- The bottle: The bottle is very hefty. I have the older paper label, as I am now hearing that they bottles now have a metal plaque on the front. The cap is jeweled and conveys opulence. I have to say that with as expensive as this fragrance is, Roja did not skimp on any of the packaging.
- The atomizer: This was rather shocking to me. I have over fifty scents and this was without a doubt the finest atomizer I have ever encountered. The first spray actually barely made it to my skin. I have since adjusted the spray distance. It also does not dump a great deal of juice, the way a Creed atomizer may.
- The Juice: During the opening, i smell a light citrus and burst of aoud. Now this is a very mild aoud scent, not the typical bandaid "in your face" scent. I would say that citrus opening lasts for about five to ten minutes and begins to transition to a lovely rose that is still surrounded by the subtle aoud. The complete dry down leaves me with rose, aoud, sandalwood and ambergris notes.
- Longevity and Silage: I believe this two last me approximately 6-8 hrs. The silage is rather strong at the beginning, but dies down quickly. I have yet to have a negative comment while wearing this. In fact, while testing out the sample, I had several women tell me that I needed to buy a bottle as soon as possible.
- The Price: A 100 ml bottle will set you back approximately $800. Is it worth the price? Well I bought a bottle, so for me it was. Do you have to spend that much? Not necessarily, as Tom Ford's Amber Absolute has many of the same characteristics at a little more than half the price. I find that Montale Black Aoud can be a "cheaper" substitution, but it is definitely not as refined as Roja's creation.
I originally purchased a 3ml sample of this gem, and let me tell you that 3ml's were not exactly saving me money. I opted to obtain the original amber colored, as there is a crystal that does not have as many dyes. There are some talks that there are subtle differences between the two scents, so i stuck with what I had grown to love. Supposedly, the reddened/amber juice can stain when sprayed on white garments. After I went through the 3ml sample, I simply knew that this was one that needed to be added to my collection.
