Red Rose

[Rheliwen]

Red rose buds, with amber, clove, tonka, Indian musk, fir, and tobacco.

This starts out all sweet pine sap on me. As it dries it really develops. I smell the musk and cloves the most next. After a whole a sweet rose pokes it's head in and wants to dominate. I'm not a big fan of fir but it dissipates quickly and really works here. The amber lends that extra special sexy, come hither attitude. Overall really really good once dry.

Combined with White Rose it really is AMAZING!!! White Rose adds that extra bit of sweetness to balance it out perfectly. I have never ever bought a second bottle from the lab but I might with these.

[Dark Alice]

This starts out spicy and sexy. Like a couple doing the tango....

 

It dries down to a spicy, sexy red rose....It is beautiful...I love it....one of the few rose blends that I can wear without an allergic reaction so

[zankoku_zen]

Red Rose is all spice and tobacco on me. I actually quite enjoy it - I like the bitter almost herby tone to it with just the barest amount of rose peeking out. I agree that it does have a masculine vibe, esp. in comparison to White Rose.

Layered: I find that it does temper the creamy sweetness of White Rose, but White Rose's sweetness and rosiness overwhelms Red Rose. I think I amp up White Rose much more than Red Rose, since after application the spot that has only Red Rose is much more muted.

I find I like Red Rose much better than layered and definitely over White Rose itself.

 

ETA: So Red Rose has aged so that all of the components layer together beautifully. The amber has smoothed the tobacco and clove which is a plus. What isn't is that I get more of the red rose peeking out. Its' a very heady, sexy, dark womanly blend. But its still too much rose for me.

 

SAD PANDA face.

Edited November 20, 2015 by zankoku_zen

[sleepingdahlia]

This is just absolutely gorgeous, the cloves smell so fresh and strong and the rose is very dewy. All an all a lovely combination, very spicey and incense like on the dry down, but when layered with White Rose as well, is just brilliant I can't stop smelling myself ^^

[Iceblink]

This is great--there's a blast of rich red rose at first but the drydown is almost all spicy, clovey tobacco. Very rich, very sexy, and I'm not picking up the fir note at all which is great for someone like me who tends to amp fir to the nth degree. Fabulous.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Having layered the two Roses for my Valentine's date with my Fiance (they were a valentine from him, and a MUCH better call on his part than literal roses!), I'm now reviewing separately. Red Rose more obviously contains rose than does its White sister, but spicy amber is just as strong--and it's a very strong blend! It's rather like combining Blood Rose, my favorite rich sexy rose blend, with Smut or Snake Oil or something else with musk, resins, and spice. It also reminds me vaguely of LUSH--like Potion with rose instead of carnation. I really love it! It's like a combination of some of my favorite sexy BPALs, all in one. It stands alone very well, and I'm more likely to wear Red alone than White, but when you layer them it is seriously heady stuff! The vanilla tea from White is amazing with all the spice from Red, but on the other hand the actual rose almost gets drowned out by so many strong notes.

 

I like the symbolism of layering the two scents, but I would also wear either alone, just for very different events.

[cometgirl21]

I wasn't too sure about this one. Fir scares me since I don't like smelling like trees. However, all the other notes were promising.

 

In the bottle: Amber and a little bit of clove. If I sniff deeply, I get a whiff of rose.

 

Wet: Spicy amber backed by something, possibly the tonka.

 

Dry: Sexy spicy amber but not strong amber. The amber seems to be mellowed by the other notes. Just a hint of rose.

 

Dry, later: Dries to a nice light fragrance and I can smell the tobacco a little.

 

I thought I would prefer White Rose, but actually, this one is my favorite.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Alone, Red Rose is one of the best things I have ever smelled. No, seriously...This scent is everything that I love...intense, dark, spicy, warm. Ooohh la la! Unlike others, I do get a lot of rose in this blend. When I was a lot younger I used to wear rose essential oil that I blended with various spicy single notes that I got from The Body Scent in Seattle...This smells a lot like that. It's not like Harlot at all, though. It's far spicier and darker. This is everything that I wanted Harlot to be...and more!

