Perfume Review. Roses and Vanilla: Rochas Tocade and Bond No. 9 Broadway Nite

Today’s review is for two scents blending rose and vanilla, a combination I adore. Obviously, rose and vanilla are not the only notes in either of these fragrances; Tocade has a very noticeable magnolia note and Broadway Nite is quite heavy on violet and what I perceive to be geranium. Still, to my nose and on my skin, rose and vanilla are the core ingredients of Tocade and Broadway Nite. However, despite the shared notes and despite the fact that both were created by Maurice Roucel (the nose behind Musc Ravageur, 24 Faubourg and many others), Tocade and Broadway Nite could not be more different. It is as if, having been given the task of creating a rose scent for Bond No.9, Monsieur Roucel went back to Tocade and made it more heady and generally glammed it up, creating a gorgeous, capricious, pampered diva out of a sweet, lovely, pretty house-maker.

Tocade is a soft comfort scent, unobtrusive enough to be worn in any environment, lovely before bedtime. It starts with a blend of rose, magnolia and vanilla on my skin, the magnolia note wears off quite soon and, till the drydown comes, Tocade is mostly rose and vanilla on me. In the drydown, rose becomes much less evident and amber joins the mix, adding its sweet warmth to the scent and bringing it up a notch on the comfort scale. This is not a glamorous fragrance, it stays very close to the skin and, unless you really over-spray, is likely to go more or less unnoticed by others. It is however guaranteed to bring a smile of contentment on your face whenever you catch its floral-gourmand aroma.

Broadway Nite is a different story altogether. It is a bombshell, glamorous, heady, with a luxurious trail of sillage. It would not tolerate being worn with your coziest sweater, wrapped up in a favorite old blanket, reading a book. Broadway Nite demands to be taken out on the town; don’t dare to put it on unless you are dressed très chic, with your heels very high. I heard Broadway Nite being compared to Lipstick Rose by Frederic Malle and I can see the similarity in that both mix rose and violet, however where Lipstick Rose is powdery, soft, and warm, Broadway Nite is aldehydic and dazzling, and, despite the fact that it has vanilla and amber in the drydown, it strikes me as a “cold” scent. To compare it to Tocade, the rose note is much more loud and prominent in Broadway Nite and stays very noticeable in the drydown. There is a certain green-ish quality to this scent that is probably due to the mentioned violet note, honeysuckle and iris. I could have sworn there was geranium in the blend as well, Broadway Nite has that sharpness I associate with this note, but, for what it’s worth, it is not on the official list of ingredients.

Broadway Nite is a heady, demanding scent and does not always work on my skin; once in a while it throws a tantrum and becomes very harsh and cloying; it is not full bottle worthy for me. Tocade, on the other hand, gets worn often and is always even-tempered, soft and comforting; I will be definitely buying a bottle.

Broadway Nite can be found in Bond No. 9 boutiques or online, for example at Beautycafe.com, and costs $110.00- $178.00. Tocade retails for as little as $21.69, at Scentiments.com

*The photo of Maurice Roucel is from Editions de Parfums, and is here mainly because, on this particular picture, the perfumer looks remarkably like my father, only with a more luxurious moustache :-)