Perfume Review: Thorn & Bloom Wild Rose (Jennifer Botto) 2015+Every Rose Has Its Thorn Draw

Illustration by Victoria Frances @

“Every Rose has its thorn…” Poison, 1988

Nobody is perfect, including ourselves. No matter how often we go to the gym, how many anti-wrinkle creams we buy, or how much organic the food is that we eat, we will never reach perfection. However, I've always believed that true beauty was found in the appreciation of the tiny imperfections that make someone, or something, wonderful to admire and/or experience.

Jennifer Botto of Thorn  & Bloom

Jennifer Botto, the artisan natural perfumer of Thorn & Bloom, and a two time Art & Olfaction Top Ten Finalist (2016 for Bird of Paradise which also won The Indie Beauty Award Best of Show 2016, and 2017 for Limestone)  shares that same belief,  and expresses it throughout her all-natural creations. Her philosophy towards all-natural perfumery is that 100 percent  botanicals provide small nuances throughout the fragrance that one should look forward to, knowing that perfection can elevate beauty in surprising ways. This is exactly what I experienced when I first tried her Wild Rose eau de parfum.

Kirsty Mitchell©

This indulgent floral composition is like poetry for the nose, Wild Rose has a flow and a rhythm that at first seems a little out of place (possibly from the way that all natural perfume ingredients tend to develop in a fragrance), yet somehow perfectly continues to develop from opening to dry down. If one were to take a whiff directly out of the bottle you would assume that it was just an elevated version of a traditional rose composition, but we all know better than to judge a fragrance without applying it to the skin and allowing it to become one with your chemistry right? So there I sat, eyes closed, inhaling deeply as the fragrance mingled with my natural smell and that's when the appreciation of true beauty’s minor imperfections began to take place. The aroma of natural patchouli oil immediately greeted me: earthy, raw, beautiful but dirty, like perfectly manicured nails that had bits of fresh soil under them. Only after did the top notes begin to make way, it was like listening to a song from the outro first, but still a prelude of what's to come.

Kirsty Mitchell ©

Soon after the freshness of black pepper and tarragon lifted the perfume to the heights of the heavens and then gently hovered above thick clouds of Turkish rose petals and boronia blossoms, not too thick though-these voluptuous clouds of floral decadence were far from cloying. In fact, Jennifer expertly crafts the florals in the heart of Wild Rose in a way that the veil is just thin enough for handmade wild raspberry tincture to pierce its shining light through to say hello, much like the way the sun rise pierces through curtains in the morning like an all-natural alarm clock.

Kirsty Mitchell©

After the wild raspberry politely bows, it winks its eye and goes on its way allowing the petals and blossoms to continue to display their natural beauty. One thing I noticed is that although this is an all-natural floral fragrance I didn't get that waxy texture that I normally experience from natural botanicals instead, these flowers were creamy and velvety as if they had already fully matured with class and grace. As time passes the florals eventually submit to the patchouli once again, but now the earthy aroma brings  agarwood and myrrh together expertly- one balancing out the other to create an accord that's rich, musky, and still earthy but slightly sweet.

Kirsty Mitchell©

I found the staying power to be incredible for an all-natural fragrance; I credit it to the rich base notes that allow Wild Rose to last for 8 hours or more. The fragrance stays close to the skin but any one close enough to greet you with a kiss or a hug is sure to be enchanted by its wonderful psalm of nature’s beauty. Anyone familiar with my style of writing would know that I normally accompany my reviews with a prose or poem inspired by my experience with a fragrance, but as I previously mentioned Wild Rose truly has its own unique flow and rhythm and when something is that perfectly imperfect sometimes it's just best to leave it untampered.

Notes: black pepper, anise, tarragon, raspberry, rose, boronia, myrrh, patchouli, agarwood

 Disclosure: my sample of Wild Rose courtesy of Jennifer Botto of Thorn & Bloom; thank you kindly

The Nosey Artist, Contributor

Kirsty Mitchell ©

Art Director: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief.  The photos are from Kirsty Mitchell's Wonderland Series,(in this case Briar Rose) an award winning body of photography that  she began in 2009, in memory of her mother  who passed away from cancer in 2008. They are deeply emotional and dreamlike. Photography as poetry. Ms. Mitchell's work can be viewed here

The 30 ml size is pictured above

Thanks to Jennifer Botto of Thorn & Bloom we have a worldwide draw for one registered reader as for a  7.5 ml  travel spray of Wild Rose and two samples of your choice. Please comment below what you liked most about The Nosey Artist’s review of Wild Rose, which 2 samples you wou ld like to win in addition to Widl Rose from Thorn & Bloom fragrance. Draw closes 4/5/2017

We announce our winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so be sure to like CaFleureBon and follow our RSS feed or your dream prize will just be spilled perfume. 

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22 comments

  • Oooh, I love how natural all these ingredients are, and I love all of them — except for boronia, I’m not sure how that smells. I’ve never had tarragon in a fragrance before, that and Raspberry alone sounds really interesting. Thanks for the review and draw, I’m in Canada. 🙂

  • This sounds divine! Hey Nosey Artist you have a way with words and I feel like I can sense your excitement with this Wild Rose- I mean… ‘politely bows’ and ‘winks its eye’ is exactly what we’d love about these ingredients. cant help but be seduced by this poetic description. Patchouli and Boronia..swooning….a lot of collaboration and complexity between the elements.
    Bird of Paradise and Indigo would be my choice of samples – Thanks soo much for the eloquent review and the generous draw. I’m registered and in NZ.

