RobinParfum

Everyone comes across the Roja brand at some point and I thought I would order three samples next time. I didn't really want to write a review for this one, but since the worst review here is a 4, followed by a 7, I would like to question the euphoria for this fragrance.

In the opening I notice the orange blossom, lemon, bergamot and grapefruit, the individual citrus fruits create an interesting mix here, up to this point everything was still good but then the aldehydes come in and take the lead. I would describe the fragrance as very classically citrusy and fresh, but to me it just smells old-fashioned. It doesn't get any better as the top note progresses. I read someone else say it smells like moldy lemon - I can kind of confirm that. The result is a very classic/old-fashioned fragrance with balsamic and slightly soapy notes that tries to smell citrusy and fresh. It just stung my nose at that point and it was the first time I really felt the need to wash off a fragrance.
With the increasing florality from the heart note, it is even more difficult to name individual notes. It just smells floral here - slightly fresh, but fresh because of that nasty lemon. As the heart note progresses, the tide turns slightly and AMD becomes a little creamier and sweeter. The citrusy note has receded considerably. The fragrance becomes a little warmer and softer, smelling green-fresh and sweet with a slight floral twist. Nevertheless, a chemical - artificial note remains for me.
The vanilla from the base significantly enhances the last stage. The fragrance becomes sweeter and softer and is slightly fresh/cool, which prevents it from becoming too heavy. Finally, the fragrance has decided on a direction. At this point, it surrounds you like a veil and envelops you.

It lasts around 7-9 hours and the sillage is rather moderate, but perfectly fine.
First of all: the fragrance is very well crafted and the ingredients are all of high quality, but for me the interplay of the individual notes just doesn't work. And at this point I ask myself: why does a fragrance have to contain so many different notes if it can't even decide on a certain direction in phases? While wearing it, I had a certain image in my head: a man over 60, laden with gold jewelry and lacking sensitivity.

Conclusion: It doesn't always have to be the most expensive, neither Midsummer Dream nor Oceania could even begin to convince me, but Elysium (the cologne) has landed on my wish list after extensive testing. So much for the topic: is it worth it?

A very unusual fragrance, there's no question about that, but it absolutely doesn't work for me. Nevertheless, I understand that some people love it and that's the beauty of our hobby.

Thanks for reading!

Some time ago, I ordered a sample of Aqua de Dora as well as Forever Love - with the aim of finding a new summer fragrance. I've already written a review of Forever Love and one thing first: I won't be buying Aqua de Dora either (for the time being), but not because it's bad.

In the opening, you get a very authentic lemon zest and grapefruit, with the two alternating in the foreground. The result is a very fresh, citrusy, almost bitter-green fragrance. The grapefruit provides a minimal fruity sweetness. A very successful and cooling opening.
After half an hour, the ambroxan enters the stage and will not leave it. At least this note is very present for my nose. Aqua de Dora remains fresh and gives a cooling sensation. Citrus notes can still be found in the background and there are also slightly sweet, fruity accents.
Unfortunately, I hardly notice the fig at all in the top note, but there are dry and slightly woody notes. This results in an airy, tart, fresh and cooling fragrance. The airiness is slightly reminiscent of aquatic perfumes. As in the top note, a very pleasant, subtle fruity-sweet note remains and rounds everything off a little. The ambroxan is still very dominant.
Aqua de Dora changes again in the base, which I assume is primarily due to the sandalwood. The fragrance becomes creamier, the dominant ambroxan note fades (but is still recognizable). At this stage, it reminds me of Xerjoff's 40 Knots without the salty and sweeter notes. After about 7 hours, it becomes close to the skin and is fresh, woody and sweet, paired with a subtle creaminess.

Overall, this is a very good summer fragrance that you can't go wrong with and can be worn for any occasion. Sillage is strong at the beginning and decreases after 4-5h but still remains well perceptible. After about 8 hours, I had difficulty sniffing out any remnants of it. All in all, the H/S is very good for this fragrance.

But now to the question, why doesn't it stay with me? TOO MUCH AMBROXAN! Ambroxan in particular is a note that everyone perceives differently - I seem to have a very fine nose for it and so it's too much for me. I'll leave that out of my scoring... I have to make an effort to smell the progression described above and I need the fragrance pyramid to do so. I would classify the price/performance as ok to good, you can get the 100ml on offer for under 200€...

Anyone looking for a new fragrance for warm days should definitely try this one and not be put off by the ambroxan - maybe you'll love it, it's just a bit too much for me but I'll buy another bottle. It's just too good that I don't want to wear it anymore - especially on very warm days.

