Apex

Roja Dove #1 - Pinnacle of a DNA. Editing a review is a common occurance but rewriting one is something i’ve done so rarely that i can count it on one hand. Coincidence has it that one of those reviews i rewrote was for Dior Sauvage Elixir, a fragrance that now i can say it sits in the same family with Roja’s Apex. I had the opportunity to test Apex back in 2023 thanks to receiving a tiny sample with a few drops left in it, enough to make a lasting impression. For this reason i ended up buying a partial bottle for a very good price. Apex was possibly the first ever niche/luxury perfume that i’ve tried and now that i own a bottle, i realised that in perfumery its not necessarily our noses or tastes that change in time but our ability to identify what we unconsciously like and to better describe what we smell. My impression on the fragrance is much the same as it was years ago, a very positive one. It impressed me back then just as it impresses me now because it's a fragrance done to my taste. Even more so, it is a very interesting perfume but one that needs some homework, context and understanding to be fully appreciated. Apex takes inspiration from oldschool, dark woody, mossy green perfumes of the past but it's more then that. In any domain, whenever an artist takes inspiration from the past, the most common approach is attempting the most authentic recreation possible. Roja Dove didn't strive for that with Apex. It is not as if Roja time-travelled a few decades into the past, took a bottle of perfume with him from that timeline and brought it back. He made no efforts in trying to hide the fact that he used modern aromachemicals and compounds when he conceived Apex. It is a perfume that fully admits its "birthyear" even from the beginning, yet you can tell that it's a nod of respect towards classic or retro perfumery. I mentioned Sauvage Elixir because indeed Roja Apex is in the same wheelhouse. I cannot ignore the possibility that Roja Dove took some inspiration from Dior and that's no surprise given how monumental of an impact Sauvage Elixir had on the industry. With that said, to me Apex is an obviously better fragrance then Sauvage Elixir. Olfactively it's drier, woodier , more crisp, better contoured but also more...for lack of a better word..."faux-natural". Creatively it's modern-retro or neo-retro profile is way more interesting then the Dior. These nouances shift my opinion on the DNA because i wasn’t a big fan of Sauvage Elixir but i definetly am of Apex. Is Apex worth twice or three times the price of Sauvage Elixir? For the majority of people and in the majority of cases, i believe it isn’t. For enthusiasts it depends on which one’s execution suits one’s taste. Its a well known thing that perfume enthusiasts will pay stupid money for such differences and with Roja’s Apex, i am one of them. Im very happy to finally have it because its in my top 5 favourite perfumes, maybe even top 3 and even though i decluttered all my backup bottles, i already ordered a full bottle to keep as a backup because i want to be able to enjoy it forever.

Selling 80ml/100ml - DM me! :) (located in Croatia)

