Rose Absolu – created in 2007 by Christine Nagel, notes include Damascene rose, cinnamon, patchouli and tonka bean. This one is tricky: two out of three times I tried it I couldn’t smell a rose note. Not a good one, not a bad one – none at all. And it’s really disconcerting when it comes from a perfume with this specific name. Once, when tried against another perfume, I think I smelled something close to the rose scent… But it could be a “transferred” effect – the same way as some people’s eyes can “pick up” a color from a piece of clothing. Other than that, Rose Absolu smells nice on the skin and wears very close to it.

Yesterday I read in the Fragrance Friends group on Facebook somebody’s comment that Rose Absolu reminds her Tauer’s Une Rose Vermeille. Even though I immediately felt somehow offended by that suggestion (I don’t know why since I’m not even familiar with that person) I still decided to give it a try. What can I say? With Une Rose Vermeille on one wrist and Rose Absolu on another I think I could smell some rose in Rose Absolu. In addition to the rose both perfumes use tonka bean. That’s it. Beyond those two facts I cannot smell any similarities. Maybe if I were to take a shower and then re-apply only Rose Absolu … But I’m still doubtful.

I tested Rose Absolu from the splash mini bottle and Une Rose Vermeille from a dab vial. I do not see a full bottle of former in my future. As to the latter, this is the only Tauer’s perfume out of five I’ve tried so far that I liked. I think I want to have it in my collection. The “problem” is: on one hand, with it being so potent and many other perfumes I own and test I do not think I’ll ever go through the whole bottle; on the other hand, I like the bottle itself so I do not want to go for a decant. But for now I do not have to make that decision just yet: thanks to Another Perfume Blog I still have a full sample to go through.

It seems Yves Rocher in general struggles when it comes to the rose scent: the previous creation, Pur Desir de Rose, now discontinued, was even worse. In addition to not smelling like a rose, that one had some weird peppery note in it. This is a real scrubber for me. It is so unpleasant that I can’t do anything with it: using it as a room spray or a sheets spray is completely out of question. Garbage bin it is.

For the more positive spin on Rose Absolu read Robin’s review at NST.

As always, feel free to post a link to your blog’s post(s) related to the topic.

Image: my own

See all episodes:

Weeklong Test Drives, Season 2: Yves Rocher
WTD, Episode 2.1: Venice by Yves Rocher
WTD, Episode 2.2: Iris Noir, Tendre Jasmin and Naturelle by Yves Rocher
WTD, Episode 2.4: In the Search of the Perfect Lilac
WTD, Episode 2.5: Voile d’Ambre and Vanille Noire by Yves Rocher
WTD, Episode 2.6: Nature by Yves Rocher