If there’s a perfumer whose name is synonymous with luxury, it’s Roja Dove.  A passion for creating beauty through fragrance using the highest quality and exceptional ingredients makes the Roja Parfums line the gold standard in perfumery.  It’s hard to believe, but Roja Parfums only recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.  Maybe due to the many stunning perfumes in the collection, it feels like the house has been around for many more years.  Or maybe it’s because Roja looms large over the Industry.  In any case, Mr. Dove has been a major figure within the perfume industry for quite some time.  Roja’s perfumed journey started when he fell in love with his mother’s perfume wrapped up in a goodnight kiss.   Professionally however, it began with Roja developing a fragrance-training course for Guerlain.  Learning, crafting and honing his skills, Roja was employed with Guerlain for almost 20 years where his career with the infamous house culminated in his being honored as the Guerlain Global Brand Ambassador, the first time ever in which a non Guerlain family member was given this role.

After leaving Guerlain, Mr. Dove went on to establish a perfumery training and public relations firm – representing luxury brands across the globe.  And then in 2004, he opened the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie, located within the iconic London department store Harrods.  The Parfumerie created the perfect atmosphere for patrons to experience the world of rare and luxurious perfumes in a beautiful and exquisite salon setting.

After opening up the Parfumerie, Roja began creating bespoke perfumes for clients.  While most would be thrilled to have a bespoke perfume created for them, such a luxury item is out of bounds for all but a few.   In 2011, Roja introduced to the world his own line of luxury perfumes, Roja Parfums.  Since its inception, Roja has created a wide range of classical perfumes for both men and woman, as well as some branded perfumes created for well established internationally known stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods and others.  Roja Parfums latest release is A Midsummer Dream, a rich oriental fragrance that was inspired by  “the belief that perfume can take you to an enchanted place – a dreamland. It can remove us from the reality of the mundane and transport us to temporal worlds of fantasy. Like a lover, scent can touch us, move us and inspire our very being.”  – Roja Dove

What you may not know about Roja is that he was appointed an Ambassador for Great Britain.  An honor bestowed to him as part of the Great Britain campaign in which he and other leading experts in their respective fields represent the nation as one voice to highlight Britain as a haven for creativity and opportunity.  Congratulations to Mr. Dove on his appointment as well as his five-year anniversary for Roja Parfums.  Even though Roja Parfums has only been around for a relatively short time, we have no doubt that this house and Roja’s legacy is here to stay.

So let’s see what Roja’s Random 10 reveals about this incredible talent and creative entrepreneur!

1. If I wrote a personal memoir, it would be entitled…Life Has Been Kind.
2. I am a hoarder when it comes to owning multiple bottles of …Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut Champagne.
3. My proudest accomplishment was …to be made an Ambassador for the GREAT Britain Campaign for my creative work.
4. My parents always taught me to…to be non-judgmental of people. To be honest. And whenever I used to say I wanted to do something, my mother’s reply was simple – “why not?” She was the person that made me believe that you can do anything. I think too many people spend too much of their time thinking of all the reasons thinking about why they can’t do something – rather than getting on with what they maybe can do.
5. When it comes to my organization skills, I…cannot abide people who work in chaos. I think that I fundamentally have a very logical, structured, organized mind. I hate seeing disorganization and I don’t like working with people that are chaotic – and themselves aren’t organized.
6. What makes me smile is…seeing people develop and grow.
7. My biggest fear in life is …mediocrity.
8. What drives me most crazy is…injustice.
9. The song that always makes me happy whenever I hear it is…Louis Armstrong – We Have All The Time In The World.
10. I am hopelessly challenged by…accountants, lawyers and form-filling.

Thanks to Roja for participating in the Random 10.  Since I was not familiar with the Louis Armstrong recording of “We Have All the Time in the World”, I attached the YouTube link so you too can experience the song that makes Roja happy:  Louis Armstrong – We Have All the Time in the World

For more information about Roja Parfums, Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie and Roja Dove himself, go to:  rojadove.com