Nocturnal Rose

I am not a huge BBW lover but I do miss an oldie but goodie: Butterfly Flower. I am sort of a basic lover of white florals but I also love rose scents and how they are probably the most dynamic of the florals ever used. This is a great example. Rose. Patchouli. Dry. Spicy. If anyone had said those things to me I would have said, nah, not for me. But following in line with Le Labo Thé Noir which to me is dry, pungent, peppery, hay, which is my top 3 favourite frags ever, I just about fell over when I smelled this in store. They had released a rose line. As a Delina lover, they had nailed it previously with Covered in Roses so I was sure to get in there to smell the others. Heirloom rose was a bore. Vanilla rose, predictably BBW and not my cup kf tea. But Nocturnal Rose, in the men's section? Oh no. Just no. This was poorly chosen out. This was clearly a unisex leaning female scent. Where was the body mist and thr 3 wick candle? The pocketbac? There was nothing of those. I grabbed up some wallflowers, body cream and shower gel and then later saw they had put on the cologne for 12.99!!!!! I immediately purchased 3!! What a steal for us Canadians who rarely snag such deals. This fragrance is perfection. I only wished it had better sillage. Bring out a 3 wick candle please!! I am not into vampires or anything like this but it just evokes this cozy warm earthy pungent smell and I agree with a previous poster, has that "walking into a store that sells crystals vibe". Dare I say whiff of patchouli incense?

I went in to B&BW to check out the new Vera Bradley peach something or other fragrance (don’t bother), and somehow walked out with this? From the MEN’s section? It is very unisex, in my opinion. It’s weighty without being cloying. It’s beautiful without being feminine. It’s powerful without being masculine. It’s unlike anything else B&BW has put out. It’s giving gothic vampires by candlelight, and I’m here for it. I also got the body creme and body wash which will go really nicely with my Guerlain’s Nahema, which is my all time favorite gorgeous rose fragrance. I think the wash and creme will also go well with my Etat Libre d’Orange’s Dune, another moody rose scent. This is probably not a safe blind buy; but since there’s literally a B&BW in every single mall these days, popping in to sample it first won’t be a problem for most people. For a cologne, it has decent longevity; it lasted four hours on my skin. It has really lovely sillage, and projects nicely for quite awhile. I only wish it was also available as a body mist to put in my hair. I’m pleasantly shocked at how happy I am with my purchase. I’ll probably go and pick up more body wash and body creme in anticipation of them discontinuing this fragrance. B&BW always gets rid of their best scent: I’m looking at YOU, Calypso Clementine.

In my experience, rose is not one of my favorite notes to go for in a fragrance. But the first time I tried this one—WOW—I was really impressed by what I smelled. The first thing I did was look up the notes: rose, black pepper, and cedarwood. It creates a really dark, mysterious, yet sexy and sensual scent. What surprised me the most is that it comes from the men’s collection, but it actually makes sense. It doesn’t smell like a typical “feminine” rose—sweet and fresh. NO. This is more mature, more intense. As it dries down, it shifts into something that feels like being in the woods, but in a fresh, almost vampire-like way. On my skin, it lasts around 5–6 hours, which is really good for a fragrance that costs about $30. Lastly, in my opinion, this is a fragrance with a very attractive concept—“Nocturnal Rose.” And honestly, it smells exactly like the name suggests: night, woods, something sexy and mature. I’d say give it a try, even if you don’t usually like—or haven’t really experienced—this type of scent profile. This cologne might just surprise you.

One of the few B&BW Men's fragrances to allow itself to be softer. To The Moon, Freshwater, and Deep Ocean all have a sweetness to them, but that's not necessarily uncommon in B&BW's scent profile; sweet is what we lean into most of the time. Nocturnal Rose is soft. It isn't sweet, just light and inviting with an extremely fresh, floral-forward beginning. Give it an hour, and you'll notice it's dried down into a very elegant woodsy musk that still has that powdery rose petal layer. By the time it's run its course, it still leaves behind the faintest clean smell where it was applied, almost cold in the nose. I'm placing this as my #1 B&BW Men's Fragrance of all time. Had they made Gingham Unstoppable more of a signature, as they should have, it might have some competition, because that one was lovely, but they didn't! VIBES: Goth, Lestat de Lioncourt, Vampiric, Haunting Beauty

This scent reminds me of a muskier version of Delilah and Zimaya Fatima which are both my favorite rose scents. I layer them with Bath and Body Works Covered In Roses. This is Covered in Roses without the sugar and red berries. It's more serious. It has more depth. I love it, but the longevity is lacking as with all the new Bath and Body Works fragrances. It may be due to the formulation. It is great for layering. And is more of a skin scent, when sprayed on well moisturized skin as it doesn't project or hold even when sprayed in the hair or on clothing. This unisex Rose scent is great for all seasons, day or night and any weather. I should have gotten more bottles as it is now discontinued.