Rose Poivree The Different Company for women

I smell no civet in ROSE POIVREE, but a huge dose of cumin. My references for civet are JOY and FIRST; my references for cumin, well, the kitchen! Perhaps synthetic civet has a cuminesque cast? Or maybe civet + coriander reacts to produce a cumin facsimile? Hmmm...

It's also possible that the names have been confused, and there really is plain old cumin in this composition. Anyway, cumin is never subtle—whether in perfumery or cuisine—and I find the quasi-cumin note so marked in the opening of this composition that it somewhat mangles the rose. Unfortunately, as the cumin fades to the point of being tolerable, the rose pretty much dies out. (Death by cumin?)

Well, this is not something that I have any real desire to smell like, and there's no dearth of rose perfumes out there, so I can safely move on...

My perfumer friend described this scent as "a fresh rose bud pissed by a male dog." Somehow I like this description: wild, sensual, animalic, dark and earthy, yet a fresh rose (I think the récipe of rose here is quite similar to the one in Le Labo Rose 31) involved. Like any other comments and critics, it's a really skin scent.
For me, it's not only a skin scent, it's almost my natural odor. I like this piece very well, but if someone asked about the proper occasion to wear it on, I might answer with blushing: fairly suitable for an affair. :P

Second review after re-smelling:
So this is made by Monsieur Ellena! Well, no surprise, he's genius!
Rose Poivrèe is a very wild type of rose, very grown up and running into fields, deep, intense and taken together with stem and spikes!
It must be pepper that makes that effect, because Rose Poivrèe smells EXACTLY like Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection, another masterpiece rose!
In my previous review I said it smells close to Creed Fleurs de Bulgarie.
I think the concept is more or less the same: rose, pepper, animal note.
You need to like rose to wear this, I mean love rose in a deep, no compromise way, because this is no rosewater (even if rosewater is also very appealing to me). Most of all you need to like a rose drenched in warm smelling pepper and spices.
It's an intensely attractine fragrance for me, but as same as Eau de Protection it doesn't pull crowds around you. Too much of a sophisticated smell!
I would see a refined, artistic lady wandering in museums and old libraries, dressed in perfect style, with an apparent cold attitude, but totally warm and wild at heart!
The sillage is average, it projects finely but not invadently and lasting power is very good.
Like Rossy de Palma it goes on steaming for hours in a subtle way, closer and closer to skin but always present and slightly changing to different nuances.
A beauty for sure, maybe not for all noses.

Dream like a perfume of a rose.Such as the rose and not.Thank you Ellena :)

I bought a sample of this from Lucky Scent after I read about it in the NY Times style section. I get rose to start but about 20 minutes later I'm looking around for my bottle of Aromatics Elixir...only I don't have any! I've never experienced another scent so similar to the AE and it must be the civet that attracts me down this fragrance path.

I had a decant, and had to pass it on... although I am a die hard rose fan, and I wanted this one for the longest time, it was unwearable to me. I don't know if I had the pre or after reformulation version; but it was strong, extremely dry , green, peppery, without any hint of sweetness. It actually smelled like red and green peppers than like rose; the rose in it seemed too crisp to stand out, mixing its scent with the predominant pepper scent, and loosing the femininity to a rather masculine approach of what a rose should be; on a positive note, it was stronger than other scents I tried from The Different Company, and very long lasting. Well, I guess in the end it's a matter of skin chemistry; but for how expensive this niche is, I surely expected to like it more.

Pre-reformulated version:

In theory the idea of combining rose and pepper really appeals to me. The opulent round rose fragrance would be made edgy and sharp by a sprinkling of pepper.

I want to say that what hit me in the nose at first spritz was a whiff of strong and bracing pepper. Or the driest wave of coriander. I kept sniffing the target on my wrist as it radiated the most concentrated aroma. I simply couldn't believe my nose. Because what I smelled was: unwashed body-- B.O.-- Dirty laundry--no, to be precise, dirty gym gear.

My husband got my wrist thrust under his nose again--and he diplomatically said: "I do smell something floral..."

The animalic blast receded after quite some time, leaving a very interesting rose. It was the intense smell of a rose after a week of sitting in a vase on your table. The petals are heavy and dropping, and there is that woody, weepy smell when a rose is wilting.

I can appreciate this perfume-the concept is creative and makes perfect sense. But I don't think I could wear it.