 

With White Rose - Now this smells like a complex, well-rounded BPAL blend. It smells heavenly together...White Rose adds vanilla sweetness and coolness to the mix. At the same time, I feel like the two blends together almost cancel out the really spectacular, unique elements each one has individually. I really like the intensity in each blend when each one stands alone. I also like them together, too. I'll have to experiment with mixing these two more...

 

In any case, I reeeaaaallly love Red Rose!!! I want to smell like this ALL THE TIME! I hafta have more, and I'll die if I run out!!!

 

 

[dawndie]

In bottle: dusty spices

 

On skin: fairly strong cloves, almost too dry & spicy for my taste

 

Half-hour later: better, the musk has appeared along with the warm spice. This reminds me of Spawn of the She-Demon, dusty musky. Barely any rose to speak of though

 

Worn with White Rose: there's the great BPAL Rose that I love, but how weird that it only seems to appear when the two scents are combined! Creamy, slightly spicy roses. Really pretty!

[ObsidianSwirl71]

In the Bottle ♦ Spicy haze of red gold. Very well blended. Clove is the most distinct note - but it's not ... foody. I think this must be the fir and tobacco grounding it some. Thinking about it I can tell there's amber, fir, musk, tonka and rose, but it's so well blended ... even the clove pretty much just registers as sex-kitten spice.

 

Initial Application ♦ Holy sh*t. There's a red rose I can wear! Although it's not flagrantly rose by any means. Still seamlessly blended and maintaining a beautiful spiced red sexiness. I think the amber / fir / rose combination is remarkably nice in this. Although, again, I really have to concentrate to distinguish individual notes. It's voluptuous and lusty, but still serene and elegant.

 

Dry Down ♦ Neither of the roses have much of a metamorphosis during wear. Of course it does get a little faded and smoother. It just has a sexy glow. Like amber light rather than just regular earthly amber was used. This rose knows what she wants ... and furthermore knows she's going to get it ... and it's going to be delicious.

 

Beautiful.

[myoubi]

This smell gooooooood.

It's warm and spicy and rosey all at once. This is not your grandmother's rose. I smell the red rose and clove the most, and then the Indian musk and the pine -- I can't pick out any of the other notes specifically, but it's this gorgeous warm, ever-so-slightly aggressive blend that you can just wrap yourself in. It's beautiful. I love it.

[milo]

Wet, this is very spicy, with mostly cloves. As it dries, the red rose pokes out a bit, maybe with a bit of musk thrown in? I really like this, it reminds me of one of my fave Lush perfumes, Potion. Surprisingly, I thought I'd like this one better than the White Rose, but while I like them both very much, the White wins out. While White Rose is a slather scent, Red Rose is definitely not. Only a dab'll do. I'll try layering the two later and report back. Right now I want to enjoy Red Rose on it's own for awhile.

 

eta: It's been a few hours, and during that time, this blend has become more masculine. It really isn't like Potion to me now, and I probably won't wear this on it's own. Too perfumey/masculine. Off to try the two together.

 

eta: The two roses together seem to balance each other out! The softness of the White Rose mingles so perfectly with the Red, and the qualities that I didn't like with both seem to have disappeared. The Roses do not have Rose as a dominant note, however, so if you're ordering for the Rose scent, you may be disappointed. The two together is a spicy, creamy blend, if any rose exists, it is the white peeking out more to me. I really haven't tried anything quite like it, perfection! Now do I order 1 set or 2?

Edited February 22, 2009 by milo

[naeelah]

Initially, this was not very rosy and it was quite strong on an aggressive, sharp, almost medicinal note. I think this was the combination of the clove, fir, and musk. It didn't strike me as evergreen, it kind of came across as a spiky resin or black pepper. At this stage, it reminds me of the Illustrated Woman, when it was fresh (which was very sharp and earthy on me).

 

About 15 minutes later, it has softened out into a gentler, fuzzy clove scent. The rose is there, but clove is the first thing I notice. The other notes are basically here to round out the scent. Apart the from the rose and clove, nothing calls attention to itself. I don't get much sense of musk at all from this and it definitely doesn't scream evergreen. It's just a soft, glowing, clove deepened by red rose.

 

It's actually quite similar to Mort de Cesar, just a little bit warmer.

