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.

These three Aouds are some of the best from Roja Dove - each one so luscious and expensive. As with the vast majority of Roja's output, quality of smell is of the utmost importance, always at the expense of performance. These three share more than just oud and rose though; they share a chypre backbone as well (even though two of them are listed as orientals - they all smell like oriental chypres). They each just have a different special guest: Amber Aoud had sweet jammy figs and ambergris (the plushest, sweetest and roundest); Aoud had oud [doesn't that just roll of the tongue!], which makes it the darkest and heaviest, and my favourite; this Musk Aoud is the most overtly chypric, the driest and longest in the drydown (although it is still sweet in the opening) and features (rather obviously) musk and I get (bizarrely) a wet, green grass accord. It does start with a worryingly urinous opening too, which thankfully switches over to the sweet rose/oud combo, before the urine turns green...that is, it starts to smells like the grass accord. (I've no idea what causes this; nothing close is listed!) Finally, after a minute or two, the whole thing becomes a bona fide chypre. Now it really has arrived. Scary but worth waiting for. Luscious, high quality everything. It ends with a really long but eventually rather subtle musk trail.

Note: Anyone who has this perfume and it’s got a lite perfume scent and the juice is litter too, u have a reformulated bottle. Maybe even a fake. Because this perfumes juice should be very dark and the scent is very strong and just one spray projects and lasts all day. But I have an older bottle. It’s out of this world amazing . I tried to buy a back up bottle a few months ago from a legit re seller and had to return it . It was a much weaker version of my Musk Aoud. Juice was a lot liter and the perfume lasted about 2hrs with weak projection. I suggest looking to buy an older bottle. You’ll know because the juice will be very dark. Every once in a while I will see someone selling their vintage bottle. Very expensive tho. Most ppl know the value of an early release Musk Aoud. I’m currently wearing a few drops to bed and I am enveloped in the most beautiful scent bubble . My goodness this perfume is a masterpiece. I feel like I’m not worthy of such beauty. I remember back when I bought my bottle, it was so expensive that it took me 6 months to pay it off.. still......worth every penny. I feel the same about Amber Aoud. But imho Musk AOUD is just a bit better.

Animalic, woody, leathery, spicey, savoury, rosey and musky. It's always so difficult trying to describe a Roja fragrance because it's so hard to capture the full picture, so to speak. The way this is blended is simply amazing, so smooth and so refined. I'm not sure how to describe it but it almost has a gourmand-ish quality in a savoury way. However...I've recently stumbled across a perfume lover's worst nightmare - a reformulation. This is probably one of the few times that this will be brought up, given that retail the price of admission is so high, and also because Roja fragrances are not produced in huge volumes. Everyone who owns this is familiar with the colour of the liquid being like black coffee. I recently purchased a replacement bottle to find that the colour had become not unlike Amber Aoud! Smell-wise, it's a bit fruitier, rosier and less animalic in the opening but the dry-down is identical to the black juice. Definitely more wearable, but the raw pungency of the opening is gone, which is of my favourite parts of the fragrance!

A lovely chypre. I don't get the animalic blast that everyone is talking about, neither do I get the eternal longevity. To me, it is quite clean. Can lean ever so slightly feminine in the opening if you believe in traditional gender categorizations, but dries down to a lovely unisex scent. Very floral, clean musk, very bubbly effervescent bergamot opening, sweet, fruity, very bright scent, light leathery undertones in the drydown. This is a very lightly ouded fragrance. It's not the main player, but more of a supporting role of an overall beautifully made chypre. Mind you, I do have the crystal parfum. I was told they have the same juice minus the color. It is a much better blended chypre vs chypre siam from rogue perfumery, even though i absolutely love both. Chypre Siam is too animalic for me. For longevity, I give it to Rogue. For the scent itself, Roja. I get around 6-8 hours of longevity with this one. Cheers. note: these two fragrances are absolutely nothing alike. they are just in the same category.

Within the Aoud line, Musk Aoud strays the furthest from the original composition. It initially opens very bright, soft and sweet with a sparkling hit of rose, jasmine and ylang with a slight sharpness coming from lemon. From here the clean musky base develops beautifully. Instead of aiming to replicate natural deer musk here, Roja has demonstrated the innocent beauty of ambrette of the highest quality. Rather than smelling dirty and animalic, the musk is sweet, floral and almost soapy. An array of woods mingle with smooth leather and oakmoss to give the base a creamy, addictive finish. Musk Aoud has to be the best interpretation of ambrette I’ve ever smelled, it’s gentle and subdued yet so incredibly addicting and alluring. There’s a hint of the original Aoud scent profile in the background, however this fragrance goes entirely in its own direction. I really enjoy wearing this one in the spring and summer as the heat really brings all these notes to life.

