ROJA PARFUMS
LOST IN PARIS
2024
PERFUMER
Roja Dove
blood orange
bitter orange
mandarin
rum
grand marnier
caramelized sugar
butter
caramel
pink pepper
cinnamon
clove
cedarwood
cashmere wood
vanilla
ambergris
musk
‘A larger-than-life olfactive event that will sweep you up in spectacular rush of sensations, ROJA invites you to lose yourself in Paris. Over-indulgence after the sun goes down, this perfume is a glimpse into the glitterati of Parisian high society. Within an exquisite interior, a Michelin Star chef creates a transcendent dining experience – their mastery of ingredients turning a daily necessity into a sensory art form. A pan of delicious, juicy Oranges caramelize inside a warm pool of Butter and Brown Sugar, with a sauté of Rum creating a sugary glaze over a rich base of Vanilla Bourbon and Ambergris. Becoming a love letter to the spirit of over-indulgence, LOST IN PARIS blends an overdose of sumptuous raw materials to create the crème-de-la-crème of gourmand accords. This is what it means to live life to the fullest.’ – Roja Parfums
I believe that after Aoud Extraordinaire & Chou Chou, this is the third sweet Roja in a row. While Chou Chou didn’t work out at all for me, this one does. It exceeded my expectations. My brother managed to pick up a bottle, so I stole it to review:
Fair warning to those expecting a full-on gourmand fragrance, this is…semi-gourmand for a good chunk of the wear and it needs some time to grow sweeter. It goes more and more in that direction as it dries. Opening very citrussy with a distinct zest. Blood orange, bitter orange and mandarin are listed, but what stands out to me is the peel, the zestiness, not the juice. On the other hand, there is a side to that orangey fruitiness that wears resinous. Like a hand-soap or even a candle.
This is because it’s all covered in butter and buttery texture. This butter accord is not a joke and I get way more of a smooth, sweet butter here than I do for example in Sweetie Aoud (and much earlier in the wear).
What I don’t really get, but was expecting, is anything baked, roasted, like warm pastry etc. I literally get butter and for quite a good time, it’s that fruity, buttery soft accord that reigns supreme. Mind you, that this nails the concept as described by the brand, I just had the image of baked goods in mind.
As it dries down more, I mostly get spices coming through more. Cinnamon and clove are very prominent on my skin, although not as heavy or dark spicy as in Sweetie Aoud.
The fragrance also gets sweeter. Still, mostly nondescript and smooth to me, not a stand out caramelization or vanilla. Luckily, no Baccarat Rouge 540-type sugar either. This all feels high quality and wears nicely. As so often with boozy notes, I can imagine them, but they don’t stand out to me. This is probably just eluding me to some extent, as I often find boozy notes hard to detect.
As far as performance goes, I’ve been wearing it for only 7 hours at the time of writing, but it’s still going pretty strong. Definitely not too shabby for a scent like this.
Overall, this is a nice, sweet, buttery scent that makes one solid transition on my skin, from citrus zest, to warmer and spicier. It is the best gourmand-ish Roja that I’ve smelled so far. At a whopping €1195 a bottle, I can’t say that it feels special, unique or ‘must-have’ enough to warrant consideration for me, even if I had the money to spend. While I quite love it, I could pick several less expensive fragrances that would have my preference, just within Roja’s own line. Still, I’m happy to report that this is a quality product and one that I’m definitely slightly jealous of being in my brother’s collection and not mine.