 

I have not yet layered it with the White Rose (wanted to test them individually first), but WR is a completely different kind of scent, and I definitely think they'll smell best together.

Edited February 23, 2009 by naeelah

[msbcozad]

Red Rose

 

This starts out spicy and stays that way for quite a while. After an hour, the rose comes to the surface but the heaviness of the clove is still present. I can pick up the barest hints of amber and tobacco, but this is primarily clove.

 

Layered with White Rose: WOW. Okay, now I understand all the rave reviews. I was meh at best about Red Rose, but with the White layered on top... I'm going to need a moment. Or three.

[heathercaley]

Wow!! This is such a lovely blend! I'm surpised though because I usually amp rose like crazy, but in this one, the rose is hiding behind the lovely clove and tobacco that's bullying its way around on my arm. Not a problem, I love clove and tobacco just as much as rose. The rose gives it a sweetness, but if you didn't know that there was rose listed as one of the main notes, you wouldn't even know. The amber plays its part dutifully, keeping the clove and tobacco harshness in check. Softening it up just a little.

 

I slathered some by itself, and some layered with White Rose, and it's magnificent!! Smokey, sweet and slightly creamy. Almost like a milky clove tea? Not too much rose popping through but thats ok with me.

 

LOVE IT!!!

[Ravenclaw79]

Very heavy, almost like an old lady in a way, slightly spicy and dark. The more this wears on me, the more it smells to me like the bottom of someone's makeup bag, like lipstick and dust and residues of powders and perfumes from over the years.

[kjirstiben]

When I first put this on, I can smell roses and cloves, primarily, with a hint of something evergreen beneath it. It's nice--spicy without being too sharp.

 

Over time, this turns into a primarily clove scent. I like the scent of cloves, so this is great, but that's really all that I can smell--single-note clove, because the rose scent disappears as soon as the oil has dried.

 

Worn with White Rose: The initial scent is definitely rose, with spices and fruit together creating a more balanced, full sensory experience than either of the roses on its own. Oddly, however, the combination goes a little soapy-smelling on me, where neither of the individual scents did so on its own. I think I actually prefer these as separate scents!

 

Recaplet: Rose and clove, swiftly becoming clove alone.

My rating: 4 of 5 (I really like this!)

Color impression: Clove-brown.

[Leopard403]

Red Rose is quite masculine on me, as I feared. Too heady and resinous to wear alone.

Coupled with White Rose, however, it is a lovely, sexy scent.

[voodoocatwoman]

On application, I got peppery rose fragrance. It quickly morphed into rose soap. From there it did a switcheroo and got all musky. The ride was fairly interesting and I like the end result.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this smells like a dark, deep, rich, spicy, gorgeous incense. It makes me swoon. It has the same feel for me as blends like Schwarzer Mond. I amp rose, but this isn't strongly rose-like on me. I get a hint of deep red, sour, spicy rose, and the sour qualities of it somehow smell gorgeous mixed with the other notes. The rose gives the blend a nice 'lift,' if that makes sense. This is spicy, dark, serious, ultra sexy love. I get lots of the delicious, dry clove. It's so different from White Rose's innocent, bright sweetness.

 

I usually amp up rose so that it drowns out all of the other notes in a blend, but White Rose doesn't smell rose-like to me at all, and the rose in Red actually stays in the background & gives the other notes a chance to shine.

 

Layered together ~ I much prefer wearing Red Rose & White Rose on their own instead of layered together. Together, they seem to wash each other out. The sweetness of White Rose is more subdued, but the sexy spiciness of Red Rose disappears. On my skin, the Red Rose is much stronger than the White Rose blend as well. If I layer them together, I have to apply Red Rose with a light hand and slather on more of the White Rose. I can't seem to strike a good balance between the two with my skin chemistry.

 

On their own, each of the rose blends is distinctive, strong, and beautiful (though White Rose can be a bit too sweet for me at times). Together, they morph into a faint, boring, light, sweet rose on me.

 

Still, I adore them separately and I think that this is such a gorgeous set & a lovely idea to offer for Valentine's Day. I wish that I could afford to buy another set or two

[Schmoozy]

Spicy exotic red rose, wrapped in amber, fir and clove.

This is golden, yet dark; sweet but slightly soured by clove and tobacco.

