16 Best Rose Perfumes for Women

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Looking for a list of the best rose perfumes? Look no further, my friend, because…

We spent months researching and FULLY testing 67 different rose scented perfumes to find out which ones are the best. And get this…

We tried and tested ALL 67 fragrances and scored them for how good they smelled and for how long they lasted on skin. But we didn’t stop there…

We also discovered which season and situation each fragrance works and smells best in. And…

Then we finally whittled them down to a manageable list of the 16 best rose scented perfume. The good news?

Today you’re in for a treat because in this post we are going to share our results with you down below. So let’s dive in!

In a hurry?

Our Top 3 Picks:

• 1. Jo Malone – Red Roses
• 2. Lancome – Tresor Midnight Rose
• 3. Frederic Malle – Portrait of a Lady (Premium Pick)

Jump Links

• 16. Perfumer’s Workshop Tea Rose
• 15. Acqua Di Parma Rosa Nobile
• 14. Tom Ford Café Rose
• 13. Amouage Lyric Woman
• 12. Maison Christian Dior Oud Ispahan
• 11. Chloé Roses De Chloé
• 10. Maison Christian Dior Ambre Nuit
• 9. Armani Privé Rose D’Arabie
• 8. Montale Intense Café
• 7. Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin
• 6. Maison Lancôme Oud Bouquet
• 5. Tom Ford Noir De Noir
• 4. MFK Oud Satin Mood EDP
• 3. Frederic Malle: Editions De Parfums Portrait of a Lady
• 2. Lancôme Trésor Midnight Rose
• 1. Jo Malone Red Roses

#16 Perfumer’s Workshop Tea Rose

The Best Cheap Rose Perfume

I will make it super easy for you, my friend:

If you don’t want anything overly complex and you want to smell like an authentic bouquet of fresh roses…

Get this. 🙂

You see, this is not a candied or jammy rose. It’s just straight-up, in-your-face, authentic-smelling rose. 🌹

And the beautiful part:

This is SUPER affordable! Here’s what you need to know…

A Classic

If you didn’t know, this was released way back in 1977, and it became an instant classic.

In fact, today it is still one of the most authentic-smelling rose-only perfumes you can get. But don’t just take my word for it, my friend, because listen to this…

Over the years, Tea Rose has gained a LOT of love and has been worn by many famous women, such as Princess Diana, Nicole Kidman, Princess Grace of Monaco, to name but a few. And get this…

Apparently, 55–60 million bottles of Tea Rose have been sold! They must be doing something right! Oh, and by the way, to clarify:

A Tea Rose is a name given to a type of rose. This is not some sort of a rose mixed with a tea note fragrance. Anyway, let me tell you how it smells…

Powerhouse

Tea Rose opens up with a massive blast of rose mixed with a splash of a bergamot-peel citrus aroma. However…

When it starts to settle on your skin, this citrus fades away… and you’re left with an authentic-smelling freshly-cut bouquet of dewy-wet dark-red roses – the stems and all! (As they say… there is no rose without a thorn. 🙂)

Now:

This is a unisex scent and can be used in all seasons for just about any occasion. Please be aware, though, this is a very mature-smelling scent, so I would suggest for the at least 25+ crowd.

And the good news…

Tea Rose is super-long lasting. Like, it literally lasts shower to shower! Oh, and this is NOT a shy perfume — it pushes out. So you only need 1–2 sprays. No more. Please. 🙂

Simply put:

The rosiest rose of all for an absolute steal!

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#15 Acqua Di Parma Rosa Nobile

Soft Fresh Pink Roses

In case you don’t know…

Acqua Di Parma is an Italian luxury lifestyle company that create high-quality fragrances.

Speaking of, you can discover more of our favorites from the brand on our top 10 Acqua di Parma post — as most are totally unisex. Anyway…

This scent is pretty simplistic, let’s take a smell:

Rosa Nobile opens up with a bright pink rose and peony combo… mixed with some fresh, sparkling citruses and whispers of pepper.

The rose smells very soft and very, VERY natural. And…

Soft & Delicate

After the citruses settles, the pink rose becomes the star of the show — and it has a slightly peppery vibe.

