Enigma Pour Homme Parfum Cologne

It took me a while to really enjoy the fresh opening, as I do now. Someone wrote it's slightly bitter; True, but its what gives it character. Along with the lemon and bergamot, there is a bitter green vib; Maybe it's neroli, which can be bitter, ginger perhaps, lemon oil? Its similar to angelica, but not as bitter. I love how the richer, sweeter notes of benzoin, congac, and a spicy vanilla mingle with the fresh opening, and then dominate. Some freshness remains throughout. I heard Roja Dove on Fragmental channel with Chris say, the congac is a true distillation of the congac sludge from the bottom of the barrel. It's not overly boozy at all. The congac has a nice fruitiness, being made from grapes. The heliotrope flower also has a cherry tone. It took me longer than usual to get to know this fragrance, still more to discover; That's why I have decided to purchase Enigma Cologne. When it settles, it reminded me more of the Enigma extrait perfume. The strength of notes is switched around in the cologne. The main heart accord with the E cologne, is vanilla, heliotrope flower, and congac; supported by tobacco and benzoin. This mid heart accord is sexy in an understated way. The indolic floral touches, along with the masculine notes of woods, tobacco and congac, are very nice. Everything is subtle, well blended and complex. Towards the dry-down, the florals fade, and the tobacco come to the fore, reminding me most of the original. Very late dry-down is vanilla, congac, and benzoin. I thought I was getting a leather note. Since it's unlisted I didn't want to mention it; till I read Roja Dove's inspiration for this fragrance: He describes a mystery man, sitting in a gentleman's club... he goes on to say, "with the smells of wood and leather"... There is a sense of ambiguity (Enigma) about this, as the description here in fragrantica. There are some facinating fragrance accords struck, where the whole is more than the sum of it's parts. Its a subtle classy fragrance that's growing on me. It takes a while to get to know its subtleties. Its not going to wow you, like some beast mode fragrance. You have to dig and concentrate to find the goodness here. This is a solid frag, and close to the original, but lighter. It's not a light weight fragrance, just not as rich as original. I think I get the tobacco more with the cologne, but its still in an accord, so it doesn't stand out alone. I like how this is a complex fragrance, it evolves into nice distinct phases. And It's an all season frag, with good enough performance, and the price is not so extravagant as other Dove frags. PS: I watched some YouTube reviews from Carlos, Chris and Steve. I'm sorry I used to doubt your love for Enigma, you have convinced me of your genuine love for it. I would just disagree on the projection, where others have said it project great, I think it's soft. This projects well, but it's not loud. One more important difference between the new Enigma Cologne, and original. The Cologne is very modern feeling; Whereas Roja is known for his classic structure in many of his fragrances, the original Enigma has more of a classic vib to it, but still is very unique in a good way. They are both similar, but quite different, both great; though the original took me some time to warm up to. Rating: 9.25/10 Blessed new year to all. John 3:16

This is my first review and I am new to learning about fragrances, so do take this with a heavy dose of salt. On the hunt for a signature scent, I picked up a bottle of Enigma Parfum Cologne. I drink excessive amounts of cola and it tickled me to read about a scent that so many compare to my drink of choice. This isn't what I expected a 'cola' scent to be. Rather than evoking the satisfaction of the first fizz from opening a cold can beading with condensation on a hot day, instead I was transported back to the pick'n'mix counter at the cinema from my childhood. It was the smell of the chewy cola bottle sweets. While that smell was more pleasant than it sounds, before long I was pleased to see it evolve to conjure up more satisfying images of a Coke Float as the vanilla became more apparent. Then as the scent dries the syrupy cola settles down further and the cognac, tobacco and spices join the vanilla and bergamot for a rich, deep and satisfying aroma. Of the 8 fragrances in my fledgling collection this is perhaps the most original, a title previously held by Layton. Enigma is a warm, rich, spicy, sweet and sour blend that shouldn't really work on a hot summer day but, perhaps due to the imagery it stirs up, I would be comfortable wearing it year round, although I understand why others might prefer not to. It is that imagery that has made it a strong contender for my signature scent going forward even if I suspect I won't receive the same compliments I do whilst wearing Layton or Reflection Man. What further helps this scent take its place among my favourites is the projection and longevity. Frustratingly my skin seems to destroy scents at alarming pace. For context Elysium and (more surprisingly) Herod vanish in no time, Dior Homme (2020) and MFK Gentle Fluidity Silver become skin scents rapidly that disappear by mid-day while Layton, TF Oud Wood and Reflection Man offer only marginal improvements on my skin but fortunately cling to my clothes to last through the day. Enigma is different, I used fewer sprays yet I can still feel it wrapped around me hours later.