Absolutely gorgeous.

[dreadpiraterustypants2]

expectations-

spicy lush rose

imp-

exactly what I wanted!- spicy, lush and red red rose~

wet-

spice amps! Although think it's important to keep in mind that the description is for rose buds, not blooms-

the other notes play as large a role as the buds do.

I'm picking up a musky clove/tobacco~yum!

drydown-

strong n' tasty stuff~

verdict-

These are so lovely! I put white rose on one arm and red on the next~ must track down a bottle...!

[lothien]

This turned out wonderful on me. I would say it's my new favorite rose, like a dark version of Psyche, but the rose is a component, not a feature. ^^ But that's what I think I love most about it. With some folks having a strong dislike of rose, I don't really want to go out in an intensely rose perfume and have people wish I would leave. This is a rose even those sketchy about rose could be okay with.

The clove is a little intense for me for the first 10 minutes or so, but it's worth it for the hours of loveliness afterward. I love the rose and clove and tobacco together, something I really didn't expect to get all excited over. Red musk is *always* my friend, but it doesn't scream 'red musk' like many blends do. As most everyone else has said - it doesn't really feature rose, or anything else, for that matter. I get rose, amber, incense and red musk all to some degree, but it's really a great blend.

I also get a fair amount of morphing, with the intense clove stage, then a long incense-and-rose/clove stage and finally a smoky tonka/red musk stage that goes on forever.

 

I already have a bottle of this on the way. As soon as I tried it and realised how much I loved it, I found an order buddy and bought the set for the Red.

I'm getting a decant of the White off the forums or something to try it, and to try them together, and maybe the coconut will be bearable/unnoticeable, like the fir (coconut makes *any* perfume smell like tanning oil or an umbrella drink to me and makes me say "Ew."). But I seriously think that a bottle of White Rose would end up sitting around, because I know I will wear this one without the other, probably a lot. ^^

[astarinel]

This is one of those scents that I like very much but is not "me." The clove is very strong at first, backed by the musk, but the rose comes out a tiny bit as it dries. This is a very subdued red rose, and the rose is more... fresh than headily floral. If I didn't know it was rose, I might guess a different floral or herbal component was responsible for that sort of fresh green edge.

 

On the whole, it's very warm and spicy, and I would honestly call it masculine. The fir, tobacco, and clove tend to hit my nose that way, though. It reminds me of the sorts of blends my boyfriend wears a lot, and if I get the set, the Red Rose bottle will probably go to him.

 

Layering it with White Rose definitely brings it closer to my scent ballpark, and they're really lovely together in a way that ensures that, if I got the set and bequeathed Red Rose to the boy, I'd probably have to steal it back occasionally.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: I get mostly tobacco, strangely enough.

 

Wet: the rose blooms immediately! But the green note of the fir is cutting through now.

 

Dry-down: Slowly, most all the other notes appear, especially the clove and the musk. All the scent notes in the tonka are swirling around. I'm not really sure about the amber or the tobacco, though.

 

Later: an amazing scent--all of the ingredients have blended together nicely (red rose buds, with amber, clove, tonka, Indian musk, fir, and tobacco). The rose and the fir notes are the most prominent ones, but the red musk grounds them, and the tonka adds sweetness, while the clove tempers with spiciness. The green note in Red Rose is not as prominent as it is in Rose Red.

 

Artwork: The art on the bottle is that of the stylized red rose of the House of Lancaster dominating a medium blue and blue-grey background. I adore the contrast between the red and the blues.

 

Layering: if you layer White Rose with Red Rose, the most marvelous thing happens. Even though both oils are perfectly wonderful on their own, layering creates a totally new scent, seemingly. It's as though one takes hothouses buds, and grafts them to a rose running wild in some neglected part of the garden. A totally new rose, and one that is complete in itself. It's as though the hothouse bud, and the young almost-wild rose, grow into each other and became the queen of the garden, in full bloom, heady yet still sweet, the envy of all the other roses.

 

If White Rose is the House of York (and I am quite the Yorkist supporter), and Red Rose is the House of Lancaster, then the unity of the two can only result in the House of Tudor. I'm not overly fond of the Tudor kings, so I will call the layered scent Elizabeth I.