Perfume Battle Round 65: Xerjoff Naxos vs Roja Aoud Crystal
Round 65 of the AlHimyan Perfume Battle sends the champion into the deep end of luxury oud. Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos has won ten straight rounds and now sits one win away from its eleventh. Its opponent is Roja Parfums Aoud Crystal, Roja Dove's grand rose-and-oud parfum from London, and one of the most expensive bottles ever to enter this tournament.
One is honeyed tobacco with a lavender-citrus lift. The other is a thirteen-note oriental base of oud, ambergris, saffron and leather under a full floral heart. Both are unisex and both are in stock at AlHimyan in the UAE. Here is how they compare on verified community data.
The tale of the tape
| Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos | Roja Parfums Aoud Crystal | |
|---|---|---|
| House | Xerjoff (Italy) | Roja Parfums (United Kingdom) |
| Perfumer | Not credited | Roja Dove |
| Released | 2015 | 2011 (original Aoud) |
| Concentration | Eau de Parfum | Parfum |
| Size at AlHimyan | 100 ml | 100 ml |
| Price | AED 869 | AED 1,452 |
| Cost per ml | AED 8.69 | AED 14.52 |
| Main accords | Sweet, spicy, gourmand, creamy | Woody, oriental, floral, spicy, resinous |
| Community ratings counted | 13,689 | 484 |
Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos: the champion
Naxos is part of the Xerjoff 1861 collection, a tribute to the unification of Italy, and it still holds the number one unisex ranking on Parfumo. The opening is bright and clean: lavender, bergamot and lemon, deepened by Omani frankincense. The heart is where it earns its reputation, with honey, cinnamon and jasmine sambac over a soft cashmere-wood texture.
The dry-down of tobacco, tonka bean and vanilla is creamy, sweet and warm without becoming sticky. It stays close to the skin for hours and lingers on fabric into the next day.
Community scores (Parfumo): Scent 8.9/10 from 13,689 ratings, Longevity 8.8/10, Sillage 8.5/10, Bottle 9.1/10, Value for money 7.6/10.
Roja Parfums Aoud Crystal: the challenger
Aoud Crystal is the same composition as Roja Dove's original Aoud, first released in 2011. The original juice is very dark, so the house developed a process to remove the dark pigments, leaving a clear liquid that will not mark light clothing. The scent itself is unchanged, which is why community data for Aoud applies directly here.
It opens with vervain, bergamot and lemon, a fresh and slightly herbal start that is lighter than most people expect from a bottle called Aoud. The heart is lavishly floral: May rose, geranium, Grasse jasmine and ylang-ylang. Then comes the base, and it is enormous. Oud, ambergris, musk, saffron, vanilla, cashmere wood, cedarwood, cinnamon, leather, nutmeg, patchouli, sandalwood and rhubarb build a rich, resinous, rose-tinted oriental that feels formal and expensive.
Community scores (Parfumo): Scent 8.2/10 from 484 ratings, Longevity 8.3/10, Sillage 7.9/10, Bottle 9.1/10, Value for money 5.8/10.
Head to head
Scent quality. Naxos scores 8.9 across 13,689 ratings. Aoud Crystal scores 8.2 across 484. Both are excellent, but the champion has a higher score from a sample nearly thirty times larger.
Performance. Unusually, the champion wins this too. Naxos rates 8.8 for longevity and 8.5 for sillage; Aoud rates 8.3 and 7.9. The Roja is a parfum, and parfums often wear closer and more intimately than a strong eau de parfum.
Value. This is the widest gap of the round. Naxos costs AED 8.69 per ml; Aoud Crystal costs AED 14.52 per ml, about 67 percent more. The community value score reflects that: 7.6 against 5.8.
Presentation. A tie. Both bottles score 9.1 on Parfumo, and both look the part on a dressing table.
The verdict
| Scoring component | Weight | Naxos | Aoud Crystal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parfumo scent score | 38.5% | 8.9 | 8.2 |
| Longevity | 23.1% | 8.8 | 8.3 |
| Sillage | 15.4% | 8.5 | 7.9 |
| Value for money | 23.1% | 7.6 | 5.8 |
| Final score | Total | 8.52 | 7.63 |
Winner: Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos. The champion takes its eleventh consecutive round and wins all four scored components. Aoud Crystal is a beautiful, opulent fragrance, but on the numbers it cannot match Naxos on scent consensus, performance or price.
A note on method. Community figures come from Parfumo only. Fragrantica's public pages returned an access block at the time of writing, so no Fragrantica score is quoted and its weighting was redistributed across the sources we could verify. No figure in this article is estimated.
Which one should you buy?
Buy Naxos if you want the higher-rated, longer-lasting and better-value fragrance, and something easy to wear often. It remains the stronger first purchase.
Buy Aoud Crystal if you love rose and oud together, want a true parfum from one of the most respected noses in modern perfumery, and want an elegant formal scent for weddings, Eid and evening occasions. Its clear juice is also a practical advantage with white kandura and light fabrics.
Frequently asked questions
Is Roja Aoud Crystal different from Roja Aoud? The scent is the same. Aoud Crystal has the dark pigments removed so the liquid is clear and does not stain light clothes.
Who created Roja Aoud? Roja Dove, the founder of Roja Parfums and a former Guerlain fragrance ambassador.
Is Aoud Crystal a heavy oud? No. The oud sits inside a floral, resinous base with rose, jasmine, ambergris and saffron, so it reads as a polished rose-oud oriental rather than a raw oud oil.
Which is better for everyday wear? Naxos. Aoud Crystal is better kept for formal and evening occasions.
How do I order in the UAE? Both are in stock now at alhimyan.com. Cash on delivery is available across the UAE, delivery is fast, and returns are accepted within seven days.
Shop this round
Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos Unisex Eau de Parfum 100 ml
Roja Parfums Aoud Crystal Unisex Parfum 100 ml
Champion standing after Round 65: Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos, eleven straight wins. A new challenger enters next round.