Highness Rose

I am one of those men who either wear the heavy musky animalics or pure florals and soliflores are among my favorites when done well. I have, wear and really enjoy Taif roses, which is a unisex pure rose perfume, so I am puzzled why Highness Rose is marketed as women's, but to me it makes no difference, with two doctorate degrees I'm not about to let some Einstein with a college degree in how to present products so the most will be sold, decide for me that because I'm a male, I should not wear it. Highness Rose is just what Montale wanted it to be because they have the means and expertise to do it right: a decadent, over the top rose perfume that leaves no room to even imagine any other notes in there it is so packed with roses. Being a pull strength parfum, when you spray it on you scent the whole room as well all rooms you occupy the first few minutes you're wearing it. When you wear this perfume you had better love and be in the mood for roses because that is what you are going to be smelling all day until you go to bed and so is anyone who gets anywhere near you as the sillage is a good arm's length which is quite exceptional for a rose soliflore that is not relying on geranium to do so. Montale claims to use only the finest quality rose absolutes in this perfume and for good reason: they do and it's obvious. There is no citrusy or citronella high pitchyness nor is there the barfy bitterness typically found in poor quality Bulgarian rose, and no peppery drydown, that I do not enjoy as rose de mai is fading away. I would guess there must be at least some civet in there to warm up, and bring the rose absolutes back to life but everything is in such perfect balance that I would be trying to say my nose is better than it really is if I were to fib and say I could tell it's there, so I say it probably is but that I cannot smell it. The first time I tried it on my arm, I kept smelling it close up and thinking...wow, too much of a great thing really CAN be too much!!! going against my whole way of life that too much of a good thing still isn't enough. At that point I thought that this smells like a rich, top quality rose perfume, but not like the flower, like perfume. But once I bought the big 100ml bottle and sprayed it on my neck where I always wear fragrances I couldn't smell it so near to my nose and at that distance or further it does smell far more like the real flower. Like Taif Roses it is a natural rose as it is in nature and not phony sweet or fruity in any so there is nothing wrong with men wearing it. It is just a wonderful rose soliflore that ever perfumer out there can feel sad about because there is no way that it can be outdone without cluttering it up with other notes. It is sad that it's a limited edition. For the quality and cost of what goes into the juice I am certain that Montale is not making a huge profit in sales of this perfume. It seems they created it just to stake claim of having made the ultimate rose perfume so over the top in every way that nobody should even waste their time trying to top it. I bought the 100ml parfum and I'm sure it will last me many years, hopefully long enough for them to release it again. Whether you are a perfume, rose, floral, Montale, or whatever enthusiast now is the time to pick up a bottle of this unique perfume that is all superlatives. It is the Liberace of rose perfumes.

A great old school rose fragrance masquerading as a modern scent. Highness Rose was a big surprise for me, and I needed a big and good surprise. Another blind buy (no bricks and mortar stores that I can find carry a full range of Montale scents, or really any at all), and even though I only sprung for a 20ml bottle I started to kick myself a day after I ordered it that I was buying yet another sweet rose scent like so many others. I'd skimmed down the reviews and even though one recent one said it had a similar vibe to Perfumer's Workshop's Rose scent, which rivals moth spray. In its day women who were wearing Perfumer's Workshop rose were literally banned from going into certain places, like bars and restaurants, until they washed it off. Yet rosequeen had bought Highness Rose anyway, even though it was the same vibe? So I was worried. But Montale Highness Rose is here, and I have no regrets now. It's big and gushing but it doesn't take over a room or a building unless you've sprayed maybe 3 or 4 places. It's very spicy, almost a taif rose, and not watery or common or anything I was dreading. And yes, it's a lot like Goutal's Rose Absolute, at least the one they started selling maybe 10 years or so ago; I have no idea what Goutal is selling now and/or how strong or long lasting anything Goutal makes now is. The odd thing is that I'd started the day with a very old school scent, Caron's N'Aimez Que Moi parfum, that I think was first made in the 1920's. I hadn't planned on wearing it to compare; I wasn't positive the Highness Rose would even arrive today. I just thought the sun was out and maybe I should wear a floral instead of an amber or oud for once. And lo and behold, the Montale Highness Rose is very similar to the N'Aimez Que Moi. No one wears this Caron anymore, and even in Caron's heyday N'Aimez Que Moi wasn't sold widely, but it's one of those fabulous strong rose floral Caron scents made with many notes jockeying for position. Only 13 Fragrantica members admit to owning this Caron and only 8 people say they want it. (It doesn't help that it was never cheap and it's usually very pricey now.) Whereas 58 Fragrantica members say they have Highness Rose and 151 want it. Not throngs for either perfume, but it interests me that one scent is old school and probably associated with little old ladies, and the other is perhaps more the scent of an over what, 40? and more hip woman. I highly recommend Highness Rose. It lasts 7 hours or so on my skin and I suppose it might project beyond my arm, but no one was around other than me to smell it since I sprayed it, or to complain that it was just too strong.

