Kuwait

I have sampled all of them and have full bottles of three of them (Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, and Kingdom of Bahrain) with 10 mL atomisers of the others. I think Kuwait is the best of the collection, it is like Amber Aoud without the ambergris but executed on a higher level such that it is not as sickly sweet and is more complex. The dirty candy description is accurate as is a soapy sweet oud, it has so many facets it is hard to describe. It is fruity, sweet, dark, mysterious and absolutely mesmerising. Hard to pick out the individual notes. As a series I would say Bahrain is excellent and near the top but does not belong here, it deserves direct comparison as more of an aquatic gourmand version of Pierre de Velay 25, if you can wrap your head around that! For the others I would say Kuwait > Qatar > Oman > UAE > SA. Qatar is like Kuwait, but more leathery and milky like Black Phantom, Oman is sexy raspberry ashes, UAE seems like a boring rose oud off the strip but on wearing shows its majesty of complexity...perhaps a class leading rose oud, but no more than that and with Xerjoff's Astral at 1/3 the price is it worth it? ––and then KSA...it starts as a fruit bomb like Aventus but quickly becomes dry and smokey with some fruity residue similar in dry down to Oman, but more dry, less sexy. I'll leave reviews of the others as I wear them more.

My first try from Roja's collection of fragrances inspired by countries of the Middle East, Kuwait is really quite great, a fruity / resinous top & heart sitting on a base of oud, woods, and patchouli. The note list, however, is much longer, and from it, I mainly get a melange of very mixed florals (rose sticks out a little), peach, sandalwood, benzoin, labdanum, patchouli, and musk. I dare say it's sweet but not too sweet, either, the sweetness of the peach in harmony with the florals to give a more balanced sort of heady sharpness as opposed to one that's purely white or yellow floral or purely fruit. Even when it dries down, it's still pretty bright with the florals and fruit, though it feels like it has a little more bass overall after a few hours. It's a great performer, as expected for its predictably-lofty Roja Parfums cost of $550 for 50ml, and to me, a versatile player, as well, seeming to work well for various occasions (casual vs formal), seasons, and genders/ages. This an easy win of a fragrance at a price that's not so easy to stomach, but price notwithstanding, I'd have to give this some thought as a fragrance I'd like to own and wear a lot. This certainly makes me to want to try the rest of the line, though, regardless of price. 8 out of 10

Sweet rich dark dirty candy. The dirtiness coming from the civet. The smell is a 10/10 However, if this is supposed to remind you of Kuwait I give it a 4/10 I do a lot of business in the middle east and have visited all the Gulf states multiple times, except Saudi Arabia. I also have all the Roja Dove Gulf collection, except Saudi Arabia. To me none of the fragrances in the collection remind me or smell like the country they are named after. If you randomly sprayed this on a test strip and asked; what does this remind you of? I would say expensive candy or expensive syrup but Kuwait would even cross mind. When people think of the non-turbulent Gulf states the first thing that jumps to mind is wealth and luxury. I'm disappointed Roja just made a luxurious smelling fragrance instead of making a fragrance that would remind someone of Kuwait or the smell of Kuwait. All the Gulf collection fragrances wear heavy so I give him credit on that. People in the Gulf states don't care and wear their scents heavy even if it's a million degrees outside. They love their dark, rich, heavy, and resinous scents no matter the weather, so that is a plus.

As profound as the Persian gulf, unfolding in never ending layers of depth. Flamboyant like the golden splendor of the sun, awakening in the desert. What a magnificent blend, Kuwait makes my heart pound when I breathe the intoxicating aromas of fruits infused in smoke and agarwood all dressed in grown up sophisticated vanilla, lots of it. The flowers are full bloomed, deep violet accord, roses,jasmine, the brilliant addition of heliotrope to enhance the narcotic quality of the scent, the contrasting earthy patchouli, the animalic nuances of civet and musk laced with peach to add this vibrant animalistic funky juiciness to the composition. This is just a blend apart from the rest, resting above all, futuristic, arabic, regal.

This is a very beautiful perfume with well-balanced and rare notes. I mostly smell amber and oud, and very light notes of civet. The perfume is surprisingly leathery, masculine and very fruity. It does not have the sweetness of fruits you see in typical perfumes (like Byredo's Pulp), this is a semi-sweet, not ripe, fruit. Peach is just there lightly in the background. I agree with others that this is reminiscent of dark dirty candy. The citron is also there only in the light beginning, and very quickly fades away, I barely detect it even after second sniff. This is an ambery, fresh, vanillic peach with a very intense oud background. The projection and silage do not disappoint, as always.