Now I'm ready to give my full review. I haven't tried that many of Roja Dove's creations, but Enigma Parfum Cologne smells spectacular. It opens up with a very fizzy, yet a bit boozy bergamot (an awesome opening, tbh). Then, the florals start to come in the mids. I can't quite describe what kind of florals, but it is there and I can feel it. Lastly, the drydown. Good lord, the drydown of Enigma Parfum Cologne is just beautiful. The cognac, tobacco, vanilla, and benzoin here are blended wonderfully. I do get the boozy-vanilla-coke with a touch of cherry in the drydown, which is great. It is one of those fragrances that really have noticeable differences between each layer of the pyramid (top, mid, and base notes). It lasts for a very long time, with a very good projection. The whiffs I get from the sillage when I'm wearing this one is just awesome, even when I only use two or three sprays. It is beautifully blended, performs greatly, and I'd even wear it on a summer night (or even a summer day, as long as I go easy on the sprays). I don't know if I'm pushing it too far, but it is that amazing to me. You'll definitely get those compliments that you want and deserve. Something I'd love to tell you though: - It does not smell like Herod, like what some people have said. - It is so underrated. - I think it is the best out of every Roja's Parfum Cologne collection, Elysium is my second place. My rating: - Scent: 10/10 (probably my first ever 10/10 fragrance in terms of scent) - Longevity: 9.8/10 - Projection and Sillage: 9/10 - Versatility: 8.6/10 - Value: 8.5/10 (well, even though it's quite expensive, it's worth the money for me). - Uniqueness and Complexity: 9.8/10 (it is more complex than it is unique) - Overall: 9.3/10 Edit: just tried the Parfum version, and I really can't smell any difference between the two, other than the opening. The parfum cologne version is sharper, fresher, and more fizzy in the opening, but the parfum version is smoother and less fresh in the opening. I really love both!

All smells are deeply rooted to personal experience. A person who only smelled oranges and lemons in their life, will likely link any kind of citrus smell to either one of the two, depending on how sour the smell feels like. No matter whether it actually is a lemon, bergamot or mandarin smell. So, while many people link the scent of Enigma to some sort of Whisky and Cola mixture, which certainly is the worst kind of how to enjoy a decent Whisky, I can tell you that Enigma is pretty similar to the Whisky experience many of us (kind of snob) Whisky aficionados crave. Whenever I smell Enigma it progresses in a similar manner. First I am thinking “Ok, there is a distinct smell of smoked wood.”, like a smoked barrel used for storing Whisky. Then there is this sweetness. It is not the smell of Coca Cola, because that is unique in its own right. You may interpret it as the cheap store brand of Cola, but no... it is too good to be that cheap. It feels more expensive and too well-crafted to be that cheap. This “Cola vibe” also has some herbs to its sweetness. Is it Root Beer? Again, not that cheap... So what the hell is this doing to my nose? Is it really just Cola? NO! It is herbs, medicinal ones at that. It is sweet tobacco. It is flowery notes. It is sugar and malt. It even at times is earthy and spicy. A very luxurious natural sweetness wrapped in a smoked barrel. The possibility that if you take your time, you can actually differentiate between the about a dozen different notes, makes this one of the greatest perfumes to me. Yes, at first my mind goes to the “Whisky Cola Vibe” as well, because almost everyone grew up with that being their fist “cocktail”. But! On a closer look, this is so much more. An absolute masterpiece.

Roja Enigma captures wealth and really does convey richness in a bottle. Every time I spray this I feel confident and wealthy. It reminds me of luxury and class. Truly embodies qualities of a successful upper class man. The cognac note is extremely strong. It’s almost the only note you smell as it overpowers everything else. The mix of the cognac and bergamot makes it an extremely unique fragrance. I truly haven’t smelt anything like this ever. In the dry down there is a little tobacco but honestly if you’re buying enigma you’re buying it for that cognac note. Couple sprays of this and you fill the entire room. It truly does give a confident and wealthy aura. It also just lasts forever. I would wear this to very classy occasions, definitely made for the winter and fall seasons. It’s definitely not a scene you can wear everyday, it embodies a very strong masculine aura and can be used in few settings. That cognac note may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely try it out and you may be surprised. The only thing is that it comes at a very high price point. However because of how different and powerful this scent is, i personally think it’s definitely worth its value. The powerhouse performance coupled by its unique scent definitely makes enigma one of my favorite perfumes. Scent: 10 Projection: 10 Longevity: 10 Value: 8 Overall: 10