Description
In June 2013 Van Cleef & Arpels has launched a new addition to their most exquisite line, Collection Extraordinaire. The new fragrance—Collection Extraordinaire Rose Velours—is based on the feminine and complex aromas of rose and is described as velvety, opulent, voluptuous, warm and captivating. Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire Rose Velours is available as 75 ml Eau de Parfum.
To perfumer Antoine Maisondieu, who composed Collection Extraordinaire Rose Velours, the rose is the epitome of femininity and luxury. He highlighted the sensuality of this edition with a luminous top note featuring Italian bergamot oil and soft violet leaves. The velvety heart combines intense shades of rose absolute with the sweetness of honey and powdery iris absolute. Ambroxan, cedar and benzoin lend an unforgettable trail to the composition.
Enica – :
What a great rose scent. Sadly it’s been discontinued and replaced with Rose Rouge, which is a different scent.
Nord59 – :
Jeanne Hebuterne in a Yellow Jumper by Amedeo Modigliani
vuk163 – :
Very elegant, feminine and little bit flirty
Mustang198 – :
I am quite disappointed with the set down of the fragrance. The opening is nice with freshness of green notes blended with rose, making it a bunch of just-picked dewy rose. Nonetheless the set down became woody and deep (but this is not the main problem since I love woody and velvety rose as well as fresh rose). The question is the scent is so dull and mediocre as a rose scent. It can be much better.
When I first sprayed and smelled it on the test paper it was really nice. It is a rose with green notes and its fresh and rosy that makes me kept taking deep breathe of it. However after a couple of hours when I went back home and smelled it again, it lost its freshness and became woody and blended with honey which made the rose not so obvious. I love rose fragrances. But I only love those in which rose has a prominent and predominant scent. Well, I also love those of which numerous roses are used in the process but are well blended with other ingredients that it doesn’t smell like pure rose anymore when the perfume comes to market, like dior j’adore and chanel no5. But I will not classify them as a rose fragrance.
This one, having the name of Rose Velours, I am expecting a more rosy scent especially at the set down. In fact I smelled another rose perfume today which is called rosa something (I couldn’t remember) by Acqua Di Parma. It is a very fresh and dewy rose scent since the very beginning and it doesn’t change much throughout time. It reminds me a bit of the opening of Rose Velours but it’d be much better if Rose Velours can remain at its opening scent. Now I would prefer the other one to Rose Velours. At least it smells like rose.
StymnBlunny – :
NOT SO ROSY
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Right now, I’m looking for a rose based fragrance. I’m trying out a lot of fragrances – so when I saw that Van-Cleef-Arpels has a fragrance with Rose in ins name, I thought I might give it a try.
From the first seconds you sense the rose but there is something else – something else lurking in the shadow. Unfortunately, after several hours I still can’t state what it is or what it might be -> but by that time, the fragrance isn’t palpable anymore.
As some other user have mentioned, the fragrance is mediocre at best – considering both the fragrance itself and the lasting power of it. The rose is somehow intriguing, but it’s by far not enough to justify the high price.
Longevity: – 5/10
Sillage: – 2/10
All in all: 4 out of 10 points
tagan – :
This smells exactly like the Body Shops discontinued Maroccan Rose, which I loved!
I used to LOVE the body butter.
A very creamy scent in the dry down.
Quite low sillage and mediocre lasting power.
Also quite similar smelling to Yves Rochers Quelques Notes D´Amour, BUT QNDA has by far superior lasting power.
sharasu – :
The first spray gives me smells of greens, then within a few seconds it tutrns into a beautiful rose that’s not sweet or heady. It almost smells like Oklahoma rose without any interruption of other smells. Then it settles down into a clean cedar- rose that’s kinda sultry. Absolutely love it.
I’m partial to rose but most rose perfumes have either too much oud or other distracting smells like that makes them too fruity or too sweet. But not Rose Velours, it stays smelling like roses.
sedotik – :
I had smelled this one for the first time while on holidays in a flurry of sniffing; I had a paper tester of it that I brought back to my room along with a few others. This one had stood out from the rest because of the cedar that I had found rather prominent at the time
Fast forward a few months and I’m regretting not buying it, I love roses and any rose that stands out must be added to my collection…and like I said, while on vacation I found that the cedar made this rose special.
So I hunted it down and bought it online as I couldn’t find it in stores here. When it came I was slightly disappointed, it didn’t seem so special anymore. It just seemed like an nice well blended green rose.
