Roja Dove Amber Extrait: Willy Wonka’s Amber

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Kafkaesque

"Chocolate on My Mind," Painting by Pamela Van Laanen. Source: AbsoluteArts.com (direct website link embedded within.)

“Chocolate on My Mind,” by Pamela Van Laanen. Source: AbsoluteArts.com (website link embedded within.)

The joys of chocolate and sandalwood, encased in golden amber. That is only one aspect of Amber Extrait which merges the wonders of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory with the luxury version of a Starbucks line-up: Earl Grey tea, hot chocolate, a white chocolate chai, and a vanilla latte sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts, all enveloped in multi-faceted amber velvet. Yet, at its heart, Roja Dove’s Amber is almost as much about sandalwood as it is about chocolate or its namesake note. There is a Mysore-like bouquet that is, at first, milky, then creamy and spiced, before finally turning smoky. It is a significant part of the fragrance, and one reason why Amber is hardly the simple soliflore that its name suggests.

Amber (sometimes called “Amber Extrait”) was released in 2014. On his website, Roja Dove describes the fragrance and its notes as follows:

Source: Neiman Marcus.

“Seductive Enveloping Opulence”
RICH, SOFT, VERY SWEET, & WARM

“Amber, a blend of exotic materials, crafted to give us a glimpse of the mysterious Orient. I blended a rich, velvety note of black chocolate with the soft sweetness of an amber accord to create an edible olfactive delight”. Roja Dove

TOP: Bergamot, Geranium, Lavender, Orange
HEART: Cocoa, Rose
BASE: Amber, Benzoin, Cedarwood, Coumarin, Labdanum, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vanilla.

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Roja Dove Goodman’s

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue. Source: skyscrapercity.com

Smoky vetiver and spiced woods lie at the heart of Goodman’s, Roja Dove‘s creation for the New York luxury department store, Bergdorf Goodman. It’s a pure parfum that ostensibly embodies the luxury and sophistication of the men’s section of the store. I must say, I can’t see it — and I’ve lived in New York (twice) and am very familiar with Bergdorf Goodman. Not only does Goodman’s not evoke either the store or “sensual,” luxurious richness for me, but I find it to be a deeply disappointing release by the standards I have for Roja Dove.

Bergdorf Goodman’s men store. Photo by Stephen Siegel at archinect.com

Goodman’s was released in 2014, along with a parallel version for the women’s section of the store called Bergdorf’s. Both extraits were originally available only from the store itself, but Roja Dove now offers them on his website along with other exclusives like the UAE fragrance that he created solely for the Emirates. Oddly, the colour of the liquid in the Goodman’s bottle he shows on his website is significantly paler than the one shown by Bergdorf Goodman.

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Roja Dove Risqué Pour Femme (Creation-R)

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Photographer unknown. Source: Pinterest.

A rich chypre with wonderful mossy depths, Risqué is a fragrance where you’d do better to just put the name aside and inhale happily. It is a scent from Roja Dove that is officially categorized (and titled) as being “For Women,” but Risqué (hereinafter just “Risque“) is truly unisex, in my opinion, in addition to being far too classical to really warrant such a dangerous name. But it is lovely, thanks to a complex verdancy that is laced with unexpected hyacinths, fresh chamomile petals, civet, and vetiver, along with the usual floral suspects of rose, jasmine, and ylang-ylang. At times, primarily in the opening hour, it bears a strong similarity to Amouage‘s gorgeous Fate Woman, but Risque preceded Fate by a year and is ultimately its own creature. [UPDATE: At the time this review was written, there was only Risqué for Woman, and no parallel version for men had been created. This review is only for Risque Femme, and the title of the post has been amended to reflect that fact.]

Risque in EDP and Extrait bottles. Source: Fragrantica

Risque was released in 2012, but is sold in America under the name Creation-R due to legal trademark reasons. It comes in two forms, an Extrait (or Pure Parfum) and an Eau de Parfum. This review is for the Extrait. On his website, Roja Dove indirectly tries to address the disparity between the name and the classical nature of the scent by saying its surface conformity is symbolic of social restraints and something that hides a wilder, sensual heart:

WARM, DRY, FRESH, SWEET, & LEATHERY
“When I created this I thought of how society tells us how we have to behave, think, and act. So I decided to create a perfume that seemed tailored and disciplined – but as it develops it starts to show its overtly sensual base, which gets warmer, darker and more overt with each breath”. – Roja Dove

TOP: Bergamot
HEART: Chamomile, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Rose, Ylang Ylang
BASE: Cedarwood, Civet, Labdanum, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Vetiver.

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2014 In Review: 30 Personal Favorites

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: designzzz.com

My list of favorite fragrances that I’ve tried this year is quite different from yesterday’s list of the best new releases of 2014. The latter centered largely on scents that I thought were good, very elegant or interesting representations of their genre, regardless of whether they were my personal cup of tea, and they were only things that debuted in 2014. Today’s list is purely about what I really enjoyed and does not consider the date in release at all. So, this time around, there are very few qualifications and caveats, and the vast majority of these fragrances are things that I bought for myself, am thinking about buying, or would love to buy were their price not a consideration.

You will notice that a good number of the fragrances are not complex masterpieces at all, but quite simple in nature. One reason for that is that I love cozy, comfort scents, and they are generally not very nuanced or multifaceted to begin with. Plus, mindlessly simple but really well-done fragrances that combine richness with soothing warmth are, in all honesty, a huge relief to me after a long day where I do nothing but analyse every nuance and change in a scent for hours (upon hours) on end.

Ferdinand Leeke, “The Last Farewell of Wotan and Brunhilde,” (1875). Source: Wikipedia.com

A few other points. As always, I have to repeat my mantra regarding the subjective, personal nature of reviewing in general, and how a list like this is even doubly so. With regard to the rankings, it’s always an utter nightmare, but the Top Ten chosen here are generally quite firm in order. There is a bit more leeway with the next 10 names, as a tiny handful could go up or down one to two places of where they are at the present time. I’m most undecided about the placement of the last 10 which are the most subject to fluctuations in order. One reason why is because perfumistas are a fickle bunch who can change their mind from one month to the next, and I’m no exception. The other reason is that I’ve gone back and forth on a few scents, switching their places repeatedly until I just gave up in the end. So, for now, this is where things are, for the most part. Finally, you will notice that some of my summary descriptions are verbatim from my list of best, new releases of 2014 or from my mid-2014 best or favorites list. My apologies in advance. Covering almost 60 fragrances in two days is rather an exhausting process, so I hope you will forgive me.

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