When the mesmerizing Spanish actress, Rossy de Palma, decided to create a fragrance, she selected rose as her main theme. While the choice of such a classical flower for the star of Pedro Almódovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown might have struck some as surprising, the perfumers Antoine Lie and Antoine Maisondieu weren’t taken aback. They were the co-authors of de Palma’s scent, and when it was released as Eau de Protection by the niche perfume house Etat Libre d’Orange, the result was anything but staid. As the perfumers knew, rose had many faces, and it could be made as smoldering or as innocent as an artist’s skill allowed.
Eau de Protection opens up on a spicy but fresh accord of green citrus peel and black pepper, but as the rose unfolds, so does the dark note reminiscent of damp soil and antique woods. Spice, honey, green sap, and fruit, the notes present in rose absolute, are cleverly highlighted in the fragrance, but the overall effect is abstract. The perfume is memorable not only because of its opulent character—aided by the generous dose of natural rose essence—and original interpretation, but also for doing away with the usual gender labels. For a man who loves patchouli, amber and dark woods, the prominent rose notes in Rossy de Palma’s Eau de Protection aren’t too challenging. On the other hand, a woman who wants to eschew the cliché of “sweet and pretty” would find it a perfect statement fragrance.
In the same group of unusual roses is Frédéric Malle’s Portrait of a Lady. The name brings to mind blasé elegance and sophistication, except that the fragrance is bold and assertive. Like many of Henry James’s heroines, to whom the name alludes. Portrait of a Lady is a rose made dark and dramatic.
The creator of Portrait of a Lady, perfumer Dominique Ropion, is renowned for his ability to engineer powerful fragrances, the kind that leaves a mile long sillage. While opulent is an understatement when it comes to Portrait of a Lady, it’s a radiant rather than heavy perfume. The honeyed sweetness of natural rose rises up like champagne bubbles, and as the rose warms up, it wraps you in a warm, velvety cocoon. The perfume’s story doesn’t finish here, however, and soon the chocolate-like patchouli and creamy sandalwood float up, leaving a shimmering, dark trail. Like Eau de Protection, it’s appropriate for both men and women, as long as they’re ready for an adventure.
My other favorite rose with a twist is a softer, gentler creature than the two I’ve described. Chanel No 18 was created by the renowned perfumer Jacques Polge, who was inspired by the house’s jewelry boutique at 18 Place Vendôme. To capture the glow of a diamond, he used rose and ambrette seed. Ambrette, with its scent recalling cool musk and unripe apples, tones down the sweetness of roses and instead accents the iris in the perfume’s drydown, that most unfloral of the floral notes. Nothing about Chanel No 18 is predictable, but it perfectly attests to Coco’s maxim, “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
Photography by Bois de Jasmin, a rose from Edmond Roudnitska’s garden. It smelled of cloves and tobacco.
What are your favorite unique rose perfumes?