Based on the notes I obtained a sample in search of an alternative to my other rose fragrance. However on my skin it smells like freshly ground pepper with a hint of roses past their prime.

Oh niches... Sometimes very overrated & hyped. "Rose Poivree" smells very much like YARDLEY "English Rose". I kid you not!

Only Yardley's rose is sharper. Not 100% identical, but yet still "almost like this". A big old-fashioned classic Bulgarian rose. A deep red rose in full bloom. Saprklingly vibrant, & with an fantastic strength, sillage & staying-power. The old-fashioned from the 1800-century. Note: Remeber to use it with a very light hand. A bottle of Yardley's rose will last you ages.

YARDLEY "English Rose" is $10-15 for 100ml edt. "Rose Poivree" is $233 for 90ml. Well, the choice is yours to make - which one will you choose! ;)

I think of this as Lyric Woman's evil twin. A skimpy, almost imperceptible layer of rose sandwiched between heavy civet and heavier coriander.

Amouage, take me away!


EDIT:
Holy Reformulation!
I was reviewing the original version. The new formula is clean, civet-free, almost spiceless, too, by compariison.

It's a Big Sister of many rose fragrances. It's not a girl like La Rose Fleurette whose pink rose whispers on a cloud of heliotrope and light touch of honey. This rose is spicy in every meaning of a word, it's a little bit dirty, in every meaning of its word. It's not a girl, it's a woman of the world, quite experienced and ready for more experiences!

Intoxicating slightly bitter rose, lightly breathing in the air. It could be perfect just like this, but the whiffs of pepper make this rose more original. They bring the impression of worldly originality. And when the slightly sexy animalistic smell comes in, there is already no doubt about the nature of experiences of the Rose's Big Sis!

Too bad it didn't stay long with me. Apparently, my skin just eats up this scent, so I can brag that I can eat Big Sis for breakfast!

Ah, and I do know that red roses rarely smell, but this rose is red. I can see it.

I really can't decide whether I love it or hate it.It smells like roast with lot of ground cumin and pepper.I think it's wild,only a self confident person could wear this!

My maternal Grandmother owned a small, black lacquered box that was lined inside with dark, red velvet. It's where she kept her jewelry, prized possessions, ... and favorite dirty jokes.

When she passed away this black box went to my mother,and every time I"m home I like to go through it to bring back memories. This box has a very distinct smell, and Rose Poivre reminds me of that smell.

It's a musky, spicy rose smell that I love to sniff when I'm sitting there reading the joke on 'Sister Mary peddles 'Donkey' to raise money for church'. (Noun replaced for decency's sake).

How funny to discover my Gma had a naughty sense of humor. This scent, too, has a naughty sense of humor. You think it's sweet with 'rose' in the name, but then you come to the punch line.

The pink pepper/coriander duo is also in my beloved Bois D'armenie, but here vetiver and civet replace incense and guaic wood, making it edgy and commanding versus smooth and serene. Vetiver, unfortunately, is a note I can't wear very well, and keeps this from getting a pass from me.

But I'm sure my Gma would have loved this.

Initially, this appealed to me because I'm obsessed with good rose scents and love pepper. But after using a small bottle several times, the pepper just goes away and the rose becomes different. It is not as good on the drydown as on first spray and definitely not worth its price.

Uh! Here comes the beast! This is very animalic since the beginning and IMO a very well done one. The quality of ingredients seems very high. It is peppery and I like that part. The rest is predominantly rose on a dirty animalic background. It smells vaguely like Creed Fleurs de Bulgarie, but warmer and less distant. It reminds me a lot of old traditional perfumery renewed, because it's a very unusual type of raw ingredients compared to new releases. It could have been a signature scent for a wild eccentric grand-mother!

quite unusual - the rose note with such a background is just delicios.

Too peppery by far ,the rose was there for a brief moment. I get the impression the cheapest ingredients are predominant . It's not worth the price tag.

Rose Poivree was the first from TDC I'd tried. I'm impressed by the quality of its ingredient. The rose you get from it, is the pure and fresh. Dark read roses dampen with dew. It smelled luxurious and somehow relaxing. I love to inhale deeply and can't get enough of it. If you like rose, this is a must try. If you don't like rose, it still worth trying. It is so different from others rose inspired scents in the market.