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Rose - Masculine, Feminine, What's the Difference

post #1 of 10
2/4/10 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
Lyric Man, a heavy rose scent is obviously categorized as "for men." Something like Sa Majeste La Rose seems aimed at women (even though technically most SL frags are considered uni).

My question is if you were to do a blind test, that is, not knowing anything about the marketing, the bottle, the perfumer's intentions, etc., what is there to gauge whether a rose scent leans more masculine or femme? I suppose this question could be asked in many other categories, but with the use of rose, it seems like the lines are really blurred.

What are your thoughts?
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post #2 of 10
2/4/10 at 1:20pm
There is absolutely no clear line; it's all up for interpretation, both by the individual and by the culture itself.

To my nose, two rose fragrances, Iquitos ( ostensibly male ) and Gucci No. 3 ( ostensibly female ) both have almost identical bases.

In general, I'd say when people aim a rose at men they put either spices, incense, woods, and/or citrus into the blend to make it more abstract and less of a literal rose, while on the other hand, you're more likely to find powdery or gourmand roses aimed at women. Pure roses, too, are more likely to be aimed at women. However, all these are very wide generalizations, and I can think of many exceptions to both.
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post #3 of 10
2/4/10 at 1:43pm
I'm no expert here, so take this with a pinch of salt.
For me, scents that use rose as a central note with a backup of other florals are more "feminine". Often they might be powdery as well.

For some men's cologne that I've liked, there might be a bit of rose in there just to sweeten it up a little and soften it up, but it's not obvious that it's there. so an accent. Like some of the traditional menswear (suit/tie) guys will do that.

The other way I think of "masculine" roses is if they're "dirty", like say C&S No.88, so it's rose but heavier/earthy

Of course the easiest way to tell is if it says "Pour Homme" on the bottle, that's usually a big tipoff
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post #4 of 10
2/4/10 at 2:47pm
It's a good question. Were one to blind test some of these, I think we'd judge some masculine, some feminine and many unisex in all reality.

Of the rose scents I've dabbled with, only DC 1913 would probably get pegged as a masculine. Windsor's strange opening would probably put it in the masculine category too. Hard to say really.

I'm not much of a notes analyst, but a talented nose might pick up some of the typical male supporting notes vs. female supporting notes.
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post #5 of 10
2/4/10 at 2:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Master-Classter View Post

The other way I think of "masculine" roses is if they're "dirty", like say C&S No.88, so it's rose but heavier/earthy

Something worthy of note in the context of No. 88 is that it, like a number of rose fragrances ( Domeneco Caraceni comes to mind, along with many rose chypres ), is mostly geranium rather than rose. Geranium is so often paired with rose that I have a feeling many think "rose" when smelling rose and geranium together, but geranium really makes rose much stronger, tangier, sharper, and greener, and thus more traditionally masculine.
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post #6 of 10
2/4/10 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galamb_Borong View Post

Something worthy of note in the context of No. 88 is that it, like a number of rose fragrances ( Domeneco Caraceni comes to mind, along with many rose chypres ), is mostly geranium rather than rose. Geranium is so often paired with rose that I have a feeling many think "rose" when smelling rose and geranium together, but geranium really makes rose much stronger, tangier, sharper, and greener, and thus more traditionally masculine.

Yes, G_B, good point! Enter Malle's Geranium Pour Monsieur.....
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post #7 of 10
2/4/10 at 4:28pm
This week I bought Tocade by Rochas for my wife, and Zino by Davidoff for myself. Both of these fragrances have a dominant rose note, and I think they are both fantastic rose fragrances. What differentiates them is that Tocade is predominantly a sweet rose/vanilla accord, while Zino is an ever so slightly dirty rose/patchouli accord. My personal, subjective olfactory perception is that the accompanying note(s) is(are) what causes the rose note to lean either more feminine or more masculine.
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post #8 of 10
2/4/10 at 4:34pm
To me there is no distinction.
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post #9 of 10
2/4/10 at 4:57pm
I'm not so sure, I think Lyric Man could work on the right woman...
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post #10 of 10
2/4/10 at 6:11pm
The only difference is if they put "pour homme" on the bottle or not.
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