PHI Une Rose de Kandahar Tauer Perfumes for women and men

Sweet, clean, creamy, and floral. It reads rose very early on and dries into a nice vanilla ice cream.

There aren’t words to describe perfection. It has to be experienced. Someone once asked me what my favourite perfume was (the lovely salesperson in Les Senteurs in London) and I said URDK without a second thought. However I hadn’t worn it in while, but after spraying it today, I can definitely confirm that it is nothing short of a masterpiece. What makes it so? I don’t have skill to analyse that- but it smells as others have said “magical”. It smells out of its time, but not dated. It is an almond rose, but not obviously gourmand like Rose D’Amalfi. It has patchouli but breaks the rose/patch trope. There is genius here. Tauer is a genius. I have to get another bottle so I never run out. Everyone who ever loved rose should try this; and everyone who thinks they hate rose- this will change you mind.

feels very natural and one with nature. I know the two don't necessarily go- hand-in-hand but I will be bringing this on my next camping trip.

I'm not a huge fan of rose perfumes but I was able to score a used bottle of this at a great price so I blind bought it. It's really really really good. People who smell this in the bottle, universally love it. I personally think it has a bit of an incense-y vibe to it. It's perfect dome of protection- the scent klings in the most delightful way - and I always feel cozy and safe while wearing it. I definitely save this for when life can be tricky - it's almost like a talisman warding off negative energy and bad vibes. ( so dorky I know but this has a kind of magic energy to it!) I wouldn't say that it's a typical rose scent at all. Just gorgeous 10/10 except of course the price.

Am I the only one to smell Kenzo Jungle Elephant? This is so spicy, cannot feel the rose at all, which is ok, I wasn't necessarily looking for that, but because of the above mentioned resemblance, can't find it unique. Just bought it, I will test for few more days, maybe i'll get another vibe.

PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar is easily my favorite fragrance these days. Safe to say I'm addicted to it. I received a sample of it with another order from Tauer and PHI - Une Rose de Kandahar was love at first whiff. I ordered a bottle, and this morning I ordered a back-up bottle in case Andy runs out of stuff to make this wonderful elixir. I've been wearing it every day since I first experienced it. This is like the best thing I've ever smelled, maybe in... forever?

@Sereen84, in her spot on review below, mentioned that it's like a rose version of L'Heure Bleue and she's exactly on the money with that description. L'Heure Bleue is one of my other fave things and Une Rose' is deftly crafted to sit in the same ballpark. It definitely has a vintage, I'm thinking "Classic" vibe to it. Like most of Andy's stuff it has an animalic thing to it as well; right at the start; and that's mixed with a wonderful rose that's like none other. As it dries down it gets sweeter and more powdery with kind of a gourmand cinnamon thing added to the roses. As that starts to happen I can't help but keep putting my wrist up by my nose. As I mentioned, for me it's so addicting and strange at the same time. I've never been like, "Hooked" on a fragrance before. Certainly way worse things to get hung up on!

Longevity is excellent. This stuff lasts and lasts. Someone mentioned below that it may be a little too "Feminine" for a man to wear? It's a rose/floral at heart so yeah, it's leaning in that direction for sure but geez, do we have to divide ourselves up into camps? I really don't care if something's a "Masculine" or "Feminine" fragrance. If it smells great, and I like it... that's all that I care about.

For me, this perfume hits all the notes; it's as close to perfection as I've experienced in a fragrance. I absolutely love it and it's definitely going to be living in the front of my fragrance closet from now on. 5/5 Stars!

This is the most melancholic and simply exquisite rose I’ve tried. It’s flawless. Left me without words from the first day I’ve tried it. I wore it days on end, couldn’t get enough. It’s like i just wanted to melt and become one with it. I envision Une Rose de Kandahar as a rose version of L'Heure Bleue. It has a slightly vintage and just a tad powdery vibe. Now this is a rose crafted to perfection! Hats off mr Tauer! 🎩

This fragrance was not at all what I expected. Kandahar evokes thoughts of market shuks, thick canvas bags of spices, sand and warm breezes...what I got was a grandmotherly bulgarian rose drenched in a thick bath of baby powder laced with almond oil. It is strong on sillage and longevity..so you better love the way you smell.

Warm spices with vanilla, almond, and rose. A gorgeous amber fragrance. If you like ambers, you should give this a try.

Strong realistic rose (more like Bulgarian rose oil absolute) with some soft powdery notes and slight sweet clouds of cocoa powder. Balanced with patchouli base. Nice and unique. Will wear it on my skin and see how it develops.

Follow me on IG: scent.guide

Artistic indeed!
This is the best rose perfume I've ever tried.
While rose is bold with this one, tobacco and fruits are always interesting. And a good blend of all that can't go wrong.

The only con ... It reacts very differently on different skins.

A dynamic cinnamon-almond-rose which is almost too beautiful to review (I love it that much.) This one just sits with my heart, quietly, the way Mitsouko EDP did the first time I wore it. Few perfumes actually bring a tear to my eye. This one did.

This does remind me of Hiram Green Arbole, but whereas that one hinted at a chewy, almondy nature, this one puts it front and center. In fact, it reminds me of a very literal interpretation of turkish delight. There's a sweet, floral rose for the candy's flavor, then a sticky almond representing the chewy texture, and even a powderiness reminiscent of the powdered outside. That's not to say it's a gourmand, it's not really. It's a bit too old-fashioned for that. Overall not for me, but I can tell it's a nice perfume.

I got a dry woody rose, very unisex, not quite what I was expecting.

Sweet, jammy rose with a delicate touch of powder. I believe it might be almond. It reminds me a little bit of Impression Rose Oil Isparta.
It is very well-balanced! I'd say that the geranium note is dominant here, so if you are looking for a "young" and light-headed rose, this one may be a miss. I agree that some nuances are reminiscent of Arbole by Hiram Green. There is a similar "lipstick" vibe in it.
Overall, it is a great scent, that also supports a great cause.

This is the type of fragrance I like the most - rose, spicy and a little sweet. I was really expecting to love this one but I just don't. To me, it smells like cinnamon toast and rose - growing up we would mix cinnamon and white sugar and put it on top of buttered toast. It made me think of eating that while sitting a table with a couple red roses in a vase. Not bad at all, just not at all something I want to smell like.
tldr- cinnamon sugar rose.

Not what I was expecting, I just blind bought this hoping for a darker, insidious fragrance but that wasn’t what I got. I don’t like this so I’ll be selling this immediately. This opens and dries down to a spicy powdery Rose scent, not dissimilar to habanita by molinard on my skin which is not what I wanted at all.

Phi Une Rose de Kandahar is a sweet-spicy rose scent, bolstered by sweet spices, all on a high-quality amber base. It is surprisingly tonka bean-dominant. I couldn't put my finger on why it was so familiar, and looked through other tonka-heavy scents I've tried recently. It really resembles Hiram Green Arbolé, despite the lack of rose in that scent. There are gourmand elements at play here too.

Phi opens with peach and tonka bean, sweet and smooth, given a gourmand edge by the bitter almond note that follows. The rose is surprisingly subtle, only emerging after a little while, sweet and powdery. Cinnamon adds warm spice, complementing the rose beautifully. Curiously, it is the tonka bean that prevails, however.

It becomes earthy as it develops further, with patchouli and woody notes emerging. I get a hint of smokiness here, but the smooth, sweet vanilla-amber accord makes up the drydown. The tonka bean complements the sweet amber accord beautifully. It fades to a powdery tonka bean skin scent with some sweet amber remaining. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. Feminine-leaning in my opinion, Phi is a cosy scent best worn in autumn/winter.

A high-quality sweet-spicy scent with gourmand aspects, Phi is not the scent I expected. I was looking for a rich, spicy rose, and instead found a smooth, sweet tonka bean scent. Regardless, it's great. Andy Tauer still makes scents on a small scale with high-quality ingredients - true to his niche roots. 4/5.

I feel like your rich auntie that sometimes makes backhanded compliments that weren't intended to be so, has no shame in renting a gigolo for the night cuz I don't need no fucking man, but I always come through with the best Christmas and birthday gifts cuz I got it like that.


Unisex but leans feminine and a little bit on the mature side but I absolutely adore this. The only issue is I don't reach for it often but when I do I'm happy I have it.

The stuff is magic. May be my favorite fragrance. For me it’s a masterpiece and, (clears throat), is tauers best work. Unisex, leaning feminine. I wear it and could care less

274
I got this out today(hot day) because it’s been a while and I go back and forth about how I feel about it.

Apricot and bitter almonds-that’s what I love about it. The rose is shy, but when it shows, it’s descent but there’s a soapiness about the whole thing that ruins it for me.

I had to spray a large amount on my shirt even in the heat, in which it performs better than in the cold. I wish it didn’t have the soapy smell to it(becomes very masculine, like Irish spring soap) and it reminded me why I didn’t go for a bottle of incense rose (which I loved, green tart rose, but had the same mixed feelings about the soapy smell).

8/10-it’s interesting, but soapy is not for me. Would not repurchase.

I bought this first as a sample from Luckyscent because I was concerned with the mention of an animalic note. Almost as if my preconceived notion made it true, that was all I smelled. Ambergris. It reminded me a bit of Stephane Humbert Lucas 777's Kohl De Bahrein, for some reason, I guess because of the ambergris. I put it aside for a few months and tried again for a multiple days in a row, wow. Everything just blended perfectly this time around. The rose, the fruit, the tobacco, the leathery ambergris, the smooth creaminess of the almond. Cinnamon! This was the secret for me, I love this note in perfumery and this one uses it to perfection. A reviewer said this was a grownup rose, that's the perfect description. I can't stop huffing my wrist. I'm really glad I learned to put a scent away and give it a few weeks or months to settle before I write it off as a loss. If you want a bit more to test than the small amount sold at Luckyscent, the Tauer website has it in a tiny 5ml bottle that looks exactly the same as the larger one for $35 and free shipping. It's great as a travel mini.

This is killer rose, nothing quite like it and easily takes a seat amongst my personal top 5 for rose fragrances.
Powerful, slightly fruity, the Kandahar rose (which is Bulgarian rose growing in Afghanistan) is the main thing here. It reminds me of hot burning sands and loads of dusty dry spices, possibly burning. A stunning rose, not sweet and not cute, a powerhouse!

I bought this like 3 months ago all I can say is 10 out of 10 really good.

This perfume reminds me of my dad in his prime ♥

At first I didn't understand the comparison to Arbole by Hiram Green, but after letting it settle it makes complete sense.
It's like Arbole but BETTER. Comparatively, it's more masculine-leaning and more interesting.

It's creamy and huggable from the tonka notes, but has a spicy quality from the patchouli. I cannot diecipher the almond note specifically, but it adds a lot of dimension that would otherwise be missing (ahem.. Arbole).

This is so huggable, has such depth, and a slight herbal undertone. My only thought....where is the rose?

Mr. Andy is one of the most talented perfumers.
Every single Tauer creation leaves an woow feeling after very first testing.
This is most unique rose smelling fragrance.
Highly artistics, and not easy to wear, especially not for begginers.
Mix of rose, apricot, burning cinnamon and tobacco makes them pugnent, "bolded", prominent and sour scent, which leaves a huge smelling trail.
It is slightly closer to masculine side.
Spring/night/30+

I blind-bought this for my mother as a gift last year, and while she adores it, I just might love it even more than she does.

It's just a shame that - to my nose at least - this is ever so slighty too feminine for a guy to use. Though, perhaps, if your overall appearance oozes masculinity, or if you're wearing a suit and tie, then a scent like this could counterbalance the classical manly appearance by making your presence more multi-faceted.

But anyway, one of the best - if not *thee* best - creation from Andy Tauer thus far. And given his talent and other work, that says a lot!

PHI is just the most unique rose perfume I've ever tried. Sweet and spicy and fruity, but classy. The soft muskiness of rose petals match perfectly with the exotic sweetness of the apricots and the tinge of smoke from tobacco. Very strong - I only use one spray - and lasts all day. Simply amazing.

Perfectly balanced - Smells magnificent - Very high quality - Emotional - Beautiful - Lovely - Classic - Semi happy

10/10 for me
This is the best rose scent i know.

The only issue : sillage…

الصراع في أفغانستان بين حركة طالبان، والقوات الأمريكية،
🇦🇫🇺🇲
لا يقل حدة بين آندي تاور و وردة ننغرهار، بحيث يحاول جاهدا في توفيرها، فيتكبد العناء رغم الأوضاع الكارثية التي يعيشها موطن المكون الأساسي للعطر، ألا و هو ورد قندهار. مما يجعل إصدار العطر محدودا جدا، فتارة تجده في متجر آندي، و تارة يفقد لإشعار آخر 🔖.

إن إسم العطر مستوحى من مدينة قندهار الأكثر شهرة في أفغانستان.

هناك توجد حقول بالقرب من الجبال حيث يزرع القنب الهندي.

⬅️ ألم تلاحظ أن تاور دائما ما يختار مواطن الحشيش 🇦🇫 😁 🇲🇦.

فأفغانستان ليست صحراء بالكامل 🏜️، فهناك العديد من الجبال العالية المكسوة بالثلوج 🗻 والحقول الخضراء 🏞️، والأشجار المثمرة التي تغذيها مياه الجبال الجليدية من الأنهار والجداول.
في مثل هذا المكان أيضًا تنمو الورود🌷، و التي استخدمها تاور في هذا العطر.