So now I don’t know if the tester I smelled was before a reformulation or if I had just over sniffed that day but this just turned out to be nice enough to keep and wear but not a love…oh well
uur646intitytek – :
who said it’s so weak,are wrong. yesterday evening I gave my auntie to try this. came back home after work,24hr has passed since I sprayed it. and I smell amazing drydown of this perfume in whole apartment. so elegant,I felt that I entered luxurious fragrance shop 😀
gesha77 – :
I concur with rose, honey and violet leaf being the most obvious notes. A delicate sweet rose. Sadly this is so weak that I have to put my wrist to my nose after half an hour in order to smell anything. It is pretty and a touch gourmand. What a disappointment.
Weak sillage and longevity.
opakul7 – :
At least from my dab sample this is lovely true rose but very, very quiet and fades very quickly. 🙁 If it was more obvious to the nose and stayed around more I’d really enjoy this and likely buy a full bottle because it’s beautiful. But 30 minutes after application I have to jam my nose against my skin to smell it. :
Metyda – :
The dry down has a hazelnut/macadamia, almost chocolatey feel.
vl91 – :
I’ve been lucky enough to score a few samples of this beauty and I would seriously consider adding a big bottle to my collection … except … well first I’ll start by saying it’s a lovely fragrance. A true ode to rose that’s one of the best I’ve ever smelled. I’m not sure why this site lists aquatic notes because I don’t get any of those at all. On my skin it opens with bergamot and some other flower, but the rose introduces itself right away, followed by the comforting smell of honey. Of course the rose stays present throughout the dry down, where a slightly warm and woody note comes into play. It’s not a complex fragrance, it’s almost linear. But it smells amazing and alluring. My ONLY complaint is that it doesn’t last very long. Within a couple hours of putting it on, I could barely smell it anymore. And if I’m going to pay that much for a bottle of perfume, I like more longevity.
marsel.74 – :
I love rose perfumes. This is one of my favourites. It falls into a slightly gourmand category, because it smells spicy, smooth and almost chocolatey depending on the weather. In summer it is heady, rich and dark. In cooler weather it is a smooth ambered rose, still rich and silky. No sharpness, just honeyed rose. It is elegant and opulent and ranks up there with Noir de Noir and Cafe Rose. It should do, at the full retail asking price! Easy to wear for me also. Thumbs up again VC & A…
Tatalkate – :
Anyone feels like Rose Velours gives off a Noir de Noir(top) + Cafe Rose(dry down) vibe?
hitman7589 – :
This is the perfect rendition of rose as a note in perfumes, not the real thing. It smells rosey and pleasant, very elegant and pure, but not a real rose. In the beginning is quite zesty with bergamot, even if the “rose” is present at any stage. I wish I could smell the violet leaf.
A little bit acidic, but it mellows with honey (it seems that rose + honey/beeswax is done often these days).
More airy and wearable than SL Sa Majeste La Rose, too stuffy.
I would happily wear it if I were given it.
pseumegisee – :
Nicely done rose with an underlying freshness that is balanced just right. I like it a lot.
Pro_g_roman – :
This perfume is a class act: feminine, versatile, beautifully blended, understated, and with an interesting evolution. There are ozonic elements in the top notes; the violet leaf (and probably the ambroxan) gives the opening a green, metallic edge for about half an hour, which is not unpleasant but is definitely detectable.
After a little while the rose and honey emerge – a match made in heaven. The drydown is warm and subtle. I do not find the sillage particularly strong, and you can be fairly liberal when spraying, but the longevity is good. I couldn’t resist buying a bottle after testing this; I can see myself turning to this often.
zve011speagoessenda – :
It’s soft, velvety rose dipped in honey and accompanied by benzoin. Deep, sensual, unforgettable. A must have for all who crave honey centered, oriental scents.
Roma8377 – :
From a rose perfume collector …. ( me )….. Having lived through a ” rose obsessive ” phase, in which I aquired all sorts of rose scented perfumes, ranging from the popular designer to the most expensive niches , I happened to stumble across Rose Velours and jump on it like a hungry wolf . Surely I must have a loose screw somewhere, if I need one more rose perfume, considering I already have a ridiculous variety of them. Not quite so. I have been trying in my mind finding one similar and I cannot. This has the opulence of Highness Rose, it has the elegance of Sa Majeste la Rose, it has the strength of Taif Roses, the freshness of the Zephir d’une Rose , the powder or Rosa Magnifica, the warmth of Calypso, and I could just go on and on with the list but I will not. To sum it up, it’s a quite unique take on the Rose concept.
