PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar
Collectible PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar
Tauer Perfumes 2013

PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar / Collectible PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar by Tauer Perfumes

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8.1 / 10 495 Ratings

A popular perfume by Tauer Perfumes for women and men, released in 2013. The scent is floral-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Oriental

Sweet

Powdery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bitter almond Apricot

Apricot

Cinnamon

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Afghan rose

Bourbon geranium

Bulgarian rose absolute

Tobacco absolute

Base Notes

Ambergris

Musk

Patchouli

Tonka bean Vanilla

Vanilla

Vetiver

Perfumer

Andy Tauer

Ratings

Scent

8.1495 Ratings

Longevity

8.3412 Ratings

Sillage

7.8415 Ratings

Bottle

7.8373 Ratings

Value for money

7.1123 Ratings

Submitted by Colognissimo, last update on 09/14/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Perfume Vault collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Kashnoir

Aristokrat

Yes I Was Madly In Love, But That Was Yesterday

Yellow Rose Incense

Délectation Splendide

Loukhoum

Reviews

24 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/09/2013

7.5
Sillage 5
Longevity 8
Scent

Dalmajen
45 Reviews

Dalmajen

Helpful Review 7

A Gentle Rose, Wrapped in Silk.

This is the only Tauer I have tried, that has come across as soft. I was expecting a deep, dark,and rich fragrance, and I was really surprised at how this came across, well, for me anyhow).
The opening is really interesting..I didn't detect any rose first off, it is more of a wisp of gentle smoke,with a touch of the almond and apricot. I have found this slight smoke accord to be present in most of the Tauer perfumes, but this is only a faint touch in this fragrance. I must say, the rose accords are very light, and soft. In his other creation. Une Rose Chypree) my favorite of his rose fragrances, The Rose is very pronounced, and bold. It's almost as if this rose is hiding in the mist, and just peeking through. This fragrance, in my opinion, is very feminine..even though it's classed as a unisex fragrance).The dry down is very soft, as well, and I did re-apply after two hours to have a sort of second round of options. I enjoyed wearing it, but was expecting something much stronger, or perhaps bolder is a better word. Another interesting point, every review I have read on this fragrance has been really varied. Some have said it's really rich, and bold, others have had a similar experience to mine, in that it is a soft scent. It doesn't come across as very sweet, I would say the notes are very nicely balanced. The slight tobacco note is pleasant, and there seems to be just a touch of patchouli..which stays very close to the skin. I didn't find the sillage strong, but it is detectable. I hope to order this in the Tauer Explorer set, as I do like it, Yes, a lovely, but gentle Rose, wrapped in the softest silk.

12/09/2013

hedonist222
26 Reviews

hedonist222

Very helpful Review 6

Marzipan Noir

Opening is a handful.
It starts out unapologetic.
All notes radiating at maximum capacity.
Bitter almond (no sweetness) and apricot made dusty by the tobacco leaves. A faint sparkle from the bergamot.
The tonka balances the patchouli.
No dainty frills.
There's an overall austere mood to it.
There's a strong correlation between it & Rahat Loukoum.
I'm getting a likeness to that supple leather & plum accord in Boxeueses.
But here it's supple leather & almond.
I'm GLAD the rose isn't prominent at all.
We all love roses but there are enough outstanding rose perfumes available.
There is rose and I can tell its not the regular fluffy rose but its not rose centered.

Then an interplay of notes commences.
Here is where Andy's craftsmanship in complexity is most vivid.

The premise is as such:
A bonding of gourmand & noir (leathery resinous accord)
Composition :
The apricot & almond create a marzipan accord. The gourmand aspect.
The tobacco (excessive use of) , geranium & musk make up the noir effect.
This demonstrates Andy's craftsmanship with complex compositions.
It opens with strong presence then harmoniously transitions to its peak purpose -interplay of gourmand & leathery/resinous (dark)- and then settles to a base that is the sum of all its parts.
I'd have named it Marzipan Noir.

11/15/2013

5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

Pipette
63 Reviews

Pipette

6

PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar

Andy Tauer's latest rose creation is another gem. A gem as such. I don't know what PHI stands for, but I read in his blog that it is a rose scent with precious, natural absolue ingredients ... and therefore a limited edition. The next harvest oil may not turn out the same exact batch. Notes and technical background are not my forte, but what I can put is my impression of this perfume.

It envelops you like a soft cloud. Roses, roses with a touch of slighty bitter brownness ... I suppose the cinnamon, geranium and almond have something to do with that. That takes the edge of a brilliant rose and makes an almost skin scent, so warm and close. It projects only a little, actually I had to spray on a lot, but then it lasts the major part of the day. The beauty is that the sillage and skin smell alike, and I cannot stop stiffing up closely and delight how good it smells.

