Musk Aoud Absolue Précieux

Without question, THE most sensual fragrance that I've ever smelt in my life. A truly amazing creation and I'd refer to it as paralyzingly good. The smooth, very full and very rich sweet musk is very dominant and while I can pick up a backing leather, for the life of me, I'm picking up very little or almost no woods at all. Because it's listed, I'll agree that Aoud is there but to me, it's a very recessive or muted element. To me, again, this fragrance is a deep, full, sweet musk. There is a difference in regard to the Musk Aoud parfum and the Precieux version. My answer to the difference came in the Roja Parfums Facebook group, which was created by Roja Dove himself. The difference is that the parfum is a 23% concentration, while the Precieux is a 25% concentration. The Parfum may project more due to the higher alcohol content and dispersion but the Precieux is much more full and rich and sits closer to the skin. According to a YouTube video from Roja Dove, a good place for the application of this fragrance would be the collar bones or on the wrists but don't rub it. The idea of putting it on the collar bones is that you get to enjoy wafts of it being close to you each time you turn your head on your wrists from normal movement. This is a very sensual fragrance and if applied correctly, the scent experience is for you to enjoy and perhaps someone in very close distance to you, as in, someone that has come close to you for a hug. As an advisory note, be careful and don't wear this with light colored clothing or at least be sure to let it dry very well before putting on light colored clothing, because it will stain. If you like the fragrance and still want to wear light colored clothing, consider the Crystal Musk Aoud, which is clear. Don't buy this fragrance expecting it to be high projection, because it's not. In my experience. I'm not getting a lot of projection from it but then again, I'm not trigger happy. Alternatively, I am getting excellent longevity out of it as a skin scent, which is exactly what I believe the intent of this fragrance to be. So, in the sense of a rich skin scent with excellent longevity, it's a 10/10 for me. After all of these years, I've finally found THE pinnacle of what I consider to be a fragrance masterpiece. Yes, I have other fragrances that I absolutely love and that I would never get rid of but in terms of the scent alone, this is a grail for me, if not THE holy grail. The only downside of this fragrance is that it's incredibly expensive. The 30ml lists for just under a thousand dollars on a discount site and just over a thousand at retail but I'd never buy a fragrance like this from a discounter. If I'm going to buy this, it's going to be from an authorized Roja dealer. I've started with the 7.5 ml Discovery Atomizer, which, at $225 on the Roja site, is much more expensive many niche fragrances that are already considered "high end". Roja does have discounts and sales from time to time, so you could get on their subscription list and pick one up then. Still, when the Discovery Atomizer is empty, as bad as I hate to say it, I'll spend the money for a full bottle. Having said that, as strong as the fragrance is (skin scent longevity wise), it will be a long time before that happens. I bought my Discovery Atomizer from an authorized Roja dealer and I had an interesting choice of which one I wanted, since he had two of them. He had an older atomizer that had a much darker juice and a newer one, with a slightly lighter color. The juice in the newer one was still dark but not quite as dark as the older one. When I asked what the difference was between the two, he didn't know and I questioned if maybe it was because one was aged more and he said that could possibly be it. When I asked which he would go with, he said he'd probably go with the darker one but that I could have whichever one I chose. I went with the darker one. Again, in regard to the darker juice, I'm still thinking that aging could be a possible reason for the coloration or possibly the variance among natural source products at the time of production or maybe both. I will ask this. If any of you truly and definitively know the answer to this, please send me a message and let me know, because I'd really like to have the answer. In terms of rating this is an off the charts pinnacle fragrance and my personal rating is 12/10.

An enigma created by one of the most reputed houses in the niche perfumery. A rich blend of brisk rose, warm velvety musk and smoky balsamic oud note that actually gives off the feeling of true burning agarwood chips. Its also a bit animalic but its the most amazing touch of cultured suede; sensual and enticing. The perfume keeps on changing colors vividly every hour and needs colder weather to shine. The texture feels like a coat of scented animal fur on you. Lasts an easy 14 plus hours with a good sillage. Its not a huge people pleaser but a must have if you want to please yourself :-). The base is similar to the magnificent Aoud range by Roja. If you feel the price is way too much just like me, Cuir Obscur by Byredo (Harrod s exclusive) ~ 200usd is an equally enticing intimate scent if not equally complex and luminous in feel. But I had to have it and I wear it when I want to feel like Me.

In my opinion, this seems to be where it all starts and ends as many of the Roja dove fragrances, dry down to the same ‘out’ base. In my opinion, lily, gardenia, Nuwa, Ti Amo, Fortnum and Mason and Harrod’s OUD are the only fragrances that do not eventually (much sooner than later) dry down to the exact same base notes. That is to say, I definitely feel like I’ve wasted money on the more expensive forms of this base. Note: a good night. Kiss, Diaghilev, two, three, Brittania, 51,... You get the idea out of the over 20 Roja dove perfumes that I own, I now realize that really, you only want a purple cap, 1 blue cap, 1 clear, and the red caps. It doesn’t matter which ones, just pick one. They all end up smelling exactly the same. I can’t believe I fell for this.

This is drier, more rosy and denser than the OG. The smell is amazing and it lasts a great while. I must admit it would be redundant to own both versions.

Orange peels and distilled tree sap. This is definitely an oudy musk and what FDB's Oud Orange Intense should've been.

I've got a name for this review: Musk Aoud About Nothing! OK, possibly only works for Shakespeare fans, and not funny even then. But if it's a bad joke, at least it's not alone here. Because really? Am I going crazy? How much does this perfume cost and for what? Did I just get a dodgy tester? The liquid is very dark so I wonder if it is a sign that the sample's too old or gone off or something. It was oily on my skin, and actually I had to wipe it to stop it running down my wrist, so I am really not sure that all was right with it. In terms of scent, this was a strong blast of oud that became smoke in a very quick drydown. The opening was pleasant enough if overwhelming. Then it wears off and become some generic demi-incense collapsing into nothing but smoke. That's it. I received a whole bunch of testers as a Xmas present, this is the very first I have had to wash off because it was giving me a terrible headache - without any real scent! How chemically crazy is that? If it turns out I was given a bad batch, no worries, I will come back and amend this review, or maybe write another. But for now, all I can say is that I wouldn't pay 10 dollars for this never mind 1000 or whatever. If this is the real thing, it's honestly a case of hype over sense.

Whoever wants to be my girlfriend and to spend my money?

I was very excited I get to experience this gorgeous creation; I was always so intrigued by the pure aoud oil collection - the absolue precieux - the powerfully concentrated fragrances of @rojadove. Musk Aoud is unlike anything I have come across - for me, aoud can be very overpowering and if its used in very high proportions, I may not even like it. Musk Aoud is masterfully blended, but that is no surprise. Musk Aoud is categorized as a Chypre fragrance - it has musk, ambrette, labdanum and leathery accords in its base, which gives it a deep, warm and leathery tone - however this fragrance develops into something extraordinary; subtly floral and surprisingly fresh. At least on my skin. Imagine a beautiful fur coat sprayed with gorgeous scents - the warm leathery base transforms into oudy nutmeg, jasmine, rose.. which all are very noticable. In the top notes you find lemon and bergamot which gives it a fresh twist. Complex, develops very well and lasts hours and hours - and so multi faceted.

This perfume costs $1050 for one ounce at Neiman Marcus. Whoever wants to be my boyfriend can buy me this, because I certainly won't have it before then. :)