Roses Vanille
Mancera (2011)

Mancera Roses Vanille (2011) is a fragrance that feels like it was the base for the later Mancera Roses Greedy (2012), as it contains many of the pleasant aspects found in the dry down of that later scent, but none of the hangups. There is some of the same candy sweetness here but it isn't delivered as fruit candy like in Roses Greedy, and overall I feel like this is a much better, more balanced perfume that was perhaps taken further in the 2012 follow-up, losing what little unisex appeal it had (marginal at best) along with its grace. The premise behind Roses Vanille is simple so I won't draw this review out: it's roses and vanilla, with some balancing players for depth and diffusion, easy peasy. So really, if you don't think roses and vanilla combined will work for you, there really is no need to even try this perfume, as it pretty much single-mindedly drives home that theme. I've smelled a lot of Mancera and Montale rose thingamajiggers now, and I can tell you whatever is going on to make up the rose note is a sort of shared house note between the two brands too, so if you've not found other rose perfumes from either house to suit you, the same warning to avoid applies. Here is an example of another simple pleasure I am totally agreeable with smelling, but wouldn't be much interested in buying, ergo I like this enough to give it thumbs up, but smelling it is like going through the motions for my nose-brain.

The opening is going to be that Montale/Mancera "megarose" synthetic rose note, like a smoother more finessed version of the rose most commonly had in a lot of big-name big-price niche these days featuring rose and oud, rose and patchouli, rose and musk, you name it, but fattened up per the vanilla theme here. Maybe Pierre Montale created this accord and sells it to other houses, because obviously these bottles sell for $180 new instead of $350 like some other brands that feature this type of semi-candied rose, but I digress. Rather than swaddle the rose in green notes and bergamot like you may be used to in chypre interpretations, or dirtied up with amber and leather like some other houses have been doing, Mancera just shoves citral, ethyl maltol, ethyl vanillin, and a white musk in here to call it a day. The creaminess of the vanilla makes the musk smell a bit more virile and fatty than it otherwise would, but there isn't much development beyond settling down to that roses and musky vanilla, making a "poor man's" Musc Ravageur by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2000) with a bit of candy rose. There are trace woody aromachemicals here, and an almost almond-like nuttiness in the late dry down, but that's well after you have to put nose to skin in order to keep smelling it, so we're talking past 12 hours. Best use is romantic evening wear and although I'm going out on a limb to say this is unisex, I can see the conservative "think tank" guys clutching their bottles of "men's cologne" sneering in the back.

Long lasting, dilligent in sillage for most of the time on skin, and fairly fundamental in what it provides, the only real fault I can find in Roses Vanille is how boring such a linear and consistent one-two punch of a fragrance can be. Lovers of this particular combination (and niche houses love making these rose one-two combo moves) have a literal glut of options with little variation in quality besides more exorbitant packaging the higher up the Veblen goods food chain you go. If cost effectiveness is a concern, Mancera Roses Vanille is a good option, and if the shopping mall rose on steroids genre that the later Roses Greedy inhabits is unappealing, Roses Vanille keeps the good bits while tossing the bad ones. What you see is what you get and there isn't a whole lot more to say. A simple synthetic rose vanilla perfume with consistent performance may have once been the purview of a $15-per-bottle drugstore brand like Coty in the eighties, but thanks to the widening wealth gap in Western society caused by emerging corporate oligarchy (aka "late-stage capitalism" for the optimists), you can expect to pay nearly $200 for the same relative quality and performance you could once expect of something you picked up at a Walgreens. The alternative is the sugared geraniol water that passes for a rose perfume in the designer realm, at least until people get sick of bottled vapidity like they did after being force-fed it in the 90's. If this sounds like an alright deal to you, check out Roses Vanille and buy from a discounter for about half-price. Thumbs up.

This is an incredible fragrance that smells of roses and vanilla (a simple combination but smells really great to my nose). It reminds me both of MFK's Oud Satin Mood and Montale Intense Cafe. Though I prefer both those fragrances to this one, this is still really great. It also has very solid projection and amazing longevity (like most Manceras/Montales), and smells really smooth.

4.5/5

Simply put, Mancera Roses Vanille is like Montale Intense Cafe, but without the coffee, as no doubt many others have said. If you want no hints of coffee in your vanilla/rose blended, Roses Vanille is for you, as it's pleasantly, tactfully blended, and good-performing.

If, however, you do like the coffee, I see little reason to opt for this instead of Intense Cafe.

Still, a very nice composition, but with the context of Intense Cafe, it's a bit of a tough sell to me.

7 out of 10

Amazing fragrance!

Many have concluded this to be too feminine for them..to each his own. I think this is a very nice fragrance for any heterosexual male to add to his collection. I appreciate the sweetness of it, reminds me of Gold Intensitive Aoud with a slightly sweeter bent with the vanilla hanging strong. Again, in my opinion it is completely unisex!!

I thoroughly enjoy wearing this as a confident man!! :o)

The vanilla is very prominent and the rose is upfront with the musk lingering in the background. There's not a lot to say about the fragrance other than I am glad I pulled the trigger and purchased this at one of the greatest deals ever...If you find yourself contemplating getting this, I suggest getting it.

(I must point out that this scent changes on skin than on paper...on paper it smells very sweet, candy-like; on skin you get that candy-like smell but it morphs into a much softer, slightly powdery gourmand fragrance).

(Thanks hednic for your insight, it helped in the final decision!)

Strong stuff! I really like this one. I think it balances the amount of sweetness perfectly. Of course the main notes are rose and vanilla, but there is also a sweetness, an almost, candy-like sweetness. I don't personally get the Oud in here, but I think of this one more as a sweet, candied rose fragrance, more than anything else.

I would recommend this one as it's good for colder weather and would say that it would smell fantastic on a woman. I think it would need a confidant man to wear this. But the rose, sugar and vanilla combination would be amazing on the right lady. I have not tried other fragrances from Mancera but after this I would like to find out more from this promising brand. An extremely strong eau de parfum which is great value for money as a little goes a long way. For me two or three sprays are enough to last most of the day. It's a good one if you can wear sweet fragrances, and like rose and vanilla.

This is probably one of the fragrances that suits me better. I get lots of flattering compliments when I am wearing Roses Vanille. The longevity is impressive (48 hours, even after showering I can detect RV on my skin! On clothes and fabric it lasts even longer) and the sillage is bold but in a positive way. Some people knew I was in a hotel lounge bar just because they sensed the trail of RV. "There you are! I smelled your perfume, so nice!" "I knew you were here before seeing you! Which perfume are you wearing, I love it!".
RV does evolve very little on my skin, I have to admit, maybe a little faint zesty note at first but after that RV is sweetness, roses, vanilla. This may sound childish or suitable to a teenager but the vanilla here is a grown up teaser (blame it on a hint of white musk... I guess). I love it because, unlike Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford, I can smell RV on me all day, while to my nose TV disappears in an hour or so (but people around me do smell it, so unfair!). I will keep TV for colder evenings but RV is a winner all year round for me.
Longevity and sillage are worth the price tag (€ 127 for 120 ml! That is the same price for a 50 ml of Malle frag!) and the bottle can be fully opened (for decanting in smaller vials or travel size bottles), plus it comes in a luxury fake leather fabric pouch to protect the perfume from light, just like a champagne glacette! Very cool.
I don't mind if some people think Mancera is a cheaper relative to Montale. I find RV a truly good catch and value for money. [To me it is way too sweet and flowery to suit a man, a nice masculine version could be Mancera Wild Rose Oud]