And as time goes by, it evolves into a beautiful soft pink musky rose, with the occasional waft of citrus. Very nice. Oh, and by the way…

Rosa Nobile was actually created by world-renowned French perfumer Francois Demachy, who was the former head-perfumer for Dior. Plus, he’s also created masterpieces for Chanel and many other iconic luxury brands. So you’re in good hands.

And the beautiful part:

World-Class Perfumer

This is hyper versatile as you can wear this in the spring, summer, and fall — for any occasion.

Furthermore, it works well for dressed-up special occasions… or simply for day-to-day casual use. Plus, it’s suitable for just about any age.

Now, to be perfectly clear, my friend:

This is NOT a powerhouse projection type of perfume. In fact, in our tests we found it to be light and airy, and it projected softly off skin (within arm’s length). However,

Rosa Nobile is an EDP and even though it projected softly off skin, we found it lasted a good 4–7+ hours on skin (depending on the. temperature).

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#14 Tom Ford Café Rose

Dark, Sexy & Luxurious

I’m going to let you in on a little secret here…

Café Rose was originally part of Tom Ford’s premium (and expensive) Private Blend Collection. The good news, however, it has now been re-released and re-packaged in the brand’s more affordable Signature line. So here’s the beautiful part…

Simply put, you are getting the same premium, high-quality perfume in a new gorgeous bottle — at a more affordable price!

Not gonna complain, right? 🙂

Speaking of… If you want to know what the best Tom Ford fragrances are, don’t miss our Top 10 Best Tom Ford list (most are unisex). Anyway…

Milky Creamy Coffee

Cafe Rose is a unique and complex fragrance. In fact, 3 different rose notes have been masterfully blended to create this incredibly sexy rose fragrance. Let’s take a smell…

This opens up with a blend of rose, spicy saffron, and black pepper… with a faint milky, creamy coffee accord sitting in the background.

The rose smells super authentic. It’s moist, sweet, and jammy — with a slightly powdery vibe. But it gets better…

Dark, Warm & Spicy

When it starts to dry down… a hint of patchouli and creamy sandalwood show up, with whispers of incense.

And all these notes give the scent a nice rich, dark sweetness, with a slightly earthiness.

Now, this is unisex (but leans slightly feminine), and it’s more geared for the mature 20+ crowd.

And I would recommend this for the spring, fall, and winter as it’s a bit too thick for warm weather wear.

Performs

It’s perfect for dressed-up occasions, dates, special occasions, nights out, etc… But I think it can even be worn casually.

Oh, and the good news…

Cafe Rose has excellent lasting power — sometimes even hitting the 10-hour mark. Great.

By the way, this is an EDP concentration and pushes out. That said, it’s not a room-filler, though, so just be mindful with your sprays. 🙂

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#13 Amouage Lyric Woman

Luxurious Dark Smoky Rose

Here’s what you need to know:

Amouage is a Middle Eastern high-end brand that creates unique luxury fragrances. Understandably, though, they also have prices to match. 🙂

Now, to be clear, my friend:

This is an opulent complex scent that has a TON of different fragrance notes. However, all these notes have been masterfully blended to create a beautifully unique incensey and powdery rose scent. In fact, let me try to break it down for you…

Deep, Warm & Sensual

Lyric Woman opens with a blend of citrusy floral notes and slightly powdery rose… And these are joined with whispers of smoky incense, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon.

And as it dries down on your skin, the citruses slowly fade… And the florals and rose start to come more into play. And all these warm spicy floral notes are smoothed with a soft hint of slightly sweet creamy vanilla.

Also, you get some slightly earthy and smoky woods sitting in the background — which gives the fragrance some depth. And it smells…

Luxurious & Mysterious

It’s deep, it’s warm, it’s sensual… and it gives off a dark, smoky, spicy, jammy-syrupy vibe. Nice.

Now, this is appropriate for the spring, fall, and winter (just adjust your sprays). And I would also say it’s more suited for the mature 25+ crowd.

Also note, this is an opulent-smelling special occasion type of scent, which is great for dates, romantic settings, nights out, etc.

And you’ll be pleased to know:

In our tests, we found this to have good lasting power: easily, we got 6–8+ hours on skin.

However, please note, it’s not a powerhouse that will fill up a room —  it’s quite subtle. But it does leave a gorgeous scent trail that WILL get you noticed. 🙂

Side note: The presentation and bottle are gorgeous.

