Musk Aoud

Sexy, sensual, erotic, mysterious, animalic, sweet, naughty Musk Aoud is one of my favorite Rojas from Aoud Collection and it has a very special place in my heart since it was my first scent from Roja Parfums. I bought it blindly and its enchantment has never faded. The color of this crystal cap is the most gorgeous of all! 💎 I think that this scent is totally underrated but I understand that it's not so easy to wear for many. I can’t get enough of this deep and complex scent. It's so sexy, sensual, erotic and mysterious. It's slightly animalic woody musky juice which is blended into perfection like all perfumes from Roja. You have to like oud and musk but it is not so challenging which you could think. The aroma of the scent is Roja's sophisticated and classy style without any roughness or pungent and brash nuances. Musk and Oud are not edgy here but noticeable ones and appropriately naughty but so pleasant in the same time. This will grow on you easily. Flowers play a supporting role in this fragrance rather than bringing a really floral aspect to it. After this settles down it turns so soft, a little bit powdery and a little bit sweet. It’s like the sexy smell of the skin! Vanilla, Nutmeg, Ambrette and Tonka they each bring their own "neutral" and natural sweetness to the fragrance, without being in any way comparable to sugary sweetness. The spiciness is really soft, and it doesn't remind of any food because the traditional oriental spices are missing. One note which can be challenging for me is leather but I never have that problem with Roja's style to do it. This is totally unisex since it doesn’t have so obvious “man” or “woman” characteristics. There is a little difference in the opening between dark and crystal juice but after 10 minutes those are totally same. The difference can be as well because of the age of the bottles. The longevity is eternal. I simply love this, I can't praise it enough and I need to add a big bottle of dark one as well. So sad that this is discontinued. 😭 Again one Roja's scent which doesn't have any similar competitor in the market. Just a note: dark juice stains light clothes From their website (when it was available) Top Notes: Lemon, Bergamot Heart Notes: Rose de Mai, Jasmin de Grasse, Ylang Ylang Base Notes: Nutmeg*, Patchouli*, Oakmoss*, Precious Wood Notes, Sandalwood*, Aoud*, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Birch, Labdanum*, Leather*, Ambrette*, Musk* *Main notes Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

I feel like the more I review Roja's the more my reviews look like paid advertisements. This is partially because I am new to the brand and simply have never smelled such quality fragrances before. Musk is something I never wear and straightforwardly strongly dislike. I feel like it's too mature and it certainly doesn't fit my style. Oud is a note I utterly loathe. It never works for me. It's always too strong, bold, dark, smoky, intruding and overwhelming, especially since I love lighter and brighter fragrances. I had a pal of mine kindly send me a sample of Musk Aoud as he thought I should try it since I am exploring Roja's. I read through the reviews and saw many people describe the opening as in harsh and hard to digest and then it develops into something beautiful. Upon initial spray, I was expecting something atrocious seeing as I don't enjoy musk or oud. Well, it wasn't all that bad actually. It's heavy and it's muddy, but it is an appealing mess. The people are right...as it starts to settle it becomes thoroughly divine. I will straight up tell you, I am merely obsessed with Musk Aoud. It's angelic and heavenly. It's smooth, warm, and as sexy as it gets at the highest caliber possible. It's so inviting, so masculine, so sensual and just envelops you in world of euphoria. I really don't know how else to describe this fragrance other than using the most precious words. Yes, you get musk and yes you get a soft leather, but I don't necessarily get an oud note. This is the second Roja to absolutely blow my mind. PDLN 3 was the first and this is the second. The ONLY thing I HATE about this fragrance and I really seriously HATE the fact that I only smell this fragrance for the first 20-30 minutes and then nothing....nothing at all. I tell myself, "it's still there, don't worry." But at the same time, I WANT to smell it! Two mornings ago, I threw on 7 sprays from my discovery atomizer around 5:00am before work. I returned home around 1:00pm for a break and applied 8 more sprays. Well, same story goes, I lost traction of the smell after 30 minutes. After 15 sprays, and I repeat 15 sprays (from a discovery atomizer remind you), I didn't smell a trace of anything. This is so overly disappointing I can't even begin to explain. One of the best fragrances I have ever smelled in my life and I cant even enjoy it while I wear it! This is still very bottle worthy. P.S. - Ever since I got my discovery atomizer, I find it extremely hard to wear anything else. It's like I have to smell this. I can't not wear it. It's so hard to choose something else.

