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Frederic Malle "Une Rose" vs. Serge Lutens "Sa Majeste la Rose"???

post #1 of 26
1/8/12 at 7:09am
Thread Starter 
Hi all you rose lovers!

Which one do you prefer and why?
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post #2 of 26
1/8/12 at 7:17am
Don't own or use it but Une Rose smells nicer at least on my wife.
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post #3 of 26
1/8/12 at 7:20am
A friend of mine has both and I smelled them on her, and would have to say I like the Malle better. However, I think that she prefers the Lutens more! :-)
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post #4 of 26
1/8/12 at 7:41am
Different creatures, in my book. For me, I'd compare:

Une Rose - Rose de Nuit ( dark, serious rose )

Lipstick Rose - Sa Majeste La Rose ( fun, light-hearted rose )

I come down on the side of Sa Majeste ( I'm not fond of Une ), but I far prefer Lutens' Rose de Nuit.
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post #5 of 26
1/8/12 at 9:13am
Sa Majesté la Rose by a long shot. Opens with a blast of citronella which soon gives way to reveal a dewy, fresh, live rose which has excellent longevity. A favourite of Uncle Serge's, apparently.

Une Rose, by contrast, has a dank, earthy, funky fungal note that I just cannot get past. No thanks.
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post #6 of 26
1/8/12 at 9:15am
I love rose perfumes in general but Sa Majesté La Rose didn't work for me at all. There is some note in it that spoils it for me-- cumin perhaps?

Two summers ago I bought Une Rose. I was so impressed with its realism and tenacity. It also has a great deal of sillage. However, it turns out that I am one of the unlucky ones that get a urinous note during the drydown, and I like the top/middle notes better than the base notes, which are dark. I solved this by spraying it onto an aromatherapy-type locket rather than on skin. This makes it evolve more slowly. My husband has used my bottle and doesn't have the same problem I do with the drydown-- he loves the dark note and wishes there was more of it on his skin! Too bad we can't swap skins LOL.

I would like to recommend another rose perfume for you to try: Azzaro Acteur. An excellent rose scent for men at a very reasonable price.
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post #7 of 26
1/8/12 at 9:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 30 Roses View Post

I love rose perfumes in general but Sa Majesté La Rose didn't work for me at all. There is some note in it that spoils it for me-- cumin perhaps?

Fascinating. I don't get any cumin at all on my skin (and I'm ueber sensitive to cumin). I find it can turn a little (pardon my French) pissy after a good 5 or so hours, but I actually rather like that.
The wonders of skin chemistry...
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post #8 of 26
1/8/12 at 10:23am
If you have Une Rose , you dont need any other rose frags in your collection
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post #9 of 26
1/8/12 at 10:27am
As a lover of rose perfumes as well I have both these fragrances.

SL Sa Majeste is wonderful and I find the longevity better. But I don't know why, but for me it can be very confusing in the first hour or two.

No such problem with Une Rose .......I find it stunning from start to it's lingering sunset.

Une Rose is my favorite fragrance ....and if I had to name my top ten favorites I would struggle there are so many I love. But Une Rose, without blinking would be my desert island fragrance!
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post #10 of 26
1/8/12 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugandaraja View Post

Different creatures, in my book. For me, I'd compare:

Une Rose - Rose de Nuit ( dark, serious rose )

Lipstick Rose - Sa Majeste La Rose ( fun, light-hearted rose )

I come down on the side of Sa Majeste ( I'm not fond of Une ), but I far prefer Lutens' Rose de Nuit.

What I was going to say albeit maybe Sa Majeste La Rose is more realistic than Lipstick Rose.

But SMLR feels like the rose used was from the ground up whereas Une Rose feels like the roots up were used.

I'm going to wear Une Rose tomorrow. I think i have a sample.
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post #11 of 26
1/8/12 at 11:42am
They are different enough to warrant a wardrobe space each. Sa Majeste La Rose is dewy, more floral. Une Rose is a touch woodier, with a drier, earthier feel. I prefer the Lutens.
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post #12 of 26
1/8/12 at 6:42pm
To be fair to the Lutens I've only tested it once and I basically remember it being a "cute" pink "feminine" rose scent. I need to re-test it.

I love the Malle however, it's a wonderful, big rose scent. It's linear nature is the one thing that stops it from being FBW for me. I keep looking for some sort of interesting transition or subtlety that never comes.

