Rose Red

[theGreatMissJJ]

The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut.

As with many of my limited edition purchases, I bought Rose Red 2007 and Snow White 2007 on a last-minute OMGITWILLBEGONE, despite the fact that I'm perfectly content with wearing Alice as my signature scent.

That being said, I think I just found one of my favourite rose scents EVER. I feel that the poor rose is maligned, being dubbed either old-womanish or cloying, but that's probably because none of the naysayers have ever sniffed Rose Red. I'm fortunate in that rose is note that literally sings on my skin and this is no exception.

In the bottle: It smells like stumbling into a damp winter wild rose hedge, with moist loam and tart green stems poking through the snow. Interspersed with all that green is this absolutely gorgeous, luscious, and robust red rose petal scent that envelops you with all its lush beauty. It smells like a fairy tale, honestly.

Wet on skin: The greenness comes to the fore. Rose Red is tangy, a little saucy, and a little tart, but beneath that mischievous little bite, she's sweet and beautiful. Wow. There's practically a palpable shimmer of rosy beauty that just wafts off my skin.

Dry on skin: It changes little except for the fact that the green tangy-tartness recedes. This is a slightly more mature Rose Red than her wet stage, but still youthful and innocent.

Throw and wearlength: Long. LOOOOOOOOOOONG. But rose scents tend to stick to me, so it could be my particular skin chemistry. The throw is also pretty intense.

Rose Red 2007 reminds me of a tarter, more wintry counterpart to Libra 2007's juicy late summer ripeness. Both are possibly my favourite rose scents Beth has ever made. EVER.

[n1k1ta]

Rose Red 2007 is a lush rose bush. Dark green leaves, wet branches and plump red roses. Talk about rich! It feels expensive and almost virginal. It stayed true for its life, which was about five hours. The throw in the beginning was stronger than I'm used to. I was afraid I'd fill a room with this perfume. However, with drying it mellowed.

 

I don't think I need a bottle, but I will enjoy my imp!

[djsiberia]

i have fallen in love.

i adore this rose scent much more than the peacock queen.

 

it reminds me walking into a garden or a store that has just cut a bunch of roses.

 

will need more than one bottle for sure!

 

[Dracoo9]

This is for the '07 RR

 

In the bottle: I can practically smell a real rose, thorns and all. Its really incredible to how perfect of a rose scent this is. There is also a slight edge to it, giving that cold, dew scent.

 

On: Smells just as lovely out of the bottle as it did in. I still cant get over how rose like it is! Rose also tends to go powdery on me (the rose in Alice and Delirium for example) but that doesnt happen with RR, which is a nice change.

 

The only problem I have is that RR disapears completly in about an hour or so for me. My skin just sucks it up like a spnge

[alsatia]

This review is for the 2005 version:

 

Expectations: It probably won't work well on me (curse the florals), but I have more hope for it than others since it's a simple scent.

 

In vial: Wow, rose. Very fresh.

 

On skin, wet: Wow, rose! Very fresh!

 

On skin, dry: Aha, I knew there were florals that worked on me. It reminds me of some dolls with flower-scented hair I had as a child.

 

After time: A bit soapy, not because it smells like soap, but because there are soaps that smell like this rose. Occasionally I get a whiff of the greenery in addition to the petals.

 

Conclusion: Maybe I'm just too attached to those old dolls, but I keep wondering how this would work if diluted and sprayed on my hair.

[Pika]

Wow, I'm another believer! This is SUCH a good fresh rose scent!

 

What it really reminds me of is being in a florist's shop, sticking my nose into the bouquets. Really, a very fresh, bred-to-be-pretty hybrid tea rose. I've grown roses of many types, and other varieties of roses have more character, more depth, more spiciness than your regular florist's rose. But I've never smelled a scent so light and perfectly LIKE that florist's rose, that it immediately takes me back to particular rose bouquets I've received. (Aww, memories...)

 

As a perfume, it's delightfully light and airy, not cloying, and it didn't go soapy on me. Fresh, green, light, rosey, and beautiful. So sad I didn't believe all the other reviews and pick up a bottle now! C'mon Rose Red 2008...

[goth_huntress]

Delicate and sweet. It's a nice counterpart to Peacock Queen.

[alexandra]

Rose Red is a gauche rose. A green, naive, run head-first into a dark love affair kind of rose.

 

On me it smiles for hours, smelling of true-hearted wet rosepetals in a light-dappled pool. Only at the very end does it become troubled as it learns that everything comes to an end. Even this beautiful, tearingly innocent oil. I love it.