The richest, freshest, deepest ROSE soliflore ever. The quality of the rose absolute is the best I have ever smelled. I sense rose otto, rose absolute, damascena and centifolia here. It's not just Bulgarian damascena. I sense Turkish Rose absolute and French Rose centifolia absolute within this as well. I am sure there is even some rose otto. The rose component itself is so rich that I am saving it for fall/winter wear even though it is a soliflore. VERY Unusual. The base is also a smooth, rich, elegant mix of woods with a touch of incense. Still, the rose reigns supreme here from opening to drydown without any medicinal hospital antiseptic accords or rubbishy wilting chemical petal accords. No sickeningly sweet candy, vanilla, or other infantile sugar to sully this magnificent creation. The natural moderate sweetness derives from the very high quality of the rose extracts here. This lasts about 8 hours on the skin and is a parfum extrait. This is not a shy EDT or EDP. This is without question the best rose soliflore perfume I have ever smelled. It is unique as far as rose scents go. There are dozens and dozens of rose scents out there. Fresh ones, clean ones, dark ones, spicy ones, oud ones, orientals, woody ones, and so on. This particular perfume has THE BEST rose absolute in it......of ALL OF THEM that I have smelled. I'm not saying it's the best perfume because we all have different chemistries and different tastes. I do feel confident in stating that to my nose, the quality of the rose absolute itself in this one is the best I've ever smelled regardless of what TYPE of fragrance you prefer. You can even detect the quality of it from just smelling the bottle top before spraying it on your skin. So, to clarify, I am making the comment regarding the particular quality of the rose absolute itself outside of what it smells like on my skin. (I happen to insanely love how it smells on my skin as well.)

This is a big beautiful rose fragrance that doesn't have many other notes to muddle it up. It's roses, roses, roses, all day. I only pick up a little musk and violet on the very far dry down, but it's very faint and not adding any powder to this scent. Nor is there anything synthetic here, which is usually not the case with too many of this brand's fragrances. Even though this is a big rose, with silage on the line of PW's Tea Rose, it's softer than that and doesn't come across as so loud and aggressive. It has excellent silage and longevity too. I put it on earlier today, and while the scent has lightened up somewhat, I can still smell it clearly around me over 10 hours later. If I smell where I sprayed, I am picking up some spice notes, yet I do not smell that heavily around me, nor does it even vaguely bring to mind potpourri. Overall, this is a rose lover's perfume. If you love that note and want something that doesn't smell dated or old fashioned, this is the one to get. It really is fit for a queen. Edit - I recently got Anick Goutel's Rose Absolue and find them similar, quality wise. It is just my personal preference, but between the two, I actually prefer this. I think it is much better blended, seems fresher, and it lasts and projects better. Goutel becomes a skin scent on me within an hour. A few sprays of this and I can smell it all day. Plus, I love that little touch of violet that is missing in Rose Absolu. It makes me think of an actual rose garden, like my rose garden, that has violets growing underneath the roses.