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#12 Maison Christian Dior Oud Ispahan

A Luxurious Rose Oud Perfume

I’ll be straight with you…

This is not for everybody. Let me explain:

Dior’s Oud Ispahan is NOT a typical fragrance. It’s powerful, it’s daring, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Huh?!? Why so? Well…

You see, this scent has a “slightly dirty” mysterious woody-oud note. So if you don’t like oud — you should stay well clear. And if you’re unfamiliar with oud, you should tread with caution (sample, sample, sample). 🙂 With all that said…

Daring Fragrance

Oud Ispahan is an absolute masterpiece, and if you’re confident and can pull it off, you won’t be disappointed. Let me break it down for you…

Oh, by the way, Oud Ispahan is part of the Maison Christian Dior collection (formally called the La Collection Privée).

If you’re unaware, this is Dior’s higher-end, more exclusive luxury fragrance collection. So needless to say, these come with exclusive prices to match. Anyway…

Dior’s Luxury Collection

Oud Ispahan opens up LOUD… with a dark, dry, slightly animalic, earthy-rose note, with whispers of smoky incense and a burning wood accord in the background.

And to be honest, this opening is quite harsh and aggressive. However…

The fragrance slowly develops over time… And transforms into something MUCH more enjoyable. So stay with me, my friend… 🙂

Because after about 45 minutes, it starts to transition beautifully… The rose and sandalwood start to come more into play and smooth out the animalic woody-oud note. And finally…

Smooths Out

The rose starts to bloom off your skin, and it has a beautiful creamy woody sweetness. And sitting underneath is a soft smoky incense accord, which gives it a luxurious Middle Eastern touch.

It’s thick, rich, sensual, and super unique.

Just in case you’re wondering…

Ispahan, also known as Rose d’Ispahan (and Pompon des Princes), is a clear pink, half-open kind of Damask rose.

It’s named after the city Isfahan in Iran, renowned for its gardens and roses… where it was apparently discovered.

Special Occasion Scent

Now, I would say this is unisex and more suited for the sophisticated mature 25+ crowd.

And it’s also more suited for nighttime usage: dates, romantic, formal, special occasions, etc. (Heads-up: this is not an office-friendly type scent. Trust me, it’s too loud.)

Plus, as it’s quite dense, this is strictly for the cooler seasons – fall and winter. Because outside in high-heat, we found that it becomes overwhelming!

Oh, and there’s no doubt about it:

Oud Ispahan has enormous lasting power — up to 15-PLUS hours! Also, it projects like crazy — leaving a gorgeous scent trail. So please, take it easy with the sprayer. 🙂

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#11 Chloé Roses De Chloé EDT

Light, Fresh & Fruity

OK, let me make this short and sweet…

This is a youthful, easy-to-wear, realistic-smelling pink rose scent. No vintage vibes here. 🙂

How’s it smell?

On first spray, you’re treated to a hyper-realistic-smelling bouquet of soft pink roses mixed with a nice light fruity aroma (lychee) and fresh green notes. And…

Youthful Light Fruitiness

When it starts to settle, the rose starts to bloom on your skin. It smells soapy, soft, and sweet (but not overly sweet).

And as it evolves, the rose becomes slightly powdery, and it’s joined with a nice hint of white musk with some soft woodiness sitting underneath.

The beautiful part:

Super Versatile

This is super-versatile: you can wear this in all seasons for all occasions (it’s also office friendly). That said, I would say it’s tailor-made for the spring and summer (and more suited for daytime usage). This is when she shines!

Now, please be aware, my friend:

Clean & Soft Aroma

Roses De Chlóe is not a perfume that screams out for attention — it’s soft, friendly, and non-offensive. So, if you’re looking for a powerful room-filler, this is NOT it. Does it last long, though?

Well, this is an EDT concentration, and we found it to stay noticeable on skin in the 4–7 hour range.

Bonus: The bottle looks adorable!