[azhriaz]

2007 version:

 

I usually avoid rose.. I don't exactly dislike it, but it bores me to tears because I know that even if a blend has other interesting notes the rose will be dominant. Down with rose, I say!

 

Yet... I became so curious about Rose Red... could it actually smell like a real rose?!

And now I know... it truly does! It reminds me of sniffing the dark red roses from my dad's garden.

 

There is a sharp green scent underneath, which sometimes smells a bit chemical, but I think it balances out the rose nicely.

 

The overall effect is sophisticated rather than romantic or sexy (although having said that I think it would be incredibly romantic as a room scent).

 

This is the type of perfume I can imagine wearing to work, if I dressed elegantly and was paid extravagantly!

In other words, it's not really me

But still... if it comes back I will be tempted to get a bottle anyway!

[edenssixthday]

Rose Red 2007 – When I first got this bottle, I was surprised at how much it smelled like dirt. There was definitely the crisp scent of fresh-cut red rose, but also a powerfully strong scent of dirt, which is one of my least-favorite notes on my skin. I used some in my oil burner, and was surprised that the dirt note wasn’t strong when used as a room scent, and the rose was more subtle than I had expected. I pulled this blend out about 3-4 months after letting it set for a while, and now, the dirt is barely discernible. It’s a lot like Rose Red ’04 in it’s fresh, red rose crispness and green stemminess. I look forward to wearing this blend now that the dirt has dissipated. The throw is really strong, but the wear length is below average on me.

[Esatres]

My boyfriend always gives me the most amazing roses for Valentine's day (except for that one time when the roses came with other flowers that I was allergic to, but that's a whole different story). This perfume smells exactly like those roses. The strength of the rose scent is tempered by this fresh greenness and really presents as a well-rounded scent. As it fades, the "green" scent comes out on me more though, with the rose taking the backseat.

 

I wish I slathered so that I could have an excuse to buy a ton of bottles of this stuff. Love it.

[evanescence]

a complete surprise in that I thought I'd love Rose Red and not Peacock Queen... and the opposite is true. RR is too green to the point of sharp green and it distracts me from the rose. It smells cold to me and eventually turns to soap. A disappointment with chemistry, but the thing about Beth is that she always has a rose for everybody... this is just not mine.

[fairnymph]

Rose Red 2004

 

In the bottle: Green, fruity rose.

 

Wet: Even fruitier, slightly rosier, and less green.

 

Dry: Slightly incensey, fruity rose with a hint of greenery.

 

Summary: Too incensey for me.

 

Rose Red 2005

 

In the bottle: Fresh cut roses, hint of fruit.

 

Wet: Greener, sweeter, but still very fresh and rosy.

 

Dry: Green, green fresh rosiness; the fruity-sweetness has faded.

 

Summary: Stays true, with great throw. So much better than '04 - I'm really shocked! I love it.

 

Rose Red 2007

 

In the bottle: Strong, sharp, slightly sour and slightly sweet rose.

 

Wet: Far too pungent for me. Very strong throw.

 

So odd that only the 2005 version works for me, though I love Peacock Queen so much more and don't really have need for this. But, it is notable for one of the few times that I DON'T like rose.

[simpsonmeredith]

Have you ever been to the French Quarter in New Orlean's? If you have, you may have walked past one of the stores there that is a linen store. You can smell the rose water they starch everything with for a solid block. I mean, even drunk with the store closed at night you can smell it. If you ever went by this place, you'll know what I mean.

 

That is Rose Red to me. It wasn't at all what I expected but I did learn something. I can't wear rose. This is note that is extremely powerful on me and it doesn't fade. In fact, it only intensifies. Just using a tiny dab on my wrists was too much for my dh to handle across the room. This is going into the swap pile for someone else to love. I'm sorry Rose Red, if it means anything, you were my favorite story growing up.

 

If you like rose, this is pure, clean rose and you will love it.

[poisondove]

Even before she arrived, I knew I couldn't possible love her as much as her sister Snow White.

Still when Rose Red landed in my letterbox, I was smitten in another way.

She isn't just another rose perfume. Rather she carries with her that

green smell, one gets when you snap a rose of the bush. The smell of the sap

& disturbed or awoken rose as its liberated from the bush & stolen away by human

hands. Amazing, how can someone make a perfume to capture an instance.

 

...and how can a rose perfume conjure the all day feeling that someone at any moment

might realize that it was I who stole away the roses

[Leopard403]

I literally get compliments *every time* I wear Rose Red 2007. But not in an "I like your perfume" way; in a give-me-a-dreamy-look-and-say "You smell goooood" way (which can be uncomfortable coming from my coworkers and patients ).

