Top Notes 
Cardamom
Nutmeg
Olive leaf
Heart Notes 
Laurel
Florentine iris
Rose
Base Notes 
Cedarwood
Frankincense
Myrrh06/15/2024
NicheOnly
88 Reviews
NicheOnly
1
Aromatic of Royalty
Royal Crown's Imperator is one of the best kept secrets in the premium niche market, largely due to the small availability, high price and minimal PR presence among the fragrance community (which I love because I don't want to see no bootlickers praising product they didn't pay for). This review reflects my opinions from 10+ wears and ownership of more than a year.
The profile offered by Imperator is what I'd call a creamy-woody aromatic. The core scent is centered around the combination of cedar, laurel and iris; with the scent smelling a lot like a furniture store or even a plate of sawdust. The iris-laurel combo brings what I'd describe as a balsamic powderiness, best comparable to a scent like BDK's Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum which describes many of Imperator's qualities the best. Additionally, I'd say the scent's sweet-spicy contrasts (to that powdery-woody feel) are best described by Initio's Rehab. The scent could also be viewed as being adjacent to the profile of Creed's Royal Oud, a woody-sweet fragrance. Relative to these comparables the quality is several tiers higher.
The scent is designed for spring-summer wear and has a clear masculine lean. The current ratings on Parfumo overstate the performance on Imperator. That is to say that the scent struggles to get lift outside of hot-leaning weather, so the sillage (from my experience) is slightly below average, offering an arm's reach sillage for up to 1 hour before dying to intimate only. I would say the longevity, at best, is around 6 hours as the scent swiftly fades in strength and I don't want to give it any more longevity for it being noticeable if you put your nose up against it. This scent retails at €537/100ml (€374/50ml) and has strong discounter availability in North America (where prices in USD are actually smaller). I'll rate the value a 5/10, but would say that the ~$250 that this is available for puts any woody-aromatic fragrance from Creed to bed. Imperator is the new king on the block.
The profile offered by Imperator is what I'd call a creamy-woody aromatic. The core scent is centered around the combination of cedar, laurel and iris; with the scent smelling a lot like a furniture store or even a plate of sawdust. The iris-laurel combo brings what I'd describe as a balsamic powderiness, best comparable to a scent like BDK's Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum which describes many of Imperator's qualities the best. Additionally, I'd say the scent's sweet-spicy contrasts (to that powdery-woody feel) are best described by Initio's Rehab. The scent could also be viewed as being adjacent to the profile of Creed's Royal Oud, a woody-sweet fragrance. Relative to these comparables the quality is several tiers higher.
The scent is designed for spring-summer wear and has a clear masculine lean. The current ratings on Parfumo overstate the performance on Imperator. That is to say that the scent struggles to get lift outside of hot-leaning weather, so the sillage (from my experience) is slightly below average, offering an arm's reach sillage for up to 1 hour before dying to intimate only. I would say the longevity, at best, is around 6 hours as the scent swiftly fades in strength and I don't want to give it any more longevity for it being noticeable if you put your nose up against it. This scent retails at €537/100ml (€374/50ml) and has strong discounter availability in North America (where prices in USD are actually smaller). I'll rate the value a 5/10, but would say that the ~$250 that this is available for puts any woody-aromatic fragrance from Creed to bed. Imperator is the new king on the block.
NicheOnly
