Paestum Rose

Exploring rose-centered scents is such a wonderful thing to do. You see, for me, there is a sizable difference between rose and any other flower in terms of how much I like it. Paestum Rose is one more rose interpretation I find extraordinary good. Paestum Rose opens with a mix of peppers and spices in general, giving way to a rather strong and powerful rose, slightly different than what I used to smell - Turkish rose is mentioned so I guess this is it. A combination of rose and mostly pink pepper dominates the heart. Then it starts to get more serious, heavy and masculine with a wave of incense and myrrh, slowly putting the pepper note aside and making a beautiful rose-incense combo. With some woods in the background, this is a drydown to die for, and the best part of the scent evolution. Now, a small, unnecessary objection. If you totally focus on the names and the names only, this perfume would be a mix of Rose Poivrée(top and heart) and Incense Rose(base). Now, I haven't tried those two, but I think you get my point. The longevity of PR is excellent, approximately 10 hours - rose with pepper phase lasts a bit longer that an incense-rose phase, and it projects a tad better as well - the whole projection of this scent is solid, with a rather thick cloud. What I don't like about this perfume is a matter of its combination with my skin. The peppered rose is a phase I like, but it really seemed a bit too feminine on me, even for my taste. In fact, while I had a share of compliments wearing this perfume - I had three samples of it until recently - I also heard some 'You smell like my grandmother' comments. And while I like my perfumes to be complex, for the sake of my wearing I would prefer this one to start with incense much earlier - it smells, to me, better and more masculine. All in all, this is another beautiful rose and another winner from Duchaufour. 8.75/10

Cold weather is the best time when this should be worn. On my wrist if opened with the most amazing combiniton of rose and cinnamon, extremely warm, cozy and feminine. The cinnamon here is very dominant and as we all know, there are many kinds of cinnamon. Sometimes it's just spices, but here it's more than spices. Paestum Rose's cinnamon is freshly baked cinnamon cookies like. It has a christmasy feel to it because of that. I can agree to previous reviewers that this is not floral. For me it's more woody spicy or I don't even know...the scent is so complex, that it changes all the time. After the cinnamon cookie phase it starts to get more dry and woody, I can definetely feel myrrh and the patchoulli show's it's herbal/medical face. At the heart phase, together with patchoulli tea and black currant's make this scent little bit fresher, refreshing, so I can see why people consider this to be more made for hot weather. Pity, but the rose for me is almost gone at the heart part, which is weird, but not definetely bad thing, because everything else is still there which makes this fragrance very loveable. It is a masterpiece and I love it.

Rose, incense, myrrh and cedar wood! The perfect combination in perfect proportions, accented with some subtle spices and other woody notes. The incense and woods render the rose dry and transparent, not sweet or moist or floral, like rose petals stored with precious resins in a cedar chest or burned along with cedar chips and incense. The scent is more or less linear, with the cedar eventually fading somewhat and the rose and myrrh becoming a little more prominent late in the drydown, but the end is still basically the same as the beginning. There’s plenty of sillage, but it’s not overpowering. Longevity is good, but it’s gone from clothing by the next morning. For the first few hours that I wore Paestum Rose I was head over heels in love and knew that this was a perfume that I had to have a larger amount of, but by the end I was a little disappointed that nothing had really changed. The sample vial has gone into my “favorites” box, so as I use it up I’ll decide whether I need a larger decant. Whatever my final decision, I have to say that this is one of the best perfumes I’ve tried in a long time.

Paestum is an ancient ex-Greek, now Italian city where old temples of forgotten Greek gods still stand under the southern sun. Where roses are climbing up grey stones and during starry nights they exhale their passionate rosy souls into the Universe. If you will happen to pass by at that moment you probably will loose your head just as it happened to me once I inhaled this very essence of most mysterious rose of Duchafour. In this perfume you not just smell notes, you SEE this night, you see those roses, you are in Paestum. I only smelled something similar at night in old part of Athens where people put hundreds of pots with roses right outside their little houses. And silly tourists sometimes knock them down walking up or down town. I liked to come on those steps just to sit at night and look down the Athens but mostly because the smell was as you already came to heaven. Its not spicy rose, not incense rose, not any other rose, because its too smooth, to perfectly blended to be even divided in two. Incredible.