 

I admit I am a slut to all rose scents. (Must be the old soul [read: grandma] in me.) But this. THIS is the rose to end all roses. Lush and velvety and wet and fresh, with just a hint of green stem and sharp thorn. This is a sultry rose, a sinister rose, a farthest-you-can-get-from-grandma's-rosewater rose. It makes me feel young and vibrant and sexy. Just glorious.

[nightbiscuit]

Perhaps it's because I have a bottle of the 07 blend, but I distinctly get a crisp soil note, particularly when freshly applied. I also get a lot of green stemminess...it makes me smell like an entire rosebush! How delightful. I really love this scent.

[innocent]

Rose Red 2007

 

First off - I love roses. I love rose perfumes. The only rose BPALs I haven't liked are the ones where some other note I dislike overpowers the rose. Roses love me back and stay true on my skin without any hint of old-lady-ness.

 

Wow, this smells just like sticking your head into the florist's fridge - green, floral, cold and a bit sharp. It's very different from the other BPAL roses I've tried, with a strong green note along with the petals. It verges on being too sharp, but never actually goes over the line. It's lovely. I never would have expected Rose Red to be the colder of the two sisters.

 

The only problem I have is that Rose Red doesn't last very long on my skin (normally roses last forever). The throw is light - but I've yet to find a BPAL with very strong throw on me.

 

I'll be buying a bottle the next time Rose Red comes back, but I love some other BPAL roses just as much (though they're very different!) so I won't have to go mad finding more of this one ASAP.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Strong rose with a sharp green edge to it.

 

Wet: Where Peacock Queen was so faint on me this is almost an assault of roseyness. Thousands of roses, greenery and a woody stem note. It seems to be amping like mad.

 

Dry: It settles down some but isn't for me. Too overwhelming.

[obsidienne]

Have you ever had a bouquet of fresh cut roses in a vase in your room, and as you're doing something, whatever air currents there are bring gentle wafts of heady rose scent to your nose?

 

This perfume is those roses.

 

This blend is womanly, elegant, sensual, and beautiful. Perfection. It's like every fairytale I've ever read and loved that featured roses, condensed into one perfume. It's just so magical, a true fairytale rose.

 

The blend is also amazingly consistent from wet to drydown, which is phenomenal in itself.

 

I have loved a tonne of BPAL blends already, but this one takes the cupcake.

 

Rating: 25/5

 

P.S. I got this imp and a Snow White imp on the same day; I have been interested in these two more than any other blend in the BPAL canon, and so had to try them both on at the same time (one went on the left wrist, one on the right). Because. I was just so impatient! The point of this info is: they smell great together! Snow White and Rose Red. Do I even need other perfumes? Not so much!

Edited October 27, 2008 by obsidienne

[jehrichardson]

Wet, this is an amazingly green and rich rose. Very lovely!

 

On the skin, it morphed a bit and sent off some strange and biting grassy notes, but then calmed down into a lovely herbal rose. This isn't tea rose at all... it's grassy and herbal and a bit astringent like a rose in a garden, but juicy and oh-so-delectably rosy.

 

Definitely a keeper!

[Caerphilly]

In the bottle: Crisp, fresh, velvety, red rose. Exactly as the description states.

 

Wet: This is what freshly cut roses smell like. Not powdery but crisp. I love this. It smells like it does in the bottle on me.

 

Dry: Turns a bit powdery on me, but I don't mind. It's still strong rose.

 

Overall: After it dried it didn't really last that long on me, so I don't know if I should buy another bottle. But it was worth buying the first one because this is gorgeous!

[Schmoozy]

2007 Rose Red

Absolutely the best BPAL rose scent ever. It is crisp, it is lush and it is heaven.

It smells and feels velvety and really rich. The greens of the stem combined with the scent of rose, make this THE rose scent for me.

[DEMONDAHLIA]

Finally ! A rose scent that doesent make me smell like my Grandmother!

This is the smell of a fresh cut dewy rose. In the bottle I get whiffs of the greeny leaves and stalk .. but once appllied sweet rose .. not at all dry or cloying. An the staying power is phenom .. almost a full 8 hours and Rose Red was still lingering so sweetly.

[EdenIris]

Rose Red 2008

 

Wet: Green, sharp.

 

This is an incredibly fruity, almost apple-y rose on the dry-down. It is exactly like burying your nose in a dewy, freshly opened bloom.

 

I had the opportunity to test this the day after The Rose. The former is like wild roses on the vine, whereas Rose Red is more luscious, hot house sweetness with a tart core.

 

I am wearing it in a scent locket because my skin snarfs rose in minutes, but even in the brief time it stayed on my skin, it was delicious, simple yet sophisticated.

 

So glad I have a bottle of this.