Café Rose
Tom Ford (2012)

This review is for the newly issued (the nose performing of which being the great Antoine Lie) in a lightened airy contemporary vest, Tom Ford Café Rose 2023. In 2023 Tom Ford re-launched Café Rose as part of the Signature Line and still combining (but in a more silky "whispered" way) the velvety sensuality of a refined rose infused and melted with the darker and more bitter toasted twist of dark coffee. To be honest I've never tested on skin the first 2013 version which is told to have more vintage chypré-like depth and to be more structured but somewhat massive-retrò in style. What I enjoy in the more recent appointment is the finally super light, musky, softly resinous (in a vaguely talky way) and airy texture of this rose/frankincense/ylang-ylang-dominant creation. The note of rose, in its two vests as turkish harsher/more leafy/vegetal rose and the softer-more delicate but quite redolent bulgarian one, is initially invested by a blast of dark toasted coffee (apparently contrasting the romantic gentleness of rose by its kind of metallic rugged approach). The initial approach is effectively kind of toasted, dark, vegetal and peppery rooty because of the vegetal prerogatives of turkish rose (green, leafy bitter, soapy and earthy) combined with some woody rootiness and with the hammering cold angularity of toasted coffee. This rough opening (dark and vibrant) quickly fades while evolving in to something surprisingly musky-talky-rosey slightly balmy/soapy, mild-spicy (saffron?) and dry (super feminine, kind of buttery and sophisticated by a creamy balmy ylang-vibe). Ylang ylang (joined to airy frankincense and fresh cardamom) definitely contributes to highlight a sort of breezy spicy rosey musky exotic caress in the air which is not so distant from the one we enjoy in Narciso Rodriguez Musc Noir Rose (2022), Agarwoud Heeley (2012) with bukgarian rose, volatile frankincense and benzoin, Amouage Homage (2008) with Rose Taif, molecular resins and soapy sandalwood. Over two or three hours also in here creamy sandalwood, volatile frankincense, mild spices, exotic ylang-ylang and romantic rose smell perfectly interlaced in a cloud of romantc chic floral soapiness quite sophisticated and subtle (incredibly wearable with no traces of the initial toasted/vegetal harshness). The note of coffee is still there (on the side of patchouli) in effect but in a kind indefinable way. Performances are on the average. A super refined modern floral musky fragrance for the lovers of this dreamy romantic silky genre.

So, I managed to locate 2 x 100ml bottles of "Cafe Rose." I located previously owned, or open box items on Mercari for very good prices. The "Batch IDs" list the fragrances as produced in 2022. I've been seeking vanilla-centric gourmand type fragrances with additional notes for interest...coffee, chestnut, hazelnut, spices, almond, caramel, etc. I recognize I LOVE vanilla fragrances. But linear, straight-up vanilla centric fragrances are a bit boring for my current preferences and tastes.

As an aside, I recently purchased Memo Paris "African Rose" and I've gotta say, I am in love. Currently, it will be difficult for ANY perfume to approach the good feelings & love I have for African Rose...it really is a beautiful perfume!

And with that, I guess I "like" Tom Ford "Cafe Rose" but it is not a love. I recently went through an entire 120ml bottle of Mancera "Amore Caffe." And I'm also awaiting a second 100ml bottle of Akro "Awake." But tbh, there's zero detectable coffee notes in Cafe Rose. So, that's very disappointing.

To my nose, Cafe Rose opens with very spicy, peppery notes and a gentle "small" rose fragrance (May Rose???) that smells more green (from stems) versus lush (from petals). As I prefer, the rose in Cafe Rose is NOT jammy, or juicy, wet, or succulent but arid, dusty, gentle and very very dry. Within minutes, loads of leathery, smoky, earthy, dusty, hay-like, dirt-like notes emerge along with sandalwood, amber, incense (smoky notes, in particular...not church incense) and some rose. Cafe Rose performs as a woody, amber-cedar fragrance with saffron, smoke and a bit of rose in its base.

I dislike categorizing fragrances. I say, "Wear what you want, wear what you love." However especially on the heels of African Rose, Cafe Rose wears EXTREMELY masculine on my skin. It feels like a man's fragrance.

I'm disappointed. I may keep one bottle and see if the fragrance grows on me. And I'll likely resell the second bottle on eBay.

A spicy, velvety crimson rose, mixed with slight green-ish coffee note and some woody green patchouli. Slight incense and amber come after a while also in this. Its a gorgeous scent, like a cousin to Noir de Noir, but more versatile and less dark. This is more vibrant than NdN, and can be worn day or night easily. Charisma in a bottle!

The opening is a little dark and spicy, and maybe a little bitter. The heart is an amazing rich, dark rose. Unfortunately, I get almost none of the coffee, though I feel like the incense and/or patchouli certainly makes itself known in the rose heart long before we get to the true base.

I do like this fragrance. It's somewhat different, a little audacious for a rose, and certainly poorly named, but I like it. If you're looking for a coffee fragrance, though, look elsewhere. This is more "slightly spicy patchouli rose" than café rose, no matter what the name.

This perfume is like its own ghost. It opens with rose and a hint of something slightly bitter, which I'm guessing is the coffee (or possibly the pepper) but isn't distinct enough for me to positively identify. It then develops into a sweet rose smell, and over time the warm, soapy patchouli comes to the fore. It's lovely. However. This fragrance is the olfactory equivalent of when you leave the dancefloor of a club to go into the bathroom; suddenly, the music is muffled - still identifiable at a distance, but muted. About 15 minutes after spraying, it smells like you've walked into a room that someone wearing a beautiful scent vacated several hours ago. (This is on your skin - sillage is almost non-existent: sporadic and mild.) After 4 hours, it's basically gone; wear it overnight, and there's no sign of it by morning. I'm still giving it a thumbs up because the scent that IS there is wonderful, and if there was an elixir version I'd snap it up; overall, however, this perfume is frustrating because of what it COULD be.

Oh, very pleasant rosy fragrance. You barely get the coffee, it is so mild and in a distance. There is really not much to write about this, the majority of TF's is quite linear. Linear, but beautiful. Yes, he has a bit more complicated creations, like White Suede... And the coffee here is not so obnoxious like in a Montale Intense Cafe.
So overall it is a very wearable, rather feminine perfume.