No. Not even samples. There is a component of the "no" that is personal, in that I don't have much liking or interest in pepper as a note. Love it in food, bland/mild dislike in fragrances. But there is a "no" component that is absolute -- the sweat.

Yes, a rose is pretty. Possibly there is a pretty rose buried underneath here. I got a flash of ordinary red health-food-store-rose-oil rose that got overwhelmed almost immediatly. Also, pretty roses abound in perfumery -- heck, there's a whole house that does nothing BUT roses -- Les Perfumes de Rosine. So for the pretty rose, feh. If it even lasted long enough to be a factor.

For the cumin, pepper, and overall abundance of sweat, no. And this is dirty sweat, the sweat of someone who never works out and is now wearing a synthetic shirt. I'll include the proviso that there is a skin on which Rose Poivree may not be all sweat/skank. But on me, this is horrifying.

EDITED: This initial review based on my memory of this scent from a couple of years ago. Revisited this week in my sample library!\. A little more citrus in the opening than I remember, but then it got right down to cumin/skank business. Still a resounding NO!

Oh niches... Sometimes very overrated & hyped. "Rose Poivree" by The Different Company smells very much like YARDLEY "English Rose".
Only Yardley's rose is sharper. Not 100% identical, but yet still "almost like this". A big old-fashioned classic Bulgarian rose. A deep red rose in full bloom. Sparklingly vibrant, & with an fantastic strength, sillage & staying-power. The old-fashioned rose from the 1800-century. Note: Remeber to use it with a very light hand. A bottle of Yardley's rose will last you ages.
YARDLEY "English Rose" is $10-15 for 125ml edt. "Rose Poivree" is $233 for 90ml. Well, the choice is yours to make - which one will you choose? ;) continued >>

In general, I try to be as nice as possible. I aspire to Tim Gunn-esque manners and poise, and good posture. Occassionally, however, the bad me comes out - and Rose Poivree is the bad me. A dirty rose that is wholly virginal underneath - fresh, young rose with tender petals - and has a savory, musky quality that drips over top. I do not smell any civet, so I'm guessing this is the reformulated version. Eventually the savory quality wears off, and I do smell an almost aqueous melon note which I usually detest, but works in this. The spices are lush, and I think this might be perfect for cooler weather. I do like this, and would buy if I did not already own Al Oudh and Queen Rose Petals - which are two categories that it could meander into and take up a bit of space. Still, a lovely scent and my favorite so far of TDC.

The cumin in this turned me off, reminds me of body odour mixed with rose leaves. And I get more coriander than rose. Thank goodness I got this at a fire sale, can't believe the price they charge for retail.
I'm not sure what others mean by a dirty rose but Le Labo's Rose 31 is a better bet. Much more pleasant though not exactly my cup of tea too.
If you're looking for a clean pure tea rose scent, look no further than Penhaligon's Elisabethan Rose.
I'm off to scrub this off my arm now, yuck.

I came late to the party. By the time I bought my first bottle it was 2009 and I bet my bottle, which I bought direct from TDC, is a reformulated one if a reformulation was ever done.

I don't get what people say about dirty panties - many folks says that when cumin is present, and it has cumin, although not in quantities that become distracting. I love this rose because it is a complete rose. Many rose scents you only get the rose flower, the rose bud, anything and everything is about the petals. But Rose Poivre is different. The dirty, cumin, peppery spices of this perfume smell to me like a glossy dark green vegetal stem of a rose. The little bits of pepper and spice sparkle and shine, like the tip tops of thorns on a rose stem, ever so modestly so that while you're aware of it your focus stay on the rose.

The civet comes in miniature quantities - only after wearing it many many times that I started to notice it, it's a soft musk that lingers very close to skin, and you really have to look through all those velvety petals and dark green shiny thorns to find it.

I don't recall smelling any rose scent that is quite like it. When rose is paired with something green - it's usually the light green, juicy, bright green first flush leaves. The rose in RP is paired with a dark spiky green and I think its a thoroughly pleasant surprise.

Rose Poivree is the most interesting rose I have ever met. If oversimplified: it's a rose stewed in the most traditional Indian curry you can imagine. I think I'm partial to coriander scents and this one has lots of it. I wouldn't dare wear it in public but I thoroughly enjoy the ride in the privacy of my own home. If you're looking for a unique dirty rose, it doesn't get any better than this.

This is a dirty-sexy spiced rose fragrance... kind of like a 'rose in heat.' I detect more spices than just Coriander in this... possibly cumin. It reminds me at times of a good Moroccan Rhas El Hanout... This is a good summer scent as it blends nicely and naturally with one's own natural scent (which always more prominent in the summer)... Definitely not your run-of-the-mill rose, but if you want something very unique, this is it.

I've been reading the rewiews on Makeupalley from where I live Germany forever, always thinking how kind it is that people take the time to write the personal reviews which I actually do base my purchases on. I have never written one myself until today though BUT, I have to warn you that this fragrance comes on as a rose and then just when you're not expecting it, it turns into curry powder.
Unbelievable! At first I was thinking sweat, but it's definitely Madras curry powder! Yikes!!
Just for a comparison on my skin chemistry, Narciso Rodriguez 'musc for her' ( oil) , POTL 'luctor et emergo' & Hermes 'Ambre Narguile' are my absolute favourites.
Must mention Eau de Sisley # 3 here too though. It hasn't really found much of a calling yet, but I find it to be a lovely fresh gingery Spring/ Summer fragrance - which is also good for layering if you like it a bit more complicated.
Upps..getting verbal dihoreah here. That's it from me.
Thanks to all the top reviewers out there! Your honest reviews really make a difference.
continued >>

I have seen in so many reviews which came before mine of filth being present in the scent but I canot sense it. Yes.. it is a bit risky in a very low key feminine way... but such comments as "be careful and do not wear this in the office" I am at a lost.