Here is our running list (I will be adding your favorites as you keep mentioning them in the comments):
Etat Libre d’Orange Rossy de Palma’s Eau de Protection
Chanel No 18
Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady
Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin
L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Voleur de Roses
Dyptique’s Eau Capitale
Stella McCartney
YSL’s Paris
Frédéric Malle Une Rose (Rose Tonnerre)
Neela Vermeeire Mohur Extrait
L’Artisan Parfumeur Traversée du Bosphore
Caron Parfum Sacré
Elie Saab, Essence Nr. 1 Rose
Nin-Shar by Jul et Mad
Le Labo’s Rose 31
Tauer Incense Rose and Rose Kandahar
Mancera Roses Greedy
Guérlain Rose Barbare
Atélier des Ors Rose Omeyyad
Ormonde Jayne Ta’if
Guerlain Nahema
Amouage Lyric and Epic
Majda Bekkali’s Mon Nom Est Rouge
Rostracto by Rogue
Nectary by Jorum Studio
Tocade by Rochas
Tom Ford’s Cafe Rose
Hermès Galop
Paco Rabanne Calandre
Yves Saint Laurent Paris Eau de Toilette
Serge Lutens La Fille Tour de Fer
41 Comments
Margaret Mastrianni: Jo Malone’s Red Roses! December 23, 2024 at 9:07am
Betty Ackerman: L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Voleur de Roses is a favorite dark, Gothic rose. It seemed to have been discontinued for a bit but has reappeared on their website. May have to gift myself a bottle… December 23, 2024 at 9:15am
Janet Kubalak: I am in love with Dyptique’s Eau Capitale. It’s not a strictly-rose perfume, I guess, but has rose, peppercorns and something damp that makes it a perfect winter perfume for me. December 23, 2024 at 9:27am
Cyndi: My favorite rose perfume is La Fille de Berlin. That’s a beautiful scent that I always get compliments on when I wear it. December 23, 2024 at 12:34pm
Kathryn: I too love Eau Capitale (wore it yesterday). But my favorite is Lyric woman by Amouage. I don’t know if it been reformulated- I purchased my bottle several years ago. Such a gorgeous spicy rose. December 23, 2024 at 9:54am
Sariah: Thank you for the reminder to pull out the lovely No 18. I bought it as my birthday gift to myself the year my son was born (2013!)
I also love Stella McCartney. Rose + Amber. December 23, 2024 at 10:11am
Samantha: Hello, is the current version of Chanel 18 still as good as the previous versions? December 23, 2024 at 10:50am
Kimberly: Thank you for the review Victoria. My favorite is Portrait of a Lady which I tried after reading one of your reviews. Another rose perfume that I added to my collection after reading your review is La Fille de Berlin. I would also add YSL’s Paris. While it is not strictly a rose fragrance, it does feature a bouquet of bright rose and greenery softened by a violet powder. I love that you are writing reviews again! December 23, 2024 at 10:13am
Colleen Geary: I have Une Rose (now renamed) and my husband loves it! December 23, 2024 at 10:16am
Samantha Anastasiou: Hello,
This was a lovely recommendation as I live rose and I look forward to trying this.
I have been enjoying reading this blog and the community here for years-although I don’t comment, this is probably my first time!
I have a question that hopefully can be answered. I have some confusion when the recommendation is for a classic fragrance that have been in production for awhile. My perfume collection is all vintage, as I am a vintage and antiques collector and that’s also my business. When recommending classic fragrances, I am wanting to know what eras are best , or if purchasing new is still as good as the vintage version due to the change in ingredients list. This comes up quite a bit in discussions and a lot of the Information and experiences are shared here in the comments, which I love. The problem is that I should be taking notes because I forget! If there were a database online of perfumes and their production change dates with ratings regarding this that would be amazing. Perhaps this exists, and I’m unaware. If so, I would appreciate any suggestions or if anyone has this information kindly point me in the right direction. Than you! December 23, 2024 at 10:37am
Hamamelis: It was important to have seen Ukraine through your eyes in the last months, but it is lovely to read your perfume prose again! I have many unique roses, here are a few. Yesterday I wore Mohur Extrait, the rose is even more wrapped in spices and woods than in Mohur. It is very beautiful. Today I wore another hidden rose by Betrand Duchaufour, Traversee du Bosphore. Here the rose is wrapped in saffron, honey, pistachio and apple. Vero Profumo’s Rozy is breathtaking, in all versions. The rose disguised by blackcurrant, honey and passionfruit. December 23, 2024 at 10:43am
Samantha: These sound lovely thank you for sharing! December 23, 2024 at 10:51am
Hamamelis: They truely are! Samantha are you Sam from euroglamourzone? December 28, 2024 at 10:12am
Samantha Anastasiou: No, but now I’m ever so curious about another Sam and will look up euroglamourzone!!! 😆😘 December 28, 2024 at 11:09am
Aurora: Thank you very much for writing about Eau de protection, I should try it, so far I have only one ELDO, Fils de Dieu du Riz et does agrumes and dearly love it. I nominate the ornate and opulent Caron Parfum Sacré as m’y unique rose. Caron discontinued classics like Fleurs de rocaille, Bellodgia, Or et Noir and En Avion are back, it’s great news, praying they are in recognizable shape or better, Caron finally saw sense. December 23, 2024 at 11:04am
Aire: Not in recognizable shape, sorry to report. We were at the Paris Caron boutique a few months ago looking for Narcisse Blanc. I sniffed all the new formulations and am still reeling from the experience. December 27, 2024 at 3:00pm
Safran: One special rose I love is from Elie Saab, Essence Nr. 1 Rose. I thought it was gone, but I managed to find a bottle at Tkmaxx just last week, which made me so happy.The nose is Francis Kurkdjian. What is so special about it? To me it’s the perfection of this scent.