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#10 Maison Christian Dior Ambre Nuit

Rose & Amber Heaven

Ambre Nuit is a fragrance that starts conversations. 🙂

Now, this one is another luxury pick from the Maison Christian Dior collection. Gotta be honest, though…

Ambre Nuit is NOT a full-bodied, prominent rose perfume. You see, the rose is blended perfectly with a honey-like amber accord — to create a gorgeous, smooth, modern scent. In fact, here’s a quick rundown of how it smells, my friend…

Ambre Nuit opens up with a blast of sparkling bergamot and grapefruit citrus freshness mixed with pink pepper. And when it starts to settle, you’re greeted with a nice peppery rose accord. Then…

Honey-like Sweetness

As it starts to dry down on your skin… the rose starts to come more into play and joins forces with the amber — to give a luxurious slightly peppery and slightly sweet honeyed-rose aroma. Also…

As it develops, you can detect some creamy woods sitting in the background. And because all these notes have been masterfully blended, it smells luxurious and velvety smooth!

(In case you don’t know, the term Amber is used to describe a scent that is sweet, warm, resinous, and honey-like. The Amber accord is created by blending various natural resins/aroma molecules.)

Opulent

Ambre Nuit smells super inviting and opulent. By the way, when you wear this in public, people may want to know what you’re wearing. Gatekeep it, though! 🤣

This is unisex and more suited for the sophisticated 20+ crowd. And it’s more appropriate for the fall and winter, but you can absolutely wear it all year (except outside on hot summer days) — just adjust your sprays accordingly.

And the good news:

Anytime-Anywhere Scent

Ambre Nuit is highly versatile and can be worn anytime-anywhere. Dates, romantic, dressed-up, dressed-down, nights-out, even casually — you name it!

Even better…

This is an EDP and it’s super-long-lasting: in testing, we got up to 10+ hours. Please note, though, it doesn’t shout out for attention as we found it projects very softly off skin. That said, it leaves a beautiful scent trail, though!

P.S. We got immense compliments testing this one. 😎

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#9 Armani Privé Rose D’Arabie

Dark, Sweet, Jammy Rose

This is from Armani’s Privé Collection. As you can imagine, this collection is higher-quality and more exclusive than typical Armani fragrances (and also more expensive).

Let me tell you how it smells:

This opens up with a blast of luxurious-smelling dark, sweet jammy rose. And…

Once the opening starts to settle, you get whispers of spicy saffron and earthy patchouli. And then the oud starts to creep in, which gives the scent a nice dark-woody backbone.

To be clear, the oud is not overpowering and sits nicely in the background.

Velvety Smooth Sweetness

And once it finally dries down… the rose stays rich, dark, and jammy. And the vanilla comes into play — giving everything a velvety smooth sweetness.

The fragrance is perfectly balanced: It’s rich, it’s juicy, it’s dark… and it’s intoxicating.

Oh, and before I forget…

As well as the scent, the bottle also looks gorgeous as well. It comes presented in a classy looking box, and it even comes with a handy velvet cloth to clean the bottle. Nice touch.

For Special Occasions

Needless to say, this is more suited for the well-dressed 20+ crowd — it’s defiantly not a typical teenybopper sweet type of scent. It’s a very sophisticated and well put together fragrance.

Now, this is more geared for fall and winter nighttime usage. I wouldn’t recommend applying this in the high-summer heat. Not a good idea, my friend lol.

And you’ll be pleased to know:

This has super performance: it lasts and lasts and lasts (9+ hours). Furthermore, it jumps off your skin for the first few hours — so be careful with the sprayer.

Simply put:

This is a type of fragrance for when you want to smell your absolute best: Special occasions, dates, nights out, formal occasions, etc.

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#8 Montale Intense Café

Roses & Vanilla With a Pinch of Coffee

Maybe you’ve heard…

Montale is a French luxury perfume brand, known for their powerful long-lasting scents. Does this one perform? Let’s find out…

Intense Café opens with a blend of sweet rose, white florals, and vanilla… mixed with a hint of sweet, creamy coffee.

Hint of Sweet Creamy Coffee

And as it settles, the coffee and vanilla start to amp-up and smooth the fragrance out.

And once it’s dried down on your skin, you also get a nice hint of musk in the background. The result?

A beautiful sweet-candied rose and vanilla aroma with a pinch of coffee buried underneath. Smells super unique and has a Middle Eastern vibe.

Sexy & Addictive

By the way, if you’re a vanilla lover, be sure to check our best vanilla perfumes list.

This is a unisex scent for all ages and best for fall and winter usage. I wouldn’t recommend rocking this in the warmer months.

