ROJA PARFUMS
Sweetie Aoud PARFUM

2015

PERFUMER
Roja Dove

bergamot
artemisia

rose de mai
cistus
patisserie accord

cardamom
cumin
gurjum balsam
cypriol
patchouli
cedarwood
guaiac wood
oud
juniper
amyris
frankincense
labdanum

‘Entering a world of indulgence, Sweetie Aoud teleports you to a grand Arabian palace. ⁠In the royal kitchen, a French Pastry Chef causes the smell of melted butter, caramalised sugar and toasted almond to mingle in the air with the scent of Agarwood and Frankincense burning from Bakhoors. ⁠The addictive quality of this sweet Oud perfume is balanced by dry Wood and Leather notes to create the perfect gourmand perfume. A highly original interpretation of a traditional Aoud-style fragrance, Sweetie Aoud evolves this legendary material into something thoroughly contemporary and unexpected. Rarely seen in perfumery, the ancient note of Aoud is transformed into a mouth-watering gourmand composition which is impossible to resist. The elegance of Rose de Mai and the balsamic beauty of Frankincense mingle with a unique ‘Patisserie Accord’, as the whole wraps around the focal ingredient of Aoud. Meanwhile, Spices, Woods and Resins create a deep and mysterious base which enables the delicious sweetness to resonate softly throughout the day. Reminiscent of the delectable pastries in the finest of cake shops, Sweetie Aoud is a delectable guilty pleasure for the senses – a totally contemporary design which can only come from the mind of the master of Aoud – Roja himself.’ – Roja Parfums

I’d only smelled Sweetie Aoud in stores briefly a couple of times; was always intrigued, but also didn’t really have a clue what it smelled like. So buying this was a bit of a riské semi-blind buy, that I ended up selling again some months later. Here’s why:

I still don’t know what it smells like. After some proper wearing, the theme or the genre of Sweetie Aoud eludes me mostly and I’ll walk you through my existential crisis in trying to figure this fragrance out.

At first, I thought; not to downplay anyone’s experience, but this is one of those popular fragrances where I feel like every one mimics one another in explaining it. Yes, it has a ‘patisserie accord’ and there is definitely something bready, gourmand-ish in here. However, I would hesitate to call this a full-on gourmand fragrance overall and I certainly don’t think it smells like a croissant or overly buttery straight away (for butter, Roja’s Lost In Paris nails the concept).

Instead, the most prominent thing to my nose is definitely cardamom. It’s quite spicy, with a burnt sugar (more burnt than sweet) and resinous facet. There’s a hint of a dried fruits…shisha lounge type of vibe going on in the background and a persistent (and welcome) acidic edge that I can’t place. Like an orange zest on the side of your glass of …Sweetie Aoud.

As it dries, the sharpness of the spices stick around quite a bit and there’s a hint of leather. It’s in some ways even a bit abrasive. For a moment this started to remind me of Amouage Interlude 53‘s opening (here I started to question my sanity). That slightly smokey, herbal green DNA, but with more of the sweetness that the 53 version also has at first.

I think this could just as easily be described as a spicy, woody, resinous and leathery fragrance than a gourmand. It’s not quite cozy, although… wait, is that butter? That breadiness is definitely still there. Should I scratch everything I wrote above?

As often is the case, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. I personally don’t think of this as a gourmand most of the wear, because there are too many, non-cozy distractions. But every time I’m close to calling it out for being other things, the gourmand elements come forth to tell me I’m wrong, especially that buttery texture.

Maybe I’m just eating the wrong kind of biscuits. I like Sweetie Aoud, but I don’t love it.