Rose Barbare Guerlain for women and men

This is the fourth sample I've tried over a 2 1/2 year time period, and it never fails to wow me. Barbare is a honeyed, magenta rose that floats atop a diaphanous canopy of precious woods. It smells faintly of amber, but in truth no one wood stands out to me. Rather, the entire composition comes together in a harmonious, rich ensemble that makes me think of the orient, back when the orient was a place of mystery.

This is not a strong rose but a refined, well polished one. What spice notes there are wear like whispers, keeping things in the bedroom and out of the kitchen.

However, I am now reminded why I keep coming back for a sample (and not a full bottle). Longevity is short, barely 2 hours. Bois d'Armenie from this line last 24 hours on me. And thus, is my 'Art et Material' bottle of choice.

Rose Barbare offers the aroma of a very smooth, ripe red flower, dripping with honey and haloed in woods. I prefer this to Creed's Bulgarian Tea Rose, although they're close. This of course lacks the spiky tea and ambergris of the Creed, which is a sensible deficit if ever there was one. It's also a mite less feminine - I enjoy how the woodsy notes fuse with the sweet rose and create a low-key, romantic, and genderless fragrance. It isn't particularly complicated, but this perfume is the result of masterful craftsmanship.

What bothers me about some fragrances on this Guerlain line is the lack of link with either the note proposed or the artistical idea they supposed to evoke. Cruel Gardenia, for instance, it`s beautiful, but has very little of the complex and difficult to work with aroma of Gardenias. Angelique Noire is just ok, a flowery vanillic thing that could work if love addict but find it unwearable. Rose Barbare, on the other side, doesn`t seem distant from the Rose idea and it`s not a better worked version of a mainstream fragrance idea. But, as an artistical rose fragrance, it fails to evoke me love. I like it, it`s a good quality rose soliflore with just a hint of aldehydes, a good control of the bitter side of rose and a slight liqueur honeyed aura. But it stops here, doesn`t explore any other rose sides and doesn`t take advantage of the talented Francis Kurkdijian to extract much more of the rose than just a pretty slightly dark face. Idylle Duet does almost everything that this one does, but intenser and more complex. In a section where you have tons of rose fragrances, Rose Barbare doesn`t stand out and doesn`t seems up to the price charged on it.

this one is quite strange when applied, it smells a little sour and watery and somehow does not get to the point.

after a while it melts and then some spices appear - i can mostly smell cardamom.

i was a little expecting something barbare - but this is obviously not it.

I am a rose lover and this is like a dream come true. My nose has not left my wrist since I sprayed it on. I want to bathe in it! It is the most lush deep red rose with sweet honey and a gentle, spicy edge that rounds it off perfectly. Highly recommended! I cannot see myself tiring of this.

I'm not normally a rose person. It came as quite a surprise when I had decided to order a whole bunch of samples so that I might find the perfect rose fragrance. I was interested to see what an expensive, exclusive and somewhat niche rose fragrance, such as Rose Barbare, would do for me.

Guerlain has managed to create something that stands out in a crowd of rose perfumes lining our department store counters. On paper, Rose Barbare seems cold and metallic, watery in a sense with delicate rose petals, mostly white.

When applied to the skin, Rose Barbare becomes much more characteristic. I still sense an element of watery-ness, however the rose seems more natural this way. It's a much darker, redder rose than on paper.

The honey sweetens this fragrance considerably, with the spices providing an interesting balance. I enjoy the depth that this fragrance has.

When first applied, Rose Barbare smelt a little like turkish delight, so I certainly got the gourmand reference straight away. However once settled, the sugary tartness softens, making way for an incredibly feminine and natural rose concoction, which is rich in some ways, but not particularly warming.

Rose Barbare strikes me as more of a Spring scent, the cold weather doesn't seem to highlight its beauty. It makes me think of pretty pink dresses and tea parties.

My above statement leads me to question why Rose Barbare is not barbaric, wild and uncivilised like its name suggests. I get an edible rose with a somewhat refined nature. There's no dirty innuendos or rankness to be found here I'm afraid.

The sillage of Rose Barbare is very intimate, sometimes there are moments when I can't smell it at all. Lasting power is so-so. For an ordinary fragrance, I would be impressed, yet by something arising, like this fragrance does, from a big house like Guerlain with such a price tag, I'm a little disappointed.

The quality is commendable, however the longevity left me lusting for more.

Guerlain ROSE BARBARE is a beautiful composition of dark garnet red roses glistening with the thinnest patina of deep amber honey. This is a very refined display of the rose note, far from the "I only promised you a rose garden" frags. Simply exquisite. The development is not very complex, but ROSE BARBARE opens so appealingly that I'm happy for it to stay that way--as long as possible, in fact!

I do not consider this a chypre but a lightly oriental floral with a slightly gourmand edge. I could eqt these rose petals! The honey note is luscious and the dark red velvety roses are a welcome change from the pink ones so often featured in perfume. Although ROSE BARBARE opens fairly warm, the drydown becomes warmer still.

I am very impressed with this creation: proof positive that the illustrious Guerlain tradition continues on! Definitely FB- or decant-worthy. I would love to wear ROSE BARBARE again.

As I said in my review for Angelique Noire, I'm again wondering if I mistook this for something else. It's beautiful! Top: a sweet, vibrant, nearly edible bouquet of roses; middle: smooth, heavenly dark chocolate; bottom: honey and roses, but green, not sweet like the first stage. As I said, I tested it today for the first time along with Angelique Noire and Iris Ganache, and they all smell like dessert to me. Is that the idea behind them? They're all delicious!

Rose is a pleasant scent. I use rose water frequently in cooking. Rose is nice when blended with other fragrances. But i've never been a fan of strongly rose scented products. I remember the pleasant but unsophisticated and somewhat feeble "tea rose" and "rose rain" perfumes of the 70s.

But when i was at the Guerlain counter the other day, the woman had me test some Rose Barbare. What a surprise! It was so beautiful. It smelled like real roses, and was rich, deep, complex. This is no pastel rose, but delicious and dark.

A dark red rose, elegant and refined, without any intention to flirt with you, this is a weighty rose, with a hint of honey and beautiful sharpness of chypre notes.