A beautiful new release from the British luxury brand. There are some curious reviews of this which for me are way off the mark. When I smell this, my nostrils are filled with the deliciousness of spiced baked goods. It's not just plain ol' vanilla, thankfully. In fact, I'd suggest closer references to something like Sweetie Aoud, thanks to the carb-laden bran note and a subtle oud note in the base, however it's much more wearable and zhuzhy. At times, it feels quite tonka-forward although it's not listed. The perfumer, Celine, says the main ingredient here is cistus absolute, but to me it's imperceptible, although I'm sure it has a distinct effect on the scent generally. For me, the drydown is all yummy, custardy vanilla with thyme and bran which gives it a fairly savoury inflection. I can forgive those for thinking this is not so summery, but to me, it works beautifully on a warm sunny morning paired with a crisp white linen outfit. Really lovely and well worth trying!
Narcotic, green, herbal, creamy lavender. It's a very strange perfume, but I can't get enough. It has a salty, buttery aura which makes me think of St Bees in the Lake District in Northern England on a hot summer's day, kind of like sea air with lots of gorse, heather and a smidgen of some honeyed yellow blossom. Absolutely marvelous.
Soft powdery musky Ylang Ylang, not groundbreaking but my favorite from the musk collection.
Just ordered the sample set. Dovana was the first I tried from the set, my last fragrance I purchased was Osez-Moi! and they are so very similar. Both have these baby powder vibes and not much else to it, no sweetness or fresh notes, but I must admit, that Dovana is more balanced than Osez-Moi! It sits close to the skin, so it will not bother anyone. Must-try for powdery-fragrance fans, just not for me.
No. 46 is one of the rarest perfumes from Chanel, incredibly hard to find and hugely sought after - for very good reason. As the number indicates, this scent was released in 1946 following the end of the Second World War, and heralded the idea of liberty and change, a theme which was also seen in other releases around the same time - Couer Joie, Le Roy Soleil and L’Huere Attendue to name a few. Earlier this month I attended Roja Dove’s ‘Fragrance Through The Decades’ talk held by The Fragrance Foundation - in which he discussed the most important perfumes of the last century, whilst of course showing off his impressive collection of classical fragrances - including Chanel’s No. 46. Following the end of the talk, after everyone had left, Roja and I were talking about this particular perfume as I was keen to get an idea of how it smelled. He simply asked - “Do you want to try it?”. I of course was taken aback, and said I wouldn’t want him to waste such a precious treasure to which he responded, “It’s not a waste if you enjoy it” with a sly smile on his face - and placed a small dab on my wrist. Instantly I was stunned, struck by the powerful spell of this beautiful scent. To me it felt very much in the same vein as No. 5 - an intensely powdery, aldehydic floral with endless amounts of class and sophistication about it. The dominant sultry aroma of a thousand jasmine flowers resting on a buttery, powdery bed of ylang and rose is enchanting. The key differences I notice with this scent is in the base. The added inclusion of coumarin and vanilla, paired with an overdose of orris creates an intensely creamy warmth with just the right amount of sweetness. Additionally, this is nowhere near as aldehydic as No. 5 - it doesn’t embody the sheer, metallic modernism which No. 5 chased in the 1920s, and instead embodies the idea of a warm, rising sun over a newly free and peaceful world. I would love to own a bottle of this one day, I can only hope I suppose; but until then I will be dreaming of smelling it again as each day goes by.
Raspberry leather blah blah blah, next. So many perfumes like this, many of them also by JR.
Le Beau Le Parfum, much more expensive.
An inferior Le Sillage Blanc.
Yet another perfume that smells exactly like Oud Malaki, which is so much cheaper.
A little better every time I wear it. Quite punchy with the Jasmine and chamomile for a good while and really…one wrist spray on the skin is enough to last you all day. Trust me. This isn’t one I’d suggest spraying on your neck or chest until you’re well acquainted with it. I did however blend it into a 2 mil atomizer of vintage bowling green. maybe five drops or so. It’s really beautiful. On its own I can see how some folks say it has a bit of a Brut dry down, but It’s not powdery like Brut is. It’s loud and waxy and pretty straight forward and suitable for a man who isn’t afraid to smell of florals. This will get you more compliments than you’d expect. Out of my 10 different bottles of colognes, this one shot to the number two spot for my wife. Give it some time to mellow out a bit if you don’t like it at first. It’s not like anything you’ll find at the Macy’s counter for men. Update: months later it has gotten a little too urinal cakey to my nose and I can’t justify keeping a fragrance I don’t love for its whole life. I sold it to someone who really liked it. Update: four months later and I’m smelling my 10 ml decant. It’s turned super pissy in the worst way. I don’t know if the few drops of Bowling Green changed it, but nothing in BG is pissy at all. Either way, no thanks. Live and learn. Not into Jasmine.