I was never a big fan of rose, but this scent is converting me. The rose here is so perfect and natural and surounded by intoxicating spices and woods. I find this scent highly evocative. I makes me think of the joys in life. Enjoying high culture, touring the most beautiful museums, enjoying the finest wines. I feel motivated to take a big bite out of life when I smell this on my wrist. I would classify this scent as an oriental spicy. And I think it can be worn anytime of the year. Day or evening. I love it! Edited to add: Ive worn this a few times now and I have a different interpretation of when I wore it the first time. I get more rose than anything else now. The rose again, is the most perfect Ive ever smelled. Very pure and crisp. The musks makes the rose soft and the faint incense in the backround gives it warmth and depth. The scent lies close to my skin and is very romantic. I can see now why its classified as a floral woody musk. No longer spicy on my skin. Interesting.

This perfume is so STUNNING. Not in a snooty way or a too sophicated way. Just simply stunning. Its so unique yet not odd, and very easy to wear. A rare breed in perfumery. I consider it a Rose/Amber fragrance with Rose being the main player here. It starts off as Rosy, ambery, and spicy. After it dries down the scent gets drier, the amber and spice notes get quiet and the rose stands out most. Its a dry rose. Sort of reminds me of Agent Provacator without the sharpness or the soapyness. AP comes to mind only because I feel both rose notes as a dried up rose, and both scents are quite dry to my nose. I also feel a tad bit of oud in this composition. Rose lovers, try this. Im not really into niche perfumes but this is surely a masterpeice. Sillage is great along with longevity. Just gorgeous. Edit: Just read that amber in not an ingredient in this perfume. Very surprised. Its still a Rose/Amber frag in my book.

I tested Paestum Rose the last from the line since I have a love/hate relationship with the note of rose. It is a very polarizing note, so I proceeded with caution. To my surprise, this one came out the best way possible, I absolutely love it! The first thought I had is that this could be an Andy Tauer fragrance. Indeed, it features notes that is part of Andy's repertoire. Incense, rose, myrrh, and especially - coriander. This smells quite dry, spicy and deep with a fresh rose carrying the fragrance. This is not sparkling, it is rich and just beautiful. The longevity on my skin is about 6-7 hours with above average to later moderate/soft projection. Paestum Rose is definitely in the top three fragrance list from Eau D'Italie. I strongly recommend trying this one out, it could warrant a bottle in the future.

I'm speechless. This perfume is great. A rose-incense combination that reminds me of the ancient world. It is like I am in Greece in a church where they use that typical rose incense. Its so awesome so nice. And what I always say, does apply to this perfume too: a good perfume is always unisex! Yes this perfume is great because it just has a good smell, it is subtle, not overwhelming and it projects itself in a nice way. The pepper gives it a strong basis. And the subtle osmanthus-wood smell will come through. For man it has a nice rose scent that normally is associated to be female; for a woman it has the incense that is more associated as to be masculine. Its like the heavenly scent surrounds you. This perfume is just good class and sophisticated.

One of the loveliest roses ever: dry, spicy, herbal, sweet and smoky. It's a church rose, a medieval rose, a cold rose, a masculine rose. Rose is the main player here to me, along with very intensive myrrh, incense, and opponax. Peppery notes are only strong in the opening, and fade away later on. The base has a definite churchy feel. If you know this amazing fragrance of old Eastern Orthodox cathedrals... this is it. I prefer to wear it in autumn and winter, it works better while exposed to the cold air, and snow. In summer it's a bit over the top with its density and sweetness. While it's very stylish while worn by a woman, on a man it seems to work even better. I mean, it's VERY attractive on guys :) I highly recommend it to everyone.

