Roja Haute Luxe has become one of the most famous niche fragrances on the market, despite most people having never smelled it before. Its obscene price and eccentric bottle design has captured people’s attention and thirst for luxury since day one. Whilst the price is ridiculous, I think a lot of people dismiss this fragrance simply because of that. Roja Dove wore Guerlain’s Mitsouko as his signature scent for just shy of 30 years, before it was reformulated and he fell out of love with it - he suddenly had to think, ‘how do I want to smell?’ There’s definitely elements of Mitsouko here, it’s composed as a classical French Chypre with a soft citrus opening, powdery floral heart and an intensely mossy, slightly leathery base. The oakmoss and the florals evoke a feeling of baroque vintage perfumery, it’s unapologetically old fashioned and I love it for that. Again, similar to Mitsouko, Roja includes some prominent warm spices of cinnamon and clove to add some much needed sensuality to the scent. Benzoin is also used in large amounts, giving you that warm ambery feel, but also a thick, sharp resinous facet which contrasts the smooth powderiness beautifully. This scent is stunning, when I wear it I feel like royalty - but you’re paying for status. The gold flakes, sharing a signature scent with Roja Dove, the price tag reflects privilege and not necessarily the scent itself. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this scent - I think it’s magical on the skin, but I just can’t justify spending £2,500 on a single bottle, it’s only perfume at the end of the day. Especially when I would consider Great Britain and A Goodnight Kiss to be far better creations, which are also a fraction of the price.

Christian Povenzano has made his claim to fame with many fantastic creations in the industry, but Halfeti may be his most famous and instantly recognisable piece of work. This is Penhaligon’s crowning glory, their best selling scent by far and the fragrance which really blew them up - and for good reason. It’s a gorgeously dry yet smooth woody base of cedar, leather and amber, contrasted by a slightly green aromatic note of cypress. Alongside this, a touch of smooth, warming spiciness from saffron and cardamom gives it that allure. It’s absolutely fantastic, genius even - it’s simply a scent you cannot dislike. You’ve likely smelled it everywhere, not only due to its popularity but also because this is the scent Penhaligon’s pump out into the street from their shops to draw you in. The Halfeti scent profile can also be subtle detected in a number of their other creations such as Mr Sam. It’s simply a scent profile which sells brilliantly.

Gold Knight is a honeyed delight for those that treasure perfumes which are brutishly sweet yet unique at the same time. This is definitely a scent which may not be for everyone, but for sure will have you standing out from the crowd. Even now I’m not 100% sure I love it, but it keeps pulling me back in to explore it further. The most dominating note here is the aniseed - which is intensely dry and earthy, with its sharp and bitter facets highlighted beautifully by bergamot and patchouli. Sweet, sticky honey and creamy vanilla aim to balance this very well, but are unable to hide the liquorice-like accord of the aniseed. Because of this unusual note, I can imagine many people disliking this one. As I said I’m not sure if I love it, as I’m not sure if I would want to smell like aniseed all day. Despite that though, it’s a fantastic creation and something that I’ve really not smelled before.

Pure Oud has to be one of my favourite fragrances from Kilian, although the name is a bit misleading. It obviously doesn’t contain real oud, but if you were expecting that from Kilian then that’s on you for the most part. If you can accept that fact, it smells brilliant. A dry, earthy oud accord is used here, furthered by the dry papery-ness of guaiac wood. To contrast, you’ve got some rugged balsams and a powerful blast of sweet saffron and cypriol which is intensely dark, rich and oily with subtle apple-y nuances. It does come off rather sharp and medicinal, but it smells absolutely fantastic. This definitely isn’t a scent which anyone could enjoy, it’s clearly made for a very specific sort of taste. That oud/cypriol combination is very polarising, but nonetheless is a combination I absolutely love. I would buy this if it wasn’t for the obscene price tag.