And it’s more suited for semi-formal occasions, casual, dates, nights out, clubbing.

Powerhouse

This is super long lasting: Seriously, it can hold on for an impressive 12+ hours (and has excellent projection, too) — so be very, very careful with the sprayer. 🙂

Important note: Montale use super-lightweight aluminium bottles. And because they are so light, when you receive a new bottle, it can feel like it’s not completely full. So no need to panic, my friend. 🙂

Bonus: The bottle comes with a handy carrying pouch.

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#7 Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin

Dark, Spicy, Sweet Jammy Rose

Serge Lutens is a French luxury fragrance house, and in case you’re wondering… La Fille de Berlin translates to “The Girl of Berlin.” Anyway, let me just tell. you how it smells…

La Fille de Berlin opens up with a burst of bright sweet jammy rose — with a hint of greenness. And…

When it starts to settle, you get a slightly cold-metallic vibe that’s mixed with some pepper and honey. This gives the rose a deep, dark, spicy, sweet jammy quality. Smells VERY unique.

Rich & Luxurious

And when it dries down on your skin, the rose remains the star of the show — with a slight touch of woody earthiness.

It smells like a luxurious, luscious bouquet of roses…. and oozes quality. It’s elegant, yet modern. And the good news…

Has Lasting Power

La Fille de Berlin is a super-versatile everyday fragrance: for all seasons and all occasions. It’s unisex, but leans slightly towards the feminine side. And it’s more suited for the 20+ crowd. Even better…

This has excellent lasting power — up to 10+ hours. However, it’s not a projection monster as it’s subtle and none-offensive.

Side note: The actually juice in the bottle is a gorgeous red color.

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#6 Maison Lancôme Oud Bouquet

A Sexy Rose & Oud Perfume

No doubt about it, this one is a HEAD-TURNER!

By the way, Maison Lancôme is the brand’s higher end and exclusive luxury fragrance collection. Let’s take a sniff…

Oud Bouquet opens up with a heavy blast of sweet praline and vanilla… with an earthy, smoky-woody aroma in the background.

Now, I should point something out, my friend:

Please don’t judge this fragrance by this initial strong opening. Be patient and wait until it dries down — for the magic to happen. 🙂 Stay with me…

Praline & Vanilla

Because when it starts to settle on your skin, the rose begins to shine through and brightens up the fragrance. It has a delicious jammy, syrupy sweetness quality.

And to be clear, this is a mature sweetness. Trust me, it’s NOT like the type of synthetic sweetness that is found in typical teenybopper fragrances. 🙂 Far from it.

In fact, Oud Bouquet smells SUPER high quality and is perfectly blended.

So thankfully, the woody-oud note sits in the background, so it’s not overpowering the scent. The oud just gives everything a deep, delicious, and sensual quality.

Now, this is a mature, sophisticated scent, so it’s more suited for the 20+ crowd. And because of its sweetness, it’s tailor-made for cool weather use only (fall/winter).

Date Nights

Oh, and go easy with the sprays, my friend, as this is NOT weak. 1–2 sprays and you’re golden.

Plus, it leaves a beautiful scent trail behind you that, unsurprisingly, attracts a LOT of compliments!

Oud Bouquet is perfect for nights out, dates, special occasions, clubbing. And so on. And you’ll be pleased to know…

This is an EDP concentration and super-long lasting — because in our longevity tests, we got up to 10+ hours of deliciousness. Impressive!

Absolue Les Parfums Oud Bouquet

Update: Since our last round of testing the best rose smelling perfume, Lancôme has quietly moved Oud Bouquet from their Maison Lancôme collection into their Absolue Les Parfums collection (note, some countries still have Oud Bouquet listed in both collections 🤷‍♂️). On top of that…

In moving collections, the brand also treated Oud Bouquet to a gorgeous newly designed bottle, which to be brutally honest, does NOT look as nice as its former bottle! Anyway…

The BIG question is: Does it still SMELL the same, though? Well…

Oud Bouquet vs Absolue Oud Bouquet

After fully testing Maison Lancôme Oud Bouquet side-by-side against the newer Absolue Oud Bouquet, I can, thankfully, report: Yes, to my nose, it STILL smells the same. 🥳 Well, to be more specific, it smells VERY similar because here’s the thing…

Smelling them both side-by-side, I detected MINOR differences (e.g. the oud note seems to be slightly toned down). However…

I think these subtle differences are simply because my bottle of Oud Bouquet from the Maison Lancôme collection is a few years old, and it has “matured” like a fine wine, so to speak. You see…

Same Smell — New Style Bottle

In testing them side by side on skin, both versions performed and lasted nearly the exact same amount of time. By the way, although this newer version is called an Absolue, it is, in fact, still an EDP concentration. So…

All this leads me to believe this was simply just a rebranding by Lancôme and they have NOT messed with the formula. (Thankfully!)