If you're looking for a truly classic style rose, this is your lady! The kind reminiscent of pot pourri, scented powder, essential oil, and classics by Yardley and Crabtree & Evelyn. These are positive attributes in my opinion, but I gather I'm in the minority... The texture is more velvety and dry than the syrupy contemporary roses. I had a feeling Montale would get this right purely because they specifically have a fragrance called 'The New Rose', so they understand the difference! ;) There's still a touch of freshness, almost a minty crisp edge, that exists against the velvety texture. Like in the way that dried rose petals are velvety but crisp. Longevity is great on fabric, poor on my skin, but that's not unusual. Sillage minimal on me unfortunately. If you love this kind of rose, like I do, then Santa Maria Novella's Rosa might also appeal -- it's a fresher, citric/herbal version of this kind of rose base.

To be honest I'm not too fond of Montale because he makes (and copies) way too many fragrances (with most of them going from "Meh" to "Bleh"), but this one made me go "Mmm"! So I had the opportunity to try the entire Aoud collection one day, and picked out Spicy Aoud, Orange Aoud, and Aoud Damascus; upon asking for a sample of Aoud Damascus, I expressed not having enough time to try all the Roses, so the very nice owner recommended Highness Rose. I don't usually adhere to recommendations but I'm so glad I did this time! Right away it reminded me of SL Sa Majeste la Rose so I naturally compared the two when I got home—Sa Majeste is much more realistic and pleasant upon opening, but the rose fades away and turns into a vegetal green scent (resembling the stem) while Highness starts out sharper, but softens and stays rosy :)

In the bottle and on my skin, by far, the most breathtakingly beautiful rose soliflore I have ever encountered. I have never experienced a rose so fresh, so pure, and yet so incredibly rich, deep, and heady. It's a gloriously intoxicating shower of roses dream. Everything I've ever dreamed of having in a soliflore rose blooms to extravagant perfection here. EVERYTHING! From bottle, to initial spray, to complete drydown, this is magnificent. I even love this just sniffing away at the bottle cap a la aromatherapy. I ADORE it on my skin. As far as I'm concerned, no other rose soliflore even comes close. If you truly love roses, this could easily be your holy grail of rose soliflores. Without question, it has become mine. Pierre Montale, you have my heartfelt gratitude for this creation, thank you.

So much has been said about this perfume even with a small amount of reviews. Not surprising really. This is not a forgetable fragrance. Not a mediocre fragrance. Not a picked flower fragrance. This is a rose garden. A deep red rose garden, as someone else said, right after the rain. This starts out on me with a deep green leaf and open rose combination. The sweetness of the green leaves and red petals seduce you into sticking your nose right into the heart of the flower and inhaling, inhaling, inhaling, inhaling. Good grief....you could hyperventilate on this perfume!! But you would pass out smiling! Stunning, pure, and true....this is quite an olfactory achievement......the perfect rose.

Beautiful Big Red Roses!! Luscious and Deep! Agreed its pure essential oils & top quality. Love it! You don't need much at all, a few drops blew me away, so i suggest use sparingly, unless you like it that way :)

I blind bought this Montale because someone said it was similar to Annick Goutal's 'Rose Absolue." I should have known better. a MONTALE smelling like a GOUTAL? No. No. No. Highness Rose is still quite a pretty rose perfume, a red rose softened by candied violets. i get subtle, soft "chai" spices. It is far more saccharine than the Goutal, more artificial, and louder. I'm happy with it though. When it comes to roses, the more the merrier. 3.5/5

You can't put your nose too close to your wrist, or you'll smell it in your throat. It's that punchy. An admitted rose addict, I can allow that I don't mind rose knockouts. I'd even thought of adding a forum topic titled, "Knock Out Rose," asking members to add their loudest rose. For sure this Montale would bubble to the top. Compared to Montale Roses Musk, they are not alike. Roses Musk is creamy and silky. Highness rose is starched, stiffer, with pale wisps of a muted green. An old soul rose, like Evelyn Rose or Rosa Nobile, but much sharper, grab ya by the bud and show you a thing or two, HIGHNESS ROSE is not unlike a slightly acidic rose soap. I think it smells lovely. The way I imagine Al Pacino's character in Scent of a Woman fancied a woman. This scent is rose all the way home.

