Roja Haute Luxe

I have a decant of this, and I was thinking of buying a full bottle. A very unique complex deep rich spicy ambery fragrance on a bed of iris and white florals, it starts of spicy citrusy and evolves into this creamy Laurel Bay type of scent, it REALLY reminds me of Aleppo soap of you’ve ever smelled that. It does smell a bit Grandma-ish but in the best way possible. I truly love this fragrance but for that price. Nuh-uh. So my hunt began, I’m sorry but I had to do it, DUPES. So far I’ve found 2 only, Dua’s Golden label and Kaisar Parfums’ Luxury Scent and there’s no comparison. I’m located in Europe so ordering Dua’s 30ml bottle for over 100$ including shipping I was thinking sure, as long as I don’t have to put a car payment down for a fragrance I enjoy too much to let go. It arrived and the packaging was what you’d expect from a dupe, that’s not what matters here, I opened it, sprayed and... what? This has NOTHING to do with Haute Luxe, I was immediately disappointed since I wanted something that will at least be similar to the OG, I know I can’t get it 100% but, cmon. I left it to macerate it for a couple of months and came back it to and WOW. Aleppo soap. Nothing but laurel and cloves to my nose. No creaminess, no iris, no sparkle. Just good ol spice cabinet in a damascene home. Then I saw that my main dupe “supplier” here in Europe is releasing a Haute Luxe dupe so I was waiting patiently for 2 months and FINALLY. It released. I immediately ordered a 12ml decant first (since I’m not falling for this trap twice) and bam, it arrived, packaging was also not amazing but, doesn’t matter much to me. It was looking slightly milky but looking at the list of natural ingredients this is to be expected and actually it was a relief to me. I sprayed it and again a punch of cloves and laurel but there was some of that sparkly bergamot, some creaminess some powderiness, dry down was floral and slightly animalic just a tad bit and that got me AROUSED. I mean it’s clearly still macerating and rushed out but it already smells this complex and this similar to the real deal?? I’m very excited to see what happens after a few more weeks of maceration, I’m on day 5 right now and the amount of sediment is crazy, with a gentle swirl it all goes away so I’m not worried about it, it shows that there are indeed natural ingredients in this and it better do since it’s quite expensive for a dupe. I will be updating whenever I remember to. But so far, I’m in heaven for finding a cheaper Haute Luxe, but I promise, if I ever get that much money laying around, I’ll buy a bottle. EDIT: it only gets better as it ages. That’s all I’m gonna say. I’m mind blown. And I’ve gotten a few messages asking about the brand name and it’s Kaisar Parfums based in Germany :)

I don't have this scent in my collection, but I was lucky enough to wear it... or more precisely to have it on my hand. I've had the opportunity to try hundreds of scents, I have 200+ at home, so you can imagine that I'm not surprised by anything so easy. A few days ago I was in a perfume shop and when the salesman asked me if he could help me in any way, I told him to show me something that when I smelled it, I would say "wow". He took out this scent, sprayed it on a paper strip, handed it to me, I smelled it and said "wooow". Then he sprayed it on my hand and I said "wooow" again and I kept smelling it every few minutes for several hours. It still lingered on my hand after a showering. To me, this scent is incredibly attractive, I can't imagine anyone not liking it. Is it worth the price tag? What do we really need? To breathe, eat, drink, and be clean and warm so that we don't get sick. Anything extra is a luxury, and the level of that luxury we prioritize depends on our financial situation. For many people, any perfume, even a spray for 5 €, is an unattainable luxury. Perfumery itself produces products that are considered luxurious regardless of their price. Do you understand what I’m writing about? What can we buy with money is cheap - there are things you cannot buy, even if you had all the money in the world, and these are truly valuable. Price is not a problem. There are people for whom clean drinking water is a luxury. And there are many people for whom the price tag of this is completely negligible, they pay more for dinner for two. And there are many people for whom it is not completely negligible, but they can afford it without guilt. Don't belong to these categories? That's okay, it's your choice. Is it a safe blind buy? If you want to smell extremely pleasant and attractive and create a friendly atmosphere with your scent around you, then yes, it is... you must have it... In my opinion, this fragrance is one of the ultimate... one of the few that we are looking for whole life and will not stop looking for...