فالعطر عبارة عن وردة 🌹 بخورية القوام، بودرية الملمس، كلاسيكية الطباع، توحي بالنضج. و هذا راجع لاستخذام العطار لقرفة گورماندية 🥞 معززة بلوز مر 🌰يعطي للعطر كاريزميته. مرصع بنوتة فاكهية من المشمش 🍑. التبغ و الڤانيليا🍥 يحجزان المكان المناسب في العطر، كما يغلف العنبر الرمادي 🐳 قوام العطر و يزيده عمقا و تناغما، لتلمس فيه لمسة عطار يعمل يدويا و بحرفية عالية 🔝 (ARTISANAL) .

فقد تمكن تاور من إرضاء ذائقتي في عطر ورد أولا، و كلاسيكي محض ثانيا، لأن غالبا ما يميل هذا الإنسجام للجانب الأنثوي الذي يذكرنا بعطور 🧓🏻👩🏻🦳🧓🏻.

— دمت قارئا، و دام العطر رفيقك 🌹.
_____________________________________________

للمزيد من التقارير المرجو زيارة صفحتي عبر الأنستغرام

Luxe_cologne_reviews

مودتي ❤️
_____________________________________________

The Connoisseur’s Rose!

Discreet and distinguished powdery-Honey elegance of a blushing rose is met with a cool gust of Tobacco, Apricot, and pale Almond; Then combined with the beautifully refined famed Amber à la manière de @andy_tauer and mature Vanilla.

PHI- Une Rose De Kandahar employs a natural extract of a rare rose from Nangarhar, Afghanistan. A scent for the dandies, PHI is redolent of vintage vibe, yet imbued with a uniquely oriental lick.

Instagram: @Eclectic.Scents

Very unique rose perfume from one of my favourite perfumers. On initial spray, I was a bit confused. I had to struggle to figure out the rose, but once you sit with it for a few minutes, it comes together. Truly unique. A lot going on here. Very different from tauer’s other roses. I didn’t find the projection or longevity as great as other people here on this site, tho.

The equally strong rose, almond and tobacco notes together, along with the apricot, do make this smell very Middle Eastern to my nose. This isn't like anything else I had smelled before (though I confess I have tried none of the other perfumes of which this reminds other people listed above).

This is nicely unusual without being overwhelming, although i would warn potential buyers the "rose" in the name does not mean the rose note predominates. (I would actually sample this first.)

I love this fragrance this one is in my top rose for men.

You know you've found a perfume that's full bottle worthy when you get to the end of your sample/ decant and you're left wanting more. I don't believe that I've fully unwrapped the mystery of this scent, it's a powdery soft rose with strong edible facets and just a pinch of added salt and citrus. But there's more to it, I get all kinds of things poking through as it develops, there's something green about it at times (possibly geranium or patchouli?) and every now and then it becomes dry which I assume is the tobacco. Still, I think the best adjective for this little rose scent is "delicious" and I can see myself returning to it for a long time. I've wanted a rose scent in my collection for a while and this is a strong contender.

-I had to get my nose on this the moment i found out Tauer made a fragrance which contained the phrase 'Une Rose' in its name. (I enjoy Frederic Malle's Une Rose, but find it unsuitable for daily wear. It's more a black-tie event scent.)
-Une Rose de Kandahar smells expensive. Spicy cologne from the Clive Christian lineup.
-Understated, muted scent that's somehow managed to retain interest throughout its development.
-I detect a hint of nutmeg/spice and a slight cereal fantasy note. (-)

I tried a 5ml sample first in winter. It was a strong like but I just couldn't make myself buy a FB as the tobacco note was a tad too obvious on my skin. Fast forward..it's summer and I am in love with this one! Can't stop sniffing my arm, it has longevity of 5 - 6 hrs on my skin and I get a whiff of it every now and then when I wave my hands. Had to buy FB. It's a unique fragrance. Definitely try before you commit!

I keep on going back to this one, over and over again, in the summer heat.
When i first bought it, i was longing for a heavy rose, and....thats not what i’ve got.
Sweet, fruity, nutty stuff, with a yellow rose. Not pink, not green, not red. The exact color is yellow. And that was unexpected.
Now, after wearing it a month in the heat, i totally get it! It’s a deep and rich and sensual fragance, made for high temperatures. This is a white shirt, tanned skin, reading an erotic novel under a tree in the shade. It has something melancolic about it.
Projection and longevity are great.
Not a beginners rose fragance.

Smells like a powered corpse, fresh from the mortician. A revolting scrubber for me.

A huge hit of apricot extract overwhelms the sense at first, with hints of fresh bergamot oil. The bitter almond and elegant rose oil really drive this one home, before tobacco leaf acts as a transitional point into a soft and smoky base. A true immersive sculpture.

I bought this perfume 7 months back and it is ok, but to overpowering and nauseating so I stopped giving much attention to it. For some reasons, I lean towards it once in a while, but nothing mind blowing. Today I thought of sniffing it from the lid as I liked the smell (btw I have around 100 bottles now). Since I licked it, I just had 6 sprays of it. Within 2 minutes I've completely shocked and finally understood what this perfume is. Now I'm in a rose bubble. I had dinner and went back to my bedroom, where I initially sprayed it, the whole room smelled divine and like an expensive hotel room.
You may not initially like this, but it will certainly grow on you. The best part of the scent comes after 30 minutes, so even you over sprayed, just give it some time, though you are nose blinded, the people around you will garner compliments. I will suggest not more than 4 sprays.

I was so eager to smell this particular scent that I blindly bought it.
The fragrance surprised me !
Much of spices and so oriental mood.
It really reminds me of afghan people and how they smell usually very true name.
So unique but still not for every occasion to wear and not for every mood to spray.

This is a gorgeous powdery, musky, smoky incense rose. A little Turkish delight-ish indeed. Oriental and mature. My fav among Mr Tauer's Roses.

A nutty toasted marshmallow rose, warm and deceptively dimensional. Opens with a slight liquid sour note from the lime, but that sourness is subsumed within minutes by the candied sweetness of geranium, almond, and apricot.

I love how PHI incorporates creamy fruit and warm, soft spice.

It’s powdery yet pleasantly chewy, and almost angelically light—but with hints of tender shadow from the tobacco and tonka. Lovely.

This one makes me feel like I’ve painted gold leaf on my wrist.

Opens with luxury spice and roses, and an almost gourmand roasted almonds and dried apricots.
The cinnamon eases into cured pipe tobacco and the roses dry to sweet musky petal dust; they stay at arms length for hours, until ambergris and patchouli make it all wet and shiny again, for the rest of the day.
At night, the roses come back, a soft glow on the skin with a breath of chocolate woods.

In this chilly weather it’s ridiculously rich, and I’m always aware of it, like bracelets that jingle with movement.
I can’t wait to see what it’s like in the summer.

I get a similar vibe to Dior’s ambre nuit. Rose+amber+cinnamon. This also has an added fruitiness to it, but is not overbearing. Very nice work from Tauer

Top quality deep and exotic rose based scent. The rose never takes over, letting the spice elements , fruity touches and tobacco rule equally in an Afgani minuet. The Tauer touch.

This is a heavy, beautiful rose fragrance by Andy Tauer. It is strong, dark and smoky, wrapping you in fragrance in cooler weather, and suitable for the a man or woman. This is personally too rich for me, but for the right person, it would be perfect.

I have this perfume in my collection, the quality of Tauer's work leaves no doubt as to the quality of the materials chosen.
It is true that this PHI does not diffuse as one might think a persistent wake, but the delicacy of this rose does not need to shout its presence before your coming, at least that is my feeling.
A classic to wear to have fun.

I’m very picky on rose fragrances as they are normally very feminine or mature but this one is very different, rich but not strong, unisex, and modern. Love this rose mix with almond, tobacco and vanilla. Plus the slight touch of the apricot. The whole composition makes it a smooth warm gourmandy scent. The rose smells so high quality. It becomes one of favorite rose fragrances besides Oud Satin Mood and Intense Cafe. These are the only 3 roses I like so far. The only downside is that the performance is considerably weak compared to other Andy Tauer creations although it’s still better than many fragrances out there. Lasts only 7-8 hours and projects only for 3 hours on my skin, then would turn to skin scent. I still love the scent tho.

The rose comes out full force in the beginning. It reminds me more than just a little bit of MFK frags that heavily feature rose (A lot of the Oud Mood collection). Slightly medicinal, but not overly so, in a good way. The Almond is definitely present, as is the apricot.

This fragrance is very weird for me. Because I get a lot of these notes in the very opening....and then they disappear for hours.

I mean it. Hours.

The mid of this frag smells *very* much like Encens Mythique D'Orient by Guerlain. To the point where for 5 or so hours the MAIN thing I smell is Ambergris. In all it's salty, ethereal glory. There are probably a good amount of people who've worn frags where the heart or base is predominantly ambergris.. the main two I can think of are the aforementioned Guerlain and maybe Colonia Ambra from AdP... so the vibe here is familiar to that but maybe slightly more pure.

However unlike anything else I've tried the rest of the drydown does *not* stay in ambergris only realm. I won't say it is the same for everyone's skin, but on me, after a solid 6-7 hours I start to get the tonka bean and vanilla. It finishes much more slanted towards this than the mid.. with the vanilla and dare I say a light hint of tobacco settled in as a skin scent. Not a harsh or smoked tobacco mind you but almost an unscented aromatic that isn't sweet or cloying.

This is one of the few fragrances I've found that has an incredibly distinct opening, middle, and finish that don't really smell alike at all. Which probably speaks to Mr. Tauer's ability to blend ingredients to a very particular and focused level.

I have fragrances that last longer, but you can easily get 12 hours out of this, and the projection really hits through its ambergris mid before settling down. I imagine it will smell different on different people so would give this a sample before you go for a full bottle. Very enjoyable, and a very personal journey.

On me and on paper especially this smells 100% like rose flavored Turkish delight (lokum). That is either good or bad, to me it's bad because I was hoping for a less in-your-face-simple rose smell. After enduring some hours of that phase it morphs into a scent I've never experienced elsewhere, I am not sure I'd describe it as rose if someone put my nose to it, but I associate it with rose after X hours of the initial strong rose phase.
If you're not a fan of roses but you're curious, give this a try for the sake of the long awaited dry down.

In the wasteland bloom in exotic rose, with the smoke of burning breath swept the nasal cavity, or even choking.
This unbearable bitter spicy, not my love, this time it silently in their hearts to PHI made a mark.
But I underestimated it.
Three hours later, the situation is completely reversed, combined Tonga bean, vanilla and musk occupy a major position, bring a very oriental feel sweet.
The PHI performance as its name. Do you think tobacco lose power？but in reality only temporarily hidden beneath that sweet, just for a while, it even has cropped up toward your claws declaration of sovereignty. Brown dry vetiver, such as gravel sandwiched wind, scratched devastated earth ......
PHI collection violent tenderness in one, showing a strong contrast, makes me real insight into Tauer strength.impeccable, called the works of masters level.

The life of PHI. This is a renegade rose, mutated if you will; styled with Tauer's signature stone washed technique. Layers of warm spices swarm and attack the opening lending some gourmand appeal to this floral deviant. This is a full blown amalgamation full of warm blooded ingredients that's fringed by a smoky tobacco leaf. The ambergris is rusty and scented with an inviting mix of sun kissed bergamot and sparkling geranium. The flavors push deep down into the composition with more fervid notes of comforting vanilla and cozy tonka bean. The base concludes with mystery and more divisiveness than a long island iced tea. I recommend this fragrance to those in the mirror every 5 min hoping that they'll change into someone else.

I don't know if it is my chemistry but this perfume on my skin falls flat. The sweetness is a little sickly and I didn't get the brightness I expected from the fruits. The tobacco is there somewhere underneath the sugar but quite faint. The rose is ok but it is not a blooming rose. In a similar genre but to me a more successful execution is Isparta from Pierre Guillaume. It is with patchouli and a little oud instead of tobacco but it also has fruits that brighten the fragrance and the rose is bold. As it seems to be loved by many, it must come out better on others but on me it's a pass. I even got a headache and I am a fan of bold fragrances. I am glad that my sampling can be useful to other people; it was my second time testing it.

I do agree with the previous reviewer in stating this is Mr. Tauer's finest work, up there with L'Air du Desert Marocain (much easier to say, "Moroccan Desert Air"). Both of these perfumes are highly unique scent "sketches". They are very rough outlines of the next generation of perfumery, which, due to the small scale of the Tauer operation, almost invite perfume houses down the road to polish them off and refine the concepts into true masterpieces. So yes, you are seeing the stitches in the garment, the chisel markings in the unhewn stone, the melody without the orchestra playing behind it.

But nevertheless you quickly realize when smelling it for the first time that it is ground breaking. It seems to invent its own perfume family. Say what you will, it is neither oriental, nor gourmand, nor belonging to any other family. The combination of a fruity almost gourmand top note with a shamelessly floral middle note, and a salad of recognizable fixatives in the base note is at once classical, due to the fact that this has been the formula for perfumes for almost the entirety of the existance of commercial perfumery, and totally original, because the extremity of the sharp, tart, sweet fruitiness of the apricot, as well as the intensity of the soft, powdery tenacious base. The rose serves as go between for the Fruity top and still very sweet base, adding a third dimension of sweetness, niceness and pleasure, instead of coming off as cold.

In particular, the way the top notes shine is amazing and again, there does seem to be an implicit invitation to perfumes house in the future (which have the resources and manpower) to reformulate this in such a way that the juiciness of the tops notes is given greater tenacity and lasting power throughout, for the entire composition to blend and macerate in a more refined process of distillation and dilution and what have you.

