Red rose of hope…
Notes: Pink pepper, Raspberry blossom, Turkish rose, Papyrus and Amber.
Byredo is a relatively well known Swedish niche brand but I only just found out that the name comes from the Old English word for “redolence”.
Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately considering their price point – I’ve yet to connect with any of the Byredo fragrances. Although what niche brand is these days? Maybe their 2015 rose release will win me over.
Rose of No Man’s Land was composed by perfumer Jerome Epinette as an homage to the nurses who worked at the front lines of the First World War. So I was pleased to read that a proportion of the profits from the sale of this fragramce go to Doctors Without Borders.
“Their story is one of selflessness and compassion.
The perfume is like a soothing balm; sophisticated elegance envelops the skin and strengthens the backbone.” – Byredo
Rose of No Man‘s Land is unlikely to sway anyone who is not fond of rose perfumes because it’s essentially a rose soliflore and a rather linear one at that. However, it’s definitely worth exploring if rose scents are your thing.
It opens up with a pleasant zap of pepper and a touch of red fruit which for once, isn’t too sweet. It features a very fine, subtly spiced, fruity Turkish rose which I find to be one of the most swoon-inducing aromas in the world. In that way, it’s hard to fault.
I like the fact that it’s relatively sheer and lacking in patchouli. I seem to be moving away from earthy roses of late, although I still enjoy Papillon’s Tobacco Rose in the autumn. Rose of No Man’s Land showcases the soft, spicy facet of Turkish rose in a subtle way and uses the flowers own dry leaves as accents
If you’re looking for a rose soliflore with a modern feel but unadorned by patchouli or oud, Rose of No Man’s Land could be the one for you. It doesn’t feel at all old-fashioned and has just a light smattering of soft powder. I find the sillage to be lightweight but with a moderate amount of throw, while the lasting power is excellent.
There is an argument for letting a material as beautiful as Turkish rose oil shine and not over-complicate matters. However, I have a demanding nose these days and I need a bit more. Therefore it won’t displace my two current favourites, both by Serge Lutens: the violet-powdered rose of La Fille de Berlin and the fur trimmed rose of Rose de Nuit.
The quality is certainly first rate and I find it enjoyable but it doesn’t capture my imagination or spark my emotions. All the same, as rose soliflores go, Rose of No Man’s Land is an extremely good one.
Do you own any fragrances by Byredo?
A Bottled Rose 
I must let my friend Jessica know about this. She is still after a quintessentially rosy rose with not too much else going on. I do find the Byredo prices and rather plain bottle a bit offputting though. Clean Scandinavian lines, I guess. Was interested to learn the ‘redolence’ connection!
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I was wondering if Jessica was still looking for her rose. Yes, she must give this a try.
I sprayed a few Byredos last time I was in Liberty but none struck a chord even though I was hopeful of 1996.
I thought you might like that opening snippet, V!
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Interesting story behind the fragrance. No don’t have any Byredo, will try some at Mecca Cosmetica next week give it a go .
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Oh yes, see what you think next week then.
The inspiration makes a nice change and I like that some money is going to Doctors Without Borders.
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I am quite fond of some of the Byredos, with BlackSaffron being a favourite. They also do travel sizes, and the brand is included whenever Liberty do their £20 off promotion. This one though won’t be one for me, roses rarely capture me.
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Sabine, you have all the best info! I had no idea Byredo did travel sizes. That is so good to know.
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I’ve been thinking about trying this one since I feel for the background story. But, hey, as usual, I haven’t yet. 😀 The sheer rose sounds good. It might give me a good rest away from darker roses.
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So much to try, so little time 🙂
I like owning La Fille de Berlin and Rose de Nuit because they offer me light and shade respectively, so I totally get having an alternative to those wonderful dark roses.
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I am the same as you; I personally don’t like Byredo at ALL.
But I do like Fille De Berlin and Turkish roses, so next time I am at Isetan I will give this a whirl.
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Turkish roses are sublime but I wonder if this will have enough going on to engage you. See what you think.
I had no idea until this post that a number of us just don’t take to Byredo.
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None of Byredo’s perfumes so far has been a bottle-worthy for me – partially because I do not like their bottles. But I liked several of their perfumes enough to pay for decants. Pulp has earned its place in my tropical vacation perfume wardrobe. I also like and wear La Tulipe, Black Suffron and Bal D’Afrique.
