Rosa Absolute

Rosa Absolute from Molton Brown is a very nice spring/summer rose fragrance. I love roses but most rose fragrances on my skin turn powdery and for a long time I struggled to find a rose perfume that remains fresh and clear if you know what I mean. Rosa Absolute on my skin totally remains fresh and clear. The opening of Rosa is a big punch of pink pepper with some juicy berries and a tiny hint of patchouli, soon after the rose makes her appearance. It's fresh and clean and sweet. The middle phase is a combination of green peppery geranium with some slightly earthy patchouli and clean fresh sweet rose. For the first 2-3 hours sillage is good, afterwards the whole fragrance becomes a soft skin scent but still pleasant. It is not very long lasting but it is so lovely and fresh for spring and summer especially if you are looking for something that is not fruity tropical or a powdery rose.

On me this opens as a big jammy rose, sweet but not sickly, with the hint of pepper tempering it and preventing it going into the sugar rush side of sweetness. After about 20-30 mins the sweetness dies down and the rosy heart peeks through. I'n not a big fan of patchouli but this just blossoms on my skin into a rich spicy rose. The sillage is moderate, and considering it's an EDT, the longevity is great on me, as I can still smell it a good 8 hours later, albeit I have to nuzzle my nose into my wrist to get a whiff. When I bought this, I also won a full size bottle of the matching body lotion, so tried layering with Rosa Aboslute and got an even longer 16 hours wear of this scent :o) All in all, I find this is a gorgeous autumn/winter cozy Rose scent - well done Molton Brown!!! And as Jayssen mentioned below, at this price point you can't go wrong!!

Pretty, bloody stunning if you ask me. Rosa absolute is a bright, upbeat rosy fragrance which although not highly original does have very good quality and an intoxicating smell. It reminds me of loads of rose scents with lighter, musky chypre type bases but what was most striking was the similarity to the liquides imaginaires line and their boozy take on this genre. This is a rosé champagne of a rose scent, with all the sharp characteristics, bubbles and all, but as it settles you get a lovely powder as the rose stops projecting so much and becomes a potent skin scent. I love it and it’s not a question of bravery because I’d wear this no problem, I’m just not sure it’s all that suitable for a man. Something about it says feminine to me.

I absolutely love this. Like stepping out into a Rose garden after a summer shower. Thankfully I don't get any raspberry which along with apple and mint are my least favourite perfume notes. Great for layering and today I'm wearing it with a really skanky oud oil, Kayali Vanilla Royale, and a dusting of TF Plum Japonais. Totally unisex for me (I'm 60 yo male). Gorgeous with any musk or oud although I do prefer it with really animalic ouds. I don't get a lot of patchouli it just seems like the string of a rose kite that is soaring over the city. Projects well for around 2 hours then becomes more of a close bubble remains on my skin for around 5 hours. Great value if you are searching for a pretty realistic English Rose. Makes me happy!

I can't really see the resemblance between this scent and Portrait of a Lady... To my nose they have distinctly different personalities. Portrait of a Lady is a spicy, smoky patchouli and rose fragrance with a slightly brown, almost gritty texture. This fragrance, Rose Absolute, is a jammy rose liqueur with faint green nuances. It dries down to a sweet, fruity rose smell. It's a lovely fragrance, quite cheerful and happy. It reminds a bit of Lush Rose Jam. Sillage starts off medium, but becomes a pleasant skin scent after about an hour or so. Longevity is around 5 hours on my skin.

I love this version of Rose. I like this much more than Portrait of a Lady. This is a realistic, fresh, sweet, PINK rose with a bit of patchouli. POAL is a red rose with church incense and so is very different to me but I can understand the comparison. It is surprisingly long lasting with moderate sillage considering this is an edt. If you like sweet fresh roses, you will enjoy this take. Not very sharp which is my usual complaint with rose perfumes. Really enjoyable and can be had for a good price too.

Love it. It's the first Molton Brown perfume I've tried and it's beautiful - a lovely deep rose that isn't too sweet and patchouli that adds warmth without being overpowering. I didn't get much in the way of berries beyond the first minute. I have a small sample of Portrait of a Lady, but as well as being too expensive for me, it also has a strong incense note which I'm not fond of. This is a much lighter, more wearable alternative. Adding the body lotion and shower gel to my Christmas list now. :)

Sprayed this on a card in store, it was a lot spicier than I had anticipated! This is not a "safe gift purchase" type of sweet & easy rose scent, it has a lot of personality, with a luxurious edge. To my nose, the rose doesn't stand out in particular, it's blended with the intense pink pepper and patchouli as well as the sweet jammy berries. It reminds me of L'Extase by Nina Ricci, but without the white flowers and caramel/amber notes.

Gorgeous perfume. The berries enhances the rose and they don’t go into berry candy territory at all. Geranium here is so sexy with the patchouli and the smooth, amber labdanum. The violet and vanilla here are just smoothing things out, neither is prominent. High quality juice.

I smelled it at the local fancy pharmacy. This is an amazing scent! Rose smelled like a real, wild rose in the garden. I would love to buy a bottle or at least get a bigger sample so i can carry it with me...

I'm not a great fan of Molton Brown, either, but stumbled across this one when I bought a mini gift set for someone else. I then went out and bought the EDT. It is lovely, in a deeper and more intense way than the word 'lovely' implies. And it is clean. That is a good thing. To me, the perfume smells like a shower gel. Hardly surprising, really. But this means that I was wearing it during the heat of last summer and feeling fresh. Not the best rose perfume, but one that I enjoy and will keep around. As usual, the berry notes are barely noticeable, and then the warm, powdery, clean depth of it settles in for hours.