Today’s review ventures back into the unapologetically bold and hyper masculine realm of haute parfumerie, turning our focus toward a commanding green monster from the house of Roja: Apex. Released as an assertive tribute to the legendary powerhouse giants of a bygone era, this composition sets out to completely subvert modern, transparent designer trends by channeling a raw, uncompromised wilderness energy. The structural blueprint for this release relies on a massive collision of contrasting accords, audaciously slamming a bright, zesty explosion of high definition citrus and tropical sweetness directly into a dense, sprawling wall of deep forest woodiness and piercing, aromatic freshness. This creation showcases the British master perfumer attempting to deliver an authentic sense of outdoor realism, masterfully utilizing a heavy, slow burning undercurrent of warm, balsamic resins and dry, leather adjacent textures to wrap the bitter, ink like mossy accords in a dusty, sun baked atmospheric warmth. Stepping into a fragrance designed to project absolute authority and a distinct, old school maturity, the critical question remains whether Apex can successfully modernize this rugged, vintage archetype with the superior blending and elite materials required to justify its premium cost, or if its fierce juxtaposition of vibrant modern freshness and parched, earthy traditionalism will feel overly aggressive and outdated on skin. Let’s see if this fragrance stands as a brilliant, triumphant masterpiece of contemporary niche blending or if it is merely a redundant, overpriced throwback. Opening: The opening is aromatic, woody, and spicy. The primary accords I get are cypress, balsam fir, juniper berries, and pineapple, with the cypress and balsam fir leading the introduction. The cypress greets the nose first as a dry, fresh, and intensely aromatic woody texture, channeling the vibe of crushed pine needles and clean, resinous timber to provide a powerful outdoor atmosphere right away. The balsam fir joins it as a majestic evergreen tree accord, delivering a piney, aromatic energy that is deeply reminiscent of that classic Christmas tree aroma, bringing a rich, nostalgic depth to the woodiness. Underneath, the juniper berries work to provide a cold, crisp, and sharp gin like spiciness. They deliver an icy, peppery botanical kick that works directly with the dominant woods to create the visceral illusion of a snowcapped evergreen forest. Lastly, the pineapple peeks out from behind the heavy trees as a sweet, vibrant, and tropical fruit accord. It is a highly modern addition to the classic chypre blueprint, calling to mind the iconic pineapple note from Aventus in both tone and purpose, delivering a mouthwatering, sweet texture that acts as a crucial counterpoint for the highlighted forest elements. I also get a healthy dose of oakmoss in the background, incorporating an old school, dark, and inky forest floor mossiness, alongside a bitter, green dustiness from the parched interaction between that oakmoss and the galbanum. The result is an opening that is unapologetically and ruggedly masculine, hearkening straight back to the style of vintage men's perfumery. Dry Down: The dry down is aromatic, woody, and earthy. The primary accords I get are cypress, balsam fir, oakmoss, and leather, with the cypress and balsam fir still firmly leading the composition. Both the cypress and balsam fir remain securely at the helm of the experience during the dry down, maintaining those same rugged, woody, and aromatic forest textures with no real perceptible drop off in intensity. This consistency makes for a fairly linear experience as the fragrance matures on skin, though there are some noticeable transitions. The tropical pineapple sweetness has evaporated off completely, making way for a far more noticeable dose of that dark, earthy, and inky accord rising from the oakmoss. Lastly, a dry leather has officially emerged to provide just a hint of animalic bite in the background. The enveloping, dusty texture that I picked up on from the interplay of the oakmoss and galbanum remains fully present in the dry down, showing up as even more noticeable than it was in the opening hours. The result is a dry down that is still classically masculine and woody, but one that feels even more rugged and dirty. Performance: The initial projection within the first hour of wear is very powerful, pushing out with enough raw presence to easily fill a room. The sillage matches that robust footprint perfectly, casting an intense and heavy scent trail in the wearer's wake. After about three to four hours on skin, the performance draws in slightly but remains highly respectable, still hovering around a distance of six feet, while the trailing sillage is the tiniest bit softer but otherwise still easily noticeable. By the seven to eight hour mark, the composition has further drawn in to about three to four feet, and while the scent trail has lightened more, it remains completely noticeable to those around you. The fragrance ultimately persists until about the tenth to eleventh hour mark before it finally surrenders to become a true skin scent. When to Wear: Apex stands as a technically versatile fragrance that can be confidently worn year round, day or night. It is, at its core, a woody aromatic creation, and that specific scent profile functions flawlessly across any climate or temperature. In terms of situation, this blend is highly suitable for special occasions like date nights or anniversaries, and it can easily be worn for formal settings as long as the sprayer is utilized with a conservative touch. However, it feels much too intentional and commanding for use as a simple casual scent, and it would not fit a standard office environment due to its powerful, room filling performance. Blind Buy: This release is absolutely not what I would consider a safe blind buy for the average enthusiast. This fragrance is engineered with a very specific, uncompromising idea in mind: rugged, outdoorsy, and unapologetic masculinity. This is the type of traditional profile that will only appeal to strict fans of old school masculine perfumery in the style of the original Ralph Lauren Polo, or to those whose explicit goal is to smell like a literal evergreen forest. Because of this uncompromising nature, sampling is strongly recommended before committing to a full bottle purchase. Final Verdict: Navigating nearly 600 fragrance reviews at this point in my journey, I have certainly encountered my fair share of woody, aromatic, and forest adjacent profiles. That being said, Apex stands without a doubt as one of the most raw, rugged examples of this genre I have ever come across. From the initial spray all the way into the late dry down, the composition truly embodies the spirit of classically old school masculine perfumery, successfully channeling the crisp aroma of being outdoors in an evergreen forest. Pair this uncompromising theme with the powerful technical performance that the house of Roja is universally known for, and you get a bottle that many traditionalists could consider to be a modern throwback masterpiece. For me personally, even though I can deeply appreciate the incredible mastery behind the concept, the dense forest texture is a bit too much and became slightly grating on my nose over the course of a full wear, meaning I will be passing on adding a full bottle to my collection. However, I would still highly recommend that anyone who genuinely enjoys that rugged archetype experience this creation at least once. Scent: 5/10 Longevity: 7/10 Sillage: 9/10 Versatility: High Compliment Factor: Average Gender: Masculine Value: Way overpriced

