Elysium pour Homme Roja Parfums 2017 Parfum

After the Cologne (see previous review) was so disappointing, I hoped for an improvement with the perfume. Well, to get straight to the point: It really hasn't succeeded here due to personal preferences, which I will mention later, or in terms of longevity & sillage.

A beautiful delight of fresh citrus fruits opens this fragrance once again, predominantly grapefruit. Lavender also supports with a crisp freshness.
Compared to the Cologne, it is less herbal Cool Water aquatic, less blackcurrant & spicier - pink pepper, green apple & vetiver are more present. Thus, it is even more bitter -> peppery, sour & green-grassy. Unfortunately.
I also get that slightly ozonic/aquatic chlorine note (including Calone) with a swimming pool vibe that I can't get out of my nose, even if it's less present/shorter! I don't like aquatic scents anyway, no matter how little.
Of the listed flowers, the beautiful lily of the valley stands out on me, jasmine is secondary without gum vibes or indolic notes. Dove knows how to handle flowers.
It is followed by sour green apple, supported by sweet & green grassy vetiver, giving the whole thing a green, sour-sweet touch, which was already present through the bitter Cool Water herbs, which does not suit my taste at all.
If it were less herbal, sour-green, chlorine-like-aquatic & performed better, it could have become quite a decent fragrance in the fresh-fruity genre, because the lily of the valley in combination with grapefruit & lavender is nice. Nevertheless, due to the more present apple & vetiver here, I prefer the Cologne, as it seems less bitter-sour-green, despite the stronger chlorine in the Cologne!
For me, it's the lesser evil, as I can't stand apple & vetiver with their green-sour & grassy character. I congratulate those who cannot perceive all these things.
The musk here is clean/white, balanced, and minimally creamy-powdery.
The woods are also present, and well, they provide a woody undertone as usual. Here less artificial, the cedarwood can be identified a bit better in the later development with a pencil-like character.
Together with amber & vetiver, they create a shower gel base that is not bothersome. Overall, it feels well-groomed, blue, aquatic, slightly soapy, fresh laundry & shower.
Another difference, which only becomes apparent later, is the balsamic resins consisting of benzoin & labdanum, which give a cozy-greasy or resinous-balsamic feeling, and appear even creamier due to the musk-amber combo. In this respect: It is indeed a bit deeper & more interesting than the Cologne in the base. But also only minimally perceptible.

An hour has passed, and the sour apple & chlorine smell has fortunately calmed down. But unfortunately, so has the entire fragrance!

Thus, we also come to the poor longevity & sillage: Here too, I really have to make an effort or get very close to the sprayed area to smell it, which does not happen with other fresh fragrances from my collection like Imagination, "The Monarch | The Dua Brand / Dua Fragrances" or Dior Homme Sport (2021), as these are significantly more present & longer-lasting in the air with the same dosage, so it’s not really my skin. After just a few minutes, only close to the skin for 4 hours & then only the remnants of the base left, just like with the Cologne. I don't like to spray on clothing. Overall, once again a short-lived, quiet perfume that doesn't harm a fly, but also isn't perceived by any fly, just like all fresh Rojas.

One might think: That makes it all the more pleasant/less synthetic, or as some would say "understated"!
No. Just because Roja doesn't have synthetic fragrance materials like ambroxan, calone, or iso-e-super clearly listed in the fragrance pyramid, it doesn't mean that they aren't used, let alone that a natural scent profile is created: See the synthetic monster "Oceania | Roja Parfums" or a chlorine-filled swimming pool like "Elysium Parfum Cologne (Eau de Parfum) | Roja Parfums". Synthetics are unavoidable; it rather depends on how well they are integrated, and in some fresh Rojas, they are simply unpleasant. Roja is not in the slightest a natural perfume!

Well then: Is the premium worth it? For me, the Cologne is already overpriced, so clearly no. Elysium has not been reinvented or anything like that. Most Rojas differ between versions in DNA & longevity only minimally.
So neither the (for me) unpleasant swimming pool apple DNA & poor longevity, nor the price of €9/ml for a trivial fresh scent that references well-known works from the mainstream (Cool Water, Aventus & numerous blue designers) and leaves me cold, appeal to me.
In this respect, just overpriced & mass-appeal average, once again.

I would like to add one more thing: If you want a real grapefruit-vetiver that is free from apples in the swimming pool, I can only recommend "Zara Emotions N°01 - Vetiver Pamplemousse (Eau de Parfum) | Zara". Although it also has poor longevity, it is much more natural & cheaper.

I hope that with the new release Elysium Eau Intense a worthwhile flanker will finally come out! I am looking forward to the test! The bottles look nice on the shelves...