Subtle and airy. Overtly so. Mature and refined, to a fault. Beautiful rose note. I can detect a hint of currant and misplaced spices which give way to a bed of patchouli. Slightly stale raspberry, as opposed to gnarly raspberry which is the standard. I don’t know... This is definitely good. But with so many options on the market; not good enough. Definite feminine lean to this unisex scent.

I've worn Portrait of a Lady on/off over the past couple of years, and I have to say, this IS similar. It is admittedly less balsamic and more jammy, but out of all the roses I know, this is probably the closest. For this reason, I bought it on the spot whilst picking up some body lotions and am excited to see how it performs. Review pending!

Always have and love Molton Brown showergels. This one is straight rose and patchouli. The first thing I thought was that this resembles Portait of a Lady, but more subtle of course. It would go very well though as a showergel with POAL as perfume. The combination would be absolutely great!

This smells like a lighter version of Portrait of a Lady to me. It’s certainly more affordable than POAL, especially now that it is exclusively sold in Molton Brown’s outlet stores. Great value, and there’s body lotion & shower stuff to match.

Está Rosa es fantástica, las notas está perfectamente combinadas, una estela suave - moderada y una duración más que aceptable. No soy de perfumes florales pero me alegro de tener éste en mi colección. Está muy bien hecho.

love the top, a sweet jammy grassy light summer rose but lasts all of a cologne heartbeat NOT like Oudh Accord; fleeting

Fresh, light, long lasting, dewy rose. Youthful and vibrant. I would like a full bottle.

Poor overall. Don't waste your money looking for a replacement of POAL.

I was looking for a perfume that reminds me of Ro’s Argan soap from Lush. I don’t like their Rose Jam, but this has the jammy darkness and smoothness that I was looking for. This is a good perfume to accompany Ro’s Argan products. I don’t think it is anything like POAL, it does not have that incensy mustiness or spicy BO smell that I get with POAL. Instead it starts with a deep fruity raspberry which then becomes dark and rosy with patchouli for added complexity. However the fragrance remains on the sweeter side of dark, not venturing into the oud/vetiver/incense realm where things often get too contentious for me (not to say there aren’t some ouds that I adore!). It is a deep red rose not a black one. It is safe for every day, especially cooler days- sillage low, longevity moderate - leaning feminine Edit: it is winter now, and I can definitely detect the violets in the mid notes- like roses and Parma violets mixed, and the aromatic geranium stops it from becoming too much like a bag of Victorian sweets. I didn’t detect the floral nuances in summer when the roses were huge. A very lovely and distinctive perfume.

A beautiful, clean, jammy, "full" rose. Puts me in mind of well-made rose-scented bath products, which makes sense when considering the brand behind it. It is sweet, but it doesn't have the synthetic screech of too much sugar - it's a "fruity" sweet, and there's something underneath it that grounds the rose and the composition as a whole. Patchouli tends to turn very "hippy shop" on me if it's present in large quantities - I wouldn't have named it here at first sniff, but after a glance of the notes list it's likely the patch that brings it back down to earth. Some people have mentioned spice but that doesn't seem to be emphasised on my skin. It's not new or groundbreaking, but it is well made and enjoyable - it's a rose that's been allowed to shine "naturally", without powder, incense, sugar or the other usual suspects it's typically mixed with. It's a tiny bit soapy, but otherwise hums along in full bloom. (Side note, but I second the comparisons to Lush's Rose Jam ! It also reminds me of Turkish Delight, though it it's just a touch too clean and lacks enough sugar to fully draw that comparison.)

My spouse & I are die-hard fans of the shower gel having purchased numerous bottles of it which has excellent performance for a body wash. The EDT smells just like it. The scent itself is fresh, dark, voluptuous, & fruity but not in a bright citric way. It's more like someone took rose absolute & blended it with patchouli in a sweet dark resinous red wine. Even better example, think of those wine gummies you can buy at Cost Plus. Moderate projection radiating within an arms length, moderate longevity lasting 3-4 hours on my skin with two sprays, excellent sillage for about two hours meaning when my spouse puts it on I can smell it down the hallway and it wafts through the air when he leaves the room or passes by me. It does not have the spicy muskiness of POAL but it has the rich dark aspect of it from the patchouli with slightly less longevity but its still so gorgeous & enjoyable to wear. All in all - this is a love.

I don't normally like Molton Brown EDTs - they are very one dimensional and often have a dry down that conflicts with their name. However, Rosa Absolute is a winner. Once the sickly sweet berry notes disappear (about 10 minutes), you are left with a surprisingly strong rose and patchouli scent. The longevity is very good and the sillage is also impressive. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing different or surprising here, but at their price point, if you are after a beautiful rose perfume, you can't go wrong.

This is a smashing rose perfume. It has richness & depth (on me). I don't find it light at at all, it's more warm autumnal & peppery/fruity rose to my nose. Longevity is excellent & lasts all day. Smells very good quality & well made, imho. I think it smells like something that cost a lot more than it does. Great value for money - & I really don't need POAL - this (on me) is less sour than POAL & I actually prefer it..

I've never tried the Molton Brown perfumes before but I stumbled on the corresponding body wash at my mothers house and it absolutely blew me away! I had to get my hands on the EDT and the body lotion as well. I have been wearing Portrait of a Lady for about a year now and this reminds me so strongly of it, it's not as enormous as PoL but for a fifth of the price its definitely worth it.

Very very similar to one of my favourite rose scents which is FM’s Potrait of a Lady. There are minimal differences in the opening to me, but near enough identical in the dry down. POAL lasts forever on me though, where as this is much more moderate. Straight forward pleasant rose scent. I have a few bath and body products in this scent too and I really like them.

very reminiscent of Portrait of a Lady - is this a good thing?! Anyway, the bath line would make an excellent companion to the more expensive POAL

This is a very close dupe for Portrait of a lady without the beast mode longevity or sillage