TOP 5 ROSE PERFUMES OF ALL TIME

I never thought I’d say this, but rose perfumes have completely won me over. For years I was not a fan of rose-centric fragrances, I found them too traditional, more like rose water than a perfume. Maybe it’s the evolution of modern perfumery, maybe my nose matured, or maybe I finally discovered the kind of rose that speaks to me - rich, textured, and sensual. In particular, Bulgarian rose feels more addictive than old-fashioned.

However it happened, one recent rose discovery knocked a long-standing favourite out of my top five fragrances of all time! If you think you don’t like rose perfumes, you might just be smelling the wrong ones. Here are my top 5 rose-centric fragrances, the ones that changed my mind and completely stole my heart.

1. Atomic Rose by Initio Parfums Privé

   
   

   This is by far my most complimented rose perfume and I adore it. It's a very easy-reach rose fragrance that lives up to it's name - the sillage is atomic! The smooth blend of rose, vanilla, amber and pink pepper give me everything I want in a fragrance - sensuality, sweetness and memorability.

   
   

   

   
   

2. Oud Satin Mood Extrait by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

   
   

   This one tops many of my lists which speaks to how amazing of a fragrance it is. Another one with nuclear projection and a vanilla touch, but this is much darker, deeper and creamier. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, but I ooze with sexiness when I'm wearing this.

   
   

   

   
   

3. Noir de Noir by Tom Ford

   
   

   This is the rose that made me realise my change in taste wasn't purely due to the advancements in perfumery, but more so about discovering rose perfumes that appeal to me. This fragrance was released in 2007 and I would describe it as an earthy, dry, rose. In this post I chose it as my "Boss Babe" scent, and it still is.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Cicuta by V Canto

   
   

   Unlike the other roses on this list, this is not as sensual, but more of a fresh, everyday rose. I blind bought this based on reviews and immediately regretted it - it smelled like everything I hated about rose perfumes! I put the bottle away to give time to decide what to do with it, but a couple of months later when I revisited it the scent or my nose had changed and I could now smell what was distinctly a red rose coated in vanilla and amber. This is a great offering from the house and the bottle represents the scent perfectly - rich, opulent and classic.

   
   

   

   
   

5. Radical Rose Extrait by Matiere Premiere

   
   

   This absolute stunner of a rose has now become my number 1 rose perfume of all time. I started off with a sample of Radical Rose (SB: Matiere Premiere do great 6ml sample bottles that come with atomisers) which I liked, but wasn't willing to pay the asking price for a full bottle; I was planning to get it on a sale when it was announced that the extraits would be released. As soon as I got my nose on it, I knew I immediately wanted a full bottle, and after one wear it easily entered my Top 5 for Life, knocking off another long standing fave. This rose and saffron blend it to die for, and the projection, longevity and sillage are insane. Portrait Of A Lady by Frederic Malle would have been in this spot, but I think they are similar enough to not rank both, with this being the better of the two.

There are other beautiful fragrances with prominent rose facets that could have easily made this list, and let me know in the comments if you'd like a list of those, but for this edit I focused strictly on perfumes where rose isn’t just present, it’s the main character.

For now, these are the five rose-centric fragrances that redefined the note for me, and proved that rose, when done right, is anything but predictable.