Thanks for reading!

Don't panic, it's not as bad as the title might suggest ;)

A fairly new Xerjoff without a flood of reviews, plus the classic bottle with the decoration underneath the lid and in a royal blue leather box... I was hooked and since I wanted to order a 4-pack of samples directly from Xerjoff anyway, this one was included.
First of all, I had quite high expectations purely from the fragrance notes, fresh spicy notes at the beginning, followed by rose and coffee. The whole thing is bedded on sandalwood and leather, just to name a few notes. But this is exactly where you can see why a blind buy is not a good idea in this price category.

But now to the actual fragrance: I have actually worn the fragrance several times and also noted the complete fragrance progression twice at exactly the same intervals.

In the opening, you get the full load of spicy notes. These are clearly in the foreground here. In addition to the spicy notes, I also detect green or herbaceous notes and a hint of effervescence. Immediately after spraying it on, a medicinal scent is present, but it disappears very quickly for the most part.
However, remnants of the medicinal alcohol scent remain in the top note, which I attribute to the saffron and the liqueur. I don't classify this as really pleasant. Nevertheless, the fragrance becomes warmer and sweeter, but does not go in a creamy-sweet direction but rather spicy-sweet. Even after about 30 minutes, not much really changes, but there are the first signs of the floral components (rose and lavender).
In the heart, Louis XV loses sight of its goal and becomes quite insignificant. Rose, cocoa, hazelnut, saffron and light woody notes alternate again and again. None takes the lead and everything melts into a sweet, warm fragrance. On the positive side, however, the rose and saffron (at least I suspect) ensure that it doesn't become too sweet.
There is no improvement in sight in the base notes either. All the notes continue to blend together and the fragrance experience seems insignificant. Don't get me wrong, it definitely doesn't smell bad and you are surrounded by a warm, sometimes more sweet, sometimes less sweet cloud, but nothing more. In addition to the ingredients from the heart note, there is only leather, but this is also very restrained and very weak.

And so the king disappears quietly and secretly and is not really remembered as extraordinary. Of course, the presentation is very high quality and there is certainly a high level of craftsmanship behind it, but I had simply expected much more. All in all, this is the worst Xerjoff I have tested, but it too will find its fans and advocates.

For the sake of completeness: I applied 4 sprays during my test, one on the back of my hand and 3 on my wrist/forearm. I deliberately avoided spraying the neck area to counteract any fragrance blindness. Despite this, I had trouble really perceiving the fragrance after 6-7 hours, as I had to hold my nose very close to the sprayed areas. The sillage is also very restrained and recedes very quickly.

It was either due to my expectations or really the fragrance... I am glad to have tested it and will use up the bottle, but then our journey together will end without any special experiences. You can have a say but it wasn't enough for more.

Thanks for reading!

A few months ago, I was shown Durra Ambre in a niche perfumery. With everything around it, the bottle, the leather case for traveling and of course a test on the skin. I was hooked - until I found out about the price: I put it out of my mind...
A few months later, it was still on my mind and after another skin test, I was spontaneous enough to buy it (I convinced myself that I wouldn't buy another perfume for it next month)...

Unpacking it was a real experience... really a 10/10, just like the bottle. But now to the contents: what does Durra Ambre smell like?
With the flood of fragrances listed, I, like many others, am overwhelmed and it is sometimes very difficult to perceive individual notes. Nevertheless, I want to do my best.

