A Rose Without A Rose (Perfume Review: Balenciaga Rosabotanica)

I don't know why I sprayed Balenciaga's winter release Rosabotanica (a flanker to Florabotanica) I reviewed the original one here, and was a bit underwhelmed by it. Well, looks like I feel mostly the same way about Rosabotanica. I think it's because of the beautiful bottle. It called me, it beckoned me, but as usual, the bite is more interesting than the chew. Rosabotanica is an interesting idea: 

The fragrance opens with crystalline floral accents of hyacinth and creamy green notes of fig leaf, refreshed by the natural green character of petitgrain. The experimental rose offers bright vegetal notes while sparkling, slightly bitter drops of grapefruit and fresh spicy notes of pink pepper and cardamom enhance its personality. The white ambery dry-down is cleared by a structure of vibrant and luminous white woods, made of cedarwood, vetiver and patchouli with clean woody notes.

I wish the perfume was as interesting than the copy release. It opens with an indistinctive floral melange: nothing to write home about.  Then a burst of green comes in: hyacinth, and it is slightly sour. I thought, okay, why not? The sour lasts a little bit - it's the heart of the perfume - and then it dries down to this generic shampoo scent. This literally smells like if you dried shampoo in your hands. It's shockingly generic. And never did I ever smell the rose here, which is weird because it's in the name. Never mind the fig - that note also never materialized on my skin. This is one of those instances that I am glad that the longevity is weak: it's gone before I could get really annoyed at it.