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Top Review
Roja's Entry into the Market Created by Creed's Aventus
Before I turn to the actual scent, I must share some thoughts on Roja Parfums as a brand and the gentleman who represents this brand in a sort of personal union.
I have a somewhat ambivalent relationship with Roja Dove (alias Roger Bird). On one hand, I am almost always convinced by the quality of his fragrances despite the horrendous prices. On the other hand, every perfume nerd knows that at least some of the creations are heavily inspired by well-known classics, ultimately representing a sort of high-end version of these classics. For instance, "Fetish" strongly resembles Hermès Bel Ami, "Oligarch" (recently taken off the market at least under this name, for understandable reasons) is reminiscent of Terre de Hermès, Danger pH evokes Guerlain's Heritage, and the current "Apex" could be said to have a certain kinship with a certain Dior Sauvage Elixir. And this list is not to be considered exhaustive. Don’t get me wrong, the aforementioned are by no means clones of these fragrances. But one does get the impression that the older ones mentioned served as a certain source of inspiration. On the other hand, Roja Parfums has some fragrances in its portfolio that I believe are completely independent and thus new, such as the scents from the Parfum de la Nuit series, or Enigma pH with its combination of cola, cognac, and vanilla. The latter is truly amazing; I find it incredibly good, at least in the perfume version.
What also irritates me about Roja Parfums is the fact that Roja Dove is now said by many sources online to not actually be the perfumer of his fragrances (I am deliberately using the subjunctive here). Rather, "hidden" perfumers from companies like Robertet are said to be behind the creations, who simply are not named. And Roja presents himself as the perfumer. The fact is, as far as I am informed, Roja Dove has not received a classical perfumer training. Instead, he worked in marketing during his time at Guerlain (which he really excels at). Of course, one does not need a classical perfumer training to be a good perfumer (see, for example, Andy Tauer). On the other hand, Gabe Oppenheim also makes certain hints in his well-researched book "The Ghost Perfumer" that similar circumstances existed at Roja Parfums as at Creed. For those who do not know - behind most, if not all, Creed creations, it is NOT as often claimed Olivier Creed (or his son Erwin). Oppenheim has researched that behind "Green Irish Tweed" and "Silver Mountain Water" is Pierre Bourdain, behind "Aventus" is Jean Christophe Herault, and behind "Royal Oud" is Julien Rasquinet. And I would bet a broom that behind "Original Vetiver" is not Alberto Morillas, who is also responsible for the very similar "Mugler Cologne."
Be that as it may, I will never find out through my own research, and in the end, it does not matter to me personally or for the quality of the products. So the question of whether Roja Dove was really the perfumer, or just the creative director, or whether he only wrote the "brief." Nevertheless, I would fundamentally welcome it if in the perfume industry those people who deserve the "credits" actually received them. Here, I clearly advocate for 100% transparency!
Elysium in the Parfum Cologne version occupies a special position in the Roja product portfolio for me. It was the first Roja fragrance launched in a 100 ml format without a bottle with a gold plaque. The perfume version came later. Not coincidentally, the bottle is in blue. It is a fresh scent that can be worn at any time of year, at any time of day or night, and for any occasion (from the office to the cinema to dinner for two to wedding celebrations). So it is a perfect all-rounder, although I believe the scent truly shines at warmer temperatures.
Perhaps Roja Dove saw the success of Aventus, probably the first "big seller" in the niche perfume sector. The pricing for a 100 ml amount also resembles that of Creed's megaseller. Perhaps that is why Aventus is often compared to Elysium (pC). Personally, I cannot understand this comparison. Simply for the reason that Aventus is a chypre in terms of its structure, while Elysium is a fougère. I do not smell pineapple in Elysium, nor oakmoss or vanilla in the drydown.
Elysium is for me a perfect melange of bright citrus fruits, which experience a certain dryness and slight bitterness from the vetiver. The fruits are thus not sweet and juicy, but rather fruity and herbaceous. None of the fruits comes across as dominant; everything is wonderfully intertwined. And in this form, I believe no other fragrance achieves this. Elysium never becomes annoying throughout its entire duration, but rather delights the wearer with its unobtrusive fresh herbaceousness. And all this without reminding one of shower gel! Which is not necessarily a given in this price segment these days (reference to "Percival" by PdM).
Perhaps with a lot of imagination, one could say Elysium has a certain kinship to Bleu de Chanel. However, when testing both fragrances directly side by side, one would tend to deny this. Nevertheless, Roja with Elysium has certainly jumped on the bandwagon of "blue fragrances." With the peculiarity that he (or whoever composed the scent, see above) has once again managed to create the "best in its class." For me, Elysium is the best "blue" fragrance. Period.
And now a word about longevity. This topic seems to be becoming increasingly important among perfume enthusiasts. First, it should be mentioned that citrus-based ingredients are generally more volatile due to their molecular structure. There is, of course, the possibility of improving the longevity of these ingredients on the skin with synthetic fixatives. But this inevitably increases the synthetic content, and that is something one can smell. If a fresh, citrus-based perfume is to smell as natural as possible, then it cannot last too long by nature. Another possibility would be to add a larger proportion of heavier notes for the base (see, for example, Xerjoff Nio). However, such a perfume would also have a different progression, which would no longer be perceived as "fresh" towards the end. In this sense, every perfumer probably faces an unsolvable problem when a fragrance is supposed to smell both fresh and natural over a total duration of 10 hours+.
