GUERLAIN
Rose Barbare

2005

PERFUMER
Francis Kurkdjian

bulgarian rose
aldehydes

turkish rose absolute
fenugreek

patchouli
honey
underwood

Rose Barbare is an intriguing rose scent that’s a bit outside of the norm (and therefore automatically more interesting). In this fragrance I find a real duality between light and dark. Or at least, between clean and vibrant.

On one hand, the rose is almost fizzy. Aldehydes take over in the composition at first, with a fruity tinge to the florals. I thought it smelled a bit of a (sparkling) red wine or a lemonade with a hint of booze. The rose is liquid, but also very vibrant.

The other side is that the honey here is very prominent. Both the sweet facets and the medicinal facet of honey shines in Rose Barbare.

In a weird way, this reminds me a little bit of (the concept of) Zoologist Sacred Scarab, albeit that the aldehydes there are really overpowering the opening.

An interesting and nice take on a rose fragrance. Definitely better than the A La Rose and L’Homme A La Rose that Kurkdjian did for his own collection.