  • ntabassum92 says:

    Intrigued by the description of non-waxy florals – I often smell florals that are overly waxy, and they end up reminding me of potpourri unfortunately. I love rose, so this sounds awesome. I’m in the US, and have never tried a Thorn & Bloom fragrance. Lovely review!

  • scentsible_gentleman says:

    I liked how well the nosey artist described the perfume without being all over the place or vague. I’m strict on patchouli in floral perfume and it seems it’s done well in this perfume. Rose is my favorite note in perfume so I hope after all the drawings I’ve entered I’ll get this one. I’m in the US and the two samples I would like are Savage Garden, and Stranger in the Cherry Grove. Thanks for the opportunity Cafleurbon.com and Thorn + Bloom.

  • If Wild Rose smells like all the colors in these beautiful photos, it must be wonderful. Wild raspberry with the rose sounds great. I like the idea of “perfectly imperfect”. For the two samples, I would chose Savage Garden and Orange Blossom. USA.

  • Lovely pictures in this review. And I really like the Nosey One’s comment that beauty lies in imperfection.
    I am always on the hunt for a good rose fragrance and would love to win Wild Rose. Others on my list are Evergreen and Stranger in the Cherry Grove.
    I am in Australia.

  • Beautiful review, I very enjoyed to read the Nosey Artist’s review, it is so interesting and nice. I love the natural ingredients. Wild Rose sounds incredibly fabulous, I would very love to win. And the two samples are: Limestone and Bird of Paradise. Thank you very much for the draw. I live in Europe.

  • I love the description of the flowers as “velvety” – I’ve always preferred this over the waxy floral scents but never been able to put it into words! Well done, and now I’m definitely intrigued.

    I’m in the US and would love to try Wild Rose along with Stranger in the Cherry Grove & Savage Garden. Thank you for such a generous giveaway.

  • I love roses in all their incarnations, and I like the connection between roses and perfect imperfections here. Natural perfumery can get a bit blobby, so I’d love to see how this works here.

    In addition to Wild Rose I LOVE to sample Limestone and Stranger in the Cherry Grove!

    I’m in the UK.

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    Wonderful! Like rose in perfumery elevates, similarly your review shines with or without poetry. The last paragraph of the review sums it all. The photographs are impressive too.
    Thanks to Jennifer Botto of Thorn & Bloom for the generosity & Cafleurebon for the opportunity. My choice of two samples are Bird of Paradise and Evergreen along with 7.5 ml travel spray of Wild Rose.
    Peshawar, Pakistan

  • The Nosey Artist, I do agree with you that real beauty will be found in tiny imperfections. Bravo!
    I was lucky and I have had a chance to try Wild Rose, two points here; first rose is not dominant here and second patchouli in the dry down is so powerful and natural and it is pretty close to Tom Ford Patchouli Absolu.
    My choices for two samples are Bird of Paradise and Citrine. Thank you!
    Live in US.

  • Lovely photographs! This review was written in such an intimate way that it easily draws the reader into The Nosey Artist’s experience. I would love to close my eyes “and inhaling deeply as the fragrance mingled with my natural smell”. The two samples that sound interesting to me are: Orange Blossom and Citrine. Thank you for this generous draw! I live in the US.

  • NiceVULady says:

    The inclusion of the beautiful photos really makes the statement. Evergreen and Bird of Paradise would be my choices. Thank you for the draw. I live in the uSA

  • MichelleU says:

    I loved the way the perfume was described, it gave me a sense of elegance and magic. I also loved the photos and the story behind them.

    I would love to try Stranger in the Cherry Grove and Savage Garden as the two additional samples.

    I am a reader from the EU. Thank you! Wish you all the best!

  • Nosey Artist makes this sound like a complicated and interesting rose. If lucky enough to win, I’d also love to smell Savage Garden and Bird of Paradise! USA

  • l love it when a perfume wears close to the skin, but are persistent in stayingpower and I adore roses in perfume anyway.

    Next to this wonderful sounding perfume I would love to try Stranger in the Cherry Grove and Bird of Pradise.

    I live in EU. Thank you for the draw!

  • doveskylark says:

    That raspberry tincture sounds so beautiful. I like decadent florals, but this sounds a bit more restrained.
    I would like to try Stranger in the Cherry Grove and Birds of Paradise.
    I live in the USA.

  • I went through their website. All the perfumes sound good.
    I would live to try the
    STRANGER IN THE CHERRY GROVE and EVERGREEN.

    IN USA.

  • Iphigenia says:

    I loved the way Nosey Artist describes Wild Rose. In this description the reader gets the notion of the perfume’s complex character and mysterious nature that lead the way to a world of true elegance. I am a big fun of all rose perfumes!
    I also adored the amazing and truly artistic photos that evoke the same mystery and beauty giving an extra emphasis in this review from the Nosey Artist!
    The two extra samples I would love to experience areL Stranger in the Cherry Grove and Savage Garden.
    I am a registered reader living in EU.
    Thank you for the lovely review and draw as well.

  • Thanks for the picturesque review of this natural beauty. Two extra samples would be:
    Stranger in the cherry grove
    and
    Evergreen

    Greetings from Switzerland.

  • I love when someone can create a unique rose based fragrance and do it well. Especially with natural ingredients. This sounds like it could be another. Id also love to try Savage Garden and Stranger in the Cherry Garden. I live in the USA. Thanks:)