Elysium pC lasts about 4-6 hours on me and projects strongly for about 2 hours. The perfume version naturally lasts longer, up to 8 hours, but projects significantly less from the start. So for those looking for an ideal solution, buy both and layer the pC over the perfume. This is, of course, maximally decadent, but unfortunately, I can't think of a better option ;-)
Thank you very much for reading :-)
I have a somewhat ambivalent relationship with Roja Dove (alias Roger Bird). On one hand, I am almost always convinced by the quality of his fragrances despite the horrendous prices. On the other hand, every perfume nerd knows that at least some of the creations are heavily inspired by well-known classics, ultimately representing a sort of high-end version of these classics. For instance, "Fetish" strongly resembles Hermès Bel Ami, "Oligarch" (recently taken off the market at least under this name, for understandable reasons) is reminiscent of Terre de Hermès, Danger pH evokes Guerlain's Heritage, and the current "Apex" could be said to have a certain kinship with a certain Dior Sauvage Elixir. And this list is not to be considered exhaustive. Don’t get me wrong, the aforementioned are by no means clones of these fragrances. But one does get the impression that the older ones mentioned served as a certain source of inspiration. On the other hand, Roja Parfums has some fragrances in its portfolio that I believe are completely independent and thus new, such as the scents from the Parfum de la Nuit series, or Enigma pH with its combination of cola, cognac, and vanilla. The latter is truly amazing; I find it incredibly good, at least in the perfume version.
What also irritates me about Roja Parfums is the fact that Roja Dove is now said by many sources online to not actually be the perfumer of his fragrances (I am deliberately using the subjunctive here). Rather, "hidden" perfumers from companies like Robertet are said to be behind the creations, who simply are not named. And Roja presents himself as the perfumer. The fact is, as far as I am informed, Roja Dove has not received a classical perfumer training. Instead, he worked in marketing during his time at Guerlain (which he really excels at). Of course, one does not need a classical perfumer training to be a good perfumer (see, for example, Andy Tauer). On the other hand, Gabe Oppenheim also makes certain hints in his well-researched book "The Ghost Perfumer" that similar circumstances existed at Roja Parfums as at Creed. For those who do not know - behind most, if not all, Creed creations, it is NOT as often claimed Olivier Creed (or his son Erwin). Oppenheim has researched that behind "Green Irish Tweed" and "Silver Mountain Water" is Pierre Bourdain, behind "Aventus" is Jean Christophe Herault, and behind "Royal Oud" is Julien Rasquinet. And I would bet a broom that behind "Original Vetiver" is not Alberto Morillas, who is also responsible for the very similar "Mugler Cologne."
Be that as it may, I will never find out through my own research, and in the end, it does not matter to me personally or for the quality of the products. So the question of whether Roja Dove was really the perfumer, or just the creative director, or whether he only wrote the "brief." Nevertheless, I would fundamentally welcome it if in the perfume industry those people who deserve the "credits" actually received them. Here, I clearly advocate for 100% transparency!
Elysium in the Parfum Cologne version occupies a special position in the Roja product portfolio for me. It was the first Roja fragrance launched in a 100 ml format without a bottle with a gold plaque. The perfume version came later. Not coincidentally, the bottle is in blue. It is a fresh scent that can be worn at any time of year, at any time of day or night, and for any occasion (from the office to the cinema to dinner for two to wedding celebrations). So it is a perfect all-rounder, although I believe the scent truly shines at warmer temperatures.
Perhaps Roja Dove saw the success of Aventus, probably the first "big seller" in the niche perfume sector. The pricing for a 100 ml amount also resembles that of Creed's megaseller. Perhaps that is why Aventus is often compared to Elysium (pC). Personally, I cannot understand this comparison. Simply for the reason that Aventus is a chypre in terms of its structure, while Elysium is a fougère. I do not smell pineapple in Elysium, nor oakmoss or vanilla in the drydown.
Elysium is for me a perfect melange of bright citrus fruits, which experience a certain dryness and slight bitterness from the vetiver. The fruits are thus not sweet and juicy, but rather fruity and herbaceous. None of the fruits comes across as dominant; everything is wonderfully intertwined. And in this form, I believe no other fragrance achieves this. Elysium never becomes annoying throughout its entire duration, but rather delights the wearer with its unobtrusive fresh herbaceousness. And all this without reminding one of shower gel! Which is not necessarily a given in this price segment these days (reference to "Percival" by PdM).
Perhaps with a lot of imagination, one could say Elysium has a certain kinship to Bleu de Chanel. However, when testing both fragrances directly side by side, one would tend to deny this. Nevertheless, Roja with Elysium has certainly jumped on the bandwagon of "blue fragrances." With the peculiarity that he (or whoever composed the scent, see above) has once again managed to create the "best in its class." For me, Elysium is the best "blue" fragrance. Period.
And now a word about longevity. This topic seems to be becoming increasingly important among perfume enthusiasts. First, it should be mentioned that citrus-based ingredients are generally more volatile due to their molecular structure. There is, of course, the possibility of improving the longevity of these ingredients on the skin with synthetic fixatives. But this inevitably increases the synthetic content, and that is something one can smell. If a fresh, citrus-based perfume is to smell as natural as possible, then it cannot last too long by nature. Another possibility would be to add a larger proportion of heavier notes for the base (see, for example, Xerjoff Nio). However, such a perfume would also have a different progression, which would no longer be perceived as "fresh" towards the end. In this sense, every perfumer probably faces an unsolvable problem when a fragrance is supposed to smell both fresh and natural over a total duration of 10 hours+.
Elysium pC lasts about 4-6 hours on me and projects strongly for about 2 hours. The perfume version naturally lasts longer, up to 8 hours, but projects significantly less from the start. So for those looking for an ideal solution, buy both and layer the pC over the perfume. This is, of course, maximally decadent, but unfortunately, I can't think of a better option ;-)
Thank you very much for reading :-)
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5 Comments
Thank you for that 👌!