I first encountered Musk Aoud many months ago in a small sample vial, and now poached a bottle of this discontinued gem from the grey market. Though it is sad to see a good fragrance get abandoned by a house, I can safely say that in my opinion Musk Aoud's flaws will save me from missing it excessively when my bottle one day runs dry. Moreover, a similar but non identical profile remains available in Amber Aoud, though I consider it the lesser composition of the two at present. I'll elide the usual complaint on Roja's pricing but will state openly that, as someone who loves natural oud, this doesn't have much of it in it. The opening of Musk Aoud is a very beautifully done oud-esque melange of what may be a smidgen of the real stuff, a lug of what smells like labdanum and a possible gentle waft of something like cypriol. It reminds me of a VERY muffled version of something like La Couche du Diable, in that it has a burned, bitter-sharp resinous woody quality which, despite not smelling hugely like oud, is nevertheless extremely attractive (I loved it there and I love it here). This pseudo-oud(o) is paired to a transient yet strong animalic of unknown provenance, but gives a fairly dramatic opening which, in my view, constitutes little more than an opening dance on the skin. Musk Aoud's true delight, however, comes from its mid-to-drydown, which appears within about 20 minutes or so of spraying. One of the finest, most expertly composed middle-animalic musks I have smelled appears, as the more lurid facets of the opening capitulate into a heap of somber, grey fur. This musk, supposedly primarily comprised of ambrette, is exquisitely filigreed by the subtle florals, oakmoss and leather to give a stunning nocturnal sensation. The "Musk" part of Musk Aoud is, in my view, essentially beyond reproach: aside from the fact that it can be hard to smell for prolonged periods as is a habit of musks generally. Emotionally, to me this is a very dark, cloistered musk... shy and black yet also warm and inviting. It has that ineffable quality of eliciting a hug-like feeling, while simultaneously remaining poised and refined. It smells not unlike an animal, and yet bears all the sapience and grace of an adult human being. Softness upon darkness. I will likely have my nose open for the rest of my life for a newer musk which reminds me of this one, but for the time being I am content to enjoy this as it is. Unisex, middling longevity and, on me, rather poor projection, but one of the greatest musk-centric compositions of all time.

Heres why so many of you are experiencing poor performance from Musk Aoud. Roses thrive, & are highly fragrant in, Hot & Humid weather. Ylang Ylang is a Tropical Tree. Which means that the flowers that it produces are highly fragrant in Hot & Humid weather. Now because Ylang Ylang itself poses allergenic risks i'm sure Roja Dove created his Ylang Ylang note using a combination of Floral & Fruit notes. Jasmine is a Tropical plant. Which means that its highly fragrant in Hot & Humid weather. Ambrette is a Tropical plant. Which means that its highly fragrant in Hot & Humid weather. The Musks in Musk Aoud are created using Floral Musks. Which also means that this type of Musk will be highly fragrant in Hot & Humid weather. Why would would anyone think that a fragrance composed of so many hot & humid weather plants would see stellar performance in anything outside of hot & humid weather ? We associate certain scents with Seasons due to culture. For example, we associate Cinnamon, Clove, Vanilla, & Ambry sweetness with Fall due to holiday cooking. We associate Rose with cold weather due to Valentines Day & the Month of February being cold in the West. So when Fragrance Reviewers review those type of fragrances they immediately associate them with a Season. And because we have been trained by Reviewers to believe that Spices, Jammy Roses, Rich Musks, & Ambers are associated with Cooler & Cold temperatures, we then expect those fragrances to perform extremely well in those temperatures. Which isnt the case with Musk Aoud. In fact, it isnt the case with Roja's Aoud or Amber Aoud either. All 3 are warm weather fragrances. Musk Aoud is a very dark & sexy fragrance. Its best to wear it in warm weather with high humidity, Hot weather with high humidity, & in late Spring & early Fall when its Cool, but the humidity is still high. I have experienced Beat Mode performance in those temperatures. The discernment of notes is key when dealing with fragrance. Its how you as the wearer learn when its the best time of year to get the most out of your fragrance.

Typically, I shy away from the house of Roja, because the last thing I need is another expensive fragrance to fall in love with and there's no Roja that could be considered cheap, in terms of price. I've made a couple of buys from LuckyScent in the last 2-3 weeks and since they include free samples, I thought "I wouldn't mind seeing what this is like". The less than 1ml sample itself was $14, so I figured they could bear the expense of it. Now, honestly, I expected it to be nice but nothing especially captivating and overwhelming. Truthfully, I couldn't have been more wrong. The scent is just so good and regardless of the notes listed - like rose, which I don't smell at all - I smell a thick, dark, deep, sweet, ethereal musk and ambrette combination with a bit of leather, in addition to a slight wood note that you might expect to be much stronger, due to the aoud, but it isn't - at least to me. The blend is very potent and has an incredible sillage trail. Projection and longevity are excellent. Three swipes from the dauber and I feel like I'm a Musk Aoud bomb. Without trying to be overly dramatic, this fragrance engulfs you in bliss. I was torn between buying the 1oz and 3.4 bottle but aside from the expense, honestly, this stuff is so strong that even going through an ounce will take you a very long time to use and even longer, if you have a collection of any size and there are other fragrances that you like to wear. Last, if Christi or Danick should read this: Although I love this fragrance, the House of Matriarch still holds my heart.