I knew i would one day own a full bottle by a blind buy, because i live in a place access to samples for testing is not easy. Regardless, my judgements in fragrance purchases have never failed me. That day finally arrived, for goose bumps on unboxing to the first sniff all was amazing. This scent is really really good. My first wear ended up with as many compliments as other fragrances give me a week in a single day. That evening on a shopping mall, a lady 2 meters away asked me what i was wearing and asked for a name for her wishlist. What a masterpiece which gives something different out of 50+ collection. Easy 10/10 in scent, projection and longevity.
This is a bait and switch fragrance. The tiare/jasmine combo make only a brief appearance before the heliotrope takes over completely. Can't say I've picked up on any of the other notes. If you like powdery/almondy fragrances, then this may be for you, but I personally despise heliotrope. I agree with others that this has surprising longevity for a purported cologne.
RDHP20 (ROJA DOVE HAUTE PERFUMERIE 20) Roja Dove 2024 I have been wearing this now for many days, in different kind weathers waiting if I get some challenging facets out of it. I have to say that this is quite safe perfume - if you already love Roja’s creations. It doesn’t mean that it’s boring or simple, no way, but it’s easy to love for sure. Since there are many people waiting some opinions on RDHP20 I want to keep this review simple. I concentrate on the questions which I have got the most and on the other hand I want to compare it with some scents so you maybe get the idea of the scent easier. COMPARING DOESN’T MEAN THEY ARE SAME. What comes to the scent of RDHP20 there is nothing same with RDHP15 which is a surprise for some if only checking all those notes. They share so many but believe me, you don’t get a sister of 15. Rather this is like an older brother, the male version of this pair of Chypres, it’s like the opposite as is the colouring of the labels. Still RDHP20 is very unisex, and on my skin it stays a bit softer and lighter than on my husband’s skin, where the base is much deeper and darker with clearly musky and enjoyable Oudy undertones - but on my skin it never screams masculinity and it’s a bit sweeter. The opening is sparkling with aldehydes, and citruses are detectable longer than in 15. There is somewhat familiar cola vibe in the opening as well which not only reminds me of Enigma Pour Homme but also of PDLN3. Yet, this seems to appear more clearly on my skin and not so much on male skin. However, it disappears as the scent develops. This is ambery and mossy, all the flowers are not like a huge bouquet in 15, they stay totally in the background. Violet and Peach which both has a major role in 15 is tuned down here as well and I don’t find any traditionally feminine characteristics. This is Chypre but not even close to Diaghilev neither to Chypre Extraordinaire. I have them both and I love them as well a lot but this is very different. If you want to get the idea of the scent from the notes, you should just think of the base. It represents this gorgeous scent. Fresh and spicy, even smoky feeling from Frankincense, deep woods dipped in Peru Balsam, and Vanilla together with Benzoin bringing a little bit of sweetness and a lot of warmth. Oud, Musk and mosses are finishing the whole blend making it an incredible classy, somewhat nostalgic (not dated) and utterly luxurious elixir. RDHP20 works well in hot weather as well but for some people it can be too much. I love these kind of scents in warm weather when I can detect even the smallest details of it. This is absolutely office safe when spraying sparingly but since I only have a sample I don’t have a possibility to test this in all possible environments, temperatures and moods. As I have tried to get as many wearings as possible from this precious sample I don’t have experience of overspraying which I love so much btw. Longevity is good even without overspraying. Full bottle worthy into my collection of 24 Rojas. Absolutely gorgeous scent. Top: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Lemon, Lime (RDHP15: Aldehydes, Lemon, Bergamot, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Orange) Heart : Geranium, Clary Sage, Magnolia, Freesia, Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Violet, Peach (RDHP15: Lily of the Valley, Geranium, Jasmine, Cistus, Heliotrope, Violet, Peach, Red Champaca) Base: Rhubarb, Clove, Mosses, Cèdre-sur-Orris, Sandalwood, Clear Woods, Amber, Vanilla, Benzoin, Tonka Bean, Labdanum, Patchouli, Peru Balsam, Cypriol, Frankincense, Aoud Wood, Musks. (RDHP15: Coriander, Ginger, Pepper, Moss Notes, Patchouli, Vetiver, Casmir Wood, Amyris, Sandalwood, Benzoin, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Peru Balsam, Orris, Frankincense, Labdanum, Ambrarome Absolute, Civet, Musk) The house mentions key notes: Aldehydes, Lemon, Lime, Rose, Jasmine, Violet, Clear Woods, Amber and Vanilla. Imo Clove, mosses, Benzoin, Peru Balsam, Frankincense and Musks are definitely key notes as well. Without them this would be a way too linear. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
On a stifling summer day, I grabbed this on my way to work. It's a delicate, incensey, green rose, perfect for when the weather makes most perfumes seem oppressive to me. It has enough complexity to make it interesting and it smells pretty unique. The closest thing that springs to mind is Dioriviera, which is a monstrously strong version of this with lots of fig. I think this perfume may contain stemone, which is what might be reminding me of the Dior.