Therefore, I can still confidently HIGHLY recommend Oud Bouquet on this list (even though they DID mess with the beautiful bottle design 🤦‍♂️🤣).

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#5 Tom Ford Noir De Noir

Dark Chocolate & Roses

In a nutshell:

Noir de Noir smells of dark-red rose petals… mixed with luxury dark-chocolate liqueur — with a hint of velvety vanilla creamy sweet richness. 😍

The rose, of course, is the star of the show in this fragrance, and it’s a beautiful dark creamy woody/earthy rose.

Dark & Mysterious

And when this dries down on your skin, a patchouli, vanilla, and oud combo join the party, which give it a delicious dark-chocolatey aroma. Nice.

Does it smell sexy? Absolutely. 🙂

Now to be clear, my friend:

Noir de Noir is strictly a cool weather fragrance — do not rock this in the high summer heat (trust me 🤦‍♂️). Oh, and go easy with the sprays, too.

Upscale Vibes

This is unisex and more suited for the classy 25+ crowd. And because it’s a bold, complex, and sophisticated scent…it’s more appropriate for upscale, dressed-up special occasions.

And the good news… it also has GREAT lasting power because we got 6–9+ hours. Consistently.

Make no mistake: You WILL get noticed with this on 🙂

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#4 Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum

Luxury Rosy Vanilla

Know this:

Oud Satin Mood is a fragrance that WILL get you noticed because it has the WOW factor. 🙂

The bad news, though, it’s going to cost you, my friend, because this ain’t cheap. Here’s why…

Luxury Perfume House

If you’re unaware, Maison Francis Kurkdjian is a French luxury niche perfume house, co-founded by the iconic master perfumer himself: Francis Kurkdjian. By the way…

Kurkdjian is also currently the head perfumer for the luxury brand Christian Dior. He’s also famous for creating MANY other blockbuster perfumes over the years for many other major luxury brands worldwide. But get this…

Award-Winning Master Perfumer

Kurkdjian has won a Prix François Coty award for his lifetime achievements and earned a place in fragrance history. This award is like the Oscars of the fragrance world. Anyway…

Fast forward to today, and he now has 270+ fragrances to his name. Impressive, right? Yeah, but how does ANY of this benefit me? Well, my friend, long story short:

Francis Kurkdjian is a genius perfumer, so you can be sure you’re getting a true masterpiece here. 🙂 Oh, and by now you’re probably wondering…

How Does Oud Satin Mood Smell?

Simply put, MFK Oud Satin Mood smells like a luxurious slightly powdery, sweet candied rose. And it smells so delicious and addictive. In fact, let me quickly break it down for you…

As soon as you spray Oud Satin Mood, you’re greeted with a beautiful full-blooming, sweet-candied rose… mixed with a slightly powdery violet accord. And…

When it starts to settle on your skin, the rose starts to reveal itself even more. And eventually, it morphs with some nice vanilla sweetness, with a mild touch of non-funky woody-oud hiding in the background. And it smells GORGEOUS. 😍

Luxurious Sweet Candied Rose

It’s warm and comforting. Sexy and luxurious. Seriously, this is top-of-the-line stuff — it’s beautifully blended and smooth. (Can you tell I love this? 🤣)

Now, I should point something out:

My friend, please don’t let the mention of “oud” scare you off. What do I mean? Well…

Maybe you know, some traditional Middle Eastern oud fragrances can smell a little “funky”, so to speak. HOWEVER…

Modern Westernized Oud

To silence the alarm bells going off in your head, Oud Satin Mood is NOT one of those funky-oud scents because this contains a modern Western-styled interpretation of oud. So those medicinal woody notes have been softened.

