• L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses EDT Fragrance Review

    Date: 2011.10.25 | Category: fragrance | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,

    L'Artisan Voleur de Roses EDT

    In a world grossly saturated by rose-oud combos in the niche perfume market and rapidly approaching the mainstream perfume market, one could sniff L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses and think “Great, another woody-rose, they’re all jumping on the woody-rose bandwagon and I wanted off three bus stops ago.” However, Voleur de Roses was launched in 1993. Voleur de Roses was doing dark, masculine roses before dark, masculine roses was cool.

    Voleur de Roses opens harshly with a very camphoric patchouli and it’s slightly astringent. I can see this turning people off since patchouli is such a polarizing note. Guess what? I love patchouli, so I’m not scrubbing. The camphor settles, introducing a plum-infused shiraz with velvety rose petals. It’s dark. The color of this fragrance is that red that looks black in certain lighting. The fragrance becomes even more gothic. It’s dirty, damp, earthy. Voleur de Roses smells like wild, thorny roses peeking through a foggy night, the damp soil, slightly fungal, under the decaying fallen leaves, everything is kissed by the cool autumn night. Voleur de Roses is more damp, dark dirt than it is rose. This is why I wear it.

    Buffy and Angel

    I’m a Buffy fan. And Voleur de Roses is my Buffy the Vampire Slayer perfume. It’s Buffy encountering Angel in the cemetery. It’s a dark, broody patchouli with a romantic rose. Please, tell me that the character Angel smells like this! So, L’Artisan was doing dark, masculine rose before it was cool. Joss Whedon was creating  handsome, centuries-old vampires falling in love and stalking teenage girls before it was cool. It’s a shame that the perfume industry and the media have over saturated my world with things that I once loved that I’m now tired of rose-wood fragrances and vampires! But, I will never grow tired of L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses or undead characters created by Joss Whedon. Never. These were my “first”.

    Notes listed include bergamot, rose, plum and patchouli. PERFUMER: Michel Almairac

    Give Voleur de Roses a try if you patchouli or if you are looking for a “dirty rose.” You may like this perfume if you like perfumes like Tom Ford White Patchouli, Clinique Aromatics Elixir, Serge Lutens Borneo 1834, Montale perfumes, By Kilian Rose Oud and/or Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud. You must love patchouli to wear this! This perfume makes a great masculine. It’s one that I really enjoy wearing in the fall. It goes well with crunchy leaves and damp leaves.

    The L’Artisan Parfumeur on-line boutique states:

    Voleur de Roses was composed by Michel Almairac and captures the chaos of a rose garden shattered by a thunderstorm. Rain and the smell of lightening in the air, wet earth, broken stems, bruised petals giving up a spicy crushed scent into the air. Roses stolen, ripped back by nature, this is an unexpected rose scent, a collision of roses and patchouli. Regal and brutal, tender and long lasting.

    I agree with everything they say except for the last two words. I feel like this one projects fine with a few sprays (too fine according to patch-haters) but it’s an EDT, so I complain about the longevity. I really wish I could get this in an EDP.

    L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses retails for $145 for the 3.4 oz bottle and is available at their on-line boutique.

    Victoria’s Final EauPINION – A damp, dirty, earthy rose lost in patchouli. It wears slightly linear but that’s why I like it. It’s my Buffy the Vampire Slayer perfume.

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    Product pic is from L’Artisan Parfumeur. Buffy & Angel pic from www.loveofvampires.com