, so perhaps that is the other side of the coin.
MPH! Ugh.
Royal Heroes smells like a higher quality Burberry London for Men to me–boozy and sweet.
To me, this scent screamed GERANIUM! and SOAP! and had monster sillage and longevity. It had a certain vintage charm, but I personally find the Montales, which are more straight up “leathery rose” much more wearable… At least when you're in a femme fatale mode… But then I'm a sucker for leather and don't normally like rose (most roses turn unpleasantly soapy on my skin or get a dried potpourri vibe…)
That is interesting, I don't find it soapy at all! But if you don't like rose, I can see why you'd prefer the Montales.
Hi, Robin — do you know of any rose-saffron compositions that build on saffron's metallic characteristic, rather than the gourmand aspect? When I was in India last year, I picked up a small vial of perfume oil called “Hamir” at one of the many attarwallas' shops. It's a lovely, spare rose-saffron accord, like burnished copper. I wish I could find such a thing in Western style fragrance.
-j.
Gosh, there must be one but I don't know it. I suppose Safran Troublant doesn't qualify? Or does it?
Hi, Robin — I found Safran Troublant too gourmand, with the vanilla and rice-pudding aspect. CdG 888 seems to trade more on the metallic quality, but there's a lot more going on in there. I think rose and saffron as an accord is beautiful — I would love to see what Duchaufour or JCE would come up with!
I did not think that was what you had in mind. I did not find 888 nearly as metallic as I thought it would be, and no, it isn't a rose scent. Duchaufour could do it!
While the juice itself might not be my cup of fragrant tea, that's a superbly written review, Robin!
Why thank you!