Qualitatively, this is the pleasure principle but depicted in the third degree. It is as though you had turned all the levers away from darkness as much as possible, but then were still able to conceive, to look directly at, the object of happiness. It is such a philosophical statement to me. The force with which a message is delivered by this perfume rivals perfumes such as timeless Mitsouko or the finest modern day creations. I almost feel you could approach Mitsouko or say, Britannia by Roja Perfumes with an air of jadedness after having familiarized yourself with a scent like this. If every Tauer scent he released were this thought provoking, I am sure his fame as a perfumer would be unquestionable among the general public, instead of merely among the most adventurous fragrance connoisseurs.

But the final critical word has not been uttered yet, and will never find its true expression until some future perfume house picks up this formula from the ruins of the present moment and releases it, re-presenting it the way 19th century philosophers attempted to reconstruct Venus de Milo.

Totally unexpected. It does smell very authentic and Eastern. The rose is truly gorgeous, oriental and abundant. The tobacco emerges as a very prominent note, resinous, dark and spicy. This actually leans slightly masculine due to the heavy scent character and combination of tobacco and patchouli in the dry down. The texture is dry and rustic

It’s fiery in spirit, strong willed and very unapologetic. There is an air of danger and the unknown.

The almond, cinnamon and apricot add a gourmand quality and it’s reminiscent of sweet pastries and Afghan hospitality.

Excellent quality and powerful sillage.
Similar to LDDM in authenticity, another masterpiece.

It’s amazing how different a scent can be once you finally try it on your skin versus relying on notes and narratives in reviews.

On me, PHI is a cup of warm milk with cinnamon, gently stirred on a cold winter days. Sharing the table is the centerpiece of a powdery rose, and in the background is some faint smokiness reminiscent of a winter fire.

I learned from trying this that I do not enjoy the olfactory associations with creamy cinnamon and prefer the colder, unapproachable, and more recognizably “floral” western roses.

The opening is magic. Smells like sparkling moscato. Dry down is heavily rose dominant also heavily spiced. Cinnamon and tobacco to me are the main accompanying notes in the dry down mixed with a little sweetness and fruitiness. I enjoy this fragrance but it is a little more powdery than I typically prefer. I find it unisex but airing on the masculine side.

Love this. Of course the opening is the best, wish those first bursts lasted the whole duration (dries down to something darker and brooding oddly enough)! Floral, fruity: So fruity, soft, bright like sunlight in an alpine valley, rosy, JUICY as hell in that opening. It's so purely unique, the accords explored here are totally original and ingenious and yet very simple and unique. Like spring. I feel like if it was a color, this would be a super interesting pink with kind of a shimmer like in the movie "Annihilation", or an oil slick, except very clean. This and L'Air du Désert Marocain are the best two from Tauer. Please try if you're into the inexpensive but original niche perfume experience. I would like to see this with less dark fixatives in the bass!!! What has Tauer been up to these days?

My favorite of this house, along with Le Maroc pour Elle. A beautiful and unique, rose-tobacco scent that is actually quite feminine. High quality and in line with the rest of the Tauer line, as far as that citrus, signature scent that you can find in most of his scents. I'm quite in love with this scent and will probably be my next purchase.

It’s very tobacco-centric which is propped up with rose and cinnamon and underneath that there’s maybe apricot and almond but they aren’t stars here. It’s both dry and creamy. It opens with Rose but it’s very spicy. It doesn’t take long for the initial impression to open up the heart of this gorgeous beast. It has decent performance but it’s not a sillage monster. Still reminds me of a less dirty Must de Cartier

On me the top notes are dusty rose and almond, followed by airy and sweet tobacco. I don’t usually enjoy tobacco notes, but it seems to work here. It’s not very strong, just a whisper of a perfume, which is fine with me.

The patchouli makes the opening of Une Rose de Kandahar very herbal and harsh. I was not impressed when I first sprayed this. But as it dries down, it becomes so beautiful. Dark jammy rose, heaps of cinnamon, lactonic apricot, patch, all blended to warm, spicy, balsamic beauty. Rose is the most prominent note for the first hours, and it's not in the least powdery or soapy, just warm and lush. Later the tobacco overtakes the fragrance, it reminds me of peach or apricot flavored pipe tobacco. Vanilla and almond are not dominant in this, but lend a subtle, grown-up sweetness to the scent. A hint of salty ambergris is detactable, too. The fragrance is intense and lasts all day. It's a cold weather warmer to me.
This is such a multifacted, interesting scent, but with loveable, easy-to-wear notes. You just have to wait maybe 30 minutes through the opening to let its beauty unfold. I would call it a warm floriental with gourmand hints. It has a similar vibe to Tauerville Fruitchouli Flash in my opinion, so I won't put this on my wishlist and get the cheaper FF one day instead, but it's by no means the same. I just think people who like one of these will most likely also enjoy the other.

@Iran_Austria Тranslate what you mean pls, or use fragranticarabia next time .

This has a beautiful rose note similar to the Taif rose. Andy has refined it with apricot, tobacco, patchouli, and other notes which make it very wearable, even for rose-haters, lovers of rose will fall madly in love with this. It is more feminine, but the right man on the right occasion can pull it off easily.

I would like to Thank Andy Tauer for this most wonderful fragrance, he has brought me back to a time when the perfumes were at the height of its time.

This changes on my skin from roses smelling fine, to roses smelling as if they were diseased or insect ridden and dying. My skin yells scrub it, and its such a shame, so many great reviews and it does not meld with my skin, especially more so since I love rose based perfumes.

Came for the roses, stayed for the tobacco.
I sense no rose at all, maybe just the sweet end of the tobacco. But then again, I rarely feel more than one note. This is a good tobacco scent in my book, and it actually worked well in hot and humid weather. Did not feel damp at all, like how other tobacco scents tend to do for me.

I got cinnamon, tobacco, and geranium. It’s beautiful, but too masculine and spicy for me. Very dry and dusty, too.

I've tested this from two different shops and gotten two different results. The first sample came from LuckyScent and I loved it. Fruity, juicy rose and yummy all over. I wore the sample for two weeks and was ready to order, but on a trip to Portland I stopped in at the Perfume House instead. The SA suggested sampling again to be sure before I handed over my money. I'm glad I did, because this time it was all dusty, powdery rose, not at all what I was hoping for.

Different batch, different results? I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me. They smelled completely different. Reading the reviews here, it seems people get one batch (fruity) or the other (powdery). Anyone else notice this?

Tauer's rose fragrances just don't seem to work with my skin chemistry. They all turn into musky, dusty, powdery rose scents on my skin with very little to distinguish them from each other. I can't smell the tobacco or apricot here - just musk, rose, baby powder and maybe some almond. I wish I could smell what other reviewers are smelling!

Edit: On some later samplings, I can smell the geranium and almond, but it's all covered by a silky rose baby powder :(

PHI smells like a BPAL fragrance. Smokey, soft, incensey, and ultimately not for me. I prefer fresh crisp roses, which simply isn't what this fragrance is about.

For those who like soft roses, as opposed to crisp: Try this for sure. There's not a ton of apricot in the opening, at least not that I can smell; it's all soft, tobacco-y rose from start to finish. Lasts forever. Strong sillage.

I can see men pulling this off. There's enough smoke and tobacco that it doesn't smell like a classically feminine rose.

PHI Une Rose de Kandahar is a beautiful floral fruity fragrance. For me, it opens up with loads of apricot, almond, cinnamon, and some pipe tobacco (also something that makes it powdery, not sure what contributes to this characteristic). Reminds me of some creamy cake and a bit of coca cola at the same time. Very interesting combination and it smells just so sophisticated. Leans to the feminine side, but certain men could pull it off as well. Projection and longevity are amazing, 10+ hours for sure. I have to say, definitely love this one. I don't think I can pull it off though, would love to smell it on a woman. Big thumbs up!

To sum this one up smells like those pink candy musk sticks but with rose.

Absolutely beautiful! Sweet, warm, intelligent and very cosy:)

This perfume certainly opens with rose, yet it is not a rose not I’m instantly familiar with. Maybe my mind is biased by the story behind this perfume, using a very rare rose variety, but still. If it leans towards any sort of rose, it might share a nod to the Turkish rose. Though, the rose is never completely on the forefront, its immediately accompanied by other notes. This scent turns spicy/cinnamony and somewhat powdery very quickly and stays there for about an hour. After that, it turns slowly again I like it the most. It then becomes a very beautiful amber. Its an amber with substance, yet it’s airy as well. It has a good balance of being a perfume on its own, adding something to the one who wears it, and something more like a personal scent, as it certainly has a (non-dirty) humanistic/animalic feel to it. It stays like that for the rest of the wear time, which is quite long (±8hrs). In addition, it has beautiful silleage: not too heavy but certainly present.

It reminds me vaguely of Ambre Nuit and Ambre Narguile (especially when it showcases its cinnamon). To me it is definitely unisex, maybe more masculin leaning. I would actually loooooove to smell this on a man! (Much more than Ambre Nuit). For me personally, I hoped it would have been more about the rose, because I’m a sucker for rose, and because the rose note in the start is very beautiful. All in all it is a seriously beautiful perfume though!

8.5/10

I can sum this fragrance up in 3 words: fruity baby powder.

I've tested this fragrance a number of times over the years to really try and understand what everyone sees in this (most reviews being very positive, great rose, etc.). Each time, it starts off ok; the rose/ appricot is very jammy, and is overall a very creamy scent. This quickly disipates, however, as 5 minutes later this turns to be nothing more than a baby powder scent with a little bit of fruit in it (what I would attribute this to be the apricot note).

Every Tauer (and Tauerville) that I have smelt, have all had a very smooth, almost creamy DNA to them. When it comes to PH Une Rose de Kandahar, the combination between that smooth, neutral DNA, and the powdery rose makes this too smooth, creating the feeling of talcum powder.

If you are looking for a higher quality, more interesting baby powder scent, I would recommend this one, however, do not expect yourself to be wowed by a beautiful rose note and tobacco. For me, this one was dissapointing based on the notes listed on Fragrantica, but isn't a terrible scent.

من سمپل اين عطر به دستم رسيد
ابتدا اينو بگم كه اين عطر بوي شيريني داره و در دسته عطر هاي شيرين دسته بندي ميشه از اون اقا پسر ها خندوني كه دوست داري باهاشون گپ بزني و يا خانوم هايي كه بوي خيلي خوبي ميدن و دوست داري زمانكند تر بگذره
ريويو را از بو عطر شروع ميكنم ساختار عطر خيلي با كيفيت هست به صورتي كه بوي عطر بوي گل رز ابتدا شروع ميشه كه البته بوي زردالو هم احساس ميشه اما بوي زردالو بعد چند دقيقه بسيار محو ميشه و بوي گل رز با كمي تلخي خودشون كاملا به نمايش ميزاره البته تلخي خيلي خيلي ملايم و كم رنگي اون را همراهي ميكنه
بعد از گذر دو ساعت بوي پودري تلخي و شيريني گل رز همچنان قابل توجه است اما ماندگاري خوبي نداره
و بعد ٣ الي ٤ ساعت بوي عطر به سمت نا پديد شدن ميل ميكند
البته بعد از اين مدت بوي عطر مشخص هست اما نه به اون پخش بوي دو ساعت اول
بالانس اين اثر خيلي خيلي خوبه و با اينكه شايد از جمله عطر هاي شيريني باشه كه در كشورمون زياد طرفدار نداشته باشه اما كيفيت و بوي خيلي لذت بخشي داره
اين عطر انتخاب شخصي من نيست اما هم براي مردان و براي خانم ها مناسب هست من ترجيه ميدم اين عطر توسط خانم ها استفاده بشه تا اقايون اما خوب اين عطر در نت ابتدايي خودشو بصورتي نشون ميده كه اقايون هم ميتونن استفاده كنند اما در نت پاياني شبيه به عطر هاي شيرين و كريمي و خانه اي عطر هاي زنونه ميمونه كه به خاطر گل رز هست
در مورد قيمت اكثر كارهاي اقاي تاور حدودا 135 دلار قيمت دارند
——————————-
Well i got have my sample for test after several testing it on my skin this is i think what you get:
To me its starting with apricot for just some minutes in openning and after that booomb the perfume show what truly it self massive rose but not that sweetness of the rose you think there is bitter and cream comes with it every second i think about the bitter smell it’s because of tobacco and almond is.
After one hour i got the smell of rose very much and get why it’s unisex too some sweet and also get some vibe of vetiver and cinnamon but very little and dry down to be soapy and sweet like rose to me its nice fragrance its not that much special like 02 or lonestar rider but its nice i love it and very nice balances geat job.
My point to this is :
Scent : 7/10
Projection: 8/10
Long lasting: 10/10
Value of money: 5.5/10
Balances : very very professional performance 11/10
Versatile: 7/10
Buy another bottle: maybe yess

I am currently sampling 6 Andy Tauer fragrances, and this one might be my ultimate favorite. After four or five hours this becomes a skin scent which is good performance on my skin. I received a compliment about an hour after application. It's complicated and beautiful at the same time and the apricot-almond opening is something to be experienced.

My husband loves this one on me, so therefore it will become a full bottle purchase just in time for Christmas. I'm a big fan of Tauer, I wish I owned all of his perfumes!

The most beautiful fragrance of them all! Immense love! Thank you, artist Andy.