Huh?!? What the heck is oud, anyway?!? Oh, in case you don’t know…

Oud is simply a scented resin that is distilled from the rare Agarwood tree. And this resin has a dark, smoky woody aroma.

And due to its rarity — it is super expensive. By the way, to create this fragrance, MFK has used a protected super-high grade of Laotian Oud. Anyhow…

The good news:

Opulent Special-Occasion Scent

Oud Satin Mood is a unisex scent, so you share it with your significant other. Bonus, right? 🙂

Now, this is an opulent, classy scent that’s more tailored for the sophisticated 20+ crowd. And it’s more suited for use in cooler weather (specifically, as a nighttime scent).

It smells perfect for romantic dates, special occasions, upscale events, nights out. And so on. Even better…

Super Loooong Lasting

Oud Satin Mood is SUPER long lasting! In fact, in our tests, we ALL got an impressive 10–12+ hours of performance. But listen to this…

This is an EDP concentrate, so you ONLY need to use 1–2 sprays MAX… and you’re golden. Therefore, the bottle should last you a LONG time, too. (Years!) Does it leave a nice scent trail? You bet!

Because you’ll be pleased to know, that we found this JUMPS off your skin for the first few hours. It then becomes more subtle, creating a gorgeous, seductive scent bubble around you for HOURS. Oh, and before I forget…

Oud Satin Mood Eau De Parfum vs Oud Satin Mood Extrait de Parfum

Just a quick heads-up: Please make sure you don’t mistake this scent with a similarly named fragrance from the same house called Oud Silk Mood as they are completely different-smelling releases. What’s that you say?

But what about the more expensive Extrait de Parfum version of Oud Satin Mood? Does that smell even better than the EDP?

Well, to keep this short, we blind sniff tested the EDP side-by-side against the newer similarly smelling and denser Extrait de Parfum version. The results?

Nearly all of our unbiased judges (and yours truly) preferred the smell of the Eau de Parfum version over the Extrait version. Therefore, we recommend the EDP. Case closed. 🙂

P.S. This is a MASSIVE compliment getter — watch heads turn.

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#3 Frederic Malle: Editions De Parfums Portrait of a Lady

A Modern Masterpiece in Perfumery

Maybe you’ve heard…

Portrait of a Lady is reportedly a firm favorite of Madonna. Good choice. 🙂

Anyway, here’s what you need to know:

Editions de Parfums is a French luxury niche perfume house, created by perfume connoisseur Frederic Malle — for those of you who don’t want to smell like the rest of the world. What’s that you say, my friend?

You say you’ve never even heard of them. Here’s why…

World-Class Perfumers

You see, Frederic Malle invests ALL the brand’s money into the perfume itself, so the brand has:

• No famous brand ambassadors
• No fancy bottles (Malle designed the most basic bottles)
• No marketing
• No massive launch events

So no wonder you’ve never heard of them. 🤷‍♂️🤣 But here’s the beautiful part…

Because instead of investing in marketing, Malle uses the money to source the highest-quality ingredients and handpicks the best perfumers in the world, giving them total freedom to express themselves. The result?

Pieces of Art

Fragrances that are like pieces of art. But here’s the catch, the fragrances also come with prices to match (understandable). Anyway…

The proof is in the pudding because for the creation of Portrait of a Lady, Malle commissioned Dominique Ropion, who is widely considered to be the industry’s best perfumer. But get this…

They wanted to create a perfume using rose in wildly overdose proportions. (About 10%, which is equivalent to 400 flowers per 100ml bottle.) Anyways…

Enough backstory because you’re probably wondering…

How Does Portrait of a Lady Smell?

Put simply: Portrait of a Lady is a dark, earthy, smoky, semi-sweet jammy-rose scent — with a Middle Eastern twist.

And make no mistake, my friend:

Complex

Portrait of a Lady is a complex-smelling fragrance; it has a LOT of notes. However, I will try my best to break it down for you…

As soon as you spray Portrait of a Lady, you’re greeted with a blast of peppery semi-sweet Turkish rose mixed with a dose of earthy patchouli and incense. And…

These notes are softened with some fruity blackcurrant and raspberry accords blended with whispers of clove and cinnamon. And then…

Spicy & Slightly Smoky

As is dries down, the fragrance starts to develop beautifully. The incense starts to settle down and balance out with the velvety rose.

