Atomic Rose

There is a stage in every guy's fragrance journey where he learns that there is no such thing as gender in perfumery and that if he likes something, he can wear it. If it smells great on him, then it is a great choice. For me, the first feminine leaning fragrance in my collection was Nishane's seminal Meant To Be Seen and I see Atomic Rose as similar and similarly wearable for me. Both are very powerful statement frags with real intent that almost require people to sit up and take notice of them. Of the two, Atomic Rose has the more feminine notes but is more accessible. It is a startlingly fine fragrance that really rewards the brave man who is prepared to challenge his own preconceptions to wear a rose-centric fragrance. If ever there was a specific smell of shattering preconceptions, Atomic Rose is it. The opening is a hit of pink pepper and rose oil and there is a sweetness that underpins but does not fully reveal itself until the drydown. There is subtle, rich vanilla when it dries and the jasmine is what holds this together. The end result is nothing short of haunting. It dries less powdery than MTBS but the parallels are there. I am pleased to say that both smell gorgeous on my skin. It is incredibly wearable too. You can get away with wearing this with just about anything. Performance is amazing, just as MTBS is. I sprayed it yesterday morning and woke up this morning still clearly able to smell the roses. In English we have a saying “come up smelling of roses” to mean someone who lucks out in a difficult situation and makes the best of things. This is an optimistic, boisterous smell that makes me feel like I can attack any challenge or hardship and come up smelling of roses. I wouldn’t call it a daily wearer but more of a secret weapon. I don't know anyone else who smells like this and certainly none of the guys I know would wear this, but it is an absolute weapon in the arsenal and (yes big statement I know but) this is just as wearable as Side Effect or Oud For Greatness. When you absolutely, positively, have to smell better and more interesting than every other man in the room (yes, even here in Dubai) then Atomic Rose is a fantastic choice. Absolutely magnificent stuff. Scent - 8/10 Sillage - 9/10 Drydown - 8/10 Bottle//Packaging - 10/10 Performance - 10/10 45/50

On my quest to find the most photorealistic rose scent, I finally found Atomic Rose. Hearing this perfume described as a dark, sultry scent was kind of offputting as I typically associate those descriptions with scent profiles such as incense, oud, or anything musky and I don't really reach for those scents. I finally sampled this perfume and immediately bought the full-sized perfume. I can see why this perfume is described as a darker version of Delina; it is literally like sticking your nose in a bouquet of FULLY bloomed red roses with just a teeny tiny hint of vanilla in the background. There is no synthetic smell in this perfume. If I had to compare it to other perfumes: PDM Delina - PDM Delina is Atomic Rose's fluffy little sister. Delina has a gorgeous rose scent, but it doesn't have the depth of this perfume. I would wear Delina in the daytime and Atomic Rose in the nighttime. Roses Vanille - Roses Vanille, to me, is like PDM with more vanilla. Compared to Atomic Rose, Roses Vanille has more vanilla and less fresh/sweet rose smell. Red Roses by Joe Malone - Red Roses by Joe Malone is probably the most photorealistic rose smell I have smelled, but its longevity is so bad. Atomic Rose is like Red Roses but beast mode. Speaking of beast mode, this is the most beast-mode perfume in my collection. I have to wash my clothes to get rid of the scent. Sometimes, my dogs roll around in my clothes, and they end up smelling like this perfume. If you love roses, this perfume is a must in your collection.

In theory, I should enjoy this one. The notes are right up my alley. But there is something about this one that doesn't jive with me. It's not a lush, dark and velvety type of rose that I enjoy. I think that part is MAYBE there but it's overshadowed, especially in the dry down, by some type of musky base. If I'm going for a dark and lush rose, I much prefer a scent such as Radical Rose or Dreamhouse Ikiryo Rose Of Venus (👈 Amazingly beautiful jammy and lush DARK rose, potent!! Sign up for emails on his website and catch one of his frequent BOGO sales!) or BDK Tabac Rose. Even Chopard Love or Portrait Of A Lady. I'll finish up my sample and see if my opinion changes bc so many times, a dislike turns into a love but I don't see that happening with this one. The opening is nice but there is something heavily musky (Narciso type of musk, can't stand it) that deviates this away from the lush dark rose I thought it would be. I had the same experience with Infini Rose by Maison Alhambra...but even that was better than this one and IIRC, I kind of enjoyed it. So much can be done with a deep and dark rose note. It can be taken in so many different directions. But whatever direction this one is heading in ends up in a wrong turn for me. Of course, fragrance is subjective and we all love what we love so YMMV and I totally respect that! I don't hate this one but I'm very ambivalent about it, especially for the price.

I dig this one. When i first spray it, it smells somewhat tightly wound and if I spray a few in a row, I def get that Cat Piss note everyone talks about from time to time. Very faint though. It unwinds to a really beautiful Ambree type perfume that I just can't get enough of. It’s like kinda dark and I'm freebasing this shit over here. I'm a chick with a femme side but I could totally see a dude rocking this too. Really reminds me of the kinds of fragrances my Egyptian dude friends used to rock in San Francisco. Initio is the shit! BTW the comparisons to Delina I feel are unwarranted. Delina is great and all but it doesn't have the dark complexity that Atomic Rose has. Just tried Delina today and I ended up taking it off so I could wear Atomic Rose. For what Delina is, it's great but Delina is more like clean smelling and not as darkly complex. ==== Update 7/15/25 So don’t overspray. First, there’s no need cause the sillage is good and the longevity is even better. Second, it smells very bad if you overspray. I had this experience because I dug the dry down so much, I liberally reapplied and then I hated the fragrance for like a week. I’m back on it and again oversprayed because I cannot be taught. Apply it once, then if you reapply, do so really conservatively. I’ma spring for a bottle.

This did a complete 180 on me. When I initially sampled it, it REEKED of alcohol to the point where I couldn't smell anything besides that and the pepper. That decant has been sitting in my drawer like a hibernating bear for some months and baby SHE IS UP NOW!!! I put some on the inner part of my arm today and I still got a burst of pepper (which I don't like), but underneath that is a fragrance so beautiful, so sexy, alluring, and intoxicating! I FINALLY SMELLED THE ROSE!!! And it has such a lovely sweet touch. It's not overbearing at all, I can't stand when a fragrance is too sweet. But it's gorgeous, it smells luxury, but not in the way of like money or precious metals and fine architecture (cold & impersonal). It smells like modern luxury, warm and romantic. When I smell this I envision being somewhere lavish, dimly lit with warm white lights on a dark and wet fall evening, wearing a sexy, slightly sophisticated red dress, soothing jazz music playing softly from a distance, a tall handsome man in an all-black suit holding a beautiful, perfectly blossomed bouquet of red roses, all dewy and sparkly as if he just picked them from a garden in the rain outside, while a fluffy gormet dessert is being prepared in the background.