Black Rose

[Aviatrix]

Exquisitely melancholy. The background scent to an ancient exequies. Heavy, dark and floral: a blend of roses, with a touch of amber and musk.

 

This is heaviest on the rose, almost a bit too much for me. There is a snuggly musk in the background as well, although I'm not getting any of the amber. It's a little too rosey for me, overall, but I like the concept.

[brilliantcat]

At first, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a dark, incensey, lovely rose which almost never happens to me since rose and I have a hate/hate relationship 99% of the time. Unfortunately, one of the roses remembered that and proceeded to take over and obliterate all the nice things that were going.

[KerylRaist]

First ever review, so I hope this is useful.

 

Bottle: Green roses. One lone rose on a bush. Stems, leaves, bit of dirt. Not much rose at all.

 

On: Whiffs of rose, like an aura of rose. Nose up close to my wrist, sweet amber. Slight edge of sharpness. Musk? I can't smell it if it's there.

 

Two hours later: Amber. Soft, sweet, powdery amber. Hints of rose, or maybe the memory of it, just a little whisper of it when I move.

 

Three hours: Amber that's morphed into really nice baby powder (If there is such a thing as the Platonic Ideal of baby powder, it smells like this.) on my skin, can't smell it from more than an inch away. Rose? What rose?

[psychocygnet]

I'm guessing that the amber and/or musk is amping on me, because all I got straight out of the imp was dust. After a while, it morphed into dirt- not a nice damp-earth kind of dirt, but a "huh, I bet this hasn't been washed in a few months" dirt. The rose is hardly there- if I sniff like crazy I get a faint greenish flower-stem smell, but it's drowning in grit.

 

Really, really not what I had hoped for.

Edited May 11, 2014 by psychocygnet

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Mostly rose and musk.

On my skin: Same.

 

Verdict: Roses and musk. Musk and roses. The amber seems to be hiding in the background. I'm not very fond of the musk in this blend. I think I will stick to my sugary florals.

[batsy]

In the vial: Dirt and roses. Dark.

 

On the skin: Leather. Okay? As it dried down, the rose pushed through, a dark leathery rose. Maybe that's the combo of the amber and musk tricking me? It really is prettier then I'm able to describe it. Rose blends are hit or miss with me, but I think the amber/musk combo is helping this one work for me. Might need a bottle.

[Veronica]

In the bottle, this is sweet, lush rose with just a hint of spice. Wet, it's the same aquatic rose of Peacock Queen and London, but it dries down to a lovely floral rose that isn't overbearing at all, just a soft rose scent, warmed up by the amber and spice. This is more of a rose-scented incense smell than a straight rose to me. Not quite what I was expecting, but very nice.

 

Awhile later, this is all spice over a creamy base, with just a hint of floral. Very similar to Morocco to my nose.

Edited February 22, 2015 by delighted

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Dry rose and musk.

 

Wet on my skin: That same dry rose, but it's dry because of the powdery amber and musk.

 

Dry: Much the same as when wet, at first, but then the rose fades a little and it becomes an amber/musk balance with a bit of lovely, dark rose beneath. This, to me, is a subtle and dark rose blend for someone who likes rose but doesn't want it to be the only note in a scent. Very pretty.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Rose and something. It doesn't smell musky, so it must be amber, which I'm not familiar with as a single note.

Wet: All incense.

Dry: Roses. That's really unhelpful considering what I said in another review about BPAL's rose notes having such a range. But "black roses" is the perfect descriptor. They smell like a dark, dark rose, in bloom and just about to go over and what I think is amber is taking off any green edges of the rose. Hearts in my eyes...

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Sharp, bitter and celery??

 

Dry: Not as interesting as I had hoped. Just rose. Soapy rose. There are other rose blends which I like much better, so this one will get swapped.

[roseus]

This is a dark, velvety rose. On the skin the musk and amber come out and add a warmth and spiciness, but rose is the star of the show. A dark, sexy scent.

[freyasfae]

This reminds me of a lot of the incense scents I tried from a huge imp lot I bought on Ebay and quickly learned that incense scents are not my wheelhouse. The rose makes this a little more likeable for me, but turns out I don't really like my rose heavy and dark.

