The Collection Courageous Rose

POAL smell-alike. Projects Madly. Great Silage. Room Filler. Beast Mode..yes... That's Courageous Rose Same genre and dna. You start to use at the opening immediately will identify it as a POAL smell-alike. Actually most patchouli rose has this similar vibe but differs with other different notes, but courageous Rose seems pretty spot on despite having just a few notes compared to the many accords that POAL have. While Cafe Rose Tom Ford which I wore 2 days ago may be said to be a POAL Lights in it's own way, Courageous Rose opens as strongly as POAL and projects as madly, 3 sprays of it fills up the work room I am in and I felt it radiating so loudly off my skin. It's staying power to radiate and projects off skin or clothes may lose to POAL as it's quite hard to match it if you wore POAL before. It also seems to be Courageous Rose has this saffron note lingering around while POAL doesn't and it doesn't have the berries in the opening nor the ambergris amberwood like closing and drydown in the POAL. However it's courageous enough to try to match up to it. Great replacement if you can get hold of this at a good price at a discounter, especially if it's a tester.

The opening reminds me a lot of Toy Boy, but the drydown reveals a sweet, spicy note with incense that’s truly addictive and pleasurable. It’s very well blended, and the transition from top to base notes is smooth and seamless. Performance is impressive. It projects well and lasts without ever becoming cloying. While it leans masculine, it’s easily wearable as an unisex scent. It carries a touch of the exotic vibe found in Red Tobacco, but in a much cleaner, more approachable way. The rose-forward floral aspect adds elegance, and there’s nothing medicinal here. Just an easygoing richness that’s far from overwhelming or nuclear. I’d call it the niche version of Toy Boy, a true designer gem. Neither is worth the full retail price, but if you grab them from discounters, they’re both absolute steals. I paid less than $60 for a tester bottle, so for me, it was a no-brainer.

So, I've been interested in exploring rose scents lately, and because of the glowing reviews, I gave this one a shot. Seriously, this is fantastic. I'm a big patchouli fan, and this reminds me of something like Mercedes Benz Club Extreme or John Varvatos 10th Anniversary SE (both have prominent patch to my nose) with a good dose of rose on top. Really nice one. Jomashop has testers (with cap) for $55 right now. If I didn't have too many fragrances already, I'd probably get a backup bottle. Absolutely beautiful scent that makes me curious about the rest of this line. Recommend.

Floral, evening formal, cold weather. New addition — 4 stars so far, long lasting with moderate projection. Will update further down in 6 months after a couple of cold weather wears. Expect pricing between $120-160 - test it out before you commit. Really solid Gentlemen - Not a grandma smell ... I would repeat the buy

This surpasses a lot of niche overpriced offerings. It's incredible sweet, not cloying, resinous, masculine floral scent. I am in love with it. It is in the wheelhouse of Portrait of a Lady, but more masculine leaning, and definitely of the same quality.

I’m into warm and rather sweet rose-patchoulis and this is one of them. It comes across a little soapier than radical rose but is within the same style of it and approach to it. Though as it completely dries down after hours, it’s more just wood and incense. I’ve always gotten moderate projection from it, not too wild but I’m also not someone who wants to be too loud, so that’s alright for me. It’s the same genre as POAL (I’d even go as far as to say POAL started this genre of a rose in the mass market) but I mean so is RR and is more similar to RR in that it reduces the spice and the woods, which is fine by me because PAOL tends to be too cloying on my skin directly, despite having a pleasing trail. If you can’t stand the decadence of POAL, you might consider giving this a try. I think it’s unisex, just because anything rather sweet and ambery for me is fine for both. I tend to see this as ‘dark’ and the sweetness definitely makes it better for the cold. I honestly like it, I also think that given that it’s 100mL for the price of stuff like Tom Ford Private Blend for 50mL, it’s pretty decent. Expensive for what it is, but not as expensive as some brand could market it as. Still, I think that Radical Rose has better price, performance, and value for the kind of rose you are paying for, especially for the same amount of juice. Radical darker, sweeter, and more ambery than Courageous.

Nose Note #1096 I was wondering what it reminded me off. Thank you Fragrantica! A simpler and less "courageous" version of Portrait of a Lady. Less incensy, less "bug spray", but still a bit of bug spray. Just like POAL it's not the most crowd pleasing scent. Niche territory, a good take on rose, but nothing very impressive. A lot of saffron too - another devisive note. Overall the scent is cozy, but quite aggressive at the same time. Performance is very satisfying, but sillage is limited. It's slightly masculine leaning. A bit pricy, limited availability. My favourite rose scents for men are still Amouage Lyric Man and Moschino Toy Boy 7/10

Scored a 5ml and really enjoyed it. The incense and rose in the dry down blend so well together. The price tag is high compared to other fragrances like this, but it’s definitely worth picking up a decant if you enjoy rose fragrances.

As a big fan of The Collection - Hugo Boss' top shelf private line - I wanted to like this. At first spray it reminded me in the same vain as PDM Akaster. Only Akaster is supremely better blended and decidedly so. The rose note is present at first sniff but it quickly dissipates and it's all but gone within the first hour. The rest of the drydown is left for the geranium, woods and incense to shine through. You would think that with a name like "courageous rose" the rose would be a better headliner. But alas, it isn't. I struggled to force myself to like it and as much as I would like it to stay in my collection, I had to box it up and return it. This one didn't make the cut for me.

If Xerjoff Richwood is to expensive for you then buy this, great fragrance.