Rose 31 (2006)
by Le Labo

Very warm, rather exotic - like an incensey potpourri of wood shavings and rose petals on a bed of glowing embers. This was the best part for me; for a moment I thought I had just stepped into a lost ancient temple where dark-robed monks chant long-forgotten mantras in an incense-filled inner sanctum. But back to reality. I hate the cheapo lab bottle design but the drydown definitely smells 'high quality', much in the same vein as the better packaged Amouage's Jubilation XXV. And if you're looking for a masculine rose scent that commands respect, put ROSE 31 on your test list. You'll be glad you did.

A pleasant dry rose petal with a slight woody backdrop. Nice scent, but $130 @ 50ml? If these niche scents would come down to earth price-wise, I'd own more of them for sure.....but these do not warrant the price tags.

My wife likes this one alot and it also smells pleasant on her as well....but when I told her the $$$, her answer was " I don't like it THAT much honey".

Rose 31 is my first Le Labo fragrance, recommended to me by a friend who had to twist my arm a bit to give it a shot. I'm glad I did!

This is the first rose fragrance I really took seriously, having been under the assumption that all rose fragrances were feminine and uncomfortable for a guy to wear. The image I had was an old lady splashing rosewater or smearing rose moisturizer all over her skin. Not exactly an image I wanted to evoke or portray.

But Rose 31, like many have said, isn't really about the rose so much. Yes, it's there - but it's blended enough to become palatable for those who have a rose phobia. The sillage is great in the first two hours, or so. Longevity is 6 hours on me which is just about right.

The dry-down is the nicest part of Rose 31. It's classy, elegant and refined. Everybody should try this - especially men, as there are elements of incense and woods that show up during the development that are unquestionably masculine.

Don't let rose phobia keep you away. Rose 31 will be a staple in my wardrobe, perhaps not as my favorite rose as I discover some other beauties, but I won't deny its greatness.

Magnificent stuff. The cedary drydown is lovely. Can't wait for morning to roll around so I can apply it again. Giant thumbs up on this one.

Well, I bought this blind along with a bottle of Oud 27. I had had a sample of Oud and really enjoyed it but did not have Rose. Reading up on Rose 31, it seemed like my kind of frag. Well, I have to admit that it was underwhelming. Overall I'd characterize this as a very subtle, dry, fresh rose petal & wood scent. It IS nice but it is subtle and it clearly makes you think of a freshly-cut young rose bud, not a big rose bloom projecting its fragrance across a lawn. Now, for all of that analysis, the rose is not the prominent feature of this fragrance - it's a warm, sort of dull woody base, and yes, it is regrettably only a skip and a hop away from my Oud 27. I haven't tried any other Le Labos but from the reviews this may be held in common with other bottles they produce. While this fragrance is nice, it is a bit too subtle, too warm & dry, to justify its lofty price tag. Competition at that level is for some pretty grand creations and grand, this is not - the opposite.

My final observation, and this is more than just a nitpick, is that the vaporizer pickup tube in my bottle is cut short. It doesn't reach the bottom of the bottle. When I get down there, it'll leave up to a good 15ml at the bottom that I just can't reach. I"ll have to see if I can pull apart the vaporizer without damaging the bottle to get at that last bit. That's pretty downright disappointing... for a bottle that costs you $200, you sure don't want to open up and find out that there is $30 at the bottom that you'll never be able to reach without modifications!

Despite how thoroughly I enjoy Oud 27, I am disinclined to buy or even try any further Le Labo fragrances on account of this bottle.

Love Love Love Rose 31! Out of all my so called niche scents, This is the one that garners the most compliments, Like wow you smell very fresh and masculine or damm I need to buy that for my husband! To be complety honest
none of them have the longevity that this one has, Seems like 24 hours on my skin, Now I dont know
about notes and all that other stuff, But I do know what smells good, and this stuff smells AWESOME!