Holy grail oud territory here. On initial spray I was treated with an intriguing dejavu and could not place where I had smelled this before. I then realized what I was smelling was Black Afghano, the Eau edition. Musk Oud has the same strange doughy, weird, headshop-esque funk to it, but is toned down by many degrees, which is good news for me as BA is too overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, these two are very different fragrances with Musk Aoud being both lighter and more complex, but they are cousins; and this one is much better. Overall on it's own merits I have never smelled an oud that more seamlessly blended notes. The QUALITY of the ingredients and the blend in undeniable. ***Edit: Despite the mind-blowing smell, the performance of this fragrance is very disappointing, which at this price point is a deal breaker. I get about 2 hours of projection and 5-6 hours of longevity -- I guess the holy grail search continues. ***

My impression after testing 5 times. First I'll say that this does not contain real oud, which is disappointing.This is a floral amber chypre with a dose of musk. I thought it might be challenging like something from Areej, Ensar or some other middle eastern heavyweight, but it's not at all. I think they took galaxolide or a nitro musk, and used it in tandem costus and labdanum to create the oud and musk accord. It smells like if Penhaligon's Sohan (galaxolide, rose oud) and Chypre Palatine (amber, florals, oakmoss) had a massively overpriced baby. I don't care for the floral elements personally, and I wish they weren't there. However, all that said, I do really like this fragrance but the ingredient quality and rarity (discontinued) do not warrant the massive markup. I enjoy wearing it and I'll happily use up my decant. ----------------------------------------------- Scent 90/100 Performance 75/100

Upon trying this for the first time in early spring, my impression was that it smelled like a few hours into a summer night out in the city. I could smell sweet beer, cigarettes, and sweat. While this might sound off-putting to most, it wasn't offensive at all. Quite the opposite. It was beautiful, sensual, intoxicating, and I didn't want to stop smelling it. I could still smell it on me the next day after showering, and I am a two-sprays-on-the-neck-one-on-my-chest kind of guy. I ended up purchasing a full (tester) bottle that I will treasure greatly. If it weren't expensive I would purchase multiple bottles. This is the most I've ever spent on a single fragrance and I don't regret buying it. I am writing this on a very hot summer night and the fragrance is even more intense without being unpleasant. I strongly urge you give this beauty a try, especially on the warmer days of the year.

Straight undiluted love for me. There are mixed reactions because people expected this to be automatically their dream come true fragrance. They develop heavenly fantasies before sampling, probably because most people translate high prices and Roja dove to perfection. Folks, complex fragrances does not always give perfect first impression...they need time and you also need time with them. Yes the price of this bottle is in a different league and I don't think a whole tree should be worth the bottle...but folks, this is a masterpiece blended to perfection from a genius. You wear this for specific events only...and you will become the most interesting personal in the room. I've never smelled anything like it hence it took me a few sprays for my nose to adjust to this new love. This is perfection for me, when worn right it might be the best spray you've ever sprayed.

Musk and Oud, two legendary ingredients blend to perfection. Musk Aoud along with Amber Aoud are the best creations from Roja’s house. I love both of them equally but the complexity and refinement of Musk Aoud seams to create more emotions, it is a really sensual fragrance for a person who can smell and identify the ingredients. The feelings can be different especially for those who don’t understand Musk nor Oud and can get even more complicated for those who can’t smell the two main players. Suddenly some people will not be able to smell Musk at all, some will get irritated by Oud or other ingredients. This is a complex and sofisticated concoction, a very special fragrance that will please any connoisseur and disappoint the others.

Deepest Desire This is not love at first sniff. But after a couple wearing I can resonate what is this fragrance meant for. This is the most sensual scent I have ever encountered. @rojadove created a very animalic musk accord so realistic that when interacting with the skin give this pheromone effect. The fragrance is very dry, slightly sour and a bit of leathery. Every notes is working together making the wearing experience like a second skin to satisfy the deepest desire within. This is not a mass pleasing fragrance but rather for a special occasion like intimate moment and in bed. So I recommend trying this with caution because it can bring out the other side of your character 🙈 #vscentorientreview

After many years, the call of this fragrance being discontinued (I hope it isn’t true) finally drove me to purchase a bottle, albeit at a heavily discounted price. I have had many samples and decants of this, so I can only hope it stays true when I receive it. This is in my opinion the best of the trio out of the original ‘Aoud’ fragrances. The musk in this is so inviting, regal, opulent. This fragrance is the prime example of a Roja fragrance, and one that fragrance collectors should not miss. If it truly is being discontinued, I feel sad for anyone who never gets to experience this beauty. 1 bottle should last me a life time considering how potent this is. One spray is all you need.

This is the first time I've ever smelled a fragrance that immediately made me think of s*x. I've never read or heard anything about this fragrance before trying it, but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought about it! Soft, but attention-grabbing. A bit sweet and a bit floral and REALLY musky. If you've ever wondered as I have about what real muskiness smells like in a fragrance, this is a good one to try. I also experienced not so great longevity, but that might be because I tried it in the wrong weather. This is unisex, but I want my girlfriend to wear this because of the aforementioned reasons lol 10/10

This fragrance is absolutely Majestic. Not many words are needed to describe this one, it needs to be smelled to be believed. It's a very strong, complex, indulgent musky scent which has hints of sweetness masses of animal quality and a hint of the floral. The opening is of citrus top notes but as with many Roja's they fade very quickly and you're in no doubt that this is a heavyweight fragrance. Never over bearing Musk Aoud is very refined indeed, I just wish I could afford it. If I'm honest Amber Aoud is more my kind of scent but this is equally as good quality and showstopping. Brilliant!

Roja Musk Aoud (2013) - cashmere musk - @rojadove creates a very wearable oud accord. It’s not medicinal or fecal - quite the opposite, smooth & refined. I enjoy that he married it with Ambrette, a seed that when processed smells like sweet human-like musk. But I own a lot of Ambrette perfumes and these 2 alone are not giving the warmth I’m smelling. In the base, it’s supported by leather-vanilla chypre accord that is comforting. One of the best Roja made and could be better than the famous Amber aoud.