So, tell me something about Rose 31

I think Off-Scenter sums Rose 31 up nicely. I would NOT blind but this, though. I have had 3-4 samples overthe last year or so and I still can't decide - which for me usually translates to a no-go or an 8 ml decant from TPC.



2321 reviews
Rose 31 is a dry, doughy, and peppery rose from the moment it lands on my skin. The rose is accented by attractively bitter green notes and bold cedar, which soon blend into a seamless, stark, and dusty rose accord that projects strongly from the skin and leaves plenty of sillage behind it. There’s a bit of powder, along with something mildly astringent in the background, which together make Rose 31 a little bit sneeze-inducing if I sniff it too closely. In time the doughy element reveals itself as a tangy, yet well blended patchouli note.

Rose 31 continues on a straight course for some hours before the floral notes subside to leave a bone dry and powdery cedar-dominated drydown. When compared to some of the other fine unisex/masculine rose based fragrances, Rose 31 seems close to a straight up rose scent. It lacks the dark, spicy profundity of Czech & Speake No. 88, the leather bar cruelty lurking in Montale’s Black Aoud, and the crisp green notes and fruit that decorate Diptyque’s L’Ombre dans l’Eau. In the purity and focus of its rose accord, it comes closer to Serge Lutens’s Sa Majesté la Rose, but where the Lutens rose is moist and voluptuous, the Le Labo scent is desiccated, like dried petals in a cedar box. Rose 31 is a distinctive take on rose, and I’d recommend anyone who enjoys cedar-heavy scents like Tam Dao or Satellite’s Padparadscha give this Le Labo offering a try.
10 December 2009


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I wear it often and unlike many others I dont get a huge amount of rose from it . Its there , but barely there if you know what I mean . Its very woody , very cumin heavy and dense . Definatly masculine . I would say it was a pretty safe blind buy but thats just me .

As for samples , Ive seen some on ebay but never been offered any at the Le Labo counter

It's not a safe one! But what you smell will depend on your skin; you could get rose or cumin, or maybe carrot. I didn't get much rose but lot's of cumin. As long as you are not disappointed that it's not a straight up rose and not averse to spice it's worth trying. It seems to be a pretty linear scent without any twists or turns. Blind buys can be fun, but get 50 ml not the 100.

Spicy carrot soup served in a freshly sanded cedar bowl, sprinkled with sandalwood. Dry - not a hint of sweetness.

It's not about the rose, which you do smell a bit in the opening.

I absolutely love it, but buying blind would be risky. Or just get the smallest size (15ml?)

I saw in the sales threads that a fellow in the UK is selling his bottle.

not soapy or floral to me. i would say earthy.

it can easily be mistaken for cinnamon... like cinnamon chewing gum.

some people get a body-odor accord from the cumin. i can see where they get that, but it never came to my mind.

it's very linear. it doesn't change much at all, but has good longevity.

I own this but i don't reach for it often. yet when I do, i'm always glad I did. it doesn't mesh with body oils very well the way I like frags to. sometimes, it's kind of like spraying really good room deodorizer on.

if I had to do it over again. I would buy the very smallest bottle they sell, along with their laundry detergent. this would be an AWESOME laundry detergent. i bought the biggest bottle, blind, and I regret that.

i can't see anyone DISliking this scent, however.

I just sampled this yesterday. My impressions were... very little rose to speak of! I mostly got a peppery strong cedar (a la Gucci), and maybe my nose was off but I thought it smelled a lot like cumin, or some sort of dirty spice. It was fairly clean otherwise. Maybe I'm just not used to smelling rose treated this way? It smelled fairly elegant and well done, but I really wasn't blown away or anything. I suppose if you want a simple clean "manly" rose, it would work. I just wasn't overly wowed by it. Longevity and Sillage were moderate.

(* all the above based on a single wearing, so take it with a pinch of salt)

Another opinion here. It's a great frag. I get a good bit of rose in it, then very woodsy/spicy. Better than average longevity on me.

That fact that it does have a dose of cumin in it makes it "sample first" imo. I find the cumin very low dose- just a touch of dirty. But noses vary.

Clearly the biggest winner from Le Labo I'm sure. Modern/Masculine/Sexy/Rosey/Woodsy.

the rose version of mkk by lutens...its not very rosy though...i like it a lot

I initially loved this one and picked it up while I was at Le Labo in Tokyo, but something in it doesn't quite agree with my nose. I'm now somewhat regretful that I didn't go with Gaiac 10.

I would say that if you can tolerate the anamalic/cumin notes in Eau D'Hermes, then you can definitely wear this. I find that both of these share similarities in notes in that department. I personally feel that these notes in combination with the light floral rose accord, give it a very sensual alluring vibe, which I really like. This was the reason I found it so appealing when I first sampled it in the store.

The fragrance is also very dry, especially in the dry down. I find that CdG 2Man has this effect and it's almost at the point that it hurts my nostrils. This could actually be the problem that I have with it.

I know someone that has Rose 31 for a really great price

It is a great great scent!
(See sig.)

I once checked their website and after clicking through their 'online mess' I found a note saying that Europeans should email some sort of UK store or branch to obtain the sample package (I think it was three). I have never done, but I might do at some point.

Tried it several times. Didn't care for it at all.

I like it very much .I get at least 6 hours longevity. If you like roses you will buy it. Great scent.

I love it. I think many people may dislike the cumin note because of its association/relation to the BO of someone who consumes a lot of it. Rose 31 smells like a woody rose with lots of cumin and some incense, to me. I was never a huge fan of cumin to begin with, so I didn't expect to enjoy it in Rose 31, but the entire scent works really well for me. Like Pour_Monsieur, I find the rose very very tame.

I couldn't make the association myself prior, but when I read Turin say "carrot-juice", it kind of clicked. It did smell a bit like carrot juice.

I get a dirty, spicy warm rose on the top, but that fades into more a dirty woods scent. Smells of high quality and has great longevity, but I wouldnt buy it blind. There's different "dirty" notes in a fragrance, and this one isnt really a peppery dirty, if that makes sense. It's nice, but I dont know if I'd get a bottle of it. One of those ones I like to experience from time to time.

B, I have a feeling you might actually enjoy Rose 31 alot. It isn't the usual thick and powdery rose at all, though. (I just noticed my earlier post repeated what many have already said! Should have went through every one first, sorry)

And, thank you very much for the avatar compliment!