Roja Neiman Marcus

It’s like sitting out on the terrace on a cold morning with a still-warm blueberry pastry you just picked up from the bakery. You take the first bite, and suddenly the whole day feels like it’s off to a good start. The air is chilly, but the sweet warmth of the pastry balances everything out perfectly. It opens with a blast of berries and sugar. Super Juicy, super sweet and honestly the first thing that hits me is this mix of blackberry and blackcurrant. They're definitely in that candied, jammy territory. The opening kind of reminds me of a warm berry puff pastry, like something you’d get fresh from a bakery where the fruit filling is glossy and sweet. After a couple of minutes, the fragrance starts to shift. The berries calm down and the suede steps forward, which is honestly the best part of the whole composition. It's buttery, soft and a little smoky, gives the perfume this more grown-up, classy vibe. There's also a touch of saffron that adds additional warmth, so the scent doesn't stay as a simple gourmand. It's still sweet, still gourmand for sure, but the suede stops it from feeling childish or too dessert-like. Perfomance is pretty solid in my opinion. On my skin it lasts around 8 hours, and the projection in the first few hours are surprisingly strong. If you like berry gourmands, this is a solid option.

I anticipated this release for a long time with extreme excitement. So far, I find this to be a winner. Indulgent all the way through, NM Exclusive opens with sugary, ruby-rich fruits that are tart and vibrant. For those that grew up with Swedish fish candy, they may be reminded by this juicy and vibrant scent; almost cherry-like in smell. In the mix, energizing saffron slices through, asserting its dominance with an aromatic warmth. The transition from the opening nods at one of Roja’s most loved scents. Soft, buttery, and slightly smoky suede mixed with creamy sweetness from fantasy notes of soufflé and pastries add lovely sensuality. These facets wrapped together take a bow to the renowned Sweetie Aoud. Marketed as a bold gourmand, I find this composition to be quite the opposite. ROJA Neiman Marcus Exclusive is very elegant in scent and wearing experience. I hardly comment on others’ opinions when it comes to fragrance, as my opinion is the most important, but people around me loved this scent!

I passed on this fragrance the first time because when I went to the fragrance bar inside Neiman Marcus there was so many people spraying fragrance all over the place where it was so overwhelming I couldn’t get a proper smell from it even though I knew what the notes were. I came back today and asked the sale lady to spray it on my wrist and if I come back to the store I’ll let you know how I like it. Well about a hour later not only it smells phenomenal and this time I was on the other side of the mall and the dry down really smells like black berries and a hint of butter, pastries and black currant. This one is a winner.

ROJA Neiman Marcus is quite sophisticated and uplifting. Initial testing on a mouillette leaned heavily into the suede and leather, but skin chemistry truly transformed this fragrance. It settles into a realistic bakery accord -- rich with dark berries and sweet breads -- that tells a beautiful scent story. The saffron adds a warm, hay-like earthiness that bridges the gap to the suede middle note. The musk provides a soft, lightly powdery dry down, but the suede heart continues to linger. While I love the evolution on my skin, the steep price tag keeps this strictly in 'decant' territory for me.

Neiman Marcus by Roja Parfums is luxury in liquid form. A plush opening of ripe berries feels decadent and glossy, quickly wrapped in the golden warmth of saffron, which I absolutely love when done right. There’s a sparkling, almost champagne like effervescence that lifts the fragrance. This scent radiates luxury from start to finish. It is polished, confident, and unmistakably exclusive, exactly as you’d expect from a collaboration with Roja Parfums. It feels tailored for cold weather in my opinion. The winter is where its richness truly shines. I rate this 9/10.