I will try this one because I like the story (it’s much more appealing to me than SL’s one).
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Now I think of it, you don’t see that many posts about Byredo. It doesn’t seem to be one of those brands which people take to their hearts.
I bet Pulp is a great tropical vacation perfume.
I always associate La Tulipe with Natalie as it was her wedding perfume.
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Me too! And my decant is from that same bottle 🙂
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Aaaah! Lovely.
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Bam! You totally nailed this one, Tara. It’s a gorgeous rose fragrance, that Turkish rose is just divine. But yes it’s linear, you put it on, it wriggles around a bit as it settles, then it’s just rose and you for a few hours as it fades. Such an interesting back story too, although I’m not sure I knew about the proceed donations.
xx Tina G
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Ha! It is “just rose and you” once it settles, it’s true.
As high quality as it is, I can’t help thinking you might as well wear a dab of Turkish rose oil.
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I’m not drawn to Byredo perfumes either – the look reminds me of a white interior designed home, that I will quickly make a mess of. Too clean and sculpted. Next time I see their perfumes (not in these parts though) I’ll have a try of this and a few others. Personally I love Fille de Berlin and it’s one of the few perfumes that people actually comment on when I’m wearing it. Rose de Nuit sounds beautiful so I think I would rather hunt that one out.
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Hey Megan,
Yes, it seems the Byredo aesthetic doesn’t appeal to many. Perhaps it is the whiteness because most don’t seem to mind the Frederic Malle bottles which are equally minimalist.
Nice to hear from another Fille de Berlin fan! I do recommend giving Rose de Nuit a try when possible.
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Hey there Tara,
I have Black Saffron and Accord Oud in my collection and Kath wears La Tulip like it was made with her in mind. Michael smells killer in M/Mink too. I know he’s pricey but I really like his oddball way of presenting notes, the quirky ones are all interesting and wearable to me.
Portia xx
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Oh yes, now I remember La Tulipe is your BFF’s scent.
Thanks for reminding me about M/Mink, Portia. I’m curious about that one as I like the smell of ink.
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It’s freaky and beautiful. Lasts forever so make sure you are ready to give it a LOT of skin time.
Portia x
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I appreciate the tip, Portia!
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Mortal Skin by Stephane Humbert Lucas also has an ink note, but gosh it’s an expensive fragrance!!!
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Thanks, Tina. I have looked at the Stephane Humbert Lucas range because I have a pal that’s really into them but yes, one look at the prices and I clicked away again 🙂
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I haven’t tried this one but I love their Rose Noir. I swoon over Rose de Nuit, it’s so damn sexy!
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Will add Rose Noir to my To Try list.
Rose de Nuit is as sexy as hell!
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I guess I’m in the minority – I actually REALLY like their minimalist bottles! I would only like them better if the cap wasn’t spherical on top, but mimicked the shape of the bottle. I’ve only tried a couple Byredos – Black Saffron, Bal d’Afrique and Mojave Ghost. I love love Black Saffron and am really interested in trying Accord Oud as well.
I’m not sure lately how I feel about Rose scents – I’m having a really hard time finding one I love outside of La Fille de Berlin. I am very supportive of the cause behind this perfume, which makes me tempted to spend some birthday money on it *anyways,* but I did that with April Aromatics San Francisco Rose and that was so awful on me. That was a huge mistake. It sounds like this one is pretty safe for a rose though…
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Yay for you liking the bottles, Sun Mi! They really don’t bother me and I actually like the rounded cap.
Mojave Ghost is a new one on me – what an intriguing name.
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Mojave Ghost is a pretty floral – not at all what I was expecting based on the name, but I guess there’s a ghost flower or something. 🙂
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Ha! Probably 🙂
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I made a long reply to your post, but still having PC trouble it failed to connect and was lost. So here just a short one to say that I really should try Rose of no mans land, as it’s actually in the top of my sample drawer, but it probably doesn’t take you much imagination to figure out why I haven’t tried it yet 🙂 now rose soli-flore doesn’t exactly make it more attractive to me, but you wrote beautifully about it non the less.
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Oh PC problems and lost comments are such a pain. Thanks for trying again.
Yes, no surprise why you haven’t got round to trying your sample of this one 🙂
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