Most men hear "rose" and picture the women's counter: a bouquet, a powder compact, a soap dish in a guest bathroom. So they skip it. That's a mistake. Some of the best men's fragrances on the market have rose right in the middle of them, and the houses that make them aren't hiding it.
What people get wrong about rose
"Rose is a women's note." Creed sells Viking as a men's fragrance, and it lists Bulgarian rose in the heart alongside clove and lavender. Parfums de Marly files Godolphin under men and builds its heart on rose, iris and jasmine. Amouage put rose in the heart of Lyric Man and sells it to men at $395 a bottle. The flower doesn't know who's wearing it.
"Rose only smells one way." Rose takes on the character of whatever it's paired with. Next to oud and saffron, it goes dark and rich. Next to leather, it dries out. Next to cumin and cedar, it turns rough around the edges. Most of the fragrances below don't smell anything like a flower shop.
"If the bottle says feminine, it's feminine." The gender on a bottle is a sales decision, and the houses know it. Le Labo says the Grasse rose has long stood for femininity, and that it set out to make Rose 31 "assertively virile," a rose anyone can wear. Frédéric Malle went the other direction. He has said he conceived Portrait of a Lady as the feminine counterpart to his men's fragrance Géranium pour Monsieur. One house pushed rose toward men, the other toward women. Neither changed what rose is.
Five of ours where rose does the work
Nantahala (Penhaligon's Halfeti)
Halfeti is a small town on the Euphrates in southeastern Turkey, and Penhaligon's ties this fragrance to the black roses grown there. Perfumer Christian Provenzano built it on rose, oud and bergamot, with grapefruit and spice.
If you think you hate rose, start here. The oud and spice carry it. The rose is what keeps it from smelling like just another oud. Nantahala is $29 for 15 mL, $49 for 30 mL, or $19 for a 5 mL travel spray. A 2 mL sample is $10.
Kings Mountain (Parfums de Marly Godolphin)
This is the cleanest argument on the list. Parfums de Marly sells Godolphin as a men's fragrance, and the heart is rose, iris and jasmine. Thyme and saffron open it. Leather closes it.
It still reads like a man in a good jacket, not a bouquet. Kings Mountain is $29 for 15 mL, $49 for 30 mL, or $19 for a 5 mL travel spray. A 2 mL sample is $10.
Grandfather Mountain (Xerjoff Alexandria II)
Xerjoff says Alexandria II draws on ancient Arabian perfumery. It lists Bulgarian rose in the heart with cedar and lily of the valley, apple, cinnamon, lavender and rosewood on top, and oud, amber, sandalwood, vanilla and musk underneath.
This is rose in a dinner jacket: warm, smooth and a little regal. Grandfather Mountain is $29 for 15 mL, $49 for 30 mL, or $19 for a 5 mL travel spray. A 2 mL sample is $10.
Max Patch (Xerjoff Tony Iommi Deified)
Xerjoff made Deified with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. The house describes leather and powdery rose sharing center stage, with saffron, apple and cinnamon up top and papyrus, patchouli, moss and musk underneath.
If anybody tells you rose is soft, hand them this one. Max Patch is $29 for 15 mL, $49 for 30 mL, or $19 for a 5 mL travel spray. A 2 mL sample is $10.
Unicoi (Creed Viking)
Here rose plays a supporting role. Creed calls Viking an aromatic fougère and lists Bulgarian rose in the heart with clove, allspice, lavender, jasmine and orris butter. Up top: bergamot, lemon, orange, peppermint, pink pepper and absinthe. Underneath: cedar, vetiver, tonka and white musk.
You may not pick out the rose at all. It rounds off the spice so the whole thing doesn't turn sharp. Unicoi is $29 for 15 mL, $49 for 30 mL, or $19 for a 5 mL travel spray. A 2 mL sample is $10.
Three great ones we don't carry
Credit where it's due. These are worth smelling at a counter.
Amouage Lyric Man
Amouage sells Lyric Man as a men's fragrance and builds it around rose, with bergamot, lime, angelica, ginger, saffron, nutmeg, orange blossom and galbanum, over frankincense, sandalwood, pine, vanilla and musk. It's $395 for 100 mL at Amouage, which tells you how seriously the house takes a men's rose.
Le Labo Rose 31
Le Labo starts with centifolia rose from Grasse and roughs it up with cumin, then adds cedar, frankincense, guaiac wood, cistus and musk. It's the best answer we know to anyone who thinks rose has to be pretty.
Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady
Dominique Ropion made it for Malle in 2010, and Malle says the Turkish rose goes in by extravagant amounts. It pairs that rose with raspberry, blackcurrant, clove, patchouli, incense and sandalwood. Malle frames it as feminine. Smell it anyway.
Not sure where you land on rose? All five of ours come as a 2 mL sample for $10. Start with Nantahala.
Maison Appalachia is an independent fragrance house. Our fragrances are inspired by the originals we name and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced by those houses.