A while back I tested out a lovely sample pack from Art of Perfumery, an artisanal perfume line based in Grasse. Founded on the principle of complete artistic freedom, Art of Perfumery commissioned 7 of the world's top perfumers - under the condition of anonymity - to create their dream scents, without constraints on cost or creative direction. The results were truly "for perfume lovers in search of the exceptional."

However, I made quite an egregious error when I checked out the line for the first time. I loved #3 and #5, but when I got to #7, I quickly scanned the description and thought, "Rose and amber. Another Stella. Pass."

Boy, was I wrong.

I stumbled across my #7 sample last weekend and fortunately decided to give it a whirl. Aptly described by the perfumer as "a rose drowned in amber and so much more," the scent opens with green, almost underripe citrus, giving way to a heart of rose, tuberose, jasmine and cassie. The overall effect here is of white flowers and rose and is far lighter and airier than I imagined it would be.

Now the amber. AOP 7 has such a dewy, "wet" quality to it that when the perfumer refers to "a rose drowned in amber," this is exactly what you get. It's watery and lush - far from the Stella copy that I was expecting. Madagascar vanilla and musk round out the composition and add some additional warmth to the base.

AOP 7 is heartbreakingly beautiful and I can't believe I've been ignoring it all this time. Now I can't stop wearing it! (By the way, DO read the full description from the perfumer; it is beautiful and shows just how much thought and hard work went into creating this.)

7 and all its friends are available on the Art of Perfumery website; if you're not ready to buy unsniffed, I recommend picking up a sample for 3 euro.

And...can you name the cheesy 80s song from the title?