Parfait de Rôses

What this scent lacks in complexity it makes up for in form. The soapiness of straight rose is offset by the sweet, slightly tart deliciousness of liqueur that sits this fragrance comfortably in the gourmand category. It calls to mind images of macarons and the previously mentioned cakes and Turkish delights. It's as if someone took a lush, voluptuous pink rose, sifted powdered sugar over it, and dipped it in a bottle of its own nectar. As the fragrance dies down, it loses a bit of that tart edge and settles into a fine pink dusting powder. This part reminded me of Flower by Kenzo, save that it's considerably lighter than Flower in character. Not everyone will like that Parfait de Roses is simple and sweet, but I don't think it will induce headaches or nausea either. I don't know if Parfait de Roses is special enough to warrant its hefty price tag, but if you love roses and dessert, you'll probably want this. EDIT: After reading what Lancome sought to accomplish with this line of perfumes, I appreciate Parfait all the more because I feel it met the stylistic goal of being a 'wine' showcasing different facets of one ingredient, this one being rose. I also agree with the review immediately above this one--the dry down smells like cocoa powder. EDIT EDIT: What's up with the notes? As far as I've read, Parfait de Roses doesn't contain aldehydes/a couple of the other notes listed. From Lancome's website: Nathalie Lorson has masterminded a stunning assemblage of two extractions of Rose Centifolia. The Rose Centifolia distillate gives the fragrance a natural, fruity floral freshness which evokes the scent of rose fields that wafts in the air around Grasse. As for the Rose in infusion, it reveals sweet, hazy, well-rounded notes, playing with the inflections of the distillate. This pairing is accentuated by wisps of heady incense and brightened up deliciously by essence of pink pepper. Invigorating, voluptuous, sensual. The Liqueur of Rose signature completes this delicate accord with a dusky veil woven with ciste labdanum, vanilla absolute and Tolu Balsam. Heady and sensual, this fruity floriental wraps us in a gourmand veil of irresistible sweetness.

If there was anything from this collection that needs to be revived in its full, unapologetic glory, it's this one. It's Giffard's Rose Liqueur with a healthy, saccharine dose of rose jam straight from the jar itself. It's sweet in a way you didn't really know would be possible in a rose perfume but done with such measured intent that even if you cannot stand roses and/or gourmands, smelling it would at least elicit a small nod of approval. It's rich, it's dense, it's not shy but not screaming either. I remember putting it on my wrist for a work day test and even after a grueling shift, it stayed with a really modest and appreciable sillage despite being placed on a weird spot. Sure, it smells shampoo-y in some regard, especially after it warms up and melts into the skin, but it fades into a cloud of pure sugared vanilla and honey, syrupy and creamy without being milky. It's my 'treat' scent, the scent I wear on days when I know I have nothing to do but enjoy my time out and about. I consider layering this but find myself wanting to preserve its identity. Maybe one day, I'd let a private perfumer take a crack at making a closer dupe for me or maybe go about finding ways to reduce some of the sweetness or introduce something to it JUST so I can find a reason to wear it more often. It's like I have found the Source of The Rose Gourmand, from which many of the best rose gourmands had been blessed with a tincture of. It's the rose filling sandwiched between the almond-flaked, lightly salted, lemon-squeezed pastries of Rose D'Amalfi in its purest, most honeyed form. It's what the natural extract that the artificial BTSO Mad Honey wants so badly to be: real Rose Honey meets 'Rose Honey' Flavor. It's what ATH Belle De Nuit could be without all the marshmallows and decadent mandarin jam. I feel profoundly at a loss why Lancome would ever chop their Maison line, let alone this beauty, but alas, maybe this is the reason why good things aren't meant to last.

