Roja Parfums
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The first blast is aggressively citrine—lemon and bergamot collide with an almost sparkling intensity, mandarin orange adding sweetness rather than depth. You're met with something that feels bright enough to squint at, a clarity that suggests crisp morning air and freshly peeled fruit.
By the second hour, the cistus moves forward like a dusty veil settling over damp stone, whilst the pineapple reveals its green, slightly astringent character alongside jasmine that's been stripped of its usual romance. This is where Apex shows its teeth—the accord turns vegetal and mineral, occasionally peppery, less polished than its opening suggested.
What remains is predominantly woody and resinous—the cypress, fir balsam, and frankincense create an almost ecclesiastical dryness, with leather and tobacco emerging as the softest shadows. The ambergris and sandalwood provide a creamy base note, but they're never allowed dominance; instead they serve as a quiet anchor to what has become a restrained, almost austere composition.
Apex opens as a paradox wrapped in green silk—a fragrance that announces itself with bright citrus exuberance before revealing something far more complex underneath. The interplay between sharp bergamot and mandarin creates an initial impression of luminous freshness, yet this is merely the door to a more architectural composition. What makes Apex compelling is how Roja Dove has constructed the heart around cistus and pineapple, a pairing that transforms the sweetly floral jasmine into something almost fermented, slightly funky—less white florals, more the green snap of a cut pineapple leaf meeting a dewy, mineral rock rose bloom.
The base refuses sentimentality. Rather than dissolving into vanilla comfort, it commits to an austere woodiness: cypress and juniper berry create a botanical dryness that reads almost medicinal, whilst oakmoss and galbanum add a sharp, resinous undertone. The tobacco and leather buried deeper—they don't announce themselves ostentatiously, but rather surface as a whisper of smoke and worn suede when you turn your wrist. Rum and elemi resin suggest a bygone apothecary rather than a gourmand's fantasy.
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3.9/5 (388)