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.

Review on my insta (extrait.inspired). A deep, winter-berry sweetness blended with a realistic, buttery suede. None of the smokiness or frankincense that you find in Sweetie. Definitely elegant and the suede is really beautiful on my skin.

I love it at first sniff! I got a slight headache after trying in store. I can wait for winter to try again

For a perfume with this price tag I don’t feel like I should have to overspray it to smell it properly, yet here we are. Good news is it has neither the dental office vibe saffron gives br540 or the cassia cat piss vibe. It’s sweet, berry and very light. Its nice. Is it worth the price tag? Absolutely not. Other berry perfumes will get you there and probably be stronger. This feels like it would be nice for spring winter wear. Can’t say anything for longevity yet but this is almost a skin scent. A very nice skin scent. The saffron goes well in this one. Normally I don’t care for it. Not getting too much on the baked goods front. Maybe a slight kind of spun sugar. Incidentally not picking up on too much suede except in that it softens the currant. Black currant and blackberries are what I smell the most, followed by saffron and sugar, then french pastries and soufflé. As it wears the soufflé pastries and suede come out more for me.

I have 17 2 ml samples of this (long story) and after hours of testing, my final verdict is that it’s a good fragrance. That’s it though, it just ends at “good”. It’s not amazing, it doesn’t do anything more unique or better than any other perfume. Up close it smells like sugar free cherry gum. In the air it smells a lot nicer, like berry pie in a way, but it’s just good. Definitely not worth the price, and nothing to lose your marbles about. It’s a solid 4/5, and it’s nowhere near as good as lost in Paris, so don’t get this as a replacement. I promise.

Waiting for this masterpiece.. 🙂↔️

Another boring, uninspired soulless rebottle of sweetie aoud

I expected a lot more from this but was sadly disappointed. First of all it’s so light wearing, you can barely smell it. The scent itself isn’t bad and is blended well but it is not wow by any means. The berries are bright and juicy smelling, my fav part of the fragrance before the suede comes in. I don’t really get a baked goods vibe which is fine, that’s not what I wanted. I mostly get sugared berries with saffron, suede and some oud, all of which barely whisper at you. Skin scent for sure and definitely not worth the price.

Made the grave mistake of purchasing this from Neiman Marcus without smelling it first. I hated it! It doesn’t smell anything like the notes listed IMO. All I smell is powder! It is very powdery on my skin, and I can’t distinguish a single note other than that. I have and love Lost in Paris. I am starting to think that is the only banger this brand has. I have a full 1.7 oz bottle for sale with original box and receipt if anyone is interested. Please DM me!

Overhyped basic scent. Suede takes over and powder. You get that same wet oud scent from Qatar & Sweetie yet even Sweetie is better. Pre reform that is. This brand has gone to shhh..

Another gourmand from Roja... I'm excited about this one, I really am, but come on. The brand's originality seems to be gone, and the real Roja "died" in 2022.

Those notes, that bottle... OMG! Yummy!