This smells exactly like rose Turkish delight! I'm usually not a fan of sweet powdery fragrances, but I loved this one. The longevity is great: I sprayed my wrists in the shop this morning, and I could still smell it when I moved my arms about 10 hours later. The scent doesn't develop much, but it remains the same delicious Turkish delight throughout. It's a pity it is only sold in a 100ml bottle, and it is pretty expensive. I do not see it as an everyday perfume for myself, as I would probably get bored of this sweet perfume, but I'd have loved to have a small bottle of it to wear on cold gloomy days. Update: The longevity is crazy. I sprayed it on my wrist and a bit on the sleeve in a shop and the smell stayed for over a week until I sprayed something stronger on top. I'd even say, it's so long-lasting that you'd get sick of it sooner than it disappears. Updated 1.5 years later: I have been obsessing about Parfait de Roses ever since. But the price!.. I tried to find a similar scent, because it seemed not to hard at all: rose, vanilla, tonka... But no, nothing compares to it. You can get a jammy rose, a sweet rose, but Parfait de Roses is sweet like powdered rose-scented sugar and slightly sour like red berries at the same time. All the notes are working to make it cloying and tooth-achingly sweet, but it isn't, there is always something counter-balancing it. I finally gave in, especially because I found a 30% off offer. I can wear it all day and not get tired of it. I especially love spraying it on my hair. It evokes an image of a kitchy powdered wig a la Marie Antoinette decorated with dried roses. You are at a party, drinking rose liquor and eating Turkish delight, meringe and macarons.

I had to delete my previous review, because I felt like it did injustice to this fragrance. 'Parfait de Rôses' is Turkish Delight elegantly woven into perfume. I'd like to start by saying this was definitely not a love-at-first-sniff for me. Actually the opposite! I thought to myself how can THIS be a $200 fragrance?! But now after testing it a few times on my skin I'm starting to love 'Parfait de Rôses' & even CRAVE it. Now this fragrance smells SEN-SATIONAL in the nozzle: super-sweet, powdery rose liqueur. So feminine, uplifting and luscious! However, it's less saccharine on my skin. First spray on me is fresh, sugar roses...but this quickly settles into the rose liqueur within 5 minutes and becomes less sweet than the opening. Rose liqueur is fermented roses, so it's not supposed to be sugary. But yea, that's exactly what it smells like. Within 30 minutes that liqueur scent gets...more airy and powdery. It turns into a softly-sweet rose powder but with far more substance: the tonka, orris etc. Now I can see why people compare this to Turkish Delight. Longevity is pretty strong, and once I spray it on my skin it gets EVERYWHERE. I've smelt it on my pillow for days!! The silage however is arm's length, and will need a couple of sprays to get noticed. After smelling multiple Maison Lancôme fragrances, this is definitely one of the best in the line along with 'Rôses Berberanza'. For me these two place higher than even 'Oud Bouqet'. Turkish Delight and Pistachio Baklava with roses <3 'Parfait de Rôses' is a delectable, sophisticated take on roses without being cloying or overly-gourmand. P.S. I'll update whether I receive compliments.

A larger than life rose dessert. One of the sweetest floral gourmands I have ever smelled, and very intense too. This can easily transfer to all your clothes and make everything smell like it for a week, so be careful if you like to change fragrances daily like I do. It smells wonderful though. Layers of real delicious rose jelly, natural vanilla cream, tonka reminiscent of cherries and almonds without a hint of scratchiness, warm benzoin in the background, a hint of powder and of strawberry scented plastic dolls. It smells like something Barbie would wear, but in the best and most elegant way possible. If scents had a color it would absolutely be pink. Contrary to other reviewers I don't find it very boozy, the liqueur note is rather subdued to my nose. Every time I sampled this I loved it but thought it doesn't suit me. Today I asked my fiancé for his opinion and he said it would suit me. It reminded him of sweet fluffy cotton candy and apparently I'm sweet and fluffy, too. Sometimes I wish I could see myself through his eyes. I love the Maison Lancôme line in general and would love to collect several of these, but with the steep prices, I have to draw the line somewhere. Parfait de Rôses would only be a special occasion scent for me, it's just too much for my everyday life and I also already own their other sweet rose, Rôses Berberanza. So I guess I won't be buying this anytime soon, but I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who loves gourmands, roses and fragrances that perform.