Elysium Eau Intense

Elysium Eau Intense follows Roja Parfums' 2017 flanker to the original Elysium, a fresh, woody-fougere built around dialled-up citrus and rhubarb. Pearl Fragrances keeps that opening burst front and centre - grapefruit and tart rhubarb arrive fast and stay loud, doing most of the work in the first half hour. The tuberose that Roja Dove added to soften and round out the citrus is present but faint here, and the black-pepper spice barely registers. Where the two versions diverge most is in the base: Roja's original builds a refined cedarwood-and-dry-wood foundation that reviewers compare to a lighter, brighter Cool Water, giving it real structure and lasting power. Pearl Fragrances' version thins that out considerably, settling into a plain woody musk that fades within a couple of hours rather than the six-plus hours the real thing can manage. Anyone chasing that citrus-woody freshness for a casual day will find the family resemblance obvious, but this is very much the loud opening notes without the quieter craftsmanship underneath.