The newest arrival at the Jonathan Ward London library of gorgeous scents is Josephine’s Rose. I love a rose fragrance; this one of course is no exception. If you adore the sweetness of fragrant roses you won’t be disappointed by this, but it’s deep, too. I mean really deep. I struggle to describe scents but this has olfactory depths that feel almost endless; it’s not so sweet that you can’t detect other notes that give it an edgy spice, such as saffron. There are musks in there too that give a full blown smell you can almost taste. If I was to liken this to a physical thing, I’d say a huge, couture velvet ball gown; soft but statement making. Wonderful. Jonathan uses inspirations from everywhere and Josephine’s Rose is a dedication to the world’s most famous namesake, Josephine de Beauharnais, lover and wife of Napoleon. While we probably most associate her with being told, ‘not tonight’, she was in fact dedicated to roses and filled her garden at Chateau Malmaison with over 250 different rose bushes. Another little known fact about Josephine is that inbetween getting rumpled with Napoleon and writing him endless love letters and she found time to write the first history of rose cultivation.
If you read Josephine’s history, she was a bit of a one. And I think we could say the same about the candle. It’s pure, innocent rose with a big, sexy twinkle in its eye.
Josephine’s Rose goes on sale tomorrow at www.jonathanwardlondon.com
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