In the opening, Durra Ambre is very strongly ambery. I also perceive fruity, sweet and slightly fresh notes. As individual notes, I perceive amber, saffron and a hint of grapefruit (at least I suspect so). Then the fragrance notes all blend together and I don't know which direction it wants to take. Slightly fresh and aquatic to floral-sweet and oriental notes. Amber, pepper and ambrette are very dominant. This phase is actually the weakest of Durra Ambre. Everything is a little too much.
After 30 minutes, all the fragrance notes have settled and the real journey begins. The strength of the amber is softened by aquatic notes. The amber is no longer completely overwhelming, but it is close to the limit. The result is a marginally lighter, fruity-sweet fragrance that takes an aquatic-fresh direction. Unlike many other aquatic notes, however, there are no salty notes here.
The floral notes make their appearance in the heart note. The rose is particularly striking for me. In addition to the rose, I imagine I can smell a little honey, while there is also a little pepper. Overall, the Durra Ambre is much softer. The fragrance is still ambery, but now in a soft, enveloping and very pleasant and well-balanced way. The rose also gives the impression of a very clean fragrance. Hard to put into words and definitely one of the strongest phases!
After around 5 hours, the base note is added and it becomes even more difficult to analyze the fragrance's progression and individual notes. Sandalwood, vanilla and a light leather note stand out in this phase. Nevertheless, the D.A. remains a clean scent, with no note pushing itself to the fore but always alternating beautifully. From this point on, the fragrance becomes very warm and slightly creamy despite its clean note - the term sensual is probably the most appropriate. Ambry at its best!
As the fragrance progresses, the light leather note remains, but stays in the background. Completely different to an Ombre Leather, for example. The vanilla and creamy sandalwood create an ambery bubble around the wearer. There is also a slightly earthy, almost chocolate-like note from the patchouli (I guess?).
Even after 10 hours, the Durra Ambre is still clearly perceptible, but no longer fills rooms. Sandalwood, vanilla, leather and the occasional rose still dominate, resulting in an interplay of light, leathery, earthy, woody, creamy-sweet and yet clean accords. The rose keeps everything very clean and everything becomes lighter, so that it almost becomes slightly fresh. As I said - very difficult to describe.

The longevity and sillage are outstanding, the sillage is almost too strong for my taste in the first hour.
At times, Durra Ambre can be too sweet, too oppressive - not a fragrance for every day, but definitely a good choice if you want to stand out. You definitely have to like sweet ambery fragrances, these notes run through the entire fragrance. I actually find the opening and the first 1-2 hours to be the weakest phases, but after that it gets better and better.

Overall, a unique fragrance that still flies relatively under the radar. Definitely not a blind buy and better to order a sample in advance. I'm a little surprised that this is only the second review I've written. You can get it for about 400€/ 90ml... some Xerjoff's are significantly more expensive per ml...

Still not a 10/10 for me, sometimes it's just too oppressive - but I still love it, just because of the bottle. I don't think I need to say any more and just hope that what I wanted to say has come across.

Thanks for reading & happy sniffing!

In addition to Elysium by Roja, I also ordered Oceania as a bottling in my search for a summer fragrance and wanted to love it sooo much. I wanted it to inspire me so that I could put this bottle with this grandiose, beautiful cap on my shelf... long story short: unfortunately, it won't work out between the two of us and I tried several times...

While Oceania is still very good at the beginning, it gets progressively worse and just can't convince me. However, I would like to make it clear that it is still very well made and in no way bad, it just doesn't appeal to me (subjective perception).
The opening is really good, simply citrusy and sparklingly fresh. The lime is very present and at the same time it is minimally sweet, it reminds me of a fresh homemade lemonade.
The fragrance diminishes over the course of the top note, but is still ok. Gradually, more and more floral and some green notes join the citrusy notes. Rosemary & thyme provide a slightly green touch, but lavender, violet and jasmine increasingly take the lead. Overall, this results in a floral-green, slightly citrusy-fresh fragrance. Even at this stage, I find Oceania a little pungent on the nose, something just doesn't harmonize.
Unfortunately, the individual components of the heart note do not enhance it either. A very subtle iris note is added (it could have been more dominant), which temporarily eliminates the pungent feeling. Unfortunately, the iris is lost in the floral cocktail and the remaining citrus becomes pungent again. All in all, this may sound like a very floral fragrance, but it is not. There is still a minimal freshness, mixed with floral and slightly sweet notes. There are also woody notes in the background, which make Oceania quite "dry". The whole thing reminds me of a chemical cocktail and is just annoying, but I still didn't wash it off because I wanted to wait for the full development...
In the base note, the woods push themselves more and more into the foreground but simply create a very woody-dry (not creamy!) fragrance. Dried flowers, cut grass and a chemical citric (reminds me of chlorine) are still present somewhere. This is also how Oceania ends: slightly fresh, floral-sweet, woody and still pungent in my nose - unfortunately. Similar to Mahina, it lacks any harmony, it doesn't always have to be highly complex...

A plus point is the good persistence, even after 8 hours it is still very perceptible close to the skin. I find the sillage rather below average, too weak right from the start and therefore it becomes too close to the skin too soon - even for a summer fragrance...
At no point can I understand the classification as aquatic.

I think everyone has some perfumes on their wish list or some that they just want to love but just don't. I understand everyone who gave Oceania a good rating, but I just can't get into it...

Is it a bad fragrance now? Generally speaking, definitely not, but for me as a subjective person it is...so just try it out and form your own opinion. I hope my review can help some people...

Thanks for reading..