I love rose fragrances but I still haven't found the one.
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post #13 of 26
1/8/12 at 6:57pm
My Une Rose sample was finished. I resorted to using wifey's Portrait of a Lady.
Lovely.
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post #14 of 26
1/8/12 at 7:29pm
Thread Starter 
I have bottles of both perfumes thanks to my gifts to myself (my family gave me Gucci Sport...go figure!), and wore Une Rose yesterday. I was blown away by the longevity (given that this is my perennial problem), and also by how linear it is. I described it as being within a rosebud at dusk. I detected a lot of acetone, but then again, I detect a lot of acetone in real roses, so it was authentic.
I will open Sa Majeste tomorrow and compare.
Today I'm opting for C&S Dark Roses.
I tried Portrait of a Lady at Aedes when I was in NY over the holidays and found it to be more complex than Une Rose, if that makes any sense.
Thanks for your feedback. When I'm in Dubai next month, I'll have to pick up Diptyque's new Eau Rose which, according to what I read on other post, seems to be just up my alley.
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post #15 of 26
1/8/12 at 7:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by daoud62 View Post

I have bottles of both perfumes thanks to my gifts to myself (my family gave me Gucci Sport...go figure!), and wore Une Rose yesterday. I was blown away by the longevity (given that this is my perennial problem), and also by how linear it is. I described it as being within a rosebud at dusk. I detected a lot of acetone, but then again, I detect a lot of acetone in real roses, so it was authentic.
I will open Sa Majeste tomorrow and compare.
Today I'm opting for C&S Dark Roses.
I tried Portrait of a Lady at Aedes when I was in NY over the holidays and found it to be more complex than Une Rose, if that makes any sense.
Thanks for your feedback. When I'm in Dubai next month, I'll have to pick up Diptyque's new Eau Rose which, according to what I read on other post, seems to be just up my alley.


They said it'd be available at the boutique in Dubai mall by the 15th of January.

Just yesterday I made my wife to smell Dark Roses and asked her what it reminded her of. She exclaimed mekhamariya. Which is a blend of saffron and roses. We were surprised a British perfume house would know it and more impotently execute it so well.
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post #16 of 26
1/8/12 at 10:27pm
Thread Starter 
I'm detecting a longevity problem with Dark Rose. I used a couple of sprays this morning, not only on skin but on the back of my tie and my undershirt, and it's already basically vanished, and it's only been two hours.

I'm wondering whether I need to go very light on the trigger, as with Montale's Black Aoud. Maybe the oud/rose combination pushes me into olfactory fatigue.
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post #17 of 26
1/8/12 at 10:29pm
Thread Starter 
I'll have to look at mekhamariya. I remember seeing this blend, or something similar, at Ajmal.

Thanks for the info on the Diptyque shop in Dubai Mall. I'll probably go at the end of February, so I should be sure to find it.
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post #18 of 26
1/8/12 at 10:53pm
Mekhamariya means fermented or marinated (similar to how wine is fermented).
I think the latter meaning is more appropriate to what mekhamariya is. Roses and saffron marinating.
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post #19 of 26
1/8/12 at 11:37pm
Exactly what Sugandaraja said!
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post #20 of 26
1/9/12 at 12:45am
For me, SL Sa Majeste La Rose. Very much a soliflore, IMO, and great for layering with a bit of rose.
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post #21 of 26
1/9/12 at 2:57am
I prefer "Une rose", it's earthy and have a fungal note as ghandajala stated, but to my nose it's still a clean (as all the Malles) and balanced rose. I haven't found the perfect realistic rose perfume (expect maybe "la rose jacqueminot" in her original formula).
SMLR doesn't work at all on my skin, i tested it a few times and being to feel nauseous each time
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post #22 of 26
1/9/12 at 5:51am
Wore Portrait of a Lady today.
Lovely but a tad bit too much patchouli and I like patchouli!
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post #23 of 26
1/9/12 at 8:10am
Une Rose - although I prefer others more (Rose 31, Black Aoud)
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post #24 of 26
1/9/12 at 9:59am
I know that (obviously) the Serge Lutens is a rose based scent but i find it far too heavy with roses and it's cloying even sprayed sparingly.
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post #25 of 26
12/30/12 at 2:59am
Definitely Sa Majeste la Rose. It is like catnip to me, I adore it.
Une Rose on the other hand smells really fake and plasticy to me.
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post #26 of 26
12/30/12 at 6:18am
...for rose I prefer Noir Épices...!
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