Rose and creamy almond shrouded in a veil of sweet tobacco. A friendly soapy everyday scent, very inviting and in no way challenging. I usually prefer rose scent to be deep, red, explosive or powerful like Rania Jouaneh's Rose Ishtar or Andy Tauer's Incense Rose. The more soapy rose type I normally associate with wonderful, small and cheap English hotels. Nice, but I usually don't want to smell like one.
Combining the soapy rose with almond and giving it a fruity touch really makes a difference though. Phi becomes very intimate and tender.

In the dry down the rose steps back and a creamy, coumarin tinted almond rests comfortably on a bed of musk-ambergris-vanilla softness. In this phase Phi gives me the main impression of amplifying and refining the personal skin scent.

To my nose Phi is different from most scents I have encountered, and I tend to enjoy it more for each time I try it on.

I don’t mean any disrespect to this fragrance but this reminds me of Burberry Brit for men in the mid and dry down. Of course with the Tauer name the performance is amazing compared to the Burberry option. Citrus rose over Tonka and musk. Definitely an amazing fragrance but I’m not quite sure if it’s worth the 300% increase over the designer option.

This seems to be a very chemistry dependent scent.

On me I get a lovely rose that is alone for a moment and then the scent of baby oil surrounds it. I'm pretty sure it's the apricot note not getting along with my skin because there is a sweet jammy/fruitiness to it but it stays more baby than detectable apricot. Every so often I get an interesting breath of spice.

I will remember this if I ever want a baby oil fragrance, but it's not typically my style so the next few hours would have to be amazing to make this one I'd want to explore further. It did drydown to a nice vanilla, but there are other vanillas just as good.

It's a pity. A spicy rose and almond sounded wonderful.

I had high hopes for this, and when it first went on, it was stunning – beautiful rose, sweet apricot, vanilla, almond and a touch of spice. Alas, it must be my skin chemistry, because after an hour that gorgeous rose morphed into a dusty, musty, mouldy old wood smell. Shame, because the first hour of this was absolutely wonderful, and it smells lovely in the little sample bottle ☹ I don’t know if it’s that particular combination of notes that doesn’t work on me, but I tried another scent a while ago with similar notes and got the same musty, dusty smell.

Despite PHI's subtitle, this excellent composition is really centred on a sweet tobacco and almond accord, with the eponymous Afghan rose oil providing a velvety backdrop. I get all of the listed top notes from the very beginning; bright bergamot, a peachy-apricot fruit note, and creamy almond accentuated by rich cinnamon. The rose here is sweet, natural and deep, with its bright facets bolstered by the bergamot, and its seductive nature accentuated by spicy carnation. The sweet, dry tobacco leaf has a hay-like quality, no doubt bolstered by the tonka bean, which also adds a vanillic sweetness that rounds out the almond-cinnamon accord. The overall effect is rich, enveloping and comforting, like a great big merino sweater. PHI is a wonderful fragrance, and is definitely within Tauer's top five. Remarkable stuff.

I've an exploratory set of Andy Tauer's samples from about a year ago that I intensively tested back then. I ended up with extreme Tauerade fatigue and never wrote a review for any. The set got relegated to the back of my perfume wardrobe and I never revisited until now when I finally feel sufficiently recovered to give them another go. PHI is probably the one I like the most (not counting LDDM which I sampled many years ago and which belongs in a special class of its own anyway). I get a powdery almond from the get-go. I don't detect much rose, but that seems to be typical for me. Ambergris and vetiver becomes especially prominent as it progresses. And of course, the Tauerade is always there. Always preventing a FB for me. But I believe that even if one doesn't like a perfume, it's possible to objectively appraise it. In this case, I want to say PHI is an exquisitely beautiful offering from this house. I regret not being able to own it (almost blind bought it!) but my wallet thanks me. Peace out.

Definite citrus in the top then a sweet blooming rose with a little sourness and the Tauer Koolaid that is creamy and incensey. There is geranium present and not an obvious musk or patch but they are there to take the rose deeper. This has a camphorous quality in the summer. This is ALL about the rose. It projects but does not last as long as some other Tauers like Lonestar Memories or LDDM.

Beautiful exotic spicy rose! Andy Tauer is a perfume genius, and his scents are tantalizing in their ability to transform fragrance into a mesmerizing experience. This one whisks you to an oasis in the Hindu Kush, dangerous, mysterious. You can smell the heat, both from the land and from your skin, as you walk rough trails amid eccentric flora. Rose that is acclimated to rougher climes, a hint of rugged tobacco toughening it's seasoning. Patchouli adding the smell of a mystic. It all blends into an accord that is romantic, and takes you to one of the far corners of the world.

On top of the Tauerade there's this powdery rose-musk. Not getting as much tobacco or apricot as I had hoped. It's still enjoyable tho, and with only slightly less performance than the Tauer powerhouses like LDDM or Lonestar Memories.

Clean roses and luminous rose geranium. Here the rose is of the finest quality, clear and clean. With patchouli and the herbal nuance of geranium, the rose becomes slightly mentholated.

Ambergris gives a slightly salty skin-like depth and cinnamon adds warmth. Apricot and almond add to a sweet, fleshy, woody feel.

Musky, rosy, woody, sweet. Soft dry vanilla and tonka are airy and warm. I don't detect any tobacco. PHI Une Rose de culminates into the smell of an empty box of loukhoum with scant dustings of candied rose. Really cozy and satisfying.

A rose-patch scent, was my first impression. A STRONG rose-patch, so potent it reminded me more of a BPAL fragrance than of, say, Portrait of a Lady. Then the boozy bitter-sweet tobacco and tonka unfolded beneath it, and it became more remarkable. It strikes me as rather Halloweenish for a rose; the dark spice and mystery and Gothic-BPAL associations probably are what make me think so. And I'll admit, once I learned about the rarity of the rose oil used in this, I felt a little more impressed by it. I'm not immune to the charms of exclusivity, I guess. Later sampling: A very true and beautiful rose, with the smooth, dry, magical ambery-spicy base you can count on from a Tauer. Yet a later sampling: today, on a snowy winter day, it’s striking me more as warm rose-vanilla, reminding me even a little of Solstice Scents’ Lavender Vanilla in atmosphere, and I’m really liking it. A good one for these “I need florals” moods that may strike in midwinter. That said, I’m not sure I’d spring for a full bottle, and could easily see myself substituting Agent Provocateur or Solstice Scents Estate Rosewood for a cheaper and similar vibe.

It's more of sweet dark tobacco than roses. It's a velvety texture of sweet cinnamon and almonds with patchouli and ambergris. Quite dark and heavy, earthy sometime and presents a plain dunes in the dessert at night and to be honest I smell slightly spices and saffron.

If I sniffed this fragrance and didn't know that it's Tayar's creation I wouldn't have found that it belongs to him! I just can't detect his stamp in this blend.

It's quite interesting to be honest as it presents darkness with a smooth twist, sort of animalistic somehow but quite creamy.

Scent - light apricot & almonds.

Season/Time of Day - I prefer to use this one in the warmer months, during the day.

Projection - I did get noticed, it garners compliments.

Longevity - I get 12hrs consistently.

Stunningly beautiful rose perfume. Completely delightful. A joyous happy delight. Such a simple and radiant scent. Rich and beautiful. The rose is magnificent. About the best I've ever smelt. This is my first try of, and buy of, a Tauer perfume, and I'm truly impressed. Brilliant. A masterpiece. So delicious, deep and dark, the perfect rose. The one that's SO red - blood red (dark blood), soft and velvety; the one you have to put your face in it's so inviting. The one you want to wrap yourself up in, and stay cocooned in forever. The smell is superb, and you want to breathe and breathe it in forever. The most perfect rose.

Such a delicious rose...first time I've smelled this I was like ...Wow!! This is a very original, velvety rose with a sweet nectar feel.
As we reach the dry down, I discover a honey/vanilla-like dimension with a gourmand feel that blends beautifully with a very realistic tobacco note that fulfills the composition.

I smelled quite a few rose fragrances and I really think this is a masterpiece among them.

8/10

Due to the limited availability of Bulgarian and Afghan rose oil, I think they skimped heavily on the rose in my mfr. sample of Une Rose de Kandahar. Oh, how I wanted to love this perfume! The Rose Oil! The Bourbon Geranium! The Patchouli and Ambergris! It sounded all so good, but thank heavens I got a sample first.

The very first seconds after application were positive, a dark, smoldering, kind of background spiced rose, and then the tobacco notes started showing up, okay, good, but all of a sudden I am wearing a "Cologne Guy" perfume, like cologne style patchouli, err, a rough patch here, moving on, suddenly all ready I'm at the base, an Ambroxan/"Ambergris" on top of tonka bean and almond blossom, a bit of a floral woody musk thing, but mostly it feels like my sinuses are being filled up paint thinner fumes, it's just another crappy "wood" base overall.

There's more rose in Miss Dior Eau de Toilette than in here, or even Paul Smith Rose, which for some reason cracks me up. I think I just don't get along with this house, on paper it seems like I would, but Incense Rose is even worse on my skin, more like a cruel joke (Tang Powder + Pink Flowers) but I think I may be done with Tauer's perfume for awhile.

This is a simple, happy scent: rose and amaretto, with some tonka in the base. Very gourmand, cozy, and edible - a case of Une Rose de Kandahar cookies, please.


As with most Tauers, longevity and projecton are outstanding.

Absolutely wonderful! The scent is unforgettable, it puts me into a different state of mind, creating an aura of confidence and inner peace. I'm not in love with the top notes, find them a little bit too intense for my liking and the bergamot is especially prominent, at first it reminded me of an aromatherapy room. But in an hour the perfume changes, all the overpowering smell is gone and what's left is this extraordinary mix of rose, tobacco and vanilla. What's beautiful about this perfume is its dynamics: it keeps changing every hour, the scent is a bit different every time I smell my wrist. In one review I read that Phi is the Mona Lisa of perfumes and I couldn't agree more.

Virginity by Vincent Cacciotti

Wonderful Scent! Perfectly balanced Rose and Tobacco. So smooth on Skin and Nose.
Longevity: 6H
Sillage :moderate
Compliment Catcher

1/10

Beautiful but ultimately "unmemorable". Not forgettable just not a standout.

The rose is vibrant and realistic and soothing, not synthetic or bubblegum-esque.

It has a potpourri vibe that while nice, to my nose on my skin-lacks depth. I get NO tobacco from this and that note usually does very well on me.

Ultimately it is a beautiful rose scent with not much else going on and while I can clearly see the quality, the scent lacks depth or distinguishing character in my mind.

Scent: 6.5/10 if you want a beautiful, transparent rose, this is it. Don't expect much else.

Projection: 6/10 for the first 15 minutes then I can barely detect it at rest somewhere around the 45 minute mark. After three hours I cant detrct it at all.

Sillage: 7/10 interestingly it has amazing sillage for the first 30 minutes or so but drops like a stone after an hour.

Longevity: 6/10 it does last nearly 6 hours on my skin and while it sticks close to the body for the forst three, after about hour 4, it's just a skin scent.

Would I buy a full bottle: no. If I received one as a gift I would be glad to have it in my arsenal but I can't see myself buying one.

Rose de Kandehar
Dear fragranticans have done a great job describing this masterpiece so I am not going to add a lot.
Just looking at its notes and olfactive piramid tells every thing.
Flowers,friutes,spices,woodsy,nuts,herbs,animalic,gourmands...every thing is here and from its best quality.not to forget that Andy Tauer has made the concoction.
All these great reviews and positive oppinions which I truely trust....they just got me to coclusion...I needed to try Rose de Kandehar.
A serious diva!!!

PHI instantly reminded me of L'Air du Desert Marocain. That resinous base in particular. Anyone else feels the same?

At the beginning I twisted my nose but is a sensational floral is among the best floral ever met. The fragrance is chic, exotic, it is not a simple flower, is quite eccentric and stylish up 'cause I'm not a fan rose much less romantic gift roses for someone, play the part .. the perfume has a DNA that differs from other floral scent very good even when breathes against his own skin exudes a wonderful scent that differs when inspires a distance, do not know how this is possible but I found amazing. Combines with almost all environments and occasions, lunch, dinner, parties, meetings, in short, it has now been approved in time.
scent 9.5
versatility 9
fixation 7
projection 7

This rose is breathtakingly beautiful and to my nose quite unique.
It's neither a happy jammy rose like in most designer perfumes nowadays nor a lush dark red rose like in Lyric by Amoage or in Portrait of a lady by Frederic Malle. It's somewhere in the middle, misterious and yet not too heavy or incense-y, sweet but not cloying. This rose has everythig: sweetness from almond and vanilla, spicyness from tobacco and cinnamon, there is even a dirty aspect from ambergris, which makes it even more sensual and animalic.

To me it smells classy and decadent and yet it wouldn't make "Hey, look at me, I'm wearing a perfume" entrance. The scent of a person who wants to be in yourself and doesn't like to show up.

On my skin it last 8+ hours. The sillage is rather soft to moderate, which I normally prefer.

At this moment, this is my favorite rose fragrance, I will be wearing it a lot during fall and winter.

"Voluptuous, velvety and sensual... a bed of roses covered in apricots and tobacco leaves."

PHI Une Rose de Kandahar is a 2013 fragrance by Tauer Perfumes, an niche perfume house by independent Andy Tauer. Tauer has become a cult icon in the perfume industry because of his background: he is self-taught in the art of perfumery and one of his earliest creations, L`Air du Desert Marocain, is considered to be one of the most iconic creations in the perfume community for being able to capture the olfactory essence of a Moroccan desert. Rather than just a perfumer, he is more of a perfume artist whose fragrances are the result of his artistic talents.

