Café Rose Tom Ford 2012

Version from 2012

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7.7 / 10 276 Ratings

A popular perfume by Tom Ford for women and men, released in 2012. The scent is floral-spicy. It was last marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Woody

Sweet

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

May rose

Saffron

Black pepper

Heart Notes

Bulgarian rose Coffee

Coffee

Turkish rose

Base Notes

Frankincense Amber

Amber

Patchouli

Sandalwood

Perfumer

Antoine Lie

Ratings

Scent

7.7276 Ratings

Longevity

7.1228 Ratings

Sillage

6.7229 Ratings

Bottle

8.3243 Ratings

Value for money

6.292 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 03/29/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection Private Blend: Jardin Noir.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Dark Pleasure

Secrets d'Essences - Rose Oud

Be Mine

Café Rose (2023)

Superbe Café

Rose

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/10/2012

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 7
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Helpful Review 5

A Split-Personality? Not such a bad thing, in this case...

Tom Ford CAFE ROSE opens as a rather peppery rose, reminding me quite a bit of Etat Libre d'Orange ROSSY DE PALMA. The rose is palpably red, and the pepper accentuates its redness. Shortly thereafter, a patchouli complex vaguely reminiscent of BLACK ORCHID arrives on the scene. It's somewhat chewy and sweet, but not overly so, and I cannot help thinking that this creation was crafted specifically with Tom Ford fragrance devotees in mind. I should say, however, that the coffee does mingle with the other notes in a most enticing way, giving this particular presentation of patchouli its own distinct personality, despite its overlap with BLACK ORCHID (and perhaps WHITE PATCHOULI as well...).

By the drydown, CAFE ROSE seems much closer to BLACK ORCHID than to ROSSY DE PALMA--or any other spicy rose--so I'd say that what we have here are really two completely distinct fragrances: first there's rose, and then there's the cafe. I imagine that the opening burst of rose is going to make a lot of sales at the counter: it's vibrant and enticing and beautiful. But the BLACK ORCHID lovers will be pleased, too, if they have the patience to wait for the drydown of this perfume.

Is this a coherent two-stage creation? To me, it seems like a split personality. I do not think that they are completely incompatible, but the two stages really are very different from one another. Still, since I like both stages, I cannot dislike their conjunction!

10/15/2012

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 7
Scent

Flaconneur
49 Reviews

Flaconneur

Helpful Review 3

CAFÉ ROSE by Tom Ford

Café Rose is one of four new introductions for Fall 2012 from Tom Ford's Private Blend Collection. The film noir inspired name itself suggests that this fragrance has a dark and disturbing past, but Café Rose is as familiar and comfortable as a warm fur coat. When I first saw the name, I couldn't help but think of some of my other all time favorites from Tom Ford Private Blend, issues like Tobacco Vanille and Amber Absolute. I was hoping that Café Rose would be as interesting and memorable. While Café Rose is interesting, it is by no means memorable.

Café Rose opens with sweet rose, then sharp and spicy black pepper. The top notes contain a sheer, cozy saffron that further intrigues you by coupling with a dark, semisweet chocolate, drizzled with a luscious bit of rich coffee. This combination is quite alluring but very short-lived. There is no lack of rose in Café Rose with May, Bulgarian and Turkish varieties being the primary scent of top and heart notes. The base of Café Rose is an old fashioned combination of patchouli and sandalwood, with a slap of amber for good measure. It also has a puff of frankincense to make it mysterious. There are no big surprises here from Tom Ford. Café Rose alludes to a gourmand fragrance but this fragrance ultimately boils down to a sweet innocent garden rose enjoying a morning coffee.

I must admit that I was mildly impressed with Café Rose upon first sniff. All the allure of coffee and chocolate disappeared very quickly making the fragrance extremely one note. I feel that Café Rose is one of the most interesting of the four new introductions by Tom Ford. The primary issue with Café Rose is the lack of complexity in the fragrance in the dry-down stage. I find Café Rose to be a little bland and uninteresting, and quickly turns into a subtle and lovely rose skin scent, but not much more. The gourmand coffee and chocolate notes made this fragrance intriguing. Unfortunately, those elements just evaporate leaving your skin smelling of a lovely rose garden.

06/24/2013

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

3

delta dawn

This is the Rose of the twisted Garden? Antoine Lie, l’enfant terrible, was the perfumer? Maybe I’ve gotten high on the fumes the smoldering rose chypres of the 70s-80s, but twisted or noir this ain’t.

Woody roses are easy in concept. There is a logical fit and a mutual enhancement. Because rose provides its own top, middle and base, the pairing with woods is logical. Patchouli, incense, sandlewood: Cafe Rose has them all. Amber, another expected match with rose, rounds out the mix.

Antoine Lie has visited this idea with colleague Antoine Maisondieu in Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection for Etat Libre d’Orange. Rossy plays with a dark rose and woods, also, but uses spice and chocolate as well as tones of metal, dust and blood. Unfortunately, Cafe Rose is best captured in what it is not. Not outstanding, not inspiring, not polarizing (not a good sign) and to my mind, given the competition in the niche market, not worth the price.

Cafe Rose isn’t a particularly ambitious perfume. The only sense of noir it conveys is, ‘Hey. It’s dark in here. Where’s the light switch?’ The concept isn’t new and the execution is uneventful. It conveys a feeling of the satisfaction of connecting the dots. The components are in place, the bits all connect; therefore the perfume is good. To its credit, the perfume doesn’t fall apart or become unbalanced. If you like the opening, you’ll likely enjoy the rest of the perfume. But the bar just seems to be set low, and the risk-averse Cafe Rose favors balance over richness, competence over inspiration.

from scent hurdle.com

10/18/2017

Pietros921
23 Reviews

Pietros921

1

Wow, This impressed me

I remember when I first started the fragrance journey, I hated tobacco vanille, and hated café rose ( and many others ..) I happened to smell this fragrance again 2 years later in a period where I am searching for good roses, good oud smells and still finding nothing that blows me away.

So this did, what a class, romantic, elegant, for a night out, a date but also suit and tie because it has saffron and spicy elements in it. I love this sooo much wow and perfectly unisex, works better if you have blue eyes , blond hair and white skin thou
Longevity above avarage very very good !

05/21/2019

9
Bottle 8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

Montexx
24 Reviews

Montexx

1

Thake this if you like rose.

Really love this one from the first time i got it in my hands. This is like a very mysterious dark night scent, like if you are going out to a party where there are only flashlight. ofcours my opinion. With great rose and coffee and some patchouli olso very masculine rose, i could say. I think i can compare this one with amouage lyric, olso a masterpiece. Longevity is perfect and silage is average, so i would say take this one.

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