How does Apex compare to the discontinued Bottega Veneta Pour Homme?

Apex has one of the best and strongest openings Ive smelled from an aromatic leather fragrance. The only thing that stops this from being one of my favorites is the fact that the fruity and citrusy notes disappear within about 20-30 minutes, leaving mainly accords of resin, leather, and tobacco. For me its a bit disappointing that it changes so quickly after spraying.

This is a nice, safe masculine fragrance. For me, opening fruity notes are gone in the blink of an eye. The scent quickly becomes an herbal fragrance with a hint of bergamot and pineapple. The juniper, fir and cypress really shine. I have to really search for any leather, rum, patchouli, or amber - these notes all play minor roles. So if you are looking for a traditional men’s herbal fragrance, with hints of fruit, here you go. It’s a bit boring and safe, but sometimes you need that. I would not pay retail price and this can easily be found on discounters. I would say the scent is 7/10.

To be honest the review below mine is almost verbatim what I would have said. A modern take on a classic leathery chypre. Masculine, classy and a solid fragrance. 8/10

A fresh spicy mossy woody fragrance with one foot in the vintage realm and one in modern perfumery. Moderate projection and moderate to long lasting longevity (6-7 hours). I've enjoyed every wearing and reached for it frequently since I got my bottle. I wouldn't describe the scent profile as 'luxurious' but classically masculine and high quality. Is it worth the retail asking price? No. Is it maybe worth it at discounters? I think so, yes.

The tobacco and the green notes in this kind of make it smell like Viride from Orto Parisi to me but much less synthetic. This is like fresher Viride, with citrus, fruitier, ambery, resinous, and boozy notes.

Without a doubt this is masculine profile though and through, in fact 80's masculine. It's not a bad smell but on my skin it turns sour, similar to creed's viking. I don't know if it's a chemistry thing with the interplay between my skin oils and this fragrance but I get almost a vinegar feel on the backend (same thing happened with viking unfortunately). Apart from the sourness, the fragrance itself comes across as a pleasant old school aftershave that you can find in a pharmacy. One of the few from the house that I've sampled that's definitely a no for me. Maybe it will work out for you.

When choosing a fragrance, price can be a bit factor. If you can get something similar for a lot lower price, you start to question the worth of the differences. I got this for less then you can get Dior Sauvage Elixir. Because of that this can comfortably be a daily wear which i would have a lot more problems with of it was €100 more. So the profile seems less controversial. People seem to agree that this is a good masculine scent especially for people 30 and up. It is bold and noticeable and will make you smell like a strong spirit. I am happy with my purchase. I like this scent profile and at least for the price i got it at i feel like it is a great purchase. Though i understand it depends on that price.

