Red Hoba

I love this! Red Hoba is a true niche perfume, it just oozes out luxury and it gives you this lifting sensation when you feel just so empowered. I love how different it is, it has a very nice a bit earthy scent that might be because of the patchouli note. There is a light animalic feeling also, a light sweetness and you can totally smell orris note. It is a very rounded perfume, no harsh notes, no piercing notes, nothing that could disturb perfect balance - a harmony of a very powerful potion. Red Hoba is super opulent, very mystical and a little bit dark in a good way, I would totally keep this perfume for special moments, for evenings, and maybe even for the autumn/winter season. You don't have to spray a lot, because this just radiates everywhere, it creates a perfumed aura around you, everywhere you go people will notice. It is very potent. Longevity is also spectacular - my clothes smell like this perfume even the other day in the evening. Very nice, truly different, and unique perfume. For me, it is mystical in every possible way. I think Fragrantica suggests the perfumer wrong, as the perfumer of this scent is Cécile Zarokian.

I agree with Ginger Kitty that less is more in the case of Red Hoba. Liberally applied, one might get knocked out by the sticky sweet caramel opening and your nerve endings may be so flooded by it you can't smell anything else thereafter. However there is a continuation to this story so if the word "caramel" put you off, be patient and give the scent a chance. You know the cozy and warm feeling you get from amber scents or gourmand scents (if you are a lover of either of course)or whatever it is that makes you melt and become a content purring kitty? That's how Red Hoba makes me feel as it leaves the caramel behind and delves into a pile of dusty dried leaves and woody notes, a blurry sepia background and mild sweet spices. Like an autumnal painting. Like nuzzling the warm fur of your beloved pet. As Lana148 put it, Red Hoba smells of a little bit of everything but in an appealing and unusual way. It has an average projection but I did apply sparingly as forewarned and good longevity. P.S: although it does start off with caramel, it's not an overly sweet caramel, coming from someone who does enjoy her sweets :)

Recently I tried a lot of beautiful and less beautiful scent that made me very glad . Red Hoba dangerously shooked me and thrilled me , and I loved it ... I like when the scent intrigues me, when it is special , and when it finally impresses me above my expetations , because reading reviews of it , I'm not expecting too much ... However , he is a top player , dense , sweet musky patchouli and incense gourmet overtones , enriched with woody notes that have dropped a essences of jasmine and labdanum . No Xerjoff signature but has a tremendous desire to possess ... Going to the wish list and I hope I will not wait long ... Momo Master June 26 2015

Amazing gourmand. Ditch the complicated reviews and negatives below.... It starts out as a walloping Caramel Fudge or Toffee and after 45 minutes turns into a surreal super super smooth cinnamon vanilla ice cream - the patchouli giving a pinch of dark or coldness hence the ice cream analogy. The price is the only complaint - I’m going to start saving - I’ve bought so many samples lol If you like gourmand grab it if you can. Male or female.

Warm and inviting , to me smells like pure comfort. Sillage is strong and the longevity is extreme , no joke lasted me through 2 days and then a machine wash on a shirt one time and whenever i spray behind my head and sit at my chair for 10 minutes i can still smell the scent , although weakly , more then a week later . Absolutely would purchase again and again , and the little meteorite it comes with is just a great bonus at this point

Starts with a cinnamon spiced Belgian waffle wearing a huge amount of vanilla ice cream. It is very sickly and sweet but not overbearingly so, from behind this symphony of gourmand nuances comes permutations of bergamot and jasmine that dance an the skin like a lovers sigh. more to come Sergio is a true master of his talent who compares with Roja Dove Jaques and Jean - Paul Guerlain

الكثير مممن اعرفهم حكم على هذا العطر بالفشل بسبب ان فيه نوتة اقرب لرائحة الحلوى لا انكر تلك الرائحة ولم اجد حتى الان عطر قدم تلك الرائحة ضمن مكونات سبايسية ومسكية كهذا العطر الرائع المتقن تماما قد لا يعجبك العطر نعم ولكن انظر الى العمل الفني ككل وكيف اخرجت تلك المكونات وكيف تم التعامل والسيطرة عليها

Smoky pink lemonade. Just bought meself a full bottle. I wear this only for formal occasion.

