Perfume Review: Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d'Homme

Rose d’Homme, as the name suggests, was meant by Mademoiselle Rogeon, the genius creator of Les Parfums de Rosine line, as a rose fragrance for men. I would urge and beg any woman who has decided against trying this perfume, because of the word “homme” in the title, to give it a chance. I am not prone to liking scents created for men and often find unisex scents leaning in masculine direction, but Rose d’Homme is a different story altogether. While entirely suitable for a man to wear (though I would guess an average man not interested in perfume might be put off by “rose” in the title), Rose d’Homme is a scent that any woman who likes rather dark, warm, sophisticated rose fragrances would enjoy wearing. From the briefly hesperidic (bergamot) and earthy (vetiver) beginning, to the soft, sweet caress of the middle notes of vanilla and lavender, to the exquisite honeyed yet somehow at the same time dry base of rose with a hint of blackcurrant and vague accord of mandarin and even more vague one of jasmine, Rose d’Homme is a chic, extremely attractive and incredibly well-blended fragrance. I must add that although patchouli and leather are listed among the notes, they do not make an appearance on my skin. I do not miss patchouli but am a little disappointed that leather is not evident to my nose. Trying to come up with a scent that smells even a little similar to Rose d’Homme, I realized that there wasn’t one. Voleur de Roses by L’Artisan is much more about patchouli that it is about roses, Rose de Nuit by Serge Lutens is a darker, amber-heavy chypre that has a very powdery feel to my nose, Une Rose by Frederic Malle is darker still, a woody and earthy blend with a piercing geranium note. Compared to these three rose fragrances that could be also considered unisex, Rose d’Homme, though also somewhat a nocturnal, deep scent, is much softer, more “rounded” and understated, and, to me, much more wearable and enjoyable. Rose d’Homme is available at Aedes, $98.00 for 3,4oz. *The photo is from Aedes.com.