Description
Ballets Rouges is a classic chypre with a base of oakmoss, musk, patchouli and
labdanum, a floral heart, and citrusy top notes that include aldehydes and bergamot.
The use of contemporary musks rather than the traditional ones results in a classic
fragrance with a modern feel. The heart includes a fresh rose accord, rose de mai
absolute and ylang-ylang. Red thyme and red mandarin add novel top notes.
Ballets Rouges is for all those who have been craving a full-bodied, updated vintage-
type rose perfume complete with natural oakmoss. It’s a thickly layered, jewel-toned
perfume in the grand style, perfect for those occasions when only a boldly sensuous
statement and the romance of a dozen fragrant, musky roses will do. Ballets Rouges
is available in parfum or EdP concentration. Ballets Rouges was launched in 2012. The nose behind this fragrance is Ellen Covey.
Dimitrio83 – :
Me too: an addicted to rose fragrances. More in a intellectual and spiritual way, though. In practice, I could not bear using rose perfumes every day. They are like fine liqueurs for me that deserve an special mind state pour être bien goûté.
This lady reminds me Betty Davis in All About Eve. Watching this movie while wearing this beauty is like being on the other side of the screen. Ballets Rouges has this intense depth of a respectful chypre: those that no longer exist nowadays. But, fortunately, Ballets Rouges does!
Someone said it starts like Chanel 5: no, not at all. Then, that she is less réussie than Une rose chyprée: it is not elegant to compare two distinct ladies. (Une rose chyprée is indeed more a floral poudré than a chypre).
For me, this is a perfume to be tasted, not worn. She has an intense fruity aspect, which makes me remind of Femme, Rochas. This may be due to the mentioned “rose accord” on the main notes. I once ordered this “rose accord” from The Perfume Apprentice and I did not liked it because it is much more fruity (something between apricot and pineapple) and a little harsh. Unfortunately, I recognize this on Ballets Rouges (as I also do in Jour d’Hèrmes).
Besides that, those wh search for chypres from yesterday, but rooted on today, go for it. Even blindly. (And please, show some respect, do not even mention that “old lady” gibberish).
ira200181 – :
I am an avid fan of rose fragrances but I have to admit the feminine classification and the aldehydes in the note pyramid gave me a wrong impression and I would have missed out on Ballets Rouges completely if my friend had not thrown in a free sample of this along with my order of Golden Cattleya, Dev 4 and Cafe V. Boy am I lucky!!
This is a Rose chypre for the ages. Aldehydic Rose, citrus notes from the bergamot and mandarin and green notes from the oakmoss and patchouli balanced in perfect harmony with some musk in the base.Slightly on the feminine side of unisex but any Man who likes rose notes should check it out and can totally pull it off. I get the Ballroom comment that Teenlove mentions below, this would be Catherine Zeta Jones in the ballroom in Zorro totally, that scene with the red rose in her hair,something gorgeous and timeless about it. Ellen Covey keeps knocking them out of the park one after the other. I am enjoying the heck out of Ballets Rouges.
Samantha_fromAD – :
the opening has a sharp elegance that perfectly echoes the cold splendor of an old time ballroom as i see it in my head. at the same time this of age-ness comes across perfectly crisp, painted with a neon like brightness. i find it incredibly seductive – both aloof and fully embodied.
my first thought was FULL BOTTLE! as it’s perfectly unisex and way modern. sadly it quickly fades, which is unusual for olympic orchids, seeing they usually last forever. for the couple of hours it’s there, it’s vividly stunning with aristocratic appeal.
Memjg146intitytek – :
This is a gorgeous example of an ideal rose-chypre. Very well balanced. Neither the rose not the oakmoss overwhelm the other. The thyme plays down the florals just enough but it’s not overly herbal at all. The citrus is just right. Sillage is excellent and longevity is outstanding. Definitely full bottle worthy. A must-have for anyone looking for an excellent rose-chypre.