Kandahar is yet another fragrance that is grabbing attention in the community. It contains a supposedly extremely rare rose extract produced only in the Afghanistan region of Nangarhar. Since the extract is very limited, the fragrance is a limited edition and may not be available at all times. Shortly put, Kandahar is a precious fragrance.

On my skin, it opens with a fruity blast of apricot with tinges of peaches, and other citrus notes. It's tart, juicy and sweet, and is reminiscent of the opening of Miyako by Auphorie. At the same time, there are also notes of chilly, slightly spicy and "lemony" geranium, which gives my nose a slight tingly effect.

The beautiful fruity opening serves merely as hors d'oeuvre for what is to come. The apricot/peachy accords slowly subsides and draw the curtains for the main event: the rose. Lush and unbashed, the rose takes center stage and bask in the limelight, like a female VIP in a full-on blood-red wedding gown. Unlike a lot of other rose fragrances, the rose in Kandahar isn't jammy-sweet. It's more floral than anything else, and that appeals to me since sweet-jammy rose isn't my cup of tea.

What's interesting is that the rose isn't alone; it's coupled with tobacco leaves, rendering the conventionally feminine accord more unisex. Some people have claimed that Kandahar is a rose fragrance for non-rose fans, and I can see why: it's the tobacco leaves akin to that in Parfums de Marly's Herod that make it more approachable for general wearers. Perhaps the only minor letdown is that, unlike what others have said, I couldn't detect the vanilla as much as I have hoped.

Then there is the closing act, which I would sum up to be a subtle performance by cinnamon, tonka bean and ambergris. It's the ambergris that's a welcoming surprise for me; I thought I would smell it earlier so to experience only in the drydown is a relief. If apricot and rose are the stars in the top and heart respectively, then ambergris is the star in the base. I'm not sure if I get vanilla in this stage because the butter-like note I get is more tonka bean than anything else.

In all, this is a wonderful fragrance. Tauer is a cult icon when it comes to niche fragrances and Kandahar is perhaps my favourite in the line. I haven't tried some of his other fragrances yet, and I'm keen to try Une Rose Chypree next. I might even consider getting a full bottle soon; I just hope it's still available when the time comes. To date, this is my favourite rose fragrance and, like what others have mentioned, I do urge non-rose fans to at least try it. It's certainly one-of-a-kind fragrance that deserves more attention and, most definitely, praises.

Like many of Andy's compositions this one is no slouch in the performance and projection category. Such a wonderful aroma permeates off one's skin. It is very complex like a lot of his offerings but this one I noticed that the Rose note is not all in your face like in incense rose which is one of my all-time favorite Rose scents but I do appreciate a more complex and mysterious Rose like this one. Incense Rose is pure,citrus, incense and Rose with tauer's DNA, but this one has a lot going on. It's a darker composition and it is well worth checking out for you niche heads.
Overall- 9/10 (if you like rose fragrances)

If I could add a little of this Tauer rose to Xerjoff Richwood- booomb ! This would be its creation. I knew this reminded me of something. Just ordered a full bottle

Oh wow, this one! I ordered a sample kit from Andy Tauer and this was one of the samples included. The smell of this morphs drastically from opening to mid to drydown. Its opening is a little off-putting. Strong, medicinal, a little bit of rose peeks through, but at this point I wasn't very impressed. A few hours in, this beauty morphs into a warm, sensuous fragrance. Lots of sweet tonka bean and vanilla surrounded by a spicy, middle-eastern smelling cinnamon. I can't pick out the rose at this point and I've never smelled the specific type of rose used in this fragrance, so I can't speak to it.

This would be a lovely fragrance for the fall or winter. Perfectly unisex.

I'm a little late to the Rose de Kandahar party. I avoided it in a weird way because I got so tired of rose as a main note. I loved rose for many years, and after going through my phase of Middle-Eastern style oud/rose/vanilla (you know that combination! You are probably sick of it, too), starting with Noir de Noir, I just couldn't stand rose anymore. That combo sort of ruined rose for me. Olfactory burnout. I am still tired of rose, but I figured it would not hurt to finally sample this one.

What developed on my skin was blissful. I kept picturing a big copper pot with chopped nuts simmering in sugar syrup and rosewater. It reminded me of a combo of Turkish Delight and almond nougat with tiny pieces of candied apricot. I felt there was rose in the mix--there had to be--but it did not jump out and instead blended with the other notes to create a perfect harmony. PHI is sweet, definitely gourmand, but not a toothache, nor is it cloying. The creamy nuttiness is what stood out most on my skin; the feature I loved most and that I wanted to experience over and over again.

I recall telling myself all sorts of things: It wasn't that good, I've smelled others like it, I will never wear it because it contains rose, I am not into gourmands these days.... It's crazy how many things I tried to tell myself to make me not love this perfume as much as I did.

Might have to go and buy it before it's gone again!

(Update Aug 2016: It was unforgettable. I own it now!)

It opened with the familiar, comforting blast of roses, but it dried down into a linear, almost bitter powder bomb. My chemistry hates it.

Heartbreaker.

I was expecting a lot from this fragrance after reading numerous reviews. The rose note is very prominent on my skin and too feminine for my taste. I ended up giving it to my wife who is enjoying it.

I really wanted to like this fragrance based on some of the reviews below, however, this fragrance fell flat right out of the gate. First, I must confess, I have never been to Kandahar, nor have I ever smelled a rose from there, but if this rose is grown in the "dry and rough land" of Kandahar, it surely smells like it. This fragrance is dry, with a hint of rose that is very minimal(almost undetectable), and some note(s) that makes this fragrance dirty, powdery, and slightly awkward all in one. In short, this fragrance is not something I would want on me, and does not warrant the $150+ price tag. I mean, this fragrance is not repulsive, and the Tauer DNA is definitely here, but I could find a lot of other fragrances to reach for other than this. One of those fragrances being Une Rose by Frederic Malle, which is similar in price, but would be my top choice if I really needed a rose fix. Just being as honest as I can.

Five, strong notes that I feel should be included in the note-breakdown: Indian olibanum (boswellia serrata), benzoin, orris, mint, and cloves. With that said, Mr. Tauer's structures have made a definite leap forward from his already-impressive primers with this composition (and further still he plunges in visionary, olfactorial painting with his Sotta la Luna series!). Here, I am reminded of two things simultaneously: the glorious aroma of a particular incense that I own, and *vintage* Jade East. I do not mean the pale, multiple-times-reformulated-and-cheapened-beyond-recognition version available today at discount stores: if you ever have a chance to sniff or dab from the old classic that came in an understated glass bottle, you will know exactly what I mean- it was once gorgeous and refined, with an ambery musk base, soft, with a high-quality floral heart imbued with exotic spices, lifted discreetly in true eastern-style with mint- and just a discreet, modern touch of soapy aldehyde; a sublime sparkle of citrus hit the nose only just after uncapping. Andy has revived that old magic, weaving it deliciously into the threads of a rare tapestry for a new age to enjoy. Long may it live!

This perfume has serious sex appeal. Although the name is “une rose”, it is not simply trying to imitate the scent of a rose. The rose to me is not the central focus, but rather a supporting note that infuses some freshness that the scent would otherwise lack. Une Rose is very animalic. Opens up very honeyed, settles very musky with ambregris. Also central to the composition is the boozy apricot note. The fragrance is warm, and slightly powdery in a fuzzy sort of way. The powdery aspect reminds very much of makeup, but not in an overwhelmingly floral or talcum powdery way. I detect a bit of sensual patchouli as well.

I would recommend PHI Une Rose de Kandahar for lovers of vintage style perfumes. I think Une Rose is definitely a night time date fragrance, the kind you’d wear when you know you’re getting lucky.

Edit: I retried this one using more of the sample I'd obtained and I need to correct my previous impression given below. The rose comes out strong from the opening and has nice longevity through the heart. It is indeed a very beautiful rose. The entire perfume remains a bit sweet for my tastes but I cannot fault the fragrance which is most lovely. On this wear I'm getting a strong biscuit note from the Tonka and whatever Andy has used for almond note, perhaps heliotrope. In any case, this is one definitely worth trying.

Initial impression: A beautiful gourmand. Fruity, vanillic, Tonka almond all wonderfully interwoven. It lasts a long time though is rather single note and the prized rare rose makes only a fleeting visit - barely recognizable.To advertise this as rose is misleading, the rest is really nice.

Every drop of this precious potion is like magic. A sublime enchanting sensory experience. Sweet powdery almond, rosewater, and a very delicate fresh apricot. Like true alchemy, Andy is a genius and this is pure gold! Love, love, love!

This is the first non-Tauerville Tauer fragrance I've tried, so the bar has been set high from the Tauerville line, especially with the increase in price to Tauer Perfumes. PHI Une Rose de Kandahar does not disappoint--the same craftmanship in the boutique line is certainly implemented in his upscale line as URDK is an elegant composition of rose and other elements. It does contrast significantly with many of the harsher rose ouds out there.

The balance of URDK is between a very natural-smelling blend of roses (neither completely fresh nor dark), cinnamon, and patchouli, with some other more minor notes making their appearance as well (ambergris, tonka). That I cannot detect the apricot is probably a good thing, as I get more of the rose in the heart of the fragrance than most that seem to extol the non-rosiness of composition. It's still rose-dominant to me, just well-blended, and not with the harsh rose oud combination that is ubiquitous in the market (i.e. By Kilian - Rose Oud, which I just tried yesterday).

Rather, URDK is at the intersection of rose, green, spicy, and earthy elements. It's not very floral, apart from the rose; the opening doesn't have much citrus; and it isn't overly sweet, even though it dries down into a relatively comfortable sweet/powdery balance.

URDK is a challenge to explain, given the balance of the blend (echoing the sentiments of Max Forti on YouTube), and that's all the more reason that it needs to be sampled. Given the peculiarity of the blend, URDK is versatile enough to wear in four seasons, day or night, and for casual or formal situations, though I suppose with niche offerings, especially involving rose, I'm always inclined to regard them as more formal than casual.

Une Rose de Kandahar is a very interesting composition and I might need to try it a bunch more before I know if it's bottle-worthy, but I'm guessing it will be, and I'm even more inclined to try more of the Tauer Perfumes line. Andy Tauer does it again!

8 out of 10

Have been looking this for a long time and a fren sold me his bottle.. This juice is gorgeous. PURE LOVE.. looks like i will hold on to this dearly... Expensive stuff but worth every bucks...

Every drop is like gold, precious..

One of the few rose scents that i really enjoy. Andy Tauer creates awesome fumes, this and L'Air du Desert Marocain are my favorites from the house..

I just purchased this fragrance from ebay's top seller in Italy. There is some thing wrong in this batch RDK003 or all batches!!!.There is a strange synthetic smell dominating prevented me from detecting any single note or even sniff my hand closely. It cause headache after few sniffs.I am so disappointed as i purchased this item blindly after reading many good reviews.
I also watched new review regarding PHI explain some thing similar to my experience titled: Blind Buys of 2015 - the good, the bad & the most dissappointing
Mr andy tauer explain please!. What's wrong? is it the batch or the fragrance or our noses?.

My rate: 1/10 disappointed

Edit: After two months of keeping it in the refrigerator, it become acceptable and the strange synthetic note settled down and the notes become recognizable. i hope it get better. thanks god.

I am so sad because I tryed it and it's not the rose I was looking for. The previous reviews really intrigued me, but even though it is a very high quality frag, is not my cup of tea,

I LOVE THIS DUDE!!!!

So, so almondy on me! The first five or ten seconds are orgasmic. The sweet, perfection of the best of all possible roses is all I get- then it dries. And the almond comes out. It's still fantastic but not quite as amazing as the first opening notes. The rose melts perfectly into and behind the marzipan smell, with some apricot in there, and what seems to be a powdery sort of vanilla base. (? maybe it's tonka.)

It really is one of the most wearable florals I've run into... but I am not a massive fan of almonds and it's extremely almondy. Personal taste though - it is a fantastic perfume, very well balanced with a ton of sillage... apply sparingly.

Une Rose de Kandahar is the first Tauer I've ever tried, and it's made such a wonderful impression that I think I'll have to try them all in the near future. It's just so, so good, and nothing like anything else I've ever smelled.

I actually hesitated a little before getting a decant of this one. On the one hand I was keen to try it because of the great reviews and the combination of rose/apricot/almonds, three of my favourite notes, but on the other hand I usually avoid the tobacco note because it tends to spoil a fragrance for me if it stands out too much. But I needn't have worried: this is one of the most well-blended perfumes I've ever smelled, and none of the notes really stick out. In fact this scent is velvety to the degree that it's almost startling at first sniff; immediately I was reminded of the texture of suede, more so than with perfumes where suede is actually featured in the note pyramid. When I look at the list of notes and compare it to what I'm smelling, I can believe there is apricot and roses and even tobacco involved, but they're all so well balanced that they form a coheshive whole, an entirely new smell that I never could have imagined but am so glad I got to know. It's hard to explain, hence the vague description, but anyone who gets the chance should really try this for themselves!

Fall is fast approaching and I think that will be the perfect season for this beauty. It's best suited for evenings but it's definitely not too heavy for the office either, if you want to bring a hint of luxury and joy into your workday (and who wouldn't?). My little decant might just be followed by a real bottle before too long; it's expensive but really worth it, even more so because a little goes a long way and two sprays in the morning provide more than satisfactory sillage for most of the day.

