Question:
I had seen this one listed many times during my research, but it was hard to find in my market area. Plain old Fendi? Yes. Asja? No. Not to be seen anywhere. Finally, I made it's acquantance, and now you poor people will have to listen to be blather on about it, even though you have known about it for years. Ah well, I cannot help myself.
The name is not subtle. Asja announces the presence of an Oriental like a banner waving. Fortunately, it lives up to the big expectations of its namesake.
Here is a spicy Oriental that manages to smell expensive and restrained, different from so many others, even while sharing notes with them. Cinnamon (along with vanilla) give it immediate likeability. Even though cinnamon and vanilla are an overdone combination in this genre, it manages to escape being trite because of the glorious fruit notes. (More about them later.)
Cinnamon was the only spice note that I could find listed, but I immediately throught there must be more spices--perhaps clove (one of my favorites) but far less heavy-handed than the dose in Coco (which I love.) I was relieved when I read Ayala's review in the directory, which clearly listed eugenol.
Here is my favorite part: The fruit is DIVINE: raspberry, apricot, peach, bergamot, maybe plum. What a successful combination of aromas! All of it is accomplished without ending up smelling like a fruit salad. Asja is classy, like a glass of wine cordial, or a fruit liquor, with an "aged," blended, "fermented" characteristic that makes it simultaneously strong and mellow. Again, I wondered what my nose was picking up, and I was reassured when Ayala called it "mulled" as in spiced wine, and a blog listed these fruit notes as "overripe." So, I am confident to say to you, it smells fermented--in a good way. That is what makes this fruit accord special.
I believe I know the final touch that makes Asja unique. This fruity, spicy Oriental shows great restraint in terms of sweetness. With all the abovementioned fruit and spice going on, it could easily have been over-the-top sweet, but that would have put it squarely in trite territory. Not so, Asja. This one is exceptional.
Plus, the bottle is gorgeous, a work of art, like two black and gold laquored rice bowls.

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I know that in the grab-bag of samples I've amassed there's a sample of this Fendi somewhere.
So now I gotta dig it out and - and - who knows what will happen next!!
Purplebird you are the Peter Pan of Must be Tried Scents!!

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Asja has been on my "to try" list for some time. Thanks purplebird for a great review! Love the "fermented" quality...that's something that usually gets me every time in a perfume.

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Have loved Asja for a long time- just adore those plummy opening notes, then the spices, and the drydown is sweet and mellow. Unfortunately it has the "d-word" associated with it: as in "discontinued." The EdP is even more gorgeous and worth it to buy in mini format if you can scare up a bottle. There is this beeswax note right as the perfume is drying out that is simply gorgeous but I've only noticed it in the EdP. Anyway it's a shame to me it has been discontinued, and yes the bottle IS fabulous!
I've seen it compared to Coco before, but I don't get that association. If anything it is more similar to Miriam Mirani's Aqaba on my skin, yet still different enough for me to want both.
Here's my review of both Aqaba & Asja from 4-12-05 - (I think this board but a couple years ago)
Aqaba seems more energetic, kinetic, makes me think of bright, hot, desert days. I see spice markets under the brilliant sun with striped, Berber weave blankets strung up like walls to keep out the blowing sand. Aqaba’s color is bright, cherry-red.
Asja feels mellower to me. I think of a crystalline winter’s eve. A storm has just passed and there is a fading salmon glow in the west as one, single star begins to peek out of the twilight. Inside, the rich browns of a leather sofa and the jewel-toned Oriental rugs are bathed in the soft glow of firelight. Asja’s color is also red, but these are the deep tones of Bordeaux and the glowing coals of spent embers.

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Perfume Distributor and 1st Perfume have two sizes of the EdP. These two sites are actually one in the same, just a slight difference in their format. I always get the testers or the ones without a box if they are available because there is usually a considerable price break. When I saw they had Asja in the EdP, I was so excitied, my fingers would hardly move fast enough. I had been on a long and diligent search for the Edp because, with my dry skin, I knew the Edt just wouldn't hold up. And I can tell you, there is no shortage of the Edt, but the Edp is quite elusive. It is all I hoped it would be . . . and it lasts on my skin!
http://www.perfumedistributor.com/brands-f-fendi.html
http://www.1stperfume.com/brands-f-fendi.html

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I was sent a decant and really loved it!
Trying to find is like turning into Indiana Jones! Bottle collections get it just for the bottle. And no I never actually found a bottle of Asja.

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Saw it blogged and bought it cold. Do hope I like it

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Purplebird, following that review, I think you would probably like SL's new Rousse. It has cinnamon and clove in it, and it has a light fruitiness too. But as you've discovered Asja, maybe you don't need it! :-)
Clemmie

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Originally Posted by Artisankey Unfortunately it has the "d-word" associated with it: as in "discontinued." ...If anything it is more similar to Miriam Mirani's Aqaba on my skin Sure enough, just like Mahora. As soon as I find it, poof, gone.
And yes, Aqaba has been on my list of must-trys for awhile. That one is fascinating.
Originally Posted by Clemmie Purplebird, following that review, I think you would probably like SL's new Rousse. It has cinnamon and clove in it, and it has a light fruitiness too. But as you've discovered Asja, maybe you don't need it! Oh, a Serge Lutens?Cool. He does a great job with his fragrances--never scrimps on the components, makes them strong and memorable.
I will remember that one, too.

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I have Asja (love it) and Rousse (love it) but, though they are both spicy and emphasize cinnamon, they are quite different in character. Rousse is a clear, electric, almost cool, red scent- it's breezy and zippy and works well as a spring, even summer fragrance. Asja is a dark, warm scent, not overbearing but much more evening/winter in feel. Kind of like a rose wine (Rousse) versus a red wine (Asja)....