DG CROS – :
I’m all for roses and chypres but this fragrance does not appeal to me from either of those perspectives. I will have to agree with the previous reviewer: it is very soapy on me. Not mossy or woody or even that rosy. But just very soapy with an almost medicinal bitter smell like medicated shampoo that has a more pleasant fragrance added in an attempt to cover up the medicinal aspect but I’ve yet to see that work out. And sometimes it makes it worse. It seems some of the reviewers who like this perfume don’t like rose scents. Which would make sense because I don’t find it all that rosy as compared to other rose centered fragrances. I tested it next to Agent Provacateur, a rose chypre that I love, and there are thematic similarities, but BR lacks for me the former’s voluptuous dark red rose.
Elektronik_85 – :
I’m going through the current Spring 2015 sample set, which contains:
Sakura
Tropic of Capricorn Spring Fling
Osafume
PLP Love
a smaller sample of the original Tropic of Capricorn,
and this, Ballets Rouges.
Ballets Rouges is rose rose soapy rose on me, and I don’t like rose at all. The initial 15 minutes or so were a real struggle, I wanted to scrub it off, but I waited.
I’m sorry to say that while it does get less sickening (for those of us whom rose sickens), it doesn’t improve enough for me.
For the record, I didn’t like Osafume either, but I adore the others, esp. the two ToC scents. My dislike for Ballets Rouges and Osafume is not because they’re bad scents, they’re just bad for ME. I’m certain that others will like both.
I sprayed Donna Karan’s Essence of Labdanum over it after a half hour or so to tone down that intense rose. It helped.
On to the Devil collection – I saved what I think will be best (for me) for last.
Санчёус – :
I’m working my way through the Olympic Orchids catalog and this one is a huge surprise to me. It was an afterthought–I needed to pick a tenth sample for my sample pack, and thought, eh, what the heck.
This is such a gorgeous perfume. It’s a rich, sweet, yummy rose with enough earthy notes to ground it so it doesn’t smell like a confection. I’ll concede that the longevity is not great, especially compared to some of Ellen Covey’s other perfumes.
I get a strong Tom Ford Noir de Noir vibe from this, which is high praise coming from me–NdN is one of my top 5 all time favorite perfumes.
Seattle Chocolate & Sakura are also both absolutely stunning.
SB – :
I don’t like rose chypres, to start with. Rose is a difficult issue for me, as most types of it turn really upleasant on my skin. Add to this the inky bitterness of oakmoss and the bitter-sour bergamot in chypres…a recipe for disaster.
Not in the case of Ballet Rouges! We get on like a house on fire! I was really surprised and can’t explain how Ellen Covey does this, cause judging from the notes, I should by default hate this fume, but boy, I enjoy every minute of wearing it! It is fresh, witty, sophisticated and very modern. The use of red thyme is so clever, it makes me smile every time I smell it.
This is a scent of a sparkling, intelligent, confident and funny woman.
Longevity is good, sillage is just the way I love it, the perfect middle way between a skin scent and a room-filler.
starlinger – :
This is not a typical floral chypre, don’t be mislead by the title. It is some kind of floral oil extract cocktail, powerful but strange, I had to spray something over to soften the smell. Not for me.
wesdog – :
High quality natural ingredients are a big reason why I admire and enjoy ordering samples from Olympic Orchids. Ballets Rouges clearly has a high concentration of essential rose oil. Unfortunately, that ingredient can go rancid, as it has in my sample. It’s too bad as I think I’d enjoy this perfume, based on the notes. At some point I will order a fresh sample.
In the meantime, I shall console myself with Olympic Orchids California Chocolate, and Red Cattleya. Both are excellent!
aladovv – :
177) Parfaitement nommé
Sur ma peau c’est plus un chypré qu’une rose.
L’ouverture est fusante, très verte, très citronnée (très N°5) et avec exclusivement de l’Ylang-Ylang.