A rose without any distractions, apart from the vanilla. Otherwise a warm, luscious, balanced, happy red rose.
Another rose scent, that I love is Nin-Shar by Jul et Mad, the nose is Sidonie Lancesseur. A liquor-ish voluptuous rose, that shines on my skin. December 23, 2024 at 11:10am
Kaisa: Those do sound lovely! December 24, 2024 at 4:09am
Mridula: I love POAL which I found through your writing. I also love Le Labo’s Rose 31 and Tauers Incense Rose and Rose Kandahar. Every one of them’ is different from the other. From spiritual to cerebral, these perfume convey every idea there is through the lens of rose. December 23, 2024 at 12:55pm
Robin Alexander: I like Mancera Roses Greedy December 23, 2024 at 1:07pm
Tara: Lately I’ve been enjoying Guérlain Rose Barbare and Atélier des Ors Rose Omeyyad. December 23, 2024 at 1:08pm
Sam: I tend not to gravitate toward rose perfumes, so the fact that I adore OJ Ta’if probably means true rose lovers won’t think much of it 😉 December 23, 2024 at 1:52pm
Kaisa: I almost loved it! It was just a tad too sweet for my taste… but lovely indeed. December 24, 2024 at 4:10am
Courant: I wear Rossy/Protection a lot. I only have about 30mls left of an older ‘Nahema’ and I put it on my wrists with Rossy as the main event. It’s pretty close to heaven. December 23, 2024 at 2:21pm
Kaisa: Lovely write-up! I wish I were able to like Eau de Protection, but for me La Fille de Berlin, which does have a metallic edge to my nose but not too much, is a better fit. My other favourite roses – in addition to POAL – are Amouage Lyric and Epic, and Mohur. I also enjoy Majda Bekkali’s Mon Nom Est Rouge, which I feel is like a softer, darker version of Epic. I also enjoy Rostracto by Rogue as a kind of wearable art. And I must say, despite not being a fan of Tom Ford at all, Noir de Noir is unique and I crave it about once or twice a year in the depths of winter. Did I mention I love roses? 😉 December 23, 2024 at 3:54pm
Kaisa: Oh I forgot Nectary by Jorum Studio! Peach, roses, a touch of animalic and a pinch of oud. I wish it were stronger though. December 23, 2024 at 3:57pm
Perfumatrix: Ooh! I’ve got one! Tocade by Rochas. This playful, vanillic rose was created by Maurice Roucel in 1994, I believe; has been re-formulated but is still wonderful fun.