A timid rose resting on a pillow of apricot. It’s not a juicy apricot though; it’s more like the dried apricot snacks you grab at the checkout. Aside from that, vetiver, patchouli, and a milky-vanillic base signify, but there’s not much else. It reminds me of a derelict L’Ombre Fauve only with a vague rose tucked behind its ear. All in all, it’s a bit too flat and unemotional — and emotion is somewhat of a requirement for a rose perfume, I think.

رائحة اﻷمل :) ...

PHI Une Rose De Kandahar

بارعة في موهبتها ...
عند اﻹرتجال و اﻹنفراد بالعزف على المسرح.. تسلب القلب و العقل و تشده اﻹنتباه كأنها واعظ أو كاهن يلقي المواعظ على الحشود ...
ذات صباح فتحت عينيها عندما أرهقتها أشعة الشمس التي داعبت أجفانها المثقلتين من وراء ستائر النافذة الحريرية ... ظلت مطرقة لبرهة إنتبهت بعدها لمعشوقها القابع في ناحية الغرفة المقابلة لمضجعها... إنتصبت واقفة متجهة للحمام ﻷخذ "شور" سريع متلهفة إليه ...
جلست على التسريحة قبالة المرآة تتأمل وجهها.. يا إلهي ... وجه به براءة الطفولة ... عينان حالمتان و أنف مستدق ... شفتان هي في حيرة بين التبسم و الصمت ... شعر أسود كالليل البهيم أناخ على أكتافها فسد اﻷفق بينه و بين ثوبها اﻷسود فلم يظهر منه غير توسط بدر و جهها و عنقها ... لم تترك له حرية اﻹنسدال فجمعته بكفها و عقفته على رأسها كأنه تاج نوراني ... و قفت فتهدل ثوبها الفضفاض الذي أحاط بخصرها كأنه منحوتة مرمر فصارت كأنما تمثال لآلهة إغريقية في جﻻلها...
إتجهت نحوه ... جلست على الكرسي قبالته ... أخذته بحنو اﻷم ... أقامته بين ساقيها و إحتضنته بين خدها و كتفها ... أمسكت القوس بيدها اﻷخرى... دغدغت على أوتاره ... فصدح ال "تشيلو" لحنا" شجيا" وقورا" رزينا" ...

معزوفة موسيقية ملؤها PHI Une Rose de Kandahar ...

العطر معزوفة متناقمة متجانسة النوت.. اﻹنتقال بينها صعودا" و هبوطا" سلس.. أبدع فيه Tauer بإستخدام نوت مجسرة و توليفات ساعدت على ذلك و ربطت صدر العطر بعجزه.. إضافة للدواعم للنوت الرئيسية..
لكن هل العطر، كما عنونه طيب الذكر Dr. Loay Alprince بموت الوردة ؟!..
أم هو ميﻻد البهجة اللذيذة من رحم المعاناة المرة ؟!..
كما أني أتساءل، ما الذي يميز ورد قندهار الذي هو في الأصل ورد بلغاري مهاجر لملء تلك اﻷرض عبيرا" بعد أن مﻷتها رائحة الدم و الخشخاش، حتى يتخذه Tauer عنوانا" لعطره ؟!.. لحد أنه إستخدم اﻷخير لتدعيم اﻷول..
اللهم إﻻ أنه إستخلص منه سمة بعينها "لشيئ في نفس يعقوب".. ف Tauer من المستفيدين من خدمات شركة Robertet المتخصصة في الستخلصات الطبيعية..
على العموم عطر RDK يقف في منطقة وسطى على مطياف عطور الورد بالنسبة للمستهلك و الممتد بين طرفيه لمحبي و كارهي رائحة الورد..
- الوصف العطري: إفتتاحية من المشمش الفاكهي الحلو الكثيف الغامق، ذكرتني بالبرقوق المغطى بغشاءه الجلدي الوبري السميك في Plum Japonais، مصحوبة بالغرفة التابلية الشوكية الحلوة في توليفة جورماندية تمت مقابلتها باللوز المر ﻹضافة نوع من التضاد، كما أنه توجد سمة زيتية دسمة ﻻ أدري هل للوز أم قشرة البرغموت.. لكن رغم ذلك تﻻحظ وجود شيئ لطيف يحاكي المينثول يحاول تخفيف و إبهاج تلك التوليفة..
بعدها تخبو التوليفة الفاكهية اللوزية و تستمر السمة التابلية منها في إنسياق سلس نحو القلب الوردي.. الورد هنا رغم أنه يختلف عن الورد الذي خبرته سابقا"، لكنه محير صراحة، ﻻ وصف معين له.. لطيف ناعم يجمع تقريبا" كل سمات الورد و كأنها صهرت في بوتقة واحدة.. نكتاري حلو تابلي أخضر خشبي أرضي لكنه لطيف معتدل و بشكل مقبول لكل اﻷذواق.. كما أنه كاد يميل لحواء لوﻻ دخول التبغ الجاف الذي عدل كفة الميزان.. التبغ هنا صفه أيضا" بما تشاء عدا السمة اﻹسموكية و أعتقد أن Tauer أحدث توليفة وردية تبغية تفوقت على نظيرتها في عطر Wardasina .. و التي تم تلطيفها بالكومارين الحلو و الفانيﻻ الكريمية..
تصعد السمة اﻷرضية للباتشول بصورة خافته.. لكن لم ألحظ شيئ للفيتيفر.. لتعاود السمة النكتارية الحلوة للظهور خجولة من جديد في إتقان واضح للجسور العطرية و المؤرضة على قاعدة مسكية و أداء حسي رافع للعنبر أكثر منه كنوت عطري..

العطر أول تجربة لي مع الداهية Tauer .. وهي رغم تحفظي على اﻹفتتاحية لكنها تستحق أن ترفع لها القبعة، و يبدو أنها لن تكون اﻷخيرة :) ..
العطر به إتقان وأضح لجعله محايد من ناحيتي الجنس و مدى تقبله لشريحة محبي و متحفظي الرائحة الوردية ..
العطر شتوي حميمي دافئ و مبهج كذلك ..
الثبات و الفوحان في غاية الرضى في رأيي المتواضع..


و دمتم بود :) ...

So rarely does a scent make me say, "I can't live without you". I love my perfumes; I wear them and enjoy them. But if most of them were to forever go away I would be able to go on. But no, dear dark and mysterious phi une rose, I cannot live without you.

((ليله موت الورده))
لم اجد كرسيا فكنت اتحرك بخفه بين الجموع وعيناى مسلطتان على خشبه المسرح ، واحيانا كنت اذهب لاختلس النظر بين الكواليس وارقب ما يجرى٠
كان المهرج الذى مللناه يلقى نكاته اليوميه بآليه كما لو كان يخفى شيئا حتى انه اسقط كراته الملونه وسط ضجيج القاعه وكانت مهزله حقيقيه٠
المغنى هذه المره لم تنفعه صنعته وبدا صوته حزينا على غير عادته واخذ يردد موالا لم يستطع اكماله ، الان والان فقط استطيع ان اقول ان شيئا يحدث ، فليست الامور كما نعرفها وكما نراها
مدير المسرح بصلعته اللامعه يتحرك فى الخلف كالمجنون ويدفع بشباب الفرقه لسشغلوا الجمهور الذى بدأ يتأفف ويغضب ٠
كانوا ينتظرون ظهورها وعيونهم معلقه على ستائر المسرح المسدله التى انفتحت فى النهايه ٠٠٠٠ ماهذا
عن هذا الضوء اتحدث ،،كانت امرأه او هكذا تبدو فى العشرينيات ، ظاهر جسدها على رداء احمر لامع ، كنت اقفز لانظر ولكن كنت احس ان مايبدو ليس حقيقيا بل هو نوع من السحر٠
الان استطيع ان اصف كتله النور التى تقع فى منتصف المسرح لها وجه يشبه وجه طفل ذو عينين ضيقتين تستند على كرسى عتيق وتبدو كانها ستهوى ، انفاسها تعلو وتهبط ، وموسيقى مرتعشه تعزف فى الخلفيه
انقطعت انفاس الحضور وهم يلمحون السيده وهى تهتز كمن به جنه و تحكم قبضتها على الكرسى واذا بذراعيها قد تحولتا الى غصن اخضر رقيق وو ريقات حمراء رائعه الحسن تكسو جسدها و انتشرت رائحه من الورد الرائع الذى لم نشم مثله طيله حياتنا وللحظاتالعطر فى كانت قد استحالت الى ورده حمراء داكنه تتفصد بالعرق٠
لم تمر سوى لحظات قليله حتى مالت وارتمت على خشبه المسرح وسط صرخات الجموع ودموعهم التى انهمرت على الورده التى قتلها الحب والحمى ٠
استخدم اندى تاور مكونا نادرا هذه المره ، استقبل ما جنته يد الفقراء فى افغانستان من الورد البلغارى بديلا عن الخشخاش و بخلاصه هذا الورد المهاجر الوحيد صنع تحفته هذه٠
ربما لهذا السبب احاط تاور وردته الخافته الشذى بنوتات حالمه من العنبر الحيوانى المخلق بلمسته الانيماليك مع الفانيلا وبذور التونكا فى توليفه اشبه بما صنعه فى هواء الصحراء المغربيه٠
لم يرد ان يترك الورده بمفردها بل وبكل الحيل اراد ان يلهيها عن حزنها ويصرفها عن همومها باوركسترا من المشمش والقرفه واوراق التبغ و القرفه والباتشول ٠
وفى النهايه اخرج لنا عطرا من اكثرا العطور استدعاءا للحزن وسماه ورده قندهار
PHI Une Rose de Kandahar
العطر يونيسكس يصلح للجنسين ،،ياتى على هيئه ٥٠ مل فى عبوه تاور المميزه وسعره ما يعادل ١٠٥ يورو ، العطر ذو فوحان وثبات رائعين

At some point, I very nearly sold this. I had been purchasing too many things to remember what I had and how beautiful each scent really was. This one is no exception. I'm currently in a no buy and it's resulting in enjoyment of what I already have.

I'm not sure how to put words to what this scent evokes for me but I'll do what I can. It's thick and rich, (my favorites always are). It's got a bit of a jammy texture, yes, it's rose, but I wouldn't say it's rose in character. The tobacco is part of what deepens and thickens the texture, along with some fruit which to me feels like berry rather than apricot, but perhaps it's the blend of rose and apricot.

In the end, I'd say this is a fine, sweet, after-dinner liquor being sipped in a burgundy velvet chair by a crackling fire in a room hung round with rich and rare tapestry. The conversation is intriguing and a bit mysterious. I'm wearing a dress of the softest satin that dips all the way to the floor. I feel refined, elegant and drop dead gorgeous.

I'll take two!

Oh, and this one goes on and on for hours on end, bonus!

Meh...I'm a bit disappointed. Smells rather soapy and cloying. I was expecting the tobacco and vetiver to lead the sweetness into a more woody, masculine territory, but it seems all the sweetness comes from the vanilla and almond and it feels very girly. The rose is not that prominent, but has a dish soap quality akin to "1969" Histoires de Parfum. It does dry down into something a bit more wearable and unisex...but I'm not sticking around.

No one has said this as far as I read, so I feel I must say it- I am strongly reminded of powdery pink musk candies.
The thing that sets this fragrance apart for me is the dryness of the rose. This is not a cheap or cloying rose. Try it if you have had bad experiences with rose in the past, and don't mind powdery rose confectionary.

this is a cheaper not in quality but in price per ml xerjoff richwood its a winner in my book the opening a bit different but the mid and drydown is the same at 95%

buy for me!

PHI Une Rose de Kandahar - simply amazing! Earthy, sultry and very unique. I 100% agree with christianne1. How could you not love it. Apricot, rose and a bit of tobacco in perfect balance with some spices. It smells of "roses in Damaskus to me" and sweet turkish coffee. One spray lasts me all day. Sexy as hell too.

If I didn`t know this was a rose scent, I wouldn`t detect it at all..I am not a fan of traditional rosescents, and I LOVE this one!
It is complex, like a fragrance it takes a while to know, because of all the layers presented..It is warm, a bit animalic,green and flowery, mixed absolutely beautifully.
This is really on my "need to own"-list.

A dirty and persuasive rose, a precious and far spice, bewitching, haughty ...... the hallmark of Andy Tauer. Try it.

A truly spectacular perfume from Andy Tauer.

This is a rose that seems to be grown in an area called Narganhar in Afghanistan and is of high quality and very rare. In fact the perfume is not available during all times of the year, depending on the production of this rose (100% natural, of course).

It is a perfume 100% unisex, I think it falls more toward the masculine because although the rose all the while present, is a rather oriental, dark pink, something smoked, which is mixed with quite shocking notes as a fruity at the start and later with other more oriental and masculine cut as tobacco (very prominent), cinnamon, vetiver, patchouli, tonka bean, ambergris, etc, etc ...

Beware, is a complicated and complex fragrance, perhaps not for everyone. In fact it has quite dark earthy notes which are not exactly the style that pleases me more personally, but everything is very well mixed and not become too heavy or "noisy".

The perfume has a huge quality is outstanding originality. The sillage is rather moderate with pretty good longevity.

It really is a unique olfactory experience, so if not suitable for all pockets and mine either ... :(

Incroyable! Merveilleux!

