A Midsummer Dream by Roja Dove

They should have called it ‘A Summer Nightmare’ 😵💫. The concept is interesting, speaks of the Shakespeare legacy, the presentation, the name, and the notes sound good, but it doesn’t smell good. Basically, it’s a clean elemi resin that dominates, accompanied by an excessively spicy cardamomo; the citrus welcomes you and all this sits on a base of very light vanilla, musk, and woods. It’s versatile, masculine, and linear, with mediocre performance like many Roja (PDLN #2 for example) and will force you to apply it generously every 3-4 hours. A Midsummer Dream has a serious problem: low quality and a sharp, brassy composition, with excessively spicy cardamomo. It shouldn’t smell like this (though beginners might go crazy for it). The construction is good, but it lacks quality. A worth-knowing option is Pierre de Velay #25, a ‘A Midsummer Dream’ less spicy, more polished, softened, of higher quality, and a bit fresher, although all this entails paying £495/$531 for the 100ml bottle. I haven’t fully gotten to know it, I have several years since I smelled it and after using the 7.5ml travel spray (which took me a while to finish) I wouldn’t recommend it, especially with the recent price increase ($400-). Well, they had to do it since now it sells with an amber Swarovski crystal cap (like Manhattan EDP) instead of the original gold cap. It’s the same boring ‘Stacy Malibu’ but with a new hat 👒. Sadly the brand has changed its philosophy and its offerings are weak. What made Roja great were: Diaghilev, Great Britain, Nuwa, Taif Aoud, Haute Luxe, Black Tier, the PDLN line, Musk Aoud, the now-extinct Gulf Collection, Danger, Fetish, several from Semi Bespoke, and certain ones from Pierre de Velay. Every business dies and those who evolve must survive; current offerings are for the masses. From the display case the bottles scream: ‘hey, look at me, please buy me because I want to be your new friend’. I remember those words were from Katie Puckrik, does anyone remember her? Anyway, that’s why the Parfum Cologne line, Oceania (which smells like an Acqua di Parma and doesn’t surpass its quality), Apex (Sauvage), and decent offerings like Isola Blu, have a makeover. Roja has become Hublot or Tag Heuer (I call it baby Hublot), and for those who know about watchmaking, that’s terrible. 🕊 The dove has left the cage for years 🕊.

Let’s smell it… it’s a fragrance I love and I see it’s hard to dislike (by the way, an air freshener in an optician in Mexico emulated this almost 100%). However, its performance is moderate with normal application; at the cost, if the scent doesn’t turn your head, it may not seem justified, as I see it more for personal enjoyment. I’ve tried the DUA and Alexandria versions, with those you can get an idea, but as happens with many of their inspirations, the quality of the ROJA one is superior, though I’m not sure if so much as to justify paying the difference. Definitely, better for warm seasons; at this price, I see it’s hard to want to use it for extremely casual matters, but the olfactory profile would work for anything. What I do think is that for some noses, this will feel more old-school. I’ll have to use it more before deciding if it stays or goes.

A very pleasant scent. I don’t detect the citrus, but something more aromatic and powdery, with elemi, rose, and cardamomo; it feels more unisex to me. It reminds me of colorful candies like life savers but in pastel tones. Good performance and longevity; three sprays are more than enough. I would recommend trying it before buying.

I’m testing it and indeed it has that air of Tauer’s LADDM, but this one is less sweet, less sticky, and less changing. It feels more refined and monolithic after the dry down, plus fresher, which gives it greater versatility. The scent sounds familiar to my nose, although having Tauer’s at a third of the price… Cheers.