51 Pour Femme Essence De Parfum

I have both the essence de parfum (in the discovery set purchased directly from Roja) and the eau de parfum (50ml bottle with the all gold cap purchased from Harrods - as this was my favourite scent from the discovery kit). To me, these smell the way you imagine perfume *should* smell. Traditional, expensive, nothing offensive, like the waft you remember as a child when an expensive looking lady walked past, or the scent lingering when you had to hug a rich relative you didn’t know well. Something elusive that you searched for but never could quite find. The true scent of expensive perfume. Very smooth and balanced and well put together. But then I love amber scents! This a well rounded floral amber perfume. Not too young as it’s not too sweet. But doesn’t smell like an old woman scent to me. The initial scent (bergamot with raspberry?) of both is a bit sharp for me, luckily this disappears within 5 mins. It gets better as you wear it and the base notes and sweetness of the vanilla come through. I think the edp is stronger than the essence (surely it should be the other way round?!). The essence fades more quickly on me, turning into a lovely warm, slightly spicy ylang-vanilla patchouli fragrance, that is a bit softer and sweeter than the dry down of the edp. The edp stays a bit more floral for a bit longer; still a lovely smooth amber fragrance, but projecting the white florals, rose and raspberry for a bit longer than the essence on me. The essence is somehow softer, the edp shouts more. Overall a lovely amber perfume that is definitely full bottle worthy, but for longevity I’d buy the edp.

Like all the reviews below, I agree that there's nothing discordant or earth shattering about this scent. It smells exactly like the extrait version. But....it's beautiful. I get the bubble~gummy tuberose, I definitely get the fruits (bergamot is fleeting, though raspberry gives it a bit of tart to play off all the sweet) ylang ylang comes off loud and clear. But the vanilla is what catches my attention the most. To my nose, I don't get the woody vibe except the creaminess of sandalwood. Some days, depending on the humidity, I catch some of the spices. Those are lovely days, if fact, I wish those spices had been amped up. It would have taken this to an exceptionally beautiful level and given it a distinctive edge that it needs to really stand out. Nothing synthetic, nothing harsh, just a beautiful fragrance that that's well blended and smooth. Test first, bc if you have something that smells similar, it may be redundant for you. I have the Pour Femme Parfum version, that version lasts on me, but this EdP version doesn't have the sillage or longevity of that one. The cost of the EdP isn't justifiable, IMO, lasting only 2-3 hours vs 10-12 with Parfum. Sillage is harder for me to gauge, both drew the attention of other perfume lovers but not necessarily of ppl in general. When a scent is getting upwards of $300 + tax, I want more wear out it. I won't be buying this one but I'm glad I tested.

So, let me be very clear about one thing....this is one of the most beautiful scents I have ever smelled. I have the pure perfume and since it is so expensive, I bought the essence to wear daily (which is still a bit pricey). Now for the "let's be real" part. While I love this fragrance so much, I have to be honest. The essence version of 51 lasts all of 30 minutes and then you can't even smell it on your clothes...almost like it totally disappears. I mean, literally disappears. The perfume version, sadly, is only slightly better. The sad part about the poor performance is that while I don't mind paying the big price tag for a fragrance I love, I cannot justify over 800 bucks for the perfume version that takes triple the amount of sprays to get it to last even 4 hours. I wish this review could be something different and that I could call this my signature scent. Unfortunately, I have to call this a rip off. I also have to say that the BS explanation Roja Dove gives about skin scents, blah blah blah is nothing more than an excuse for poor performance. This is unacceptable at these price points (even for those of us who are willing to drop tons of money on perfume). I WILL NOT be buying this again due to the aforementioned. And this is the only negative review I have ever given on a fragrance....as I felt I had to be honest. Smell 10/10, performance 0/10. Do better Roja!

What an incredible blend! I recently had the chance to try all the essence line as well as some other roja’s from their exclusive lines and from the moment I sprayed 51 I new I had to have it. It is simply amazing. Such a simple yet beautiful fragrance. It has a little bit of everything, it’s feminine, sweet, powdery, floral, woody, fruity (why not?) but not a note really stands out because everything is so well blended. However performance is very unfortunate, it becomes a skin scent from the first spray with 2 to 3 hours lasting power on the skin. I read that all Rojas need some shelve time (about 3 months) until they deepen and start to project better. I will have to wait and see. I would still purchase it again and again but maybe the extrait version.

Oh yeah!!! This is a B E A U T Y 💜 I am usually not a fan of tuberose or gardenia or tropical flowers but this is so pure and delightful! It is softly floral and very slightly sweet and powdery but not at all excessively. Just lovely tropical flowers and even though it contains all these notes, it does not smell heavy or too much. I love it!! 51 is definitely one of my favorite from that Roja line! Definitely a joy to wear during the warmer months but I am enjoying it now at the end of October 🍂🍁🧡 Yes, the longevity is lacking a bit. On my skin, it lasts 3 to 4 hours but this is much better than some other perfumes out there so no complaints from me ; ) Definitely recommend getting a sample because it may not be everyone’s cup of tea ⭐️