Smells like a japanese melon soda, which is nice and all, but the drydown turns sour and hand sanitizery

About two years ago, this fragrance caught my attention while I was testing different scents at a perfume shop, but I guess I wasn’t quite ready for it back then. At the time, I was leaning more toward lighter, crowd-pleasing fragrances like Elysium. Still, it stayed somewhere in my memory. Today, when I had the chance to buy it at a good price, I gave it another try. From then until now, both my scent experience and my collection have evolved significantly — and today, I’ve added what might be the most high-quality masculine fragrance in my wardrobe. This perfume truly shouts, ‘I am a man.’ I believe you’ll appreciate it even more once you’re 35+. It’s versatile enough to be worn anytime, anywhere, in any season. Although its core DNA may resemble some familiar structures — which is true — it undeniably feels very high quality. The performance lasts all day and projects noticeably around you. What more could I ask for? It has easily become one of my most satisfying purchases in recent times

> fragrance bottle is green > Every other review: "this fragrance smells very green, like a forest" No it doesn't, it's a pleasant woody citrusy amber and doesn't smell of trees and pine needles at all

For that price you expect more instead of bold citrusy masculine scent

To my nose, Apex doesn’t bring anything particularly new or exciting. The DNA feels very familiar and reminds me a lot of Dior Sauvage—a style that’s already widely available. While it smells good and is well-made, I didn’t find it unique enough to justify its niche price tag. For a fragrance at this price point, I personally expect something more exclusive or distinctive, and Apex didn’t quite deliver that for me. Performance is strong. It easily lasts 8+ hours on my skin, with good projection and sillage. From a quality and longevity standpoint, there’s nothing to complain about. Apex is a solid fragrance with good performance, but it’s just not my personal favorite. It smells good, but it doesn’t feel unique or special enough for the price. If you already enjoy fragrances like Dior Sauvage, this might be right up your alley.

i liked this more when i first tried it, having spent more time with it got me realizing it's just a nice scent..but not too much more than that. it's a nice homage to old school type of scents and there is really nothing WOW aboubt it, just smells nice.

The most cologniest thing you can wear. No woman is wearing this i don't care what those polls say. It's extremely masculine. Nothing special, nothing modern about it. Smells like what your grandad would wear on easter sunday.. When i was waiting for this sample to come, i noticed the comment below me saying if you want to smell like an old man in a fleece jacket in the forest get this. lol, i immediately got worried but yeah, he wasn't wrong. It's not a bad smell, though, just doesn't smell good that's all. I'd never buy this and honestly have no reason to keep my sample

If you want to smell like an old man in a fleece jacket, who’s been out hunting in a humid forest, go ahead. I think this is so bad…

It's the coldest day this December, 10'. A good day for Apex that cuts through the cold with a nice coniferous, cypress greenes. I like mostly natural smelling niche and artisenal fragrances. This has somewhat of a core of ambroxan Iike smell, with naturals as well. Some call it "modern ". This is why the comparisons to Sauvage Elixer. Some like that synthetic "designer" type smell, and that's OK. This is well done, high quality designer frag. I enjoy the nuances of the pineapple. It is fresh, but not so much in a citrus way, more green and spicy. The cashmere wood, a synthetic is quite noticeable. The many notes listed here on fragrantica for Apex are suggestions of the real smell of many of the notes. A virtual resemblance. Most are synthetics. But done in a pleasant way, not cheap smelling. Rating: 7/10 God bless. John 3:16.

People are comparing this to sauvage and bleu de chanel??? Is this real life lol? I guess if somebody likes mostly modern and current frags they might see resemblance to sauvage elixir (and ONLY the elixir flanker) but mostly only that theyre a similar old school style. If you actually think this smells like bleu de chanel i have great news for you. Theres a fragrance you can get for like 15 bucks called Halston Z-14 that smells like a lighter less fancy/but good version of apex. Apparently BdC smells like Z-14 now...sigh. i have a suspicion that there's ALOT of fakes going around and whatever theyre filling them with smells like a blue frag clone. With all due respect, Apex has NOTHING to do with sauvage edt/edp/parfum or any BdC at all.