I also favour Tom Ford’s Cafe Rose (no, not the one from 2023; the older one from 2012, which does not contain the coriander, cardamom, frankincense, and ylang in last year’s version). If you like a rose-patch combination but want a twist on the POAL theme, try this one if you also enjoy the scent of coffee! December 23, 2024 at 4:16pm
Aire: Not a fan of rose fragrances, even though I invariably receive compliments when wearing them. It’s a strong emotional situation for me, bittersweet memories and perhaps I feel too exposed when wearing them. Anyway, I like Galop, own it, but almost never wear it. December 23, 2024 at 4:27pm
briony hey: I love all the rose perfumes you’ve described as well as Lyric, Parfum Sacre, Calandre, Spirituelle and Rose Chypre. There are so many lovely ones. December 23, 2024 at 5:42pm
Marie: Love the Tauer Une Rose Chypree, which I may have heard about from this wonderful site. I picked up the package at my post office box the day before everything closed down for the pandemic, March 17, 2020. Then a week later I got Covid and lost my sense of smell for many months. Une Rose was my main retraining scent, along with several other fine perfumes. Took about a year for smell ability to fully return, and I’m so grateful. Present faves include Kilian Good Girl Gone Bad and Hermes L’Ombre Des Merveilles. Keep writing, dear ones, December 23, 2024 at 6:54pm
Amanda M: The original Paris Eau de Toilette by Yves Saint Laurent immediately comes to mind when I think of roses in perfume. My all time favourite – such a huge and beautiful floral bouquet accented by roses. My most beloved is the vintage 80’s version. 🥰🌹♥️ December 23, 2024 at 8:31pm
Elizabeth Le Glaire: Do I have a favorite rose? For the most part, a rose fragrance to my nose is either very good or great . I’m currently really enjoying Serge Lutens recent rose release…I don’t remember the name though I’ve put a huge dent in the 100 ml bottle. I tho it’s called La Tour de Fer. It’s green and lively and smells very much like a rose garden on a windy day. December 24, 2024 at 2:14am
Deanna: The beautiful Rose de Protection reminds me A LOT of Nicolai Rose Oud, a powerful dose of rose with a hint of oud. Lovely ! December 24, 2024 at 11:07am
Lisa Shepard: One of my favourites is Atelier Cologne’s Rose Anonyme. It feels complicated and mysterious to me, yet wearable for any occasion. December 24, 2024 at 4:17pm
Marge Clark: My favorite rose is Tauer Le Maroc Pour Elle, but where can I find Portrait of a Lady in the States? December 24, 2024 at 10:28pm
Julia: While most of the rose centered scents are mentioned that I like, I would add what I am wearing right now for Christmas; MFK Oud Satin Mood. December 25, 2024 at 3:50pm
Eva Mazza: Serge Lutens Sa Majeste La Rose
Goutal Rose Absolue
L’Artisan Parfumeur Drole de Rose
Malle Lipstick Rose
Papillon Tobacco Rose
These are lovely rose perfumes, all very prominent rose December 25, 2024 at 8:41pm
Cristina G: I like Perles de Lalique- an aethereal icy rose made for snow-fairy, Rose de Petra SHL – for me it is a rose garden in the desert , Rose of No Man’ s Land- Byredo which I find a very romantic scent and Rose Saltifolia- Maison Crivelli- a beautiful salty airy rose for summer when you walk on the seaside. December 30, 2024 at 12:51am
Neva: I love Heeley’s Hippie Rose. It’s one rose I always want to have in my collection. It’s musky with a tame patchouli. The other one that comes to my mind is the rose perfume that always puts a smile on my face. It’s You or Someone Like You from ELDO, a lovely fresh peppermint rose. January 2, 2025 at 7:47am
Neva: Heeley’s Hippie Rose is my favourite rose. It’s musky with a tame patchouli. The other one that comes to my mind is the fresh peppermint rose by ELDO: You or Someone Like You. January 2, 2025 at 7:53am
Mari: I have a sample of Eau de Protection that I need to try again now that we’re having cold weather.
As for favorite roses, I think Jo Malone’s Red Roses, Diptyque L’Ombre dans L’Eau, and Jouissance Bague d’O all deserve a mention. Bague d’O is a recent discovery whose metallic notes I’ve been enjoying. January 9, 2025 at 4:49pm