At first spray, there's a kind of boozy feel with a nostril-flaring sweet resinousness. The rose here, at first, is a background note. You can feel it pushing its way through. It's a dry rose, sweet and dry.* and the apricot, after about 15 minutes. Then after an hour, the tobacco notes show their stuff.

The rose-and-resin blend continues with a slightly "woody" vibe. About an hour or two in, I can actually smell the ambergris! It's a sharp/sweet note like no other: rich, unobtrusively animalic, unique.

At the end, after a good 15 hours, it's as if a soft white flower has passed through and left its trail.

This fragrance is alive: it morphs and pulses by the minute. I've been sniffing my arm over the last 15 hours, and it's rarely the same. Extraordinary! If it's a living frag like this, that means: I can have a *relationship* with it, trust it to work with my moods and aha! me to work with it. A fragrance one can respect.

One comment I'd like to make about Monsieur Tauer, and that is his generosity as a parfumier. These ingredients are the best out there (I'm convinced) - for instance, the use of real ambergris (?) and the single sourced Afghan rose. And he doesn't use them sparingly either. These are rich, complex, unique, and Andy Tauer is a true alchemist!

Thank you once again, M. Tauer!!


* I've noticed that some of the best material (absolutes) come from dry places: Afghani rose as here, Moroccan jasmine (the smoothest, creamiest), Egyptian neroli, alpine lavender, Spanish mimosa, fig. I just like, to my nose, what dry climates do to their plants.

This is my very first fragrance review, so I don't know how good it will be and I'm not an expert at detecting notes. However, if you don't mind I'll just give you impressions, emotions and how I feel when I wear it.

The first time I wore this, I sighed. This is a heartbreaking scent. It's sad, but not in a depressing way, mind you, but, in a melancholy, wistful kinda way. It reminds me of the rose, in my cherished Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince, so vain and so selfish, but lonely too. For this reason alone, I will adopt her, because despite whatever flaws she may have, or in spite of them, I find her heartachingly beautiful.

The notes listed sound really good and let me tell u something" it is wicked food!" I tested this on myself and thought "wow" explicit. Then tested it on mywife who despises rose fragrances and she was even blown away. Simply "Devine" she quoted. I like rose myself but what sets this apart is the supporting cast of cinnamon, tobacco, almond, tonkabean, patchouli, musk, bergamot and vanilla...I literally pick up all of these notes w/ that tauer spice aroma. Imo an all seasons scent.

Overall 5/5

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 (courtesy of a generous person here on fragrantica). 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).

I waited quite a while for this to become available so I could finally buy this gem.. And it was certainly worth the wait. It's not what I was expecting AT ALL, either.

Off the top, there's certainly a very dominant musky spiciness, with a rich, fruity background. There's an oud-esque quality, probably as a result of the rich rose accord mixed with the vetiver and ambergris notes.

In terms of what I was expecting, I figured this would be a rose bomb.. but I was wrong, since the geranium and tobacco really steal the show here.

Was I blown away or wow'd? No. But am I impressed? Most certainly. It's not particularly unusual or groundbreaking, and it's certainly something I've smelled before in other fragrance.. but I'm still proud to have this gorgeous bottle and very nice perfume in my collection. I Think I picked a good one for my first Tauer :)

Il colore del flacone rispecchia perfettamente la fragranza...E' una rosa "verde chiaro",cioè una soave, acerba rosellina molto muschiata.
Tutto è lieve : poco tabacco, quasi nullo patchouli, leggerissima albicocca, la stessa rosa è timida. Il tocco pungente iniziale si stempera subito, manca volutamente il pepe a darle forza.
Sereno muschio rosato.
Non inebriante o fascinosa o sensuale.
Semplice ed elegante, non invade e non travolge, è presente nella sua educata gradevolezza.

There is a lot of IsoESuper in Rose K (I researched it just to make sure I'm not talking rubbish!) Anyway, for me personally that explained why it seemed as though the listed notes were dominated by what I perceived as a pungent peppery "fuzziness".

Longevity is over 8 hours & in the far dry down I could detect a very natural tobacco note. I can tell there are other nice notes, but I can't quite reach them for all that chemical "fuzz". It feels to me like trying to see a beautiful view through an opaque window. Maybe my nose is not as finely-tuned as others, but anyway for me it's a deal breaker. I like Tauer perfumes & the whole Tauer ethos, but this one is definitely not for me. I deleted my last review due to mass balloon pops (when I mentioned the IES overload in a thread). Still, I'm putting this up again (slightly re-worded) & hope it survives - haha !

Interesting. A dusty, sour rose that yields to ambergris, patchouli, tobacco, and spicy geranium as it unfolds. The apricot is there, too, but it is an abstraction that, to my nose anyway, plays up the sour aspects of the fruit more than the sweet.

And of course the base Tauer-ade is there, thrumming steadily in the background. Great stuff, that.

But like so many of Mr. Tauer's fragrances, I find Phi to be more of an intellectual scent-experiment than a wearable fragrance. I appreciate the delicacy and complexity of it. I enjoy sniffing it on my wrist. I admire its sillage and longevity. But ultimately, I don't want to smell like this. I should say that I feel the same way even about even his popular masterpiece, L'Air du Desert Marocain.

Something about these fragrances leaves me feeling cold, empty, and unsatisfied. There is a general air of unreality to them. I have read about something in animation called the Uncanny Valley. It happens when a cartoon creation looks and moves VERY much like a real human, but not perfectly like a real human. Think of The Polar Express. This "near miss" causes a sense of revulsion in some people, spoiling the "magic" of the cartoon entirely. This is how I feel about Tauer's fragrances. They are outstanding works of technical and artistic achievement, but is there a soul behind the eyes?

I had won a sample of this a while back. It is breath taking and beautiful. I won't add anymore, as I feel the reviewers below pretty much summed it up. I have been patiently waiting for Tauer to bring this back on their website so I can order a full bottle. I can't wait.

Oud and rose in dirty combo, it is Afghanistan after the war, all in dast and in destruction, what do you expect it would smell like? Opening has some strange chemicals in between rose and oud, it is not opium, but more likely Afganies cooking meth. Then meth calms down and just durty rose and oud stays. It is strange perfume, not unpleasant, but strange, try it before you pay a big $, it is for a real niche of perfume lovers who would appropriate this smell.
PS. There are similarity to Dior Oud Isfahan, which came to the market earlier than Kandahar, it is a trend of having this traditional Middle Eastern notes combo, Diors perfume seems cleaner more socially acceptable.

Like a vivid, beautiful piece of art sitting in your living room, the name of this perfume, hinting at a dusky, exotic, spicy faraway- land rose, perfectly suits it's contents. It is an exotic yet fragile beauty, hiding playful hedonistic pleasure underneath it's breast. The apricots, tonka bean and musk are very prominent on my skin and these notes infuse delicately with the turkish rose to create a feminine, warm, exotic and intoxicating potion. I think of Arabian harems with belly dancers, but minus the seediness, and complimented with an exquisite bouquet of roses, an burner full of fragrant incense and a delicious fruity cinnamon apricot loaf baking on a nearby mantle. Yet somehow too, it's exotic shaped, spellbinding notes asides, the fragrance manages to exude pure sophistication too. My 50ml bottle is depleting at such a rapid rate, that I consider buying a backup bottle, OR a bottle of my other Tauer favourite 'incense rose' for which I am a bit mental for. oh - the decisions! Thank you Mr. Andy Tauer for your creative perfume genius.

Oh.My.Goodness.

Move over everything on my want list. I really REALLY want this one.

Delicious out of the bottle and it only gets better. Payday with a bonus and a raise is coming. And then this sweet darling is coming home to me.

Worth every penny....

Regretfully....not available until next fall.
On the wait list at The Perfume Shoppe. Anticipation....

The mix of notes for this works amazingly. I'm not a rose fan, but this was recommended as a non-rose rose to try. I'm glad I did. It's also a non-gourmond gourmond.. a bit of sweetness but not sweet. Many contradictions that seem to work. Just lovely.
Stays very close to the skin, and yet lasts a good long time. Dry down is gorgeous. A bit of vanilla, tabacco and patcholi.

Do give it a try.

I tried this from a sample bottle received from Perfumed Court after hearing about this fragrance. I applied it to my wrists and chest, and let it develop over the course of about 5-6 hours. 5-6 hours is the max for me as perfumes tend not to last long on my skin.

Afterwards, I went online to check prices. Sadly it was not available anywhere except the Tauer website for a hefty $160. But then I learn that they can't ship full bottles to my country, but they could give me 3x15ml minis for $200. So what did I do?

I placed the order for $200.

There was no need to think about it. No need to use up the rest of the sample. No need to find alternatives. No need to try and find cheap decants. There was no need, because PHI Une Rose de Kandahar is SO GOOD that I can't imagine not owning it. One day of not owning it is one day of loss. What an elegant, high performance, high quality perfume!

Good gracious almighty....Not only is this full bottle worthy, it is get online right now and locate it and hit the purchase button quickly before it's gone worthy. This is beautiful and soft (unlike the other Tauers I have tried which are just a little too potent for me or lean toward masculine) .....it is a soft, creamy, musky, powdery, dreamy, heavenly almond-y apricot rose masterpiece. I absolutely fell in love with this at first sniff.

It is so perfect I am surprised there is a single dislike....how could anyone dislike this? Were they under duress by another fragrance house or something? It is like saying you hate rainbows or something that offers nothing but spectacular beauty.

PHI is an eyes rolling in the back of the head all day wrist sniffer. Yes, I will take the gallon party size please thank you.

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

The immediate impression on opening is of a very complex rose - with lightly sweet Turkish Delight and wine facets, then a powerful musk takes over. If this is ambergris then my god it's musky indeed.

I've just looked at the description of ambergris and yes, that's about right - 'marine, animalic and sweet'. It's not a barnyard musk or a decay/indole musk, or a clean cat fur haze, it's very warm, tingly and zinging, if that's a word.

It's impressive, but it's slightly overwhelming at first. An hour into dry down I still get this muskiness, combined with the spicy cinnamon. This reminds me a little of the musk in L'air de Desert Marocain (though it's lighter there) and since that reminds me of Old Spice which also contains ambergris, this is all making sense to my nose.

I love the fact that Tauer perfumes have excellent sillage and longevity, there's something very generous and authentic about this - almost brings a tear to my eye in these straitened times that most of us are going through, where quality is compromised in so many products.

This has the sillage of Tom Ford's Black Orchid, yet far more balanced as a whole. I think it's a perfect 'big night out perfume' - it's up there with the original Coco, but it's softer though its' just as prominent. I wouldn't wear this often, but it's special

The fragrance is inspired by roses produced in Afganistan, and this particular rose oil is supposed to be extremely rare. Rest assured, however. I don’t think that PHI Une Rose de Kandahar would deplete the precious natural resource.

While the rose immediately makes an appearance, I would not describe the scent as rose-prominent. The flower itself is soft, almost demure, and after the first minute or so of flaunting its pink petals, very much like a supporting character in a play, it dutifully makes room for the more important actors.

(Having read some of the reviews online, I expected more apricot, which is a note I like and seek. I didn’t sense it distinctly.)

So what is it if it's not a prominent rose scent? At its heart, this is a very elegantly restrained gourmand. The almond and the tonka bean swirl above all other notes in a cozy accord and add just the right amount of powdery sweetness. I am swooning, and I rarely do.... Unfortunately, at around this time, another character appears as well—the tobacco. I know there are people who love tobacco notes in a fragrance, but I am not one of them. The tobacco is not necessarily strong, but however it is combined with other elements, it ends up leaving an unpleasant aftertaste.

Too bad, because the subtle rose, along with the soft combination of almond and tonka bean, would have made it the perfect gourmand perfume for me. It would have been what L'Artisan Traversee du Bosphore tried and failed to be.

With its emphasis on tonka bean and a whiff of tobacco, Phi Une Rose could be perceived as the poorer, but otherwise stylish and more intelligent cousin of the opulent and showy Guerlain Tonka Imperiale. I would love to invite him (I’ll assume it’s a he, okay) to tea and eventually even give him a hug, but only if he quit the smokes first.

If Andy Tauer decides to produce a flanker, I really hope he leaves the tobacco out. I hope he keeps everything else the same.

Simply amazing! It doesn't feel like it was created this year. It feels like a timeless classic rose scent from the great perfume houses.

What a beautiful hommage to Afghanistan Andy Tauer has rendered with this perfume!

I have sampled many of his perfumes before, but this is the only Tauer creation that works on my skin so far.
I do not even wear roses well,but this perfume is sweet and soft and the rose is not in the least sour unlike most other roses on my skin. The perfume has an addictive gourmand-ish drydown which keeps me sniffing my wrists all day long.

This is an unusual creation of Andy Tauer's and I even want to say that Une Rose de Kandahar is his venture into the "Loukhoum" category and he succeeded to surpass all the other ones I know because it is actually very wearable.

Well done, Herr Tauer!

Absolutely love this fragrance. Beautiful velvety roses with woody, spicy notes - but something in it triggers my headaches. I'm so bummed, because the concoction itself is definitely full-bottle worthy for me.

The co-stars of this fragrance are rose and cinnamon, on my skin. I think I pick up the tonka bean too. Though incense isn't listed as a note/accord, the composition as a whole makes me think of really high-quality incense. The soft spiciness complements the rose beautifully. When I wear it, I feel like I'm being taken on a thrilling ride on a flying carpet. Maybe that's hyperbolic. I'll put it this way instead: when I breathe in this scent, it is a vivid impression of other-side-of-the-globeness -- a reminder that I am on a big, but small, planet.

