Eau de Rochas

I can understand why people who enjoy herbal, vintage-style fragrances might find Eau de Rochas appealing. Personally, I was expecting something closer to Versace Versense—fresh, crisp, and green, but without the powdery undertones. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment for me. I simply can’t wear this fragrance on its own. Out of curiosity, I experimented by layering it with Rochas Girl, which, in contrast, is surprisingly fruity and quite intense. The combination turned out to be fairly wearable, but it still wasn’t anything unique or memorable. Overall, Eau de Rochas just wasn’t my style. If you love classic herbal-citrus fragrances with a distinctly vintage character, you may appreciate it much more than I did.

The ultimate tease. A composition so fleeting that its extraordinary loveliness is gone in seconds. The nearest match that lasts more than a moment is the citrus queen O' de Lancome.

Gorgeous tarragon-chypre cologne, this is the French version of Kolnisch wasser. I absolutely love it. Yes, cooling on a hot day. But appropriate any time, really. For all but the most formal settings. Classic.

Yes, Eau de Rochas is a citric and herbal aromatic cologne, with a notable bitter oakmoss base. However, the most distinctive feature of Eau de Rochas is its odd savory accord, led by a strong dose of trans-anethole (like anise, but described here as basil), and also affected by coriander, patchouli, vetiver, etc. Such an accord is memorable, but also somewhat polarizing, as it can make the wearer smell too much like vegetable soup. For that reason, many don't find Eau de Rochas to be the most easily wearable summer cologne, but on quiet days in hot weather, when cologne might be reapplied several times, Eau de Rochas can add some stimulating variety, as it is rather different from the more common citrus and fresh aromatic scent profiles.

I have mixed feelings about this fragrance, which is why this is my third post about it. I don't know whether to call it underrated or undervalued; it is, indeed, legendary, or rather, iconic. I first tried it in 1996, a miniature in a gift box with the scrub and cream. It has the feel of vintage after-bath colognes, distinctly summery. It avoids being typical because of its bitter touch, its invigorating quality, and its natural refreshing effect. It's natural. Nothing like the redundant fragrances that are currently circulating. I only use it in the summer to this day, and I hope to always be able to find it. It's a gem, and not every country has vintage Rochas fragrances. Invigorating and energizing, refreshing, long-lasting, and persistent, the touch of bitterness sets it apart from typical citrus scents and makes it more invigorating and appealing. I tried the men's version, but it opens refreshingly aquatic and then transforms into an acidic and synthetic, adhesive scent. I completely disliked it. Eau de Rochas pour femme has royalty, naturalness and comfort.

Delightfully bitter citrus scent, a total refreshment for a sticky summer day. I really like it.

Bright, cheerful summer notes of lemon give the opening a very fresh character. Gradually, the fragrance softens into a skin scent with a sweet-floral nuance. Crystalline and sparkling, just like the flacon that holds it.

同じオーデ ロシャスでも箱が3種類ぐらいあるよね。 発売された時期によって違うんだろうけど どの箱のがオリジナルのオーデ ロシャスの匂いするんでしょうか？

I don't like leaving negative reviews but wow, I hate this. It smells like a citrus bathroom cleaner to me. I can't smell the basil, just a very harsh lemon note, like a handy freshener wipe... Then a white floral explosion and something earthy about it, probably the seamoss. I can see how this is a classic, but this is just not for me.

