Rose Barbare (2005)
by Guerlain

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.

7th November, 2011.

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.

4th July, 2011.

First, I have to admit that the rating was a bit of in between thumbs up and neutral, but since this accord has been done better (more interesting) I decided to go for the neutral. It's solid work, but no masterpiece IMO.
The first association I got was Rose de Nuit, but the Lutens being the darker, less sweet and by far naughtier of the two. I think Rose Barbare may have been inspired by it, but can not stir as much interest as Rose de Nuit can.
I'm even going to continue by saying that Kurkdjian's own Lumiere Noire pour Femme is more interesting and daring than this creation for Guerlain.
Overall, the winey rose accord is beautiful (as in all others mentioned here), but eventually too sweet in Barbare's heart for my taste and a bit on the safe, i.e. boring, side IMO.
My recommendation for sampling in this field would be in this order:
1. Serge Lutens - Rose de Nuit
2. Francis Kurkdjian - Lumiere Noire pour Femme
3. Guerlain - Rose Barbare

8th June, 2011.

Rose Barbare offers a very smooth, well-rounded flower, dripping with honey and woods. I prefer this to Creed's Bulgarian Tea Rose, although they're close. This of course lacks the spiky tea/ambergris of the Creed, which seems like a sensible deficit if ever there was one. This is 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 offering from Guerlain is quite nose-worthy.

20th December, 2010.

This is a beautiful rose chypre .Rich and rounded with the honey and apchouli which comes across as slightly earhthy and almost a leather note on my skin. Slightly sweet on me ,much better than Idylle.

19th May, 2010.

Rose Barbare is simply gorgeous. You can sense the nod to Guerlain's Nahema, but in a modern format with a dark velvet cloak of patchouli and mossy accords to coddle the honey-rose. It is definitely unisex. The Guerlain connection is obvious and respectable. B-u-u-u-u-t I smell something more close in style, wear, and overall smell to this dark rose: a VERY close association to the sadly discontinued L'Arte di Gucci. Yes, if you love L'Arte and lament is passing, or even if you have never smelled it/owned it and wished you had, Rose Barbare is your best option and it is glorious in it's own right. I am fortunate to have about 1 oz of L'Arte di Gucci edt and it is breathtakingly gorgeous. Rose Barbare instantly reminds me of the luscious, wet, "round", intense rose, and the sensual warm honey-patchouli base. The patchouli is completely similar, as are the use of other "dark" notes. There are occasional breaths of sweetness from Rose Barbare that are not in L'AdG, but they are absolutely sisters separated at birth. Rose Barbare wears very smooth, very radiant, very consistently with lots of beautiful velvety rose, lots of smooth patchouli and moss notes, all seemlessly blended. It is warm and sensuous, and almost as three dimensional as Nahema. But one look of Rose Barbare in the mirror shows L'Arte di Gucci's ghost staring right back. Try Rose Barbare-- it is a beautifully done, sensuous dark rose, but its clear resemblance to L'Arte di Gucci should be acknowledged.

9th April, 2010.