A Goodnight Kiss

To simplify it, A Goodnight Kiss is a classic style powdery floral aldehyde. But nothing about this fragrance can be simple, not for me at least. For starters, the way I came about owning it may make me a bit biased and emotional. Second, I know this was a fragrance made to recreate the scent of Roja's mother as she kissed him goodnight, and she is resting in peace. So, there is nothing simple about it. But it does smell exactly like a woman, a prim motherly lady, and how she would smell in close proximity. Her floral perfume, her powder, her lipstick and the natural human smell of musk we all get toward the end of the day. This is the smell of a goodnight kiss. A sweet kiss, a loving kiss, a gentle kiss. The meaningful kind. It is the smell of love. The iris is gentle and glorious, the powder is a very realistic rice powder scent. If you have ever worn rice powder, it's unmistakable. There is prominent ambergris that gives it warmth, it's never too floral, there is a human musky quality to it. Everything about this fragrance is human. So, it makes it a bit emotional to wear it. For me at least. Roja has spoken to me about his mother and I know how much he loved her. So, that may be adding the emotional factor for those of us who he has shared this with. Or if you have read about his love for her. It smells like a mother's kiss. It is elegant, it's understated, it's classic and it's very refined. It's comforting and I feel a range of emotions wearing it, for obvious reasons. And it is expensive. Very expensive. And I'm not going to write this review and ignore the elephant in the room. The price of the fragrance is extraordinary. It's not something I could even normally own. But it wasn't created for me. It was created for people who CAN afford it. And whether we like it or not, those people exist. Should anyone spend this much on perfume? Who am I to judge. I sit with $200 fragrances acting as if that is "normal" while there are people trying to figure out how they will buy a sandwich today. My normal is not someone else's normal. And I can not sit back in judgement of the cost someone else spends on a bottle of perfume while I have a collection that most people would see as excessive as many will see the price of this fragrance. So....what is "acceptable"? $800? $500? $250? $100? $50? To the man with no shoes, $50 would seem like something for a king. For a king, $1,750.00 seems perfectly reasonable. What I can say is this. For the last 3 days I have felt like a princess wearing this. I have felt special. There is no price to place on that feeling. And if owning luxurious fragrances like this gives someone that feeling, and they can afford it or they are willing to pay it so they can have such a feeling, who am I to judge? While I judge them, the man with no shoes is judging me. A Goodnight Kiss is a captivating fragrance. And it smells like powder, it smells like flowers, it smells like soft leather, it smells like musk....and it smells like love, generosity, nostalgia, beauty and forgiveness. It smells like a gift. And it smells like a memory. And there is no price on those things.

A Goodnight Kiss embodies the sparkling effervescence of the most touching story Roja Dove has to offer, a distinctly profound and personal story bringing his most treasured memories to life. This scent aims to recreate the memory of Roja’s mother coming to give him a kiss goodnight before going out to a party when he was a small child - he describes her smart clothes, powdered makeup and expensive perfume awakening his attachment to people and scent. This does not aim to recreate exactly what his mother smelled like, instead envisioning what the memory itself embodies so that each and every one of us can hopefully connect with the story. It opens initially very bright yet thick and heavy with copious amounts of powdery orris and violet - harking back to the glory days of vintage floral perfumes. Quite quickly this settles and becomes much softer, the aldehydes and array of gentle florals mingling beautifully to create something incredibly delicate and sensual. The orris and the violet remain a constant in the profile, making up the bulk of the scent to my nose. The website states a custom-made Rice Powder Accord was created for this scent to evoke the feeling of vintage cosmetics and makeup powder - which it most certainly does achieve. There’s also an ever so gentle muskiness about it, just vague synthetic musks atop a gentle leather accord give the fragrance this subtle whisper of filth - conveying what the evening ahead might bring. As this glorious perfume settles on the skin, it simplifies. It turns into what can only be described as Dove soap from the heavens - it has that incredibly old school vintage soapy feel, something that awakens a memory of washing your hands at your grandmother’s house. This scent is the epitome of clean, yet with endless amounts of class, wealth and elegance. Is it worth £1,250? No of course it isn’t, no perfume should cost that much. However, that doesn’t take away from the beautiful story this scent tells on your skin, and the fact that this is by far one of the best florals I have ever had the privilege of smelling. I managed to secure a low partial bottle of this and will treasure it forever.

This is a truly gorgeous fragrance. Nostalgia in a bottle! It's bright, warm. Intriguing, yet soft and demure. Simple in its subject matter (powder), but complex in its delivery. Masterfully blended. Roja really knew what he was doing with this one. I like to wear this either for a decadent night out, or luxuriating in a bath before bedtime. It makes me feel like a 1950s movie star. It's not the type of scent most are used to in this day and age, but if you can put aside the notion of powdery perfume being too mature ("grandma") then you will appreciate it more. To me it’s just comforting. And, the sheer performance. This is a beast!! AGK has a depth that is long-lasting well into the next day and retains 100% of its integrity. It doesn’t latch on to one specific note- it is simply itself. Yet, it is not overpowering at all. The one drawback... the price is outrageous. I wish it came in a 50ml size and a small 30ml. Clearly this is not geared towards the average consumer, and they want you to go big or go home. I don’t necessarily agree with that approach, but it is what it is. Price notwithstanding, this is one of my absolute favorites and a truly evocative and emotional experience. Just sad that it is so exorbitant expensive.

Well, I have a new unicorn with a $1,750 price tag. I spritzed this on recently, and my eyes rolled deeply into the back of my head. It is a heavenly, orris-laden cloud on which I want to rest my head. It develops over time, as I got something intensely animalic on my skin after about ten minutes. It smelled like civet, and I hope it's synthetic as the company told me they don't use natural civet (and they shouldn't!). I noticed some soft rose, but apart from orris, rose and civet, I could not really dissect the fragrance. I usually don't like heliotrope, so if there is any here, it was (obviously) not bothersome to me. In any case, I felt as though I might as well hand over my credit card because nothing, I repeat, nothing will ever smell this good again. Instead of spending $200 here, $100 there, I might as well just spend the $1800 and not buy anything else for the next few years. <----and good luck to me with that resolution! Update: I have a full bottle now!! :D

WOW. A Goodnight Kiss by Roja Parfums is an exceptionally great fragrance. I would call it a true masterpiece. I expect nothing less from the master perfumer himself; Mr Roja Dove. This is a part of his premium Haute Luxe collection and I can see why. A Goodnight Kiss is a powdery iris bomb that smells so elegant and classy. This is easily one of the greatest fragrances on the market and easily THE GREATEST powdery fragrance. The only negative I have is the price. I understand that it is a huge asking price. However, if you have the money or just absolutely love this fragrance, I would highly recommend. This is simply a 10/10.