If you're from the UK, this smells exactly like the taste of Fruit Salad chew sweets. Such a lovely, fizzy, sherbert burst of joy, but not a perfume scent. I can't imagine who would/could wear this.
Very indolic florals over a sweet musky base. It's lovely but fleeting, and as is the trend with perfumes that have 'oud' in the name, it's not remotely oud, even with my most generous, delusional imagination applied.
It's nice but it's slmost identical to Avignon, and smelling them side by side Avignon is infinitely better, there's something lacking in this one.
Horrible cloying, saccharine cardamom and sandalwood note, verging on milky fig. It's pretty stomach churning and I can't wait to scrub it off.
The worst of the incense series. This one is nauseating to me. There's some aquatic calone-like note bumming me out.
We really didn't need any more synthetic oud / saffron (and/or lavander) combos, and if we must receive them, please can they be more interesting than this. Snooze-fest with negligible difference to the original, if any. Incidentally, if you do crave an oud lavender combo that really stands out and doesn't smell at all synthetic, try Oud Extravagant by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier or Amber Oud by Nicolaï.
If you want to smell nice just like every other guy at the mall. Pretty, fresh, and citrusy. Uninspiring to me, but not bad at all, and people like it. It’s perfectly alright, but do you want to smell like 100 other guys and every girl’s ex-boyfriend? This is like the Chris Evans of perfumery. If your aunt or mom goes to the counter at Macy’s and wants to play it safe, she’ll get you this.
Maybe the most versatile fragrance I own. Loved it the first time I smelled it. Had an earthy natural quality as well as a clean soapy yet peppery scent I was drawn to. I get a very slight incense vibe in there as well. Beautiful bottle too. Great pickup for those who aren’t too snobby to wear a bath and body works cologne. This lasts a long time on my collar. My wife really likes this one on me. I swear it out-performs some of my EDT’s and EDP’s. Next time you’re at the mall check it out! Get it as a gift, and skip the tired lazy Sauvage, Bleu De Chanel, Invictus, Burberry Hero EDP, JPG Le Beau, One Million, blah blah blahs they push onto aunts and mothers shopping for their sons. This scent deserves more rotation in the world. TIP: If you have this and Encre Noire, try layering the two. Really great pairing.
Nauseatingly strong calone or some other such aroma-chemical. It is like Reflection, but like a horrible knock-off version, or a batch that went wrong or something. Nothing about this scent puts me in mind of mountain air, it's much more cheap, aggressive 90s aquatic-scented soap. I'm saying all of this having only sprayed it on a card strip, so if I can ever bring myself to put it on my skin, I might have a different opinion, but I highly doubt it. So far so ghastly.
Awesome, sophisticated, complex musk. It's the only one I've smelled from this line and I'm blown away, as the usual Mugler more-is-more hallmark is nowhere to be found. This is classy as hell, I'm not surprised to see thr Polge name attached to it. It's warm, fluffy, cloudy, pillow-soft and sweet, but in an ethereal way rather than being sickly or suffocating. The animalic musk (if it can be called that) is akin to Musc Ravageur but very toned down, and is complemented by ever so slightly nutty, fruity complexity. It's a love!
