— fragrance —

L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses EDT Fragrance Review

October 25, 2011

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

33 thoughts on “L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses EDT Fragrance Review”

    1. I miss it too. I was writing this and had those sad feeling again that it’s all over. Love Firefly and Angel.

      So, I’m curious about this new show Grimm. Has some of the same writers as Buffy and Angel. I really hope it’s good. I have that TV series void in my life 🙂

  2. So perfumistas are cat lovers and Buffy fans? What else do we all have in common?

    I really enjoyed this perfume when I had the opportunity to test it. On me, it wasn’t short-lived, though, but my skin really likes patchouli so that could explain it.

    xoxo

    1. I think being a perfume lover is some type of syndrome. We all have so much in common. We like Buffy, perfumes (duh), good food, kitties/or smooshed faced dogs.

      I really wish this one would last longer on me. I get about 4 hours and that’s when I shower myself in it. And my skin loves patch too. Eats it up.

    1. I know what you mean. I love roses but I’m not wild about rose perfumes BUT I really like this one maybe because it isn’t very rose. And I hate to say it, but it smells like “freshly turned earth”.

    1. I love this fragrance. And it’s easy to why it is ignored. We have so many launches and saying it is a “patchouli rose” doesn’t really sound interesting to most people.

  5. This one is too dirty for me, but I can see it being really sexy on the right man, somebody that looks like Angel!

  6. Oh my god, you could have said this smelled like sulfur and goats, and just because you included Buffy and Angel, I would have swooned.

    I am a Whedon fangirl to the nth degree. I can’t wait for Grimm! I cuddle my Firefly box set at night. I still want to marry Angel =)

    Oh – as for the perfume: Why don’t I already have this, at least a sample or decant!?
    Joey recently posted..Youth, Eternal: Opus Oils’ Ode de Vampyre and a Short Study on Scented Eroticism

    1. Oh, Firefly, I am still inspired by Inara’s makeup! I tried to watch Bones but was too mad to watch it. He would never be Angel, you know.

      As far as Grimm, I’m trying to lower my expectations and I know I’ll be patient. Pilots and the first few episodes of any show are usually bad. I want to love it because it is filmed in Portland and I love that.

    1. Hunt their site for sales too. I remember one “end of season” they marked it down to what is “free” in the niche world 😉 So, like $50. That’s how I ended up with mine!

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