Hard to describe , this Rose is a mature Rose, red for sure, and in full bloom. Opulent, rich smelling and sensual, I think it’s meant to seduce… Not that men are prone to love roses, but it has a gourmand tint, a fleshy reference to the very nature of femininity . The lasting power is good on me, with above average silage…. Yet it’s not strong, there is a transparency here which clashes with the voluptuous nature of this Rose, giving it contrast and mystery . The honey note morphs into a woody note towards the end of the development, making this scent even more intriguing,
As a side note, I can’t smell anything ozonic or aquatic here, nor spices. This is a honeyed powdery ambery rose , should you wish to simplify matters .
Recommended ? Absolutely yes if you are into sofisticated Rose scents , and if of course you find worth shedding a large amount of cash for the sake of smelling wonderful . Personally I built my collection already and nowadays I only buy perfumes which engage my imagination somehow… This one was irresistible .
jam1377 – :
What an incredible Bulgarian rose!!! Poetic, moving, impressively feminine, welcoming and cosy!!
On me, there were no other noticable components – no violet, no bergamot, nothing – and i don’t complain… what i smelled for nearly 13 hours was blissfully warm and shiny rose!
By far the best of the 9 Extraordinaires, and possibly unsurpassable…
vadim1806 – :
Rose Velours floats into “jammy rose” territory, see-sawing from fresh red rose to rose bon-bon. No spice at all, so I find it nothing like Fille de Berlin. It’s a lovely rose, to be sure, but the accompanying violet note irks me. Powdery violet and me typically don’t get along. I just discovered my personal perfect rose–sweet and magenta–in Rose de Siwa. In comparison, this was surprisingly soapy at the onset. Sillage leaves much to be desired. Contrary to others, I enjoy the drydown the most. The benzoin adds to the yumminess, and the shy, powdery violets retreat to some hole in the forest floor, where they belong. Would I pay $100 for this? Probably. Would I pay $275? I am see-sawing as well.
fighter25 – :
EDP 2.5 FL OZ
I would define this a classic, elegant and traditional declination of rose.
I like it because it can suit many occasions, being feminine without resulting sickly sweet, regardless the honey. On the other hand, because of the price tag, I would have expected something more. Don’t misread me: I believe this is a guaranteed quality fragrance, so I am not complaining about ingredients, only about final projection on me.
May be I have too many rose-based scents in my collection.
Lasting power: 5 hrs.
Sillage: moderate
Repurchase: no.
KSV62 – :
This is lovely-very smooth. I normally find a soliflore rose too floral for me, but this is tempered with the bergamot which smoothes out the floral note. The top note was fresh and almost tangerine, but never sharp or bitter. The honey didn’t appear on me until about an hour in, but its not at all sweet or sickly because of the woody note-cedar? All in all, a complex, rich, smooth and sensual fragrance, feminine without being girly, sensual without being overtly lustful. I really am going to have to stop buying decants, because I generally end up buying a full size bottle and its costing me a fortune!
theodor – :
I spent the day with this scent and just loved it. There is nothing new; I’ve sampled similar with Sonoma Scent’s Vintage Rose and Guerlain’s Rose Barbare. But with Velours the woody notes are drier, the honey softer and the rose more tart.
This is one of my top ten rose fragrances. I love how they’ve handled the bergamot, it’s the right amount of green and never gets too sharp or chewy. Honey can go either way on me, and at times this threatens to turn annoying but in all its the perfect touch. Lasts 4-6 hours, wearing close to the skin. highly recommend for anyone who likes a green rose.
darybay_zhantas – :
I am saving to buy! At Neiman and Lucky Scent. Beautiful fresh young rose.
SeM-1984 – :
This is a beautiful, romantic, classic rose. It has a woody undertone, but the woods seem to add to the richness of the scent of rose, rather than act as a separate element of the fragrance. This is sultry but it stays close enough to the skin to be private.
lokers – :
I really like this scent. The rose is not over the top and the dry down is very soft and clean. On my skin the longevity is around four hours, but on my clothes, it is more like 8 hours. I believe this scent is very well blended, but the dry down surprises me every now and then (in a good way). I do not have any fancy words or phrases to describe it except it is a gentle mix of rosé and citrus and it is my new everyday scent while the Clive Christian X is my special occasion scent. If you want people to ask what scent you are wearing, this will probably work for you quite nicely
wvlargslf5 – :
Please Fragrantica, take down the ‘ ozonic and aquatic ‘ description in the notes. Nothing to do with this composition. A stunner.
murik26r – :
If anyone has a sample of it or can get one – please contact me, I’m dying to try Rose Velours!