When I am sharing my impressions for particular fragrance the most important part always is about the scent itself, its smell. For me the presentation of the fragrance is not so important, amazing bottle with bad juice inside will not catch my attention at all while the opposite happens very often. I will not wear the box or the bottle of my neck :) When we are discussing Roja Dove creations, many people are speaking equally or even more about the price than to anything else. It's normal and I accept that but to a point. Yes, we have high expectations considering the price level but this shouldn't affect our perceptions. Considering all mentioned above, I'll not speak about the box, bottle or cap. Nor I'll make a dissection of the juice note by note. Rather my idea is to share with you what the smell evokes for me. The very first time I tested it on my skin a month ago all together with many other Roja Dove perfumes. What to tell you, I fall in love from the first sniff... The feel of luxury and sensuality has never been so natural, sophisticated, provocative,"old money" and contemporary at the same time. I was amazed and couldn't stop sniffing my arm like a dog during the rest of the day. On the next day, I bought it without any hesitation. No other perfume evokes such feelings like this one. Its refined animalic aspects gently pushing some hidden primitive parts of the soul, simply can't describe this better, you have to test it to understand. What I like about the perfumes as a whole are the images they create in my mind. In this case, they were of very sophisticated erotic, like an image of the well-dressed self-confident woman with deep sensual aura. Everybody is looking at her with the mix of admiration and desire and you simply know she will smell exactly like Roja Haute Luxe.

Just a point of information, re GenuineR30's comment on the gold leaf: the gold is not, in fact, the most expensive ingredient in there; Roja put it in to make the point that the gold is the least expensive ingredient in there. And you can tell. There is something at once unique and yet traditional about this scent: it is vaguely reminiscent of so many classic chrypres, and yet manages a depth and a complexity that is momentarily shocking. But it is a complexity worn lightly. There is no confusion here, nor yet oppression; the nose is led like a willing companion through an olfactory exploration. The notes are supremely well balanced, too: each note is afforded time without any being overbearing or aggressive. The bergamot is soft and inviting, rather than sharp, just as the styrax lends gentle support without any offending element. This is not, for example, like Bogue's MAAI, which is like a wild cat of a chypre (astonishingly beautiful, mind, but much more dangerous). In short, this is exquisite. At £2,500, is it worth it? Is it worth the sum total of nearly ten of his other frags? While of course the answer will come down to personal taste and thus will be one of degree rather than binary—and I'm sure that part of the price is to prevent ubiquity—for me this absolutely is. You can immediately tell the quality, even when compared with other scents in the Roja line (which is not a line known for shirking on quality), and, above all, it will make you close your eyes, be still, and smile. A lot. (I should point out that I initially smelled this—without being told what it was—amongst a bunch of other Rojas frags, and my reaction was as described, so it wasn't some fop to the price-tag).

Roja Haute Luxe has become one of the most famous niche fragrances on the market, despite most people having never smelled it before. Its obscene price and eccentric bottle design has captured people’s attention and thirst for luxury since day one. Whilst the price is ridiculous, I think a lot of people dismiss this fragrance simply because of that. Roja Dove wore Guerlain’s Mitsouko as his signature scent for just shy of 30 years, before it was reformulated and he fell out of love with it - he suddenly had to think, ‘how do I want to smell?’ There’s definitely elements of Mitsouko here, it’s composed as a classical French Chypre with a soft citrus opening, powdery floral heart and an intensely mossy, slightly leathery base. The oakmoss and the florals evoke a feeling of baroque vintage perfumery, it’s unapologetically old fashioned and I love it for that. Again, similar to Mitsouko, Roja includes some prominent warm spices of cinnamon and clove to add some much needed sensuality to the scent. Benzoin is also used in large amounts, giving you that warm ambery feel, but also a thick, sharp resinous facet which contrasts the smooth powderiness beautifully. This scent is stunning, when I wear it I feel like royalty - but you’re paying for status. The gold flakes, sharing a signature scent with Roja Dove, the price tag reflects privilege and not necessarily the scent itself. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this scent - I think it’s magical on the skin, but I just can’t justify spending £2,500 on a single bottle, it’s only perfume at the end of the day. Especially when I would consider Great Britain and A Goodnight Kiss to be far better creations, which are also a fraction of the price.