Roja Dove Risqué Pour Femme (Creation-R)

Photographer unknown. Source: Pinterest via tempodadelicadeza.com.br/

Photographer unknown. Source: Pinterest.

A rich chypre with wonderful mossy depths, Risqué is a fragrance where you’d do better to just put the name aside and inhale happily. It is a scent from Roja Dove that is officially categorized (and titled) as being “For Women,” but Risqué (hereinafter just “Risque“) is truly unisex, in my opinion, in addition to being far too classical to really warrant such a dangerous name. But it is lovely, thanks to a complex verdancy that is laced with unexpected hyacinths, fresh chamomile petals, civet, and vetiver, along with the usual floral suspects of rose, jasmine, and ylang-ylang. At times, primarily in the opening hour, it bears a strong similarity to Amouage‘s gorgeous Fate Woman, but Risque preceded Fate by a year and is ultimately its own creature. [UPDATE: At the time this review was written, there was only Risqué for Woman, and no parallel version for men had been created. This review is only for Risque Femme, and the title of the post has been amended to reflect that fact.]

Risque in EDP and Extrait bottles. Source: Fragrantica

Risque in EDP and Extrait bottles. Source: Fragrantica

Risque was released in 2012, but is sold in America under the name Creation-R due to legal trademark reasons. It comes in two forms, an Extrait (or Pure Parfum) and an Eau de Parfum. This review is for the Extrait. On his website, Roja Dove indirectly tries to address the disparity between the name and the classical nature of the scent by saying its surface conformity is symbolic of social restraints and something that hides a wilder, sensual heart:

WARM, DRY, FRESH, SWEET, & LEATHERY
“When I created this I thought of how society tells us how we have to behave, think, and act. So I decided to create a perfume that seemed tailored and disciplined – but as it develops it starts to show its overtly sensual base, which gets warmer, darker and more overt with each breath”. – Roja Dove

TOP: Bergamot
HEART: Chamomile, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Rose, Ylang Ylang
BASE: Cedarwood, Civet, Labdanum, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Vetiver.

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Bogue Profumo Maai: Valkyrie Chypres & Vintage Animalism

"Panther Rider" by Jee-Hyung Lee. Source: blog.naver.com/leejeeh84

“Panther Rider” by Jee-Hyung Lee. Source: blog.naver.com/leejeeh84

A chypre Valkyrie called Maai descends from vintage Valhalla, riding a growling black panther called Hyrax down a thick spiral of smoky black resins into the drab modern world, infusing it with oakmoss from times gone by. Roses and jasmine are intertwined in her hair, their scent mingling with the fierce musk of the castoreum leather armour that shields her. As Maai sings Valhalla’s anthem about vintage chypres, oakmoss blooms around her like a force-field, growing more and more powerful, touching everything in her path. The cloud of green is stained with black from smoky styrax and leather, and with yellow from a urinous stream of civet left in the panther’s wake. It is so powerful that it blows the flowers from her hair, creating a vortex of jasmine and rose deep within the green. As she approaches Earth, Maai’s cloud sweeps up soft, earthy vegetation and humus from the ground below her, unearthing a deep core of labdanum amber whose warmth softens her warrior cries. Her panther roars along with her, baring his teeth in a feral song and raising his leg to mark his territory with a steady stream of animalic skank. Yet, in the end, both are tamed by the Earth’s golden heart, which coats their bodies, defuses their power, and transforms the feral panther into a labdanum steed with only a hint of musky leather. This is the tale of Maai, a Valkyrie from a bygone age, and her return to Earth.

Source: cn.forwallpaper.com

Source: cn.forwallpaper.com

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