[Winterbelle]

I've tried several rose blends, trying to find one that works for me. I think I'm just going to have to accept that it may not happen. Rose tends to go sickly sweet on my skin, and this blend was no different. It did somehow smell dark and musky, a dark, musky sickly sweet. It was quite strong and made my stomach queasy. It was so heavy it was almost oppressive. My sister told me I smelled like an old lady. An overall fail for me.

[Cazzadeathgirl]

bought an imp of this a few days ago, well, i knew it was going to be dark and heavy, just didnt realise how much so. i dont get much musk, just an over strong rose fragrance which seems to be a little artificial to my nose. its a fresh imp so maybe a few months aging will dull down the power of this thing. wearlength, its a good 6-8 hours. so far not for me but will revisit in a few months and see how it is

[joopjoop]

I received this one as a frimp, and I was excited to try it although it didn't really sound like my thing. I LOVE rose, but I tend to like fresher, lighter florals and amber is a tricky note on me at the best of times.

 

Wet, this smells equal parts rose and musk, and I can't smell the amber at all. After about 10 minutes on my skin the amber comes out and the musk gets stronger and the result is ... not good. I'm on record as favoring 'old-fashioned' scents, but this one smells old-fashioned in a bad way; like a musty funky bathroom that has had a rose air freshener working overtime for too long. After an hour, I had to wash this off - not for me.

 

As always, though, I appreciate the opportunity to try new things - you never know!

[Ms.L]

Black Rose smells exactly like I thought it would when I first tested it a few years back: deep, rich, musky with a hint of sweetness. It's a big, bold rose. Slightly old-fashioned (which I see as a compliment) but doesn't feel dusty or soap-like. It's juicy, ripe. Voluptuous. Like a rose that's almost past full bloom.

I don't really get the amber from the description, which is a shame. On my skin it's definitely heavier on the musk. But there's a hint of something darker, almost incense-y. It's definitely sexy in a red-lipstick and all-black outfit kind of way.

Wear notes: it's heavy, definitely not a summer scent for me. Dry down is more musk than rose, smells great right through.

Definitely worthy of my full bottle.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Ms.L

[Casablanca]

Black Rose is similar on my skin to Black Lily, just with the heavier rose flower. The added darkness takes on a powdery quality at first, as if someone has walked the garden, found some flowers too pale for her liking, and peppered them with black dust. The musk presence here is clear. I barely pick out amber, and only when I look for it based on the listed notes.

At a half day, I can still smell Black Rose, which for me is a good wear length. My skin eats scents like a glutton. By now, Black Rose has become a rose-tinged skin scent on me.

It's interesting to compare this side-by-side on my arm with The Book: Black Rose is darker with lower throw and that powdery quality, which I don't get from The Book.

[lizabelle]

This is a very green rose, similar to The First Rose, but much darker and sharper. It almost ceases to be a floral scent and turns completely green, with an bitter sharpness on top of everything. There's a touch of powder that gets stronger as the scent settles, but for once this isn't a powdery amber bomb on me--it's a softer, more floral powder that must be coming from one of the rose notes. This is unique enough as a pseudo-single-note that I might just have to get a bottle; I love the sharp treatment of rose here, and how dark and green the scent is overall. This one could easily be unisex.

[VetchVesper]

This is aptly named. This is a dark, heavy, velvety rose scent. There's a dryness to it reminiscent of blooms long withered but still fragrant. Rose is a note that is hit or miss for me, but this is one I enjoy. Very elegant.

 

ETA - I happened to put this on with Kyoto in another spot, and the overlapping scents, oddly, seem to work for me. An unexpected combination!

Edited January 27, 2017 by VetchVesper

[Spaztic]

I get dark dirty (as in dirt speckled) roses, the roses don't seem young/juicey. It's more of a dried rose

I get some musk too but I don't get the amber (too bad I love amber)

[Coldfire]

Imp: Super heavy dark air freshener rose.
Wet on Me: I'm giving up on Rose notes. she has it out for me.
Dry: nuh -uh

[achildoftime]

Black rose, to me, smells a lot like a whole rosebush. It's leafy and woody, but it's also very dry. The petals are dry and cracking, but the stem and such are a bit more supple. I get some amber and some general resins, but it mostly just reminds me of high-end rosy potpourri. If I didn't have preconceived associations with rose, I think I'd like this more.

[milo]

A very strong 'dark' rose. Not picking up any amber. This is the quintessential example of roses I do not like, strong, heavy and aggressive. Not for me, but nice to try.