Sweetie Aoud Roja Parfums 2015

Sweet, sweeter, sweetie aoud, that's what I always think of when I smell this fragrance.

But let's start from the beginning, with the impressive design of the bottle. For visual reasons alone, it is worth having this fragrance in your collection - only a few manufacturers come close to Roja in this respect. But what impresses me the most about this bottle is the spray head, which enables perfect dosage with a fine spray mist, something that some manufacturers in this price range could learn from.

But now let's get to the fragrance itself. Sweetie Aoud starts off very sweet and gourmand, but there is also a slight fresh, citrusy note that counteracts the extreme sweetness. This ensures that the sweetness is not overwhelming despite its extreme presence. After a short time, you can also smell a clear woody, woody note, which does not take over the main role at any time, but gives the fragrance a certain depth. The floral notes that envelop the fragrance ensure that it is not too "musty" despite the use of oud. If you smell carefully, you can also detect incense, which, as an "incense hater", I perceive as positive in a fragrance for the first time.

But how would I describe the fragrance? For me, this fragrance is baklava in a bottle. This is partly due to the extreme sweetness. But also due to the floral notes (May rose, cistus) of this Roja perfume, which are known from the use of rose water in pastries. But this is not the only thing that evokes associations with baklava for me, no, I also smell the confectionery store in the whole fragrance, in which the masculine woody oud perfume of the seller pleasantly sneaks in among the oriental delicacies and thus ensures a mental journey to distant lands.

The performance of this fragrance is also bombastic, one spray is enough to achieve a very good silage. This one spray is also easily enough for the whole day. I would even go so far as to make a few recommendations. Never apply the fragrance to clothes if you don't want it to be noticeable even after several washes, trust me I speak from experience ;). I would also be careful when using this fragrance in the office, as it can fill a room with just one spray. I see this perfume during a long winter walk in the snow or a cozy evening by the fireplace.

Now we come to the point that may be off-putting for many, the price. There will probably have been one or two frowns when someone has seen my rating for the price-performance point, namely an 8.0 for a fragrance that costs €550 for 50 ml. Without ifs and buts, this is an insanely high price for a perfume, but if you consider that only one spray is enough, the world looks completely different in my eyes.

However, I have to answer the question of whether I can recommend this fragrance without reservation as a blind purchase in the negative. As this is not a fragrance that is particularly appealing or appeals to the masses. So I can well imagine that this fragrance is too sweet for some people or could even cause headaches.

For me, this perfume is an all-round balanced masterpiece that I have never experienced before. For this reason, Sweetie Auoud will be my winter fragrance for 2023, for those special days.