I'm neither a rose hater nor a lover. But because roses are so common and prominent in perfume, they are unavoidable. I am quickly becoming a fan of Bertrand Duchaufour's work as I find he incorporates aromatic/herbal notes so well into his creations, giving a lot of his work a refreshing characteristic. Eau d'Italie's Paestum Rose is probably my favorite rose interpretation from the ones I've tried. The resins sound more intimidating than they play out. The incense melds in a way that doesn't drag the rose down. At certain parts of this scent's lifespan, it smells almost grape-like. Nothing about this perfume screeches. It's smooth and soft, not jagged or spiky. A rose engraved into the side of a temple.

Rose scents can be problematic for me. I usually like scents where rose is not dominant, more of a back up singer and not the star of the show. Paestum Rose is a dry and smoky incense that somehow remains lightly persistent even though it’s mixed with spices. In hands less talented, this might have come across heavy, but mixed by master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour it’s divine. My only complaint is a minor one. I dislike the stretched typography of this brand, Eau d’Italie. The packaging looks amateurish to me and doesn’t match the quality of the scents. Review #799

Paestum Rose is an unforgettable woody incense rose of exceptional quality and distinction. The rose heart is surrounded by woody/resinous notes with a healthy dose of black pepper to create far more than another rose perfume! To me it summons ancient times when scents were obviously all natural ingredients and dipped from gorgeous vials by ladies of means and fashion! I bought a full bottle before using up the sample I had been given - a must-have for the 'different rose' lover! 5 stars to Eau d'Italie!

duchaufour so often gets it exactly right, and this juice is no exception. it's a rose, but is so immaculately blended with incense & (very dry; mediterranean?) woods that it's a mélange rather than a no-go rose soliflore. on me it is remarkably masculine, not a long way off from one of my all-time favourites - ambre nuit. wore it on a sultry summer evening recently and it literally glowed a slightly sweetish, berry-like incensey low hum. lovely!

This perfume is discontinued. I love it Rose, incense, myrrh, osmanthus. this perfume is like the typical rose-incense the Greek orthodox tradition uses. beautiful and full of a nice rose-incense fusion. This perfume is really as i already did say years ago a wonderful very beautiful perfume. it is a pity it is discontinued. The best ones that come near this perfume are mauboussin cristal oud and perris rose de tarif.

Great fragrance! One of the best rose scent. I am wearing it at this moment (ordered vial) and I am seriously considering buying a full bottle. Paestum Rose is one of the best of its genre with Black Aoud by Montale. The drydown is nearly like roses with a pine background. Maybe the wood resin I had at first sniff? Pretty amazing! Wait a minute... I am thinking of buying those 2! haha 5/5

At first, it smells as warm cassis (black currant or cat piss!) which I don't like. Then as it dries down, the herbal bitter artemisia appears and makes it better. The smell somehow reminds me of L`Or de Torrente. However,they are not completely similar. The latter has a distinct coffee accord. Overall, the scent was not what I expected it to be.

I would do anything for this perfume to last more than 15 minutes on me. I would buy one and 2 backups if it did. It is a gorgeous incense rose, one of the best smelling I have ever encountered. but its longevity is abysmal. :( Update-- well, the beautiful smell won out. I am now the proud owner of a 100ml bottle, poor longevity be damned.

It seems it’s been discontinued, which is a shame as it’s a great fragrance. Nothing very rosey here. It’s more like an incense fragrance with a hint of rose. It also reminds me of L'Artisan Parfumeur’s Timbuktu. Yeah, that’s it; it smells like a Timbuktu flanker! Recommended.

Absolutely stunning rose fragrance! Paestum Rose is rich and complex, with the Turkish rose being the star. The incense and spices add a beautiful depth and warmth, making it perfect for cooler weather. It lasts all day on me, which is a bonus.

Royal fragrance. Dark beautiful purple rose with velvety petals, in company of incense, wood and spices. This smell is sound, sensual, warm, nice, beautiful and it have... smiley. I dream about it. It's masterpiece.