Well, dear Posse pals, it finally happened. I have hit a wall with Roja Dove fragrances. I have enjoyed everything that I’ve sniffed so far by him and am always eager to try anything he creates (save for things I don’t like in general, such as ouds, vetiver, etc.). Even if I’m not smitten with one of his scents, I know it will contain top-notch ingredients and be well done. And I appreciate his embrace of vintage-type scents, despite the eye-popping price tags, which send my wallet scurrying into hiding at the very mention of his name. So I had no reason to think this go-round would be any different. I eagerly got a bit of his Nuwa, after reading a comment or two mentioning that it wasn’t too far off from Diaghilev. The notes looked great, and even the cumin down in the list didn’t concern me.
But when I opened the vial and dabbed on the tiniest smidge, a wallop of cumin hit me like a ton of bricks. After a moment or two of panic, I calmed down and decided to do something unrelated to perfume and to check back a bit later. But 15 minutes went by and the cumin was still pretty overpowering. And even 35 or so minutes in, still a definite presence. Had it been another scent I might have scrubbed, but this was Roja Dove, doggone it. Time ticked away and it wasn’t until over an hour had passed that the cumin significantly eased. And what was left didn’t thrill me — either that or I was just worn out from waiting out the cumin and had no capacity for enjoyment at that point. So scratch Nuwa for surgery — even our imaginary perfume scalpel won’t do on this one for me.
Cumin wasn’t listed in the top or mid-notes but instead in the basenotes, which is why it didn’t worry me much. But how do you fight a note that steamrolls up from the back end, hitting you right out of the gate, without giving the other participants much of a fighting chance? The only thing I can think of is that I must have extreme cumin-amplifying skin that takes the least little bit of it and magnifies it something fierce.
In the spirit of fairness, I tried Nuwa on different days and times and at different temperatures, but the cumin still barged right in, trampling everything else.
But on my final try, I decided to experiment. Know what fixed Nuwa and made it more wearable? A drop or two of the divine Unspoken extrait. But what resulted wasn’t so wonderful that I would use any more of my precious Unspoken as a fragrant first-aid remedy. I also tried the Nuxe body oil atop Nuwa, and it smoothed out the cumin overload decently as well. But really, unless you just adore the rest of the scent, what’s the point?
So although it pains me a bit, I have to give Nuwa a pass. But that’s OK; you can’t win ’em all, and definitely a relief for the old wallet. However, I’m sure it smells grand on some of you lucky folks.
What about you? Is there a perfume line that you’ve loved practically top to bottom and then experienced a big disappointment with one of its scents? Or a fragrance that on paper you just knew you would love, but was an epic fail when it hit your skin?
P.S. I do not (and probably never will) have the funds to indulge in a full bottle of anything RD, but I’m more than happy to get by with samples and decants. Although his very-limited-edition
Roja, should it ever become available again, might tempt me to sell everything I own to get a bottle. 
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