I have a kind of love-hate relationship with the house of Roja Dove. I am a fan of Roja's marketing and the special focus on elegance and quality. I also enjoy many of his compositions.
However, I have two small issues with the Aoud perfumes from the house: First, they are clearly "overengineered" for me, with a few too many components. In brevity lies the spice, and I like to know what I am smelling. I do not like constructs that are hardly comprehensible in their complexity. Additionally, I really appreciate perfumes that are intense, preferably with edges and facets. In short: a clear (preferably innovative) concept and room-filling sillage.
Roja's Aoud compositions correspond to this only semi-well. The scents are unparalleled in complexity - and they are supposed to be! This makes it difficult for me to discern the ingredients. I undoubtedly recognize a blackcurrant, a hint of apple, and some oud. In the entrance, there’s even a bit of lime. But: all of this together feels like it makes up not even 40% of the character of the fragrance. A multitude of other notes comes into play that I cannot distinctly unravel. Yet I want to, because I feel that these notes are clearly co-responsible for the DNA of the scent. For me, this is where the difference lies compared to fragrances like XerJoff's Alexandria II. They are also more complex than just oud-rose-lavender. But the scent is defined by these three ingredients. And that is the difference to Roja's oud creations, which are not solely determined by the components that are just barely detectable; much remains diffuse. Diffuse not in effect, but already in cause. And I find that a pity. Almost equally disappointing is that Roja's Aoud creations are so soft and rounded. This is undoubtedly also what Roja intended. But it does not fit for me with the animalistic-mysterious character of real oud, which I so enjoy.
Additionally, I have a problem with the longevity and sillage of Roja's oud creations. I do not know why and I am aware of the many contrary experiences. But I have to almost drown my forearm in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to still perceive anything after 10 minutes. I do not only have this problem with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but also with less complex Aoud scents like Amber Aoud. In contrast, for the same effect, I need just a spritz, or even less, of Creed's Royal Oud or MFK's Baccarat Rouge Extrait. I cannot figure it out, but it bothers me. Interestingly, I do not have this problem with the scents from Roja's Parfum Cologne series. There, the longevity and sillage are just to my taste - contrary to the many local reviews.
Conclusion: For the reasons mentioned above, I unfortunately cannot warm up to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is a beautifully rounded fragrance that loses its charm for me in its over-complexity. But it is exactly what Roja Dove wanted to deliver. So do not hesitate to try it if you are intrigued by what bothers me. :) Cheers!
Friedariecht 5 years ago