I adore Incense Rose and LADDM and Une Rose Chypree, but in Phi Une Rose de Kandahar, Andy Tauer has utterly outdone himself on my scale of olfactory bliss. The roses in this scent are absolutely gorgeous, but are nicely tempered by the spices and vetiver, rendering this a fine complement to a stylish person whether male or female. The accords are presented in such a felicity of union that this perfume can best be described as music for my nose. Phi's sillage is good with impressive longevity. I could imagine this on Isabella Rossellini or on Sean Connery: timelessly sexy people, well-read with stories of their own to tell.

Further adding to the delight of this fragrance is the knowledge that its purchase promotes the farming of roses in a war-torn region whose largest agricultural export is the yields of the opium poppy. I want to be part of promoting this economic boost to Afghani farmers, and the fact that this perfume is so very beautiful makes this one a no-brainer. This WILL be the next full bottle I purchase.

Many thanks to Fragrantica and Jeffrey Dame for the glorious sample, and my abiding gratitude to Andy Tauer for creating this beauty with a social conscience.

Phi may have made me a lover, not just a liker of rose scents. It is a privilege to be able to sample such a lovely, artfully crafted perfume. This is a warm,spicy,and sensuous scent. Sweet roses accented with creamy almond and heat from the cinnamon, my goodness what more could a girl ask for!I really enjoy the weight of the vetiver in combination with the other notes. It is more complex than I may have described, but these are the key notes that attract me to this perfume. Many thanks for the opportunity to try out a Tauer creation.

Sigh. I had high hopes for this after perusing the notes an reviews. But, as I feared, the vetiver drowns every other note for me except the rose, with whom it seems to be engaged in mortal combat. Right now, 20 minutes after application, I am wagering on the vetiver to prevail.

Received the sample I won yesterday afternoon but waited until today to spray, just a bit, I want it to last as US is out of stock...Oh my world, this is one of the sexiest scents I have tried, definitely full bottle for me, Andy has out done himself with this, I have a full bottle of LADDM and I love it, but this juice is incredible...Kudos and thank you Fragantica, Mr. Tauer and Jeffrey Dame for their generosity in the sample contest.

I have a bottle of this for a swap, it's 90% full.
It is definitely gorgeous, unique fragrance, but nothing I can wear out, just not my style at all. I tried and tried and tried, and it just doesn't sit well with my skin.

from first spray i get rose, almond, and apricot. playing around in the back i get tabacco, and something salty, and a touch of cinnamon. a little while later vanilla comes to play. i must say its that background on me that makes it really amazing. it kind of grounds the fragrance and makes it sensual. the perfume has a sexy vibe to it, like a woman in a smokey lounge in the 30s. this fagrance isnt the woman, its the lounge. a mix of men and woman. some rose and sweet, some tabacco salty spice. i think this is a confident perfume. definately a fall perfume, or a moist winter day. im not a big fan of roses but this fragrance is so interesting its going on my list.

Edit to say: I live in the US on the East Coast and just got my sample that I won today, and it was worth the wait!

To be honest...I didn t like the first sniff at all,it was way to spicy and aromatic for me,but the dry down is absolutely gorgeous.The rose is present right to the end blended perfectly with apricot,almond and tobacco.A prevoius review said it stands in the lines of a classic Chanel or Guerlain..I totally agree.

I also received a sample. Wonderful scent. Went easy with the first test as you never know how strong a new perfume is.

I should have sprayed more! I keep sniffing my arm.
So nice.

This might not make sense because of the note pyramid but I get a lot of labdanum and soft pink rose ....this is Beautiful with a capital B ...its is extremely pleasant and not a challenging scent for the Tauer detractors. I smelled my arm about 25 times throughout the wearing and it doesn't change much to me but no matter when the scent is this nice. My wife smelled it and pulled her head back immediately with a grimace but then said wow that's actually nice(must be her natural reaction to the rest of my collection :/ )
This will be one of my next full bottle purchases.... Thank you Andy for an awesome rose scent that a man can wear! Bravo!

Wow, this year I fallen again in love with roses, but I was still looking for the knockout rose, this is that that rose. I just tried it yesterday so no utter complete thoughts on it right now other than it is beautiful!

This is the kind of perfume that our children's children will be collecting and romanticizing.

This is a beautifully blended warm rose perfume. Upon opening, I can smell rose (of course), apricot, powdery musk, cinnamon and (although it's not in the notes) licorice. As it warms with the skin I get more vanilla, bourbon, almond and soft woody notes.
My skin is very dry right now, but it seems like it's going to last in spite of that. Sillage is moderate to heavy...I would say maybe a good 3 or so feet.
Like I said earlier, I could see this being a fragrance that future generations use to romanticize our time. Something that grandchildren hope to have passed down to them, much like coveted Chanels, Guerlains, Creeds and the like. This has that "something" that feels timeless and collectible indeed.

Disclosure: Sample won in a Fragrantica randomized contest. This does not change my review.

this is my first time sampling a fragrance from the house of andy tauer..
i received my sample last night and did a sample spray and another this morning after a shower.

* when i woke up i could still smell a faint rose on my wrist and that was 7-8 hours prior to resting. after my shower i applied once again to get another refreshing of the scent and here i am now giving this review.

it starts of with a warm and sensual rose blended very well with some apricot,almond and cinnamon. the apricot gives it a kind of soft under tone with a very mild spice from the cinnamon. the rose is our key player in this perfume and is very well done. soft and pretty. after some time it fades into a softer rose and almond that last for hours. sweet and clean.

the dry down also is quite pleasant... from what i recollect it to be it was a soft powdery rose kinda musky and maybe some tonka bean or it could have been vanilla. the dry down reminds me of FM lipstick rose.

one of my favorite rose perfumes thus far.
so if you like soft sensual pretty "classy" roses you will most likely like this. the quality is impeccable. the duration this perfume lasts is substantial compared to designer rose fragrances. D'un soir i'm talking about you.

i can't speak on sillage cause i haven't done a serious wearing of this yet. it has been simple 1 sprays on the wrist at 2 different times. * back to back.
from what i can tell it would give off a very nice scent trail.


so my break down.

sillage ? i'm sure it will leave a nice scent trail.
longevity 8 out of 10
quality of product 9 out of 10. very well blended.


thank you for taking the time to read this.

will edit sillage later...

My bottle of PHI has just arrived this afternoon. It's my first Tauer and I'm totally impressed by the quality of the entire packaging, the can the bottle was put in. The bottle itself also looks lovely. The pentagonal shape is unique, isn't it?

As for the scent itself, I reviewed it on my blog, Chemist in the Bottle. To me it smells of rich apricot, rose and velvety tobacco.

I was one of the lucky ones to receive a sample and are enjoying it right now.
I la-la-love this perfume.Elegant spicy rose-scent, I wish I could afford a whole bottle!
I only took one spray and I'll save the rest for some special occation.

I received my sample from Switzerland today, including a handwritten card "with fragrant greetings, enjoy!" and
I think the signature is Andy Tauer's. WOW! The scent is so beautiful, a full bodied rose, a bit strong in the opening, - unisex,- yes, I agree, but calms down to a warm and cosy "cloud". It's just so lovely, and it lasts a long time. Exellent quality indeed!

اووووه عطر محير تحتاج بضع تجارب حتى تصل قرار حول العطر
ساعطي تصور عام عن رائحة العطر
البداية
لا تتوقعها ستكون ليمونية او او ان هناك تواجد صارخ للقرفه
بل البداية ابطالها اولا الرزو برائحة المميزه التي تميل الى الرائحة السكرية الخفيفة المنعشة نوعا ما مع رائحة اللوز والمشمش يبدا العطر بهوؤلاء الثلاثة مع مشاركة ليست حادة من القرفه بعد فترة وجيزة ستعشر بان المسك بشكل خفيف والفانيلا بداو بالظهور مع رائحة دخانية اممم انه التوباكو اعتقد

ما سبق هو وصف للعطر خلال ساعته الاولى الباتشولي لم استطع ان اميزه والبقية الغير المذكورين
باختصار العطر روزي سويتي (بشكل لطيف جدا) وبودري وتبغي بشكل لطيف بالاضافه الى انه غامض!
الفوحان9/10
الثبات 10/10
جمال الرائحة 8.5/10
ولا زالت اعتقد اني لم اكتشف العطر اعتقد انه يخبي الكثيرر
تجربه موقفه لكم ومن ثم قرار اما بالشراء او عدمه
عطر لذييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييذ !

صلوا على النبي واذكروا ربكم دائما وابدا واحمدوه واشكروه اذا اعجبك تعليقي عطني لايك

I have been wearing my Phi sample ever since it arrived and it is beautiful night and day, freshly sprayed or as a lingering skin scent after 12 hours. There is something so classic about this scent that reminds me of the best classic Chanels and Guerlains, but new at the same time. I think this is the best rose perfume ever and I own some lovely ones already. I have a hard time picking out individual notes in this beauty,although the rose and fruit are certainly prominent at the outset. When the other notes join in the whole is so seamless and perfect, warm and comforting, yet so sophisticated.

I can detect the vetiver, but it is done very well and does not overpower. This is how vetiver should be done. It blends so well with the ambergris to give almost a salty woody vibe that offsets the floral fruity notes just enough to be perfect and unique. There is also a beautiful tobacco leaf note that blends so well and is just amazing with the rose. I would never have thought of putting these 2 notes together, but they work so well!

This is a strong scent, so I am wearing it under my clothing and it is just right for work wear that way. At home I go spray crazy and I'm already done with one sample and will be starting on the second. Looks like a full bottle is in my future! I highly recommend this fragrance to anyone who appreciates the beauty of classic perfumes.

Andy Tauer has outdone himself in the creation of this fragrance. I'm a lifetime perfume lover and have mourned the loss of beauties from the 1950s onward. Grieve no more, my lady. While my aged nose can no longer distinguish some of the nuances that younger writers describe, I know a masterpiece when I smell it. This one fills my heart and soul. Eureka!

Just got my sample from Switzerland. What a memorable scent and truly beautiful. The name says it all.. roses and roses and so mant roses. Thank for Mr. Tauer for this divine creation.

Wow, there are roses and then there are ROSES. God bless Andy Tauer for his artistry. I was hesitant about purchasing this blindly as I felt I already have too many rose-centered perfumes and well, after a while, they get predictable. However, I'm glad my faith in Tauer was rewarded in this buy. I'm not sure if it's the ambergis but my immediate thought was a salty musky rose, a mixed with the familiar smell of almonds (as distinct as in Lutens Louve for me), the earthiness of vetivier and the balmy smoothness from the tonka beans. The rest of the listed notes don't sing as loudly as those above but provide a backing chorus line, making this a rose unlike any other I've come across. I'm thinking of getting a back up bottle stat( a first for me) since it's not guaranteed to always be available. Sillage is about an arm's length for me and I'll update on longevity as this is my first wear. Very pleased with my newest Tauer.

I’ve been trying out a sample for a few days and I have to say it is absolutely divine! I immediately ordered a full bottle.This is a very unique apricot rose scent.I’ve never smelled another rose like it and I have dozens of rose perfumes in my collection(including all of Tauer’s).The apricot absolute is very apparent on the first spritz.The bergamot adds some brightness but the inclusion of bitter almond is a stroke of genius.Combined with the apricot absolute it adds an oily and aromatic fattiness to the opening.Soon the rose notes make their entrance.The Bulgarian rose absolute is quite apparent and is melded seamlessly to the Rose de Kandahar which has a spicy fruity like nuance.The Bourbon Geranium adds a slight mentholated green note while the element of the oily fattiness persists.This is an absolutely gorgeous and unique rose fond.As the heart notes melt into the base the absolute of tobacco leaves appears and it is the finest quality blonde tobacco that I detect.Here I get a faint resemblance to Hermes Ambre Narguile with the spices and blonde tobacco but with the rose notes added(and without the stonking woody amber).The patchouli is there but never intrusive and the tonka,vetiver,musk,amber and vanilla finally appear with the ghost of the fruity rose persisting in the background.In the far drydown I detect a delicious fruity amber on my skin and just a whisper of the “Tauerade”.Une Rose de Kandahar has good sillage and great longevity(which is never a problem with the Tauers).All in all a spectacular fruity spicy rose with an interesting oily fattiness and a golden ambery drydown.A must try and an absolute must try for rose lovers.

Just got my sample of this and it's great. It's very deep and rich. It opens with Rose, which stays true right to the end (longevity is excellent, as usual with Tauers). The Almonds and Apricots make this very rich indeed, like a feast, and the ending is deliciously prickly and spicy with Patchouli and Ambergris.

It makes me think of an elegant middle eastern feast.

Andy Tauer is a genius!!! I just got a sample of this when I got my new bottle of L'Air de Desert from Scent-and-Sensibility Perfume. Great service by the way!!!
And I just LOVE this. It's so rich and warm it wraps you in sunshine and spices. I often find rose scents either too sweet,too watery or too green and wan but no-one does the deep, dark sensual fragrance of a rose like Andy. His roses are blood RED and seriously velvety. Excellent longevity and some very good sillage on this - my DH husband loves it too and I think it will wear well on him but I can't wait for Xmas - I will be ordering myself a FB asap.

All I can say is that I can't wait to try this one. He makes the most exquisite rose scents.

I'm immensely happy that mr Tauer doesn't follow the oud trend. Which, by the way, has to come to an end.