Like Juliette Has a Gun said, this is all about rose oils. Rose ottos, specifically. Except it's not real rose otto, or if it is, it's present in very low amounts. This is easy to test as real rose ottos - even in high dilution - will start to solidify at cooler temperatures. I tossed my sample of Highness Rose in the freezer for a few hours and no solidification or separation of solids was present at all. That being said, it does smell very much like good rose oils I've smelled. If you want a straight up rose otto and for some reason don't want the natural thing, Highness Rose is your next best bet.

This will probably be my signature perfume when I'm in my 50s or something... I don't know, it just reminds me too much of generic rose-scented soap bars from the 90s.

smells no more no less like rose oil that's it!

This is a short note, because RosaMilena already did an amazing job reviewing this perfume. It is simply the best rose scent I have ever smelled, and I am a rose addict. I collect all sorts or rose perfumes, but I must admit, this one is the ULTIMATE pure rose scent. I am a tad disappointed with the silage, and with the lasting power, as it seems to me to be more of a skin scent. Not what I imagined from something advertized as extrait de parfum. On the bottle it says "parfum", but on the box the list of ingredients also contains water and alcohol. I got it from PerfumeShoppe and I have to say they are great, very professional. The bottle is shiny gold, similar in shape to all other Montale scents, white pouch, gold box. It smells indeed like you just put your nose in a blooming red rose. A bit sweet, a bit spicy ( clove like ), no greenery, no pepper, no soap. Indeed the most realistic representation of a rose, I believe I found the most perfect rose perfume in the world. It doesn't resemble rose oil, but rather the flower in itself. Smells more like Middle Eastern roses rather than the Bulgarian type. Fresh, sweet,romantic, natural, opulent and delicate in the same time. Pure class and luxury, smells heavenly. I adore it, and words are not enough to describe its beauty. The price is not pretty though...at almost $300 a bottle, and that being on sale, I doubt I will ever repurchase; on the other hand, this one will probably last me a lifetime.

I will be direct to the point. Highness Rose, a kind of rose perfume that rose up my nose and I melt and got aroused. I was surprised of it's few notes on the list but in every few minutes that passes, this Highness projects different characters while staying true to being a rose like no other. I have dabbed Citizen Queen, Villoresi Donna and this Highness, indeed deserves its name. It leads straight up to top and the rest of the roses including Mad Madame, Roses Vanille and Soir de Lune, shall kneel and hail to their Highness of all roses. The Highness is a Queen of many forms and personality: luxurious, elegant, potent, comforting, sophisticated, fresh and an enchantress. On war of the roses and of it's purity, Highness Rose is the last to stand and the sole seed to stay and repopulate. It deserves not just 3.95/5.00 but has to be 4.25/5.00

This one simply knocks you off your feet: rose oils - in their purest and most concentrated form. And this is where my objections starts: You might as well buy pure rosa damascena, turkish rose and rosa centifolia oils and mix them yourself - ready is your "Highness Rose Fragrance" (at a much lower price). Where is the artistry in that? The perfume feels like a fantastic aroma-therapeutic rose oil session, but it is devoid of any creativity and offers no fresh ideas on "roses". I'd rather stick to the good old Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose ... - since Tea Rose comes much closer to the scent of real roses on a stem in your garden. "Highness Rose" smells of rose OILS - a very different smell from the actual flower outside. Can't share the enthusiam... sorry!

Opens with a luscious rose that gracefully gives way to a sweet and slightly dirty musk, although still somewhat rosy. There is definitely an animalic note in there somewhere, but it is extremely subtly done. I wouldn't call this a fresh rose, precisely, but it isn't skanky, either. (Great help, I know!) It is, however, very high quality and a million miles from Jo Malone's Red Roses or any of the JHAG stable. Noticeably more sophisticated than PW tearose, too.

I agree with what everyone else has said, but should add that I can smell a sweet honey note in here too. It was unexpected, but not bad.

Sadly this has now been discontinued, but I’m told that Rose Night is the most similar according to Montale themselves.

I don't know and i apologize for those who love it, but what i only smell is ... Citronella :(

Hello there does anyone know where i can buy this perfume many thanks

@bornforshalimar I have one for sale if you are still looking