3
Sluggish Oriental
When I received this sample, I had never heard of Ajmal. A search revealed that it is a formerly Indian company founded in 1951 by Ajmal Ali. In the mid-1970s, he moved the company to Dubai. In 2004, according to their own statement, they invested a significant amount of money to create a modern manufacturing facility that adheres to European standards.
Unfortunately, I must say that this also applies to Aristocrat - in a negative sense. It is a flat, dull, interchangeable mainstream scent that one is not accustomed to from Arab countries. The word "fragrance" is hard for me to utter or type, because Aristocrat does not smell. Not fruity-citrusy at all; rather, it smells chemical.
Let’s take a sniff:
It begins - according to the fragrance pyramid - with bergamot, watermelon, and lime. If there is anything to smell at all, it is the watermelon. Bergamot and lime elude my nose. Luca Turin has already commented critically on watermelon as a central scent note; but even then, Givenchy (Insense Ultramarine) and Diptyque (Jardin Clos) have done better.
In the heart and base notes, there is supposed to be musk. I don’t smell it - and I am not sick at the time I am writing these lines. They have also been so stingy with the oud that I get the impression it has been included in the fragrance pyramid just so Aristocrat can be classified as a scent from the Orient.
Was it perhaps consideration for European noses, which occasionally have issues with oud? Or was it a focus on the European market and its supposed scent preferences to get a foot in the door of the competitive market? With Aristocrat, however, that will not work. I have yet to come across such a sluggish oriental scent.
Unfortunately, I must say that this also applies to Aristocrat - in a negative sense. It is a flat, dull, interchangeable mainstream scent that one is not accustomed to from Arab countries. The word "fragrance" is hard for me to utter or type, because Aristocrat does not smell. Not fruity-citrusy at all; rather, it smells chemical.
Let’s take a sniff:
It begins - according to the fragrance pyramid - with bergamot, watermelon, and lime. If there is anything to smell at all, it is the watermelon. Bergamot and lime elude my nose. Luca Turin has already commented critically on watermelon as a central scent note; but even then, Givenchy (Insense Ultramarine) and Diptyque (Jardin Clos) have done better.
In the heart and base notes, there is supposed to be musk. I don’t smell it - and I am not sick at the time I am writing these lines. They have also been so stingy with the oud that I get the impression it has been included in the fragrance pyramid just so Aristocrat can be classified as a scent from the Orient.
Was it perhaps consideration for European noses, which occasionally have issues with oud? Or was it a focus on the European market and its supposed scent preferences to get a foot in the door of the competitive market? With Aristocrat, however, that will not work. I have yet to come across such a sluggish oriental scent.
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