Rose Chérie

Upon spraying it first, my mind noted excitedly "now THIS is a proper rose perfume!". The opening carries a blast of powderiness which shimmers out rather quicky to make way for this blooming, fresh rose, one with thick velvety petals and an aroma that is almost narcotic. Then there are the candied violets and a touch of fruity sweetness - at first it registers as raspberry but then I swear it turns into really ripe cherries instead. The cherries wink out for a bit leaving me confused but the composition pulls my attention back to the gorgeous rose. The overall effect is soft yet rounded out by notes of tonka and vanilla together with a light musk. I can't really say the base smelled almondy to me but blame my skin chemistry for that. For the first 1-2 hours Rose Chérie is this floral masterpiece with rose at its front and centre. It's giving silk sheets, poise and elegance (none of those things are exactly me but it smells so divine that it lets me play pretend and kudos to any perfume that empowers one so). The powderiness makes a return after those initial hours, the composition turns more musky and, oh hello, the cherry is back! And so it goes. For the next 10 hours, with an impressive sillage and projection to the very end. Musky, powdery rose with a distinct cherry note. I immediately ordered a larger decant after the first full day wear test and started plotting how to get my hands on a full bottle of this masterpiece. It's definitely not a perfume I'd use daily but I want it as my secret weapon.

I will review the original but I must add a personal note about the dupe. Another reviewer has the Arabian dupe, rose as rose by fragrance world/Maison Alhambra. I too have that dupe after testing Rose Cherie and heading straight to my local Arab perfume counter looking for a match. I think it's almost spot on, I think few people would notice a difference and compared to my tester of Rose Cherie, rose as rose lasted longer and had better sillage! I don't get the burnt tyre note that she experienced at all, but that said, the guy who runs the shop said it's a big hit or miss with people so maybe something in people's skin chemistry? But definitely worth a test because if you can save some money, why not? The original, not overly floral or powdery, to the point where it smells "dry". It's powdery but still fresh, reminds me of fresh Turkish delight and the violet isn't synthetic smelling. The violet comes out heavy on me and I love that it's quite balanced with the rose and isn't just one or the other. Lasts long enough, would get you through a work day easily. I find that it becomes more muted and softer as the day goes on, and the violet becomes slightly stronger than the rose towards the end of the day. Not my usual taste, as I enjoy spicy, smokey, foodie gourmands, and floral powdery scents I usually stay very clear of, but I do enjoy this a lot.

I am so in love with this perfume!! This on me, dries down to a gorgeous almond, vanilla powdery Rose. I do not like overly sweet vanilla floral perfumes such as Lancôme La Vie est Belle or Diors Blooming Bouquet or 2021 version of Miss Dior. Rose Cherie is not overly sugary sweet like those tend to be to my nose. This fragrance feels so feminine and elegant and delicate. I do wish the price wasn’t so high! I have never smelled French Kiss, but I have Lipstick Rose and I much prefer Rose Cherie as it is more soft and delicate and not so harsh. UPDATE: This is now my HG fragrance! I have fallen even more in love with this fragrance since getting a full bottle. It’s like a rose macaroon covered in powder. Its so delicate and beautiful. I actually do not find it Similar to Lipstick Rose by FM. Lipstick Rose is harsh and difficult for me to wear. To me, Rose Cherie is cuddly and feminine and so gorgeous. The tonka bean gives it a sweet Almond scent, that when mixed with the powdery rose and Violet, triggers 90s childhood memories as it is reminiscent of Scented My Little Ponies and scented dolls but in the best way as certainly doesn’t smell cheap! This beauty is perfect to me!

This is a cool-pink lipstick fantasy, maybe you are dressing up and drifting off into a dreamworld, whereas Lipstick On is red lipstick, empowering and prepping for a real night of activity. I'm not a big fan of Lipstick Rose which I find a bit suffocating. I still prefer above all Paestum Rose (discontinued) which was the most complex of all of the above and perhaps somewhere in between Rose Cherie and Lipstick On. This is another one imho that would benefit from a different name as I don't think of Cherie at all when I smell this. I would call it Ingénue Rose. Cherie to me evokes something different, so I think people may initially not like this since the expectations had been set for a different fragrance. I think if you do have any of the above, then Rose Cherie will still be a fine addition because none of these are really a good substitute for the others. I would not have picked it out for myself, but found a really good deal on the discovery set which included this. Will definitely hold onto this beauty.

This perfume is absolutely phenomenal! Feminine and oh so beautiful, exactly what I would imagine a princess wearing. The powdery rose, violet, and heliotrope are gorgeous! Out of my collection of well over 500 fragrances, this is tied for first place with Iris Pallida. It's so well blended and high quality. It smells elegant and expensive, but soft and delicate at the same time. Scent 10/10 Longevity 8/10 on my skin Sillage 7/10 on my skin For those who love this fragrance but don't want to pay a huge amount of money for it, try Fragrance World Pose as Rose. I have both fragrances and Pose as Rose (which I wear to work) is almost identical to Rose Cherie (which I save for special occasions). Obviously, the quality isn't exactly the same, but it's probably 95% identical. Although I own and wear both, I honestly don't know that I could tell you which was which in a blind test. I get lots of compliments on both! Scent 9.5/10 Longevity 10/10 Sillage 8-9/10