Aoud Roja Parfums 2011
2
The one that started it all
After reviewing Amber Aoud and Musk Aoud, here's my final review of the trio from Rojas Aoud collection. This time, it's about the one that started it all in 2011: Aoud. I have to say that Aoud is the only one of the trio of which I haven't tested the crystal version as well.
Aoud can be considered a classical Rose-Oud-Saffron combination with the other notes from the breakdown supporting the blend but never becoming dominant. Aoud is a very authentic middle eastern smelling fragrance which not taken for granted at all considering it's released by a European brand. I've travelled a few times to the Middle East and can confirm that you are getting the real middle eastern smell with this fragrance. That means that the fragrance takes no compromises to appeal to costumers from the Western world. Either you like it or you don't. Aoud has some minor animalic facets. It's a smoothly blended mixture of opulent rose, dark and slightly smoky woods and spices. The opening is quite strong but after 1-2 hours, the dry down is more appealing to most people. Actually, the dry down is similar to the ones of Amber Aoud and Musk Aoud.
Nowadays, Rose-Oud combinations are offered by many brands, so what makes Aoud stand out from the rest and worth 720€/100ml? Aoud was released in 2011 so it can be considered one of the first Rose-Oud fragrances on the western market. In addition, as I said it's very authentic. The packaging and presentation is very luxurious and Roja has high standards when it comes to quality of ingredients. But if that's enough to justify the price tag anyone has to decide for themselves.
Considering performance, I had slightly higher expectations. Same as Amber Aoud and Musk Aoud, the fragrance last on my skin for about 8 hours with about 3 hours detectable sillage from my side. That's not bad but also not great either for this type of scent and also considering the price tag. However there are a few things I have to mention: I only tested the fragrance in colder climates. It would be interesting to see how it performs in the Middle East. Also, it's the only one from the collection that I currently don't own a full bottle. Spraying from a sample might be considerably less juice than spraying from the bottle. I can also not rule out that I'm just going to become olfactory fatigue after 3 hours because especially in the first hour Aoud is the strongest projecting of the trio to my nose.
Let me finish the review with possible occasions where the fragrance is most suitable. The fragrance is of such high quality that I wouldn't waste it on anything except special occasions like birthdays, family gatherings or high class/black tie events, simply situations where it really matters. Of course, depending on your finances, this fragrance would be a great signature scent as well but a pretty costly one. When it comes to Oud our western conception is often that it's only going to work in colder climates. I happen to find the opposite. In the Middle East temperatures rarely go below 15°C through the year and in summer it's about 45°C. They still wear their oud scents so why we in the west shouldn't as well?
Aoud can be considered a classical Rose-Oud-Saffron combination with the other notes from the breakdown supporting the blend but never becoming dominant. Aoud is a very authentic middle eastern smelling fragrance which not taken for granted at all considering it's released by a European brand. I've travelled a few times to the Middle East and can confirm that you are getting the real middle eastern smell with this fragrance. That means that the fragrance takes no compromises to appeal to costumers from the Western world. Either you like it or you don't. Aoud has some minor animalic facets. It's a smoothly blended mixture of opulent rose, dark and slightly smoky woods and spices. The opening is quite strong but after 1-2 hours, the dry down is more appealing to most people. Actually, the dry down is similar to the ones of Amber Aoud and Musk Aoud.
Nowadays, Rose-Oud combinations are offered by many brands, so what makes Aoud stand out from the rest and worth 720€/100ml? Aoud was released in 2011 so it can be considered one of the first Rose-Oud fragrances on the western market. In addition, as I said it's very authentic. The packaging and presentation is very luxurious and Roja has high standards when it comes to quality of ingredients. But if that's enough to justify the price tag anyone has to decide for themselves.
Considering performance, I had slightly higher expectations. Same as Amber Aoud and Musk Aoud, the fragrance last on my skin for about 8 hours with about 3 hours detectable sillage from my side. That's not bad but also not great either for this type of scent and also considering the price tag. However there are a few things I have to mention: I only tested the fragrance in colder climates. It would be interesting to see how it performs in the Middle East. Also, it's the only one from the collection that I currently don't own a full bottle. Spraying from a sample might be considerably less juice than spraying from the bottle. I can also not rule out that I'm just going to become olfactory fatigue after 3 hours because especially in the first hour Aoud is the strongest projecting of the trio to my nose.
Let me finish the review with possible occasions where the fragrance is most suitable. The fragrance is of such high quality that I wouldn't waste it on anything except special occasions like birthdays, family gatherings or high class/black tie events, simply situations where it really matters. Of course, depending on your finances, this fragrance would be a great signature scent as well but a pretty costly one. When it comes to Oud our western conception is often that it's only going to work in colder climates. I happen to find the opposite. In the Middle East temperatures rarely go below 15°C through the year and in summer it's about 45°C. They still wear their oud scents so why we in the west shouldn't as well?
TRehf
