Britannia
Roja Parfums (2012)

Britannia is the whole world in a bottle.
It opens with a slight bitter citrus then the giant peach note takes over and toggles with a cocoa presence. A beautiful orris/ambergris combination surfaces and changes its nuances much like a well running swiss clock with a large list of notes and experiences dancing for attention. You want a chypre..its in here.. a dusting of a fruity sweet light gourmand? Its in here.. a powdery violet candy.. well you can have that too. Genius. Voluptuous, full figured fragrance in the best way. Opulent. Britannia.

Roja Parfums Britannia was created by the man himself as a nod to the goddess Britannia and the both the exploratory and accepting nature of the island.

To my nose, it is primarily a floral exhibition, a citrus opening giving way to what seems like a mix of champaca and heliotrope, and to a lesser degree, rose and jasmine, eventually giving way to a base of patchouli, vetiver, and ambergris, with some woody elements as well.

The composition is a mostly-floral with some citrus on top and in the heart with an earthy, woody base. Very sophisticated, somewhat agreeable, albeit overall a bit feminine-leaning.

Performance is very strong on longevity but not so noteworthy on projection.

$1,050 for 100ml is a tough sell by most standards, but this could fit the bill for a lot of people, I imagine.

7 out of 10

This review is for Roja Dove Britannia which was released in 2016 (not 2012). Britannia is a different fragrance from Roja Dove Great Britain which is a limited edition and which might have the notes listed on the Basenotes page for Britannia. The notes for Britannia are: top notes - citron, bergamot, mandarin orange and tangerine; middle notes - rose de mai, jasmine, champaca, heliotrope, cassia, violet and peach; base notes - cinnamon, cloves, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, cacao, musk, orris root and ambergris.

Britannia is a very clean scented, citrus and floral powdered chypre that is constructed with layerings of the very best materials to achieve a mandala of layered warm and floral simple clean pleasantness. This is the sweet powdered sheen of aristocracy and privilege. Brittania reminds me of the image of a well dressed, very proper perfectly dressed and perfumed privileged class. It smells like old world fragrances might have smelled at one time.

The note for the powdered base is centered around cacao. Cocoa powder is enhanced with musks, orris root, peach, violet, heliotrope, champaca, cinnamon, and sandalwood - all notes of powdery nature but each bringing a different aspect too of citrus, resin or floral aspects into the density of the fragrance.

Brittania appeals to our sense memory bringing back the the allure of vintage perfumes of past generations such as: Tiffany for Men, Chanel Pour Monsieur and Givenchy Gentleman. These all have that lightly scented powder base but strength as well. However the materials of Britannia are much more luxurious and intricately layered reaching for a simplicity that is difficult to achieve. This is a beautiful fragrance, that I am sure many people will enjoy and treasure. But it feels overworked and too complicated to achieve the simplicity and integrity that I was hoping to find.