It does not hit the nose like mainstream perfumes do with a boost of flowerbomb notes and a lot of sweetness, rather it is a soft veil where beautiful, delectable, almost gourmand (caramel candy) notes swirl around also. Tobacco leaves? Maybe. If so, that is one good aromatic soft and subtle tobacco.

The best reviews you will find in Kafka's blog. Refer to that if you really want to know.

If I did not have already similar perfumes, I would buy it when it is available in a Tauer Perfumes Explorer Set. Those are easier for shipping as postal air shipment restrictions hinder the flow.

Thumbs up. Another scent well worthy of Andy Tauer's reputation. I have the feeling that it may become a landmark, a big success.

02/24/2015

5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 4
Scent

Drseid
821 Reviews

Drseid

3

Another Tauer, Another Pass...

PHI opens with a slightly fruity apricot, with whiffs of piercing rose and bitter almond. As the composition moves to its early heart the rose remains in support, but moderately powdery, slightly creamy vanilla emerges as co-star with the slightly bitter almond. During the late dry-down the composition is all about the powdery vanilla that turns relatively dry, supported by rooty vetiver, light musk and remnants of the almond losing its bitter facet through the finish. Projection is excellent, as is longevity at nearly 15 hours on skin.

Let's get the positive aspects of PHI out of the way quickly... The composition has some great performance metrics and is obviously well-made. In addition to the impressive performance, the composition has a tolerable late dry-down that is unobtrusive and wearable. OK, now that is out of the way we can focus on the rest of the composition's attributes, and they all disappoint big time. Maybe disappoint is unfair because that implies one expected something better to begin with. I feel guilty panning yet another one of Mr. Tauer's compositions, but something about his trademark dusty vanilla base is just so annoying it ruins every one of them, and PHI is no exception. Also not helping matters is that while rose is supposedly the featured note (and it certainly is in the composition) the bitter almond mixed with the dusty, slightly sweet vanilla really is the focus and it doesn't smell good. I wouldn't go as far as to say the composition is a scrubber, but I did think about it several times, particularly in the key mid-section as the vanilla almond is at its strongest and most displeasing. At the end of the day the only one to blame for my torture in wearing this is me. I haven't found one Tauer composition I have liked yet, so why would I expect any different with PHI? The bottom line is the $160 per 50ml PHI Une Rose de Kandahar has a couple positive attributes easily drowned by an avalanche of negatives, earning it a "poor" rating of 2 stars out of 5 and an avoid recommendation.

12/16/2014

5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 10
Scent

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

5

Rose of the mountains...

This is a phenomenal fragrance! Really beautiful stuff. So far I have never been disappointed by any fragrance by Andy Tauer. This is my third one. I have to say I am enjoying this one quite a lot.

To me this is typical of most Tauer fragrances. It is a heavy, spicy kind of smell. My first love was his fragrance Le Maroc pour Elle which was inspired by Morocco, and which had heavy amber, jasmine and spices. This one has it's origins in Afghanistan. Kandahar is a very famous city there and close by there are fields near the mountains where poppies are grown (for opium). Afghanistan is not all desert, there are many high mountains with snow and green fields and fruit trees all fed by ice cold mountain water from the rivers and streams. In such a place, roses also grow, a "mountain rose"... and those are the roses used by Tauer in this fragrance.

It opens up with heavy spice, with almonds, tobacco, cinnamon, bergamot. For me the strongest note here is the tobacco. Dry tobacco leaves mixed with spices (the same leaves used to make cigars). I think there is a rose here, but it's not quite a "rose" fragrance. It;s a deep, spicy perfume with a little rose. A very "dusty" rose. I also get the ambergris, tonka bean, vetiver, patchouli and vanilla. It's very dark. If this fragrance had a colour, I think it would be dark red, or like a brown red colour. This is like deep, dark red wine. It has the same feeling to me. Personally I like it, but I know it may be a little heavy and "weird" for some people out there.

Une Rose de Kandahar is a fragrance with quite a unique smell (but not unique if you know the Tauer house). It's a very spicy scent with heavy musk as well as rose. So don't expect a huge rose in your face. But I think it's really beautiful. I sprayed it on earlier and one or two sprays stayed with me for at least 3 hours. It's a very beautiful fragrance. I would say only buy this if you are a huge fan of the Tauer house. Because it is a limited edition (he buys the rose oil from only one field in Afghanistan and each year the roses finish... so he has to wait until the next year to make more perfume). That's why it is a limited edition. One to try and sample first (because of the high price).

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