Bare Rose

This scent is amazing! I have been buying a lot of perfumes lately, getting back into what used to be a big hobby for me. This is the only fragrance I've tried from the "Bare" line, and I really just bought it in the travel sized bottle to go with another fragrance I was buying from the same seller. I was hoping to like it as maybe a once in a while rose scent, but I was not expecting to love it as much as I do! Rose is a tricky note. Sometimes it can be too screechy, astringent, or cloying. Every rose-centered fragrance I've tried of late has one of those issues, except this one. It's so beautifully blended that I have a hard time differentiating the notes. First impression is a fruity, maybe even ambery rose. I don't get the pear specifically, which is a good thing in my opinion. It's not sneeze or headache inducing as some fruity florals tend to be, and there is nothing "grandma" about it. It's quiet enough for a bedtime fragrance and pretty enough as an everyday fragrance. The dry down is my absolute favorite part, though! I had never encountered this "dreamwood" note before, but it's incredible! Soft, snuggly, woodsy, but not the slightest hint of pickle, which is often my issue with sandalwood. I'm sure the musk note is contributing to the snuggly impression, as well. Happily, it lasts quite a while on me. This is only my second time wearing it, but I'm already thinking it's full bottle worthy!

I’m in love with this fragrance. I’ve been wearing it for the last week and I smell awesome. It projected well but my husband (very sensitive to scents) was never annoyed by it. The scent lasts 6-8+ hours even in the heat, especially on clothes. It’s a sparkling sweet smell with a crisp (briefly too sharp) cedar note. I’m not sure I’d call the sweetness pear or rose, but it is feminine, delicate and sensual. The cedar note calms down and a subtle, sweet, woody sandalwood joins it giving a light powdery smoothness. The woody notes make this possibly a unisex scent but I found it very feminine. I would not call this a rose heavy scent but I do get (or imagine) a rose note that lingers behind it all, super feminine and subtly sexy. It evolves and settles into my skin, it is casual enough I wore it camping but sexy enough I’d wear it on a date. I also own the original Bare but this is nothing like that; Bare was fruity and kinda boring, girly and predictable. This is waaaay better juju.

This is my go-to perfume. It’s not one that gets you complimented unless someone is really all up on you. But it’s really inoffensive, very pretty, very appropriate for daily wear at work. That pear at the beginning keeps this from being a grandma floral for sure. I normally prefer super powdery grandma florals but this made me more open minded about ways to let a floral shine. It’s juicy and youthful without being juvenile. Plus pretty affordable. It lasted 12 hours on me when layered with my lightly rose scented moisturiser, but again, it stays close to the skin. Side note: the complementary lotion doesn’t smell anything like the perfume. It’s a pretty scent and they can certainly layer well but they are not the same.

Agreed on the "just what it does on the tin" and "good dumb reach" reviews. This is a light, transparent, ever-so-slightly green and woody rose. It is a full rose in its way while remaining polite. It settles down to a pleasant and warm skin scent in the ambery-sandalwoody family, though it is still very gentle. It lasts a pretty long time, as well. Victoria's Secret makes a lot of perfumes at a low price point, so when one actually works, it is excellent value for the money. This is for sure the best they've come up with in several years, and I'll be buying a full bottle. When I step away from the more incense-heavy scents I usually favor, this will be a great pick-me-up for years to come!

Initial spray on my skin, I get an almost Santal 33-esque vibe, a bit sharp, tart, woody-musky, slightly pickle-ish. It's soothed by the watery gentle rose so I don't dislike it how I do Santal 33 adjacent scents. Then the sharp pickle fades out and it's a soft woody rose. It gets better and better from there and at times I get wafts and remember it's me smelling so nice. A serious and confident femme scent as opposed to something dainty and curious. They don't smell alike, but if Bombshell is feminine-fun, Bare Rose is feminine-chill. Laid-back, present, knows she's worth the attention, but not asking for it....just sitting back and receiving it.