I will open by saying that I LOVE “Freshies” like 4711, Jean-Marie Farina and Eau Dynamisante among others. With Summer approaching I wanted to get my Freshy stocks in before demand increases. From reviews on here, a distant scent memory from my youth and the lure of unbeatable prices. I opted for Eau de Rochas. And I am so glad that I did. It is not just fresh, it is super elegant; steely, aquatic, abundantly herbal and a tang of grapefruit but, for me, not lemon. To spritz it on is to elevate your outfit to a new level of chic, understated style. I feel this is very suitable as a unisex fragrance, suitable for a woman or a man who will be instantly transformed into a LADY or a GENT. I do not however think this fragrance will appeal at all to a younger generation. I think there is a spirit of the ‘70s in this which could be lost on ones who did not experience the 1970s for themselves (and this is where I show my age, oh well). I purchased a 220 ml atomiser bottle of the eau de toilette along with a 500ml bottle each of the body lotion and the shower/bath gel. These are all absolute whoppers but I think they bring immense panache to my 70’s style bathroom as can be seen in my fragram. OK, there is a downside. As others have pointed out and I completely agree with them, the scent is ever so fleeting. Wears off in moments, I have to wonder if this is why you can by the perfume and the bath products in such jumbo sizes? Because you would need to really bathe in it to get any decent “go” at all. It still does not deter me. I intend soon to place another order for some more portable size pieces, namely the 50ml perfume and the tube of hand/body cream so that I can enfresh in the field as it were. A little note on the packaging/branding; I like it a lot. It’s very French in a way that is retro and timeless at once. The font is one of those extremely classy ones rather like Clarins and I hope they never change it. The style is distinctively European. The watery etchings on the bottle speak of the cooling scent within. The advertising and branding references classic old master French houses such as Patou in my opinion. I will close by saying that I cannot wait for warmer weather to come along so that I can really get going with this sophisticated scent and hopefully experience something of a “French Girl Summer”.

The dirty/mossy/earthy citric opening sadly throws me off and lasts for quite some time. I can see why it's such a classic though, it's just not for me!

Eau de Rochas has an aggressively lemony opening, almost like Pledge. It softens quickly to a “soapy” cooling scent, maybe more verbena-ish, and lightly, abstractly floral. And then there’s a “dark green foliage” effect, maybe oakmoss but it feels like being under a shady tree near the pool in summertime. This is an old-fashioned summery unisex citrus; a simple pleasure, bracing and brisk but still natural-feeling.

It starts off a lot like a male aftershave smelling of lemons a herbs but the drydown is softer and while still keeping fresh. Longevity is not great in fact it’s scarily fleeting. Nevertheless it’s elegant, sophisticated and unique, could possibly be considered a bit old fashioned but I’d rather call it a classic.

One spritz and I am transported back to the long hot 1970’s summers of my London childhood. My stylish Biba clad mother wore Balmain Vent Vert but my Aunt…her younger, naughtier sister would float in on a cloud of musky citrus. She worked at Selfridges scent dept and came bearing fistfuls of samples. Always making sure I got the Eau de Rochas as it was my favourite. It is simply perfection for me. The bottle, the opening song of sparkly citrus, the mysterious dry down to sharp earthy mystery. It smells like Mayfair and Marylebone, Park Lane and the Kings Road on a boiling and dusty Saturday afternoon. A London that has long since vanished. I can still evoke it with this very special fragrance.

Behind a world that loves to smell like sweet pastries, these perfume beauties once existed. How could I forget it? My mom’s perfume! She doesn’t buy it anymore because it doesn’t smell the same as it used to—how sad! I managed to get my hands on a vintage one, just as I remembered it. It smells so amazing, I can’t get enough! I can confidently say that moss forms a fundamental pillar of this perfume. You can sense the quality and the perfect craftsmanship that went into it. Just one sniff, and it’s obvious they used excellent materials. I was at the airport, and when I smelled the new version, I was so disappointed. NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ORIGINAL! Honestly, they share about 5% of the same DNA, believe me. If you can find a vintage one, you won’t change your opinion. This perfume transports you to the Mediterranean, as it was inspired by the sea—my beloved Mediterranean Sea. 🌊 Leave everything behind and let yourself be carried away to a sunny Mediterranean island, where the sea stretches out before your eyes, and you’re near the shore with a delightful ocean breeze washing over you. That fresh sea scent surrounds you. Behind you, there’s a beautiful forest filled with basil, citrus, and, above all, oak moss. The closer you get, the more you can smell the environment around you. Let me tell you, if you’re Mediterranean like me, this will take you back home. It smells like home. I currently live outside of my beloved country Spain, where there’s no coast, and it rains a lot. Every time I wear this perfume, I can’t help but i smile. It makes me feel at home and, most importantly, reminds me of my mom♥️ Forget, for a moment, about those perfumes that smell like cake. Let yourself get lost in this masterpiece of a perfume. What can I say? This perfume has no age—it’s about the maturity you have. Not suitable for little girls or boys. This is for grown men and women. Perfectly unisex.

The oakmoss gives it a very peculiar smell, but it is addicting. Sadly doesn't lasts, but it is an edt

I first smelled this back in the early 80s, on a lovely fellow student in my French class. She was dressed in a simple, elegant skirt and sweater and carried herself beautifully. Turns out she was the daughter of the secretary general of the UN. That was an early, unforgettable lesson in style for me.