And then you can detect more of the fruitiness from the raspberry and blackcurrant. Also, a hint of musk and amber creep in.

The end result?

You get a dark, semi-sweet, jammy, musky rose… that has slight woody note in the background. And it smells SUPER-high quality.

Earthy Patchouli

Now, despite its name, Portrait of a Lady is unisex (leaning feminine) and more suited for the mature, well-dressed 25+ crowd. And it’s tailored for fall and winter wear (even cool spring nights).

And to be crystal clear:

This is a bold, attention-grabbing, dressed-up type of scent — for when you want to make an impression. Such as:

Dates, nights-out, upscale events, etc. Seriously, this is not a casual everyday type scent or office friendly. And the good news…

A Little Goes a LONG Way

We found lasting power to be stellar: up to 15-PLUS hours! Oh, and it projects like crazy for those first 4–5 hours. So spray lightly, my friend. 🙂

Bottom line:

One of the BEST rose fragrances EVER made (with a price tag to match, of course).

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#2 Lancôme Trésor Midnight Rose

Rose & Raspberry Sweetness

This is a playful fruity-sweet raspberry and dark-rose scent. Let’s take a quick smell…

Tresor Midnight Rose opens up with a beautiful dark, sweet, jammy rose. However, the magic begins when it dries down (after about 15 minutes). So stay with me…

Jammy

Because as it starts to develop, some raspberry and musk join the party and make the scent juicy and delicious. You also get whispers of pink pepper and some creamy vanilla sweetness.

However, the scent doesn’t become overly sweet because some woods step into the background and balance the sweetness out.

To be clear, my friend, this is NOT like a typical teenager fruity scent. It’s sophisticated and well composed.

Modern & Sophisticated

In fact, so much so this turns heads and garners a LOT of compliments. People will want to know what you are wearing. 🙂

Now, this works well in the fall, winter, and even on cooler spring days. But fair warning, this gets sickeningly sweet in the high summer heat. Trust me. 🤦‍♂️

The good news…

Tresor Midnight Rose is super versatile as you can rock this for just about any occasion: casual, formal, daytime, evening, dates, nights out, clubbing — you name it!

Gorgeous Bottle

Now, this is a very feminine-smelling rose scent that has a young, modern vibe to it, but I would say any age could enjoy wearing it.

Even better…

This is mega long lasting as we clocked this in at 10+ hours and it was still detectable on skin. And it pushes out for the first 3–4 hours, so be careful with your application. 🙂

Bonus: The bottle is simply gorgeous.

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#1 Jo Malone Red Roses

Photorealistic Pure Rose Perfume

I’ll come right out and say it…

If you LOVE the smell of real roses… and you’re bored of all the sweet syrupy rose fragrances — then maybe this is for you.

In fact, the name of this perfume says it all because you get exactly what it says on the bottle. And get this: apparently… 7 different types of roses have been masterfully blended into this beauty.

By the way, this also cracked into our top 10 of our best Jo Malone perfumes — for good reason! In fact, let me tell you how it smells…

Realistic Aroma

This opens with a strong blast of fresh-cut roses… mixed with a citrusy lemon and minty note.

Oh, and know this — it smells SUPER realistic! And…

When it settles on your skin, the lemon and violet notes give the fragrance a slight green undertone. And the roses begin to bloom mixed with that nice hint of lemon freshness.

And as time goes by, whispers of slightly sweet honey join the party, to give the scent some beautiful warmth. Nice.

And you’ll be pleased to know:

Mild Honey Sweetness

You can wear and enjoy this in all seasons for all occasions — this would make a beautiful signature scent.

And I would say this is more suited for the mature crowd, so I suggest 20+. Oh, and before I forget…

Although this is a Cologne concentration, in testing, we found it to be quite strong and long lasting.

Because depending on the temperature, we got anywhere from 3–8+ hours on skin. Which is impressive for a cologne concentration (these are weaker than typical EDTs & EDPs).

So hats off to Jo Malone. 👍

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Now, it’s your turn…

We would love to hear from you:

What do you think is the best rose perfume? Have you tried any of these?

Or maybe you have a question.

Either way, please let us know by leaving a comment below right now.

Where to go from here?

I highly recommend you check out our best Victoria’s Secret perfumes post out for some more awesome recommendations.

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