Le passage vers le coeur se fait élégamment comme un pas de dance, les notes citronnées se transforment en mousse et l’Ylang en Rose, un changement aussi naturelle et fascinant qu’un caméléon se déplacant dans un bouquet de fleur. Etrangement le ballet rouge se termine en fond sur une note blanche (rose pâle) de labdanum ciste et de musc.
C’est au final un chypré rose digne des grands classiques français.
Mon commentaire est surtout technique parce que je ne suis pas amateur du genre, mais ce parfum est une tuerie. Il coute la moitié du prix de Rose Chypré de Tauer et (désolé pour lui mais) est plus réussi.
Unisexe et tenue moyenne.
On my skin it’s more a chypré than a rose .
The opening is fusing, very green, very lemony (very No.5) and exclusively Ylang-Ylang.
Elegantly the passage to the heart is like a step dance, the citrus notes are transformed into oakmoss and Ylang in rose, a change as natural and fascinating as a chameleon moving in a bouquet of flowers. Strangely this red ballet ends in background with a white (pale pink) note of cistus labdanum and musk.
This is ultimately a chypré/rose which is worthy of great French classics.
My comment is mostly technical because I’m not a fan of the genre, but this perfume is a killer. It costs half the price of Tauer Rose Chypre and (sorry for him but) it is more successful.
Unisex and average longevity.
Stasskyline – :
This is very light on me, but it is a nice musky rose fragrance. Sophisticated and sexy. I’ve been looking for a new rose scent and this is very nice, but it’s kind of unremarkable. I think I’ll keep looking.
Vadim95 – :
I’m not a rose lover, not by any length of the imagination. So I tried this with trepidation and perhaps bias caution.. and was pleasantly surprised. This perfume embraces all the old world charm of pure unadulterated roses, and perhaps some of the old fashion nostalgia lingers as well. The musk is embracing in this, captivating, but not heavy nor overbearing and the oakmoss in this is an absolute delight, making an old world classic a modern treasure. Unlike other modern chypres aldehydes are not screeching at anyone here (rather thankfully!!), and there is a slightly spicy note, almost like a light, pink pepper that lifts the fragrance beyond the doledrums of other heavy flat absolute rose and pure musk fragrances of note.
Longevity isn’t fabulous unfortunately, a few hours at most before skin, and sillage is quite low. Its also painfully linear, perhaps intentionally, but it is beautifully balanced. I don’t find this fragrance overtly complex nor evolving to be honest; rose, musk, moss, light aldehydes and perhaps the labdanum adding some spice about says it all. But the quality in the character of the notes reveals at least some depth, and its far from the cliche of “rose = old ladyish”. While its not a casual scent, I could easily see younger sophisticated women, or classy carefree ladies wearing this as well.
I’ve never liked pure rose perfumes in any form, but this beautifully balanced little fragrance is quite captivating and while I don’t suppose I could truly love it, I do appreciate it for what it is.
lion10152 – :
Ballet Rouge is a beautiful rosy chypre in the classic style. Thank you to Ellen Covey for providing a sample!
The fragrance it most recalls for me is one that I love but found I actually couldn’t wear: Ungaro Diva. Thankfully, the two are not identical and whatever was “too much” about Diva is not a concern for Ballet Rouge.
Ballet Rouge is smooth, sensual curves ensheathed in a little red dress, walking on stiletto heels. Yes, it’s sexy. Yes, it’s a grown-up fragrance for adults, but so far away from “old lady.” You must love roses to enjoy this fragrance, but I would argue you must also love potent musks equally to fully appreciate it. There is no sweetness here, but the beautiful interplay of rose, musk and moss goes on and on for hours.
This is exactly the kind of mature, complex fragrance I love and find so few good examples of anymore. I’m so excited, too, that it’s a new artisan fragrance and not some pricey vintage I’ll have to chase on ebay.
Bravo, Ellen and Olympic Orchids, for giving us a stellar example of a chypre that will delight both appreciators of classics and modern niche perfumes!