Intoxicated isn’t as intoxicating as I had hoped. Don’t get me wrong it’s a nice scent, pleasant and enjoyable but considering the price I can’t help feeling as though it’s rather bland and basic unfortunately. It’s a sort of sweet, spicy smoothness which develops into nothing really. The overdose of cardamom is front and centre. It’s smooth, yet very dry and a touch smoky with subtle green facets. The note of coffee elevates the dry bitterness, with warm spices and sweet vanilla to counter. Looking at the note breakdown there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, but on skin it doesn’t seem to come alive as much as I had hoped. It’s one of those fragrances I will likely find pleasant to wear my sample of, but wouldn’t buy myself a bottle. Considering the high price tag of Kilian fragrances, I was hoping for something far more interesting and ‘intoxicating’.

Bois d’Ascese is a scent constructed in typical Naomi Goodsir fashion, meaning it STINKS - but not in a bad way. This scent is profoundly powerful, it can fill rooms with ease and definitely won’t be for everyone; there is no mass appeal here. A brutally strong note of sticky, sappy labdanum coupled with an absurd amount of incense gives you this intensely smoky and dense aroma, if I’m being completely honest it almost smells like a burnt out barbecue. Pair this with spicy cinnamon, dry leafy tobacco and burning whisky and you’re left with more confidence than you can deal with. If you wear this you will smell like your clothes are burning all day, so take that as you will. As is often the case with this house, this fragrance is exceptionally well made and smells of fantastic quality, but it’s just not something I would wear. I don’t want to smell like I’m burning.

Cuir Velours is a scent I’ve heard a lot about, it seems to be one of the most popular from Naomi Goodsir. Is it nice? Yes it smells great, but I can’t say I’m wowed if I’m being honest. It’s a pleasantly smooth suede scent, so smooth it almost smells buttery and creamy - which is great. There’s a gentle note of immortelle hanging about in the background, which is what adds a significant dryness to the scent - almost dusty and papery. A smoky tobacco takes this further, whilst labdanum strengthens the leathery feel. Overall it smells great, but I feel like it’s lacking something. It’s so smooth, soft and inoffensive that I find myself getting bored. This is unlike a lot of other Naomi Goodsirs I’ve tried which seem to have a running theme of something stinky and strange. It’s pleasant, but doesn’t excite me.

Mossy Bridges is the recreation of the long discontinued Moss Breches by Tom Ford, a fragrance I’ve unfortunately not had the chance to smell and so I cannot make a comparison to how close this is. What I can say, is that this smells absolutely fantastic. Herbal heaven I would describe this as. It’s so much sharper than I was expecting, like a razor. The intense fresh herbaceous zing of rosemary, sage and tarragon is fantastically green and masculine, tempered by the rich woodiness of cedar and earthy patchouli. The beeswax isn’t as prominent as I thought it might be, offering just a subtle touch of sweetness which is barely noticeable. If you want to smell like herbs, this is the scent for you - which some may take as a positive or a negative. I see it as a positive, for this is like nothing else I’ve tried before. I’m not sure it’s a true love for me, but it’s seriously impressive perfumery and truly unique.

King Blue has been described as one of the stinkiest and most animalic ouds on the mass market, but I’m not sure I agree. It’s definitely got a pungent brutality about it, the likes of which is unusually bold for what is becoming a very mainstream house - I think it’s great. It’s refreshing in a market full of boring rose-ouds which all smell the same. The note of oud here, which I’m assuming is just an accord, smells amazing. It’s dry, earthy and smoky all in one, perpetuating darkness with added notes of leather and patchouli. Frankincense is what gives it that dry, smoky, almost scratchy quality which is tempered beautifully by the subtle juiciness of blackcurrant and mandarin. Whilst I think it’s great, I don’t absolutely love it, meaning it’s unlikely I’ll be getting myself a bottle. I enjoy the scent but it doesn’t feel like me, it doesn’t match up with my usual style. But in the world of fruity oud fragrances this is a stand out release.