Citrus, aromatics, slightly spicy, mossy. Kinda sharp, sour, and old-fashioned to my nose.

So beautiful and a true stealth fragrance. At first you may wonder what the commotion about this is. It seems modest and humble. But it grows on you. The beginning is a joyful tumble of candy like citrus featuring lemon verbena. This is overtaken by some very light florals on a bed of musky minerality. I’m not sure what combination of notes out of the many listed created this sense of minerality, but it’s incredible and it’s addictive. Like spring water flowing in a rush over clean rocks. That mist that comes off the waterfall is what you smell. And it’s so clean, different and refreshing. When you consider the price of this all I can say is run don’t walk to get a bottle.

This is an immense crystalline citrus verbena that rides a wave of crisp basil and lands in a reservoir of sheer white florals. One could store this mouthwatering juice in the fridge and spray it with abandon to help make 90 degree days more bearable. I find this unfolds far more beautifully than Eau de Rochas Homme, which is a bit too sharp and tart with very little in the middle

Someone said this fragnance is mythical. YES. It is. There is no fragnance like Rochas in its rang. My care for perfumery started also with this scent. It was one of my first. I bought it because I liked the bottle. Later finding out how this bottle is iconic. Later about that... Well, I was very young. Visiting weekend shopping with my parents in Italian Trieste. I wanted to buy myself something. So I definitely wanted some perfume and cowboy boots. I ended up with cowboy boots. Very nice ones. Cognac brown great quality leather, coat and Rochas fragnance. I knew that Rochas exist. From fashion magazine that I was buying regularly. That's all I knew. I knew nothing about parfumery. I still have that bottle. Around 2 cm of perfume is left in. It's old. Bought 26 years ago. After that first Rochas, which I had to learn to love, pardon, it takes time to learn pure form of parfumery existence. I learned so much with this scent. Particularly what good quality citrus fragnance is or should be. Few years after buying this scent I bought myself first sunglasses. Rochas. I still wear them. Ohh... I learned a story about this great perfume. It's not 1970 story in the search of success or prestige. Rochas is old fashion brand. Founded in 1925. Marcel Rochas is also the inventor of 2/3 length coats, skirts with pockets and padded shoulders. In the year 1948 the owner of Marcel give himself a mission to invent new Eau de Cologne. Eau de Roche was born. A legend that was discounted in 1956. Sadly. That perfume had the same bottle as this one. Because it is the same fragnance. And bottle represents rocks with water running over it. Freshness of water coming out of rocks. Helena Rochas ordered reformulation to Nicolas Mamounas. He literally keept the same perfume composition. She give his already gone husband Marcel a gift of memory in 1970. That's why she did it. Renaming it Eau de Rochas to honour his surname. Legend remained. Indeed this is historical and mystical scent. Mineral scents are exception in the parfumery and are rarely exploited olfactory path. This perfume is build on a blend of citrus and floral notes. Pioneer of the Eau fraîche family. Thé only one I like from that family. No other comes close to this mastery. This is real citrus classical beauty. Top notes: Lime, Basil, Bergamot, Lemon, Grapefruit, Mandarin orange and verveine accompanied by aldehydes. I love, adore citruses. I could inhale them endlessly. I also ADORE Basil. This opening is beyond fresh and great. It's eartly extraction of citrus trees. It contains that green notes. Dancing around... Middle notes: Coriander, Patchouli, Carnation, Narcisse, Jasmine, Wild rose Coriander is another of my loves. Seeds or plant. It's such a rich, complex scent itself. Imagine how it joins all over that fantastic melange of top notes. This is unique in the parfumery world. Patchouli and other flowers merge into symphony, friendly to each other, tied up by Carnation. You have 5 flowers in the Middle! None of them rules. Base notes RULE. Oakmoss, Vetiver, Musk, Sandalwood, Amber Just look at this base. EARTH tiding down flowers, while breeze of citruses float between them. That's what Rochas is. Parfumé of the Delphi priestesses. “This was the first Eau de Cologne specifically for women”. That's what Hélène Rochas said. She was right. It radiates femininity. "When Marcel Rochas met his future wife and muse, Hélène, on the Paris Métro, it was love at first sight. A passion that never left him and inspired a new language of the female body, beautified instead of dramatised. The Femme perfume would be one of his greatest declarations of love. For the launch of Femme (1943), Marcel Rochas organised an exhibition “Les Parfums à travers la Mode 1765-1945” (Perfumes in fashion) in his own salons as a tribute to the couturier Paul Poiret. The Moustache (1949) perfume for men and the first complete range of products for men also gave rise to a legendary party where the men wore moustaches and women wore mouches, fake beauty marks, and an exhibition “Portraits d’hommes du xvie siècle à nos jours” (Portaits of men from the 16th century to today). When Hélène Rochas took over the firm, she continued the tradition of putting on cultural events, organising the My Fair Lady Ball at the Grande Cascade du Bois de Boulogne (1965) and the Monte-Carlo Centenary Ball (1966) at the request of Prince Rainier III. Marcel Rochas trained her eye, shaped her tastes, and even dedicated a perfume, Femme, to her as a wedding gift. When Marcel Rochas died in 1955, Hélène Rochas became one of the first women to head a company in France. In just a few years the “executive woman” turned Rochas into a luxury perfume brand. And so came Madame Rochas in 1960 in its Baccarat crystal bottle, then Monsieur Rochas in 1969 followed by Eau de Rochas in 1970, destined to become a planetary success. "(rochas site) It's a story of love.