A very well put together rose fragrance which is a bit unconventional but nothing dangerous for ones career. Just my 2 cents. This fragrance is so old so I will not go on about notes etc. It is definitely worth trying. I will classify this one under (a personality fragrance) meaning I would not recommend buying unsniffed.

My skin simply ignores skank (Muscs Koublai Khan was tender and mild on me), so I got no skank from this. I did, however, get the harsh alkaline/soapy opening that most expensive rose scents have on me (the exception being Rose Siwa, the most expensive of all). However, Rose Poivree soon opened up into a beautiful deep rose, reminiscent of DSH American Beauty. But AB is beautiful from the beginning, so I'd prefer it to this.

Enticingly dirty and overtly sexy. The rose is only there to soften up the spices a bit. Nowhere near office compliant. It needs a woman confident in her sexuality. However, it is not one of those screaming "pay me attention, notice that I am a woman" scents, it is much more self-assured than that. It underlines what you already know for yourself instead of trying to mask your insecurities. I have a few good reason for not investing in a full bottle though: I find Rose Poivree being a softened, watered-down version of Alexander McQueen's Kingdom which I adore (and of which I already own two bottles). Also, RP has a poor lasting power thus its attractive dirty qualities quickly diminish - alas.

man would I like zero to be an option in scoring this one - HATRED. It is so revolting on me I can't even tell you. It's all true - the unwashed underwear note accusations .. The skankiest, stinkiest stuff ever.

Some people suspect that this has been reformulated, as it is not quite as dirty as it's reputation would have one believe. I have to admit that as a lover of animalistic fragrances I was disappointed at how prim and proper this is. The quality of the rose is fantastic, and while there is something a little dirty going on underneath, I don't really smell what Chandler Burr described as something "Satan's wife would wear to an opening at MoMA". Still, the quality is excellent. If it is true that the fragrance has changed, I think it's a shame. After all, there are many fine rose fragrances out there, but I don't find too many interesting ones.

I think there have been enough comments about the impolite nature of this fragrance, suffice to say I find it immediately recreates the scent of a palm house; hot damp earth, rich florals, lush tropical greenery. It isn't an everyday inoffensive scent, there are plenty of those to choose from - but do try it just for the experience!

Rose Poivrée is unusual in a sense that, on me, it is a true wafter. Even an hour into the spritz, the scent still hovers about me like an undulating, stubborn aura. Unfortunately, this is one of those rare perfumes that stokes my sensitive vestibular system and activates profound nausea. I have to clarify that, despite this, in no way do I find the scent nasty; rather, fascinating considering its smutty disposition. The poivre property perceptibly overwhelms the rose, rendering the combination potently prurient. I don't exactly detect sécrétions vaginales or excrétion d'entrailles, but what persists is the beautifully seamless yet strikingly discordant tang of peppery rose-meets-diaphoresis. The effect is akin to masking odor with perfume. Puke-inducing aside, I'd have to say this has been a true olfactory ride.

A different rose scent, indeed.
I am on the fence whether I like it or not...
It is so masculine I find! Well, not a classic rose, but with a distinct personality.
The pepper is strong in it, making it deep. The spices (coriander, juniper) and the woods - I can smell pine perhaps cedar to a lesser extent - make it ideal for who likes masculine or wood based fragrances... with a hint of animalic notes.
It reminds me very much of "Voleur de Roses" wiht its musty earthy wince cellar drydown
Not a powdery or feminine rose at all!
Interesting one ... has sillage but very low staying power.... Not FB worth!

ooooooh, no. i just cant do it. i do enjoy a bit of skank and stink in my perfumes, but this takes it over the edge. the cumin isnt rendered in a pleasant, smoky, spice cabinet way. its more like a freshly sharpened pencil/sweaty crotch type of scent. with some rose. so...it smells like a whores bath. great.

Originally reviewed on 10/1/2004 1:29:00 PM.
This is a masculine rose with a very strong note of coriander. It doesn't appeal to me in the least, and turns sour on my skin. Notes include: Baies Roses, pepper, coriander, civette, vetiver. Smells like B.O. to my nose.

I have been intrigued by Rose Poivree ever since I first smelled it. It smells like an elegant old rose fragrance to which dashes of smoky peppers and berries have been added. It dries down beautifully and leaves an elegant rose scent behind. If you like Caron's Parfum Sacre, you would like this. In my opinion, Rose Poivree is wonderful, unique and another Jean Claude Ellena masterpiece.

This is not scent I wear very often, but I felt I had to weigh in, since so many reviewers find it rankly unpleasant! I must have the cool, dry skin the scent requires, because on me it is mildly animalic, but hardly offensive. And animalic is not really the right word. That dirty, sexy note isn't indoles, or even civet on me; t's really the sharp darkness of the pepper. I do enjoy the pepper note, though if it were slightly less pronounced I would likely be happier with the balance. The rose element, as others have pointed out, is truly beautiful and realistic. It is a warm, full rose, not cold or thinly high-pitched, and so unusually fine that I wish it were more exposed. I do not detect a cumin note, fortunately. Perhaps that almost too-hefty dose of pepper produces the the eau de armpit or nether-parts some people smell when combined with vetiver and coriander. On me, the rose is clear just below the surface of those warm, dry, almost incensy spices. I don't know what others think about it on me, though. I should ask! if no one else enjoys it on me, I'll save it for days at home.