I looooove it so much great for cold weather, long lasting around 12 hours

I recently got a sample of this and i haven't seen anybody mention this, but it smells like salted licorice and slightly salted caramel to me. Its undeniable to my nose. I really like it. Idk what is making the fragrance to smell like licorice, maybe the incense mixed with cardamom or patchouli but If you are someone who has been looking for licorice smelling fragrance, then this is definitely something you should try.

Comment from post before me. Initially when sprayed it is smells like a fruity yoplait yogurt. It develops for the better. Into an herbal/papyrus/incensey with the former notes in the background. Blind bought a full bottle and it came with a packet of meteorites from Siberia. Develops for the better.

درود... این عطر فوق العادست... بویش شبیه هیچی نیست اما خیلی خاص و خوردنی و باحاله... ابتداش شیرینه اما بعد به تلخی خاصی تبدیل میشه.. شیرینی بویش شبیه چیزی نیست که بو کرده باشید و ماندگاریس فوقالعادست و پخشش هم عااااللللیییییه...، من از جایی خارج از کشور تهیه کردم حدود ۷۹۰ تومن و واقعا ارزش داره...

Red Hoba is a warm and inviting scent. The cinnamon and cardamom in the opening are lovely, and the incense and patchouli in the heart add depth and complexity. It dries down to a musky, woody base that's perfect for cooler weather. Definitely unisex.

I thought people were exaggerating when they said this smells like licorice, but coming from a licorice country (the Netherlands) this does smell like I'm doused in licorice. Not the sweet candy but the tangy salty kind with loads of salmiak (including the soft ammoniak smell). Longevity is superb, 16+ hours on skin and several days on clothes. I am not a fan of wearing this on itself, but if you layer this with something sweet like a vanilla base or with a honey fragrance (Mamluk) it's actually quite good. Also be weary not to overspray, this perfume works better when it's applied modestly.

This was a blind buy. Dirty patchouli and trace slightly sweeter notes underneath (barely) is about all I get. I don’t care for it really. It has a greenness (from cardamom? Or perhaps papyrus) that almost reminds me of galbanum, but not quite — and not really in a good way. It’s the only xerjoff so far with which I’m less than impressed. Then again, I’m not typically a patchouli fan. It may work better oh my husband.

Less cardamom than I would have wanted.

As much as I love the Xerjoff house, this is definitely not a good creation. The opening is incomprehensible being too sweet with some spicy note and excessively cloying and at all that it smells like a chemical synthetic mess! The dry down makes way for mild woody/dry notes while that mess from the opening smooths down, nonetheless this is not a fragrance that will change and keep you wondering, is almost linear so if you didn’t like that opening everybody is warning you about, don’t expect anything more. After 4 hours the scent remains the same just that the woody/dry notes gave way for hints of a sweet darker note which I feel as musk, vanilla, incense accompanying that chemical synthetic mess from the opening which is always dominant. I’m surprised at how Xerjoff created a fragrance like this and to which purpose. Even putting the messy blending to a side, the quality is way below average.

When it first bursts out of the bottle, it smells like a lot of cooking spices mixed with a little bit of sweetness. It smells like cinnamon and Christmastime. I thought I was going to love it. But once it makes contact with anything, it starts to give off a campfire vibe. I feel like there is a great perfume hiding under all the dirty, smokey stench that is going on, but I can't get over the bonfire-smelling weirdness. Interesting for sure, but I'll never wear it. May wear better on a man.

Childish and overly sweet with a lollipop or chupachups vibe I can't stand. Absurdly priced too, 400€? i wouldn't buy this even for 50€. Big thumbs down!

Definitely is smokey to me, like those incense swung during church, with sweetness added to it. I can see this leaning as a masculine scent.