What a nice smell. Perfectly unisex. I cannot believe it was launched in 1970. It is so “intemporel”! Good projection and good longevity. Narcissus is very noticeable here. It is not as sharp and tart as the masculine version of it.

I like this, for what it is, but it lasted literally less than an hour until there was nothing left, not even a skin scent. Normally I try to give my impressions as it fades down, but in this case it was very short and linear: It smelled exactly like strong, tart lemonade. I don't get basil or lime or even lemon, just, like, Minute Maid lemonade. This must be a bizarre reaction to me because I see others talking about patchouli, and there are some florals listed and so on, but I get fleeting lemonade. (ETA: My spouse smells lemon cleaning products. Yikes! This definitely does not play well with my skin.)

Smells like a cup of lemon sorbet on a tropical getaway, plain and simple!

The memories it brings back from my first bottle in 1993 are so sweet. The top notes dissipate very quickly to a delicate powdery spicy vetiver. I smell licorice and patchoulli. It's versatile -- light enough for a teenager but not too young for a woman at any age. I can't really imagine men wearing this, though. Not sweet at all. Definitely savory. It gets a 10/10 for me if you're looking for a light, vintage, spicy scent.

Oh g-d this is green citrus patchouli perfection. I blind bought this on a whim and my g-d this is what “clean”, fresh and invigorating fragrances should smell like. I love love love this. I bought the EdT so it’s so faint and light when it dries (still delightful) - I will search for an EdP or if I get lucky, an extrait.

Nice, fresh casual scent, surely unisex. Nothing special though, a bit dated, just as the bottle. There are surely nicer freshies on the market. The mens version is far more superiour.

Beautiful timeless, but disappears minutes after spraying!

This is delicious. In gin and tonic kind of way, not pink coctail with umbrella kind of way. Something to wear for your adult self all year round. And there is still body care to go with. Summer winner. Love it!

This was my mother's signature fragrance for many, many years. Whenever I smell it, I immediately remember my childhood and maternal hugs. For me this scent is still 100% her. And you will wonder why she no longer uses it? Well, the reformulations that it has undergone over the years have practically destroyed it, because although the aroma is quite the same as the original, the longevity and sillage it has is much lower, there must be a drop in quality involved, since years ago it was a very expensive fragrance and today it could even be considered affordable compared to the global price hike in designer perfumery. My mother asked us not to gift it to her anymore, because she no longer perceives the fragrance as ot used to be. Apart from aplying it to her skin, she sprayed it on her clothes and accessories and all her possessions had this scent, the fragrance lasted for days, leaving the entire closet impregnated. Instead, she says that now after two or three hours she no longer perceives anything at all, not even putting it on her clothes. It makes me sad, because although I have no intention of using it, since it is a fragrance that I identify with her, I know that now I am not going to smell it when she is around and it is because of the poor performance that it currently has. A good alternative that is still cheaper and same type of scent is Zinnia, which I don't consider a clone, but its style is quite close.