Smells like a wet cig ash tray to me.

Thank you Roja, you beautiful man. This finally came down to price point in which I could participate. What if Creed Aventus was made in the 80's? That's in broad strokes what I get here. You get that initial fruity accord with the distinct pineapple note. It has a touch of sweetness without being sweet. Aventus has the leather accord and the oakmoss just as Apex, but when Aventus utilises smoked birch tar and the, at the time of creation, mandatory ambroxan (probably a drop or two in the Apex as well) to convey it's manlyness, Apex goes all out hairy chested mustache and Carrera wearing 80's man, but to not scare anyone off it shies away from the beaver piss and the carnation to give it a more polished and contemporary vibe. I love this stuff. I'm truly grateful Roja made this. He knew this wasn't going to be the most mass appealing niche fragrance of the year, but it's for the few who appreciate this style. It's not unique, but it's not meant to be. I very much agree on the polo vibes. But even though I love my new (and vintage) polo green, the quality, the nuances and the refinement isn't remotely comparable. Polo green is denim and corduroy jacket, this is much more sophisticated. 10/10 (to my nose, anyway)

In the opening, 50% Polo Green - 50% Sauvage Elixr In the drydown, 20% Polo Green - 80% Sauvage Exlir You can’t change my mind as I own both.

First off, the Sauvage Elixir comparisons are way off, imo. This opens like a maybe too harsh Polo Ralph Lauren (Green). My fiance hates Polo and swore that's what I was wearing. The dry down turns the table a bit and settles beautifully. There is way to much citrus in this to be anything close to Sauvage Elixir. I literally don't smell it at all. But I'm a huge fan of the OG Polo so I'm giving this a 9/10

It opens brighter than the pure perfume version and builds to a magnificent finish. There's no difference in the scent from the perfume version, and I think they're a perfect pair. I'll use the perfume for myself and the edp for those around me. I think these are the perfumes I've recently discovered alongside Elixir and quickly bought in bottles: Apex EDP and Apex Parfum. For those wondering what Apex is like, here's a reminder: Chanel Bleu Parfum in the opening (vibes), Dior Sauvage Elixir in the closing (vibes). Of course, you create unique touches and meanings in this transition. These perfumes will be my favorites for a long time. Oh, Roja, you make such high-quality products. better than elixir and bleu! clearly 10/10

I got pineapple and a bit of citrus upon spraying, which lasted about 5 minutes, then after that I got nothing but oakmoss. After several hours, I became quite bored of the oakmoss and was actually starting to find it annoying, so I sprayed some TF Noir Extreme EDP over the top of Apex, and it actually worked really well, Noir Extreme became less gourmand, and the oakmoss from Apex sat in the background, finally having a reason to be on my skin. At the price of nearly £300 for 100mls, just smelling purely of oakmoss isn't something I'd be willing to drop that kind of money for.

Once you notice the resemblance to Sauvage, you can't unsmell that. But it's lightyears ahead of Dior. Beautiful green and citrus opening, extremely masculine vibe, very in-your-face approach to coniferous notes. If you like green frags, this one is worth considering. I don't really care about the opinions like "oh there's nothing original in what Roja creates". The purpose of a fragrance is not to be original, but to be liked and enjoyed. This is a fragrance that people will like and the owner will enjoy. So enjoy, gentlemen!

Those who know Roja know that he takes the old, forgotten gems from the bottom of a bottomless pit, blends them beautifully, polishes them, refines them, and adapts them to the modern day—and he’s good at it; no one can deny that. Even though I don’t like greenish scents and the Aventus DNA or anything similar makes me sick, so I don’t keep Hacivat or anything like that in my collection, this fragrance profile is truly delightful. A mentholated opening like Vicks than It’s like walking into a forest after the rain where someone has left a basket of citrus fruits behind—you pass through and feel the pine, resins, citruses, and woods all harmoniously blended. A beautiful perfume.

my favourite daytime fragrance, strong green scent that opens with citrus notes. great performance too !