I saw this perfume on one website that I usually buy from, and its strangely low price immediately caught my attention. The perfume is not a recent release, and I never came across a review of it before. I then looked for the olfactory pyramid and its notes were fully compatible with my tastes. There are smoky, leathery, woody, and earthy accords all together, and that’s my jam. Finally, knowing that Al Haramain is known for Amber Oud perfume collections and already having another perfume from the same house,
Rawaa, I trusted and pulled the trigger on this deal with a blind purchase. In hindsight, my instincts didn’t deceive me and the perfume turned out to be a tremendous surprise.
I hurried to put it in the cart, along with
Opulent Oud and
Shuhrah pour Femme, and confirmed the order, knowing that as Christmas was imminently approaching, the chances of receiving it soon were few or zero. But no, the package arrived yesterday. To my amazement, I found that the packaging and the bottle reflect the quality that distinguishes the Al Haramain brand. The bottle is in heavy and solid thick glass, and the stopper is completely in burnished metal.
Even though I knew that cumin was among its notes, with those pungent, slightly bitter and sour reflections, and which often recall the smell of sweat and imitate an animal accord, I wasn’t prepared for the astounding opening that I will now tell you about. Solitaire comes at me with an avalanche of spiced cumin, dipped in citrus juice, lots of lemons and a hint of bergamot. The latter oozes with a typical barbershop cologne, and for a few seconds, the fragrance resembles a fougére. Instead, the lemon is sour and unripe, and I perceive the smell of the greenish peel. The sweaty aspect of the cumin seeds is so palpable that I can’t help but associate it with the
Déclaration Eau de Toilette, the first perfume in my collection that I remember for its characteristic BO smell, and even
Shuhrah pour Homme to some extent. It must be the result of the combination of cedar, sandalwood, and leather present in both. They vibrate in unison. The perfumer did not spare himself by adding cumin in profusion. Ensure that cumin isn't a problem for you. You might think of something unpleasant, but it sounds good. Amid all this jumble, I also feel the notes of honey, not the sweetish ones of the sticky fluid, but those of the hives. This essence is wonderful and unique, something that I have probably, indeed definitely, never smelled before in my other perfumes.
It takes a few minutes for the citrus aspect to tone down a bit, and a smoky and ashy accord pops up fiercely. The smokiness gets more prominent, perhaps from the tobacco leaves, and blends with a dry leatheriness. I am not facing crude leather, but instead something akin to tar. Honestly, I have no clue about what is giving such a smoky tone, considering that creamy sandalwood and dry cedarwood make the heart of the cologne. The perception of the smell of smoke is so real that, if I close my eyes, I seem to smell the odour of soft ash collected from a still-warm fireplace. If you expect to find a mild, moist and sweetish tobacco, maybe with cherry nuances, then I’m sorry to say that this is not the genre.
Solitaire is a very particular perfume, not designed to please everyone. And that’s exactly why he likes me a lot. Just like his name, he deviates from everything and everyone, a true loner. In the dry-down, the fragrance keeps its smoky charm and gains some earthiness from the patchouli, which doesn’t overpower the other notes, and something similar to the saltiness of ambergris, or ambroxan. I say this because at the finish I get puffs that resemble those of
Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum, those salty and burnt undertones.
Too bad this perfume is so little known. Miserably underrated. Without hesitation, I say that it suits well to a cold climate, in the late autumn months and throughout the winter. Evening and night events are perfect moments for wearing them. If sprayed in moderation, I can use it during the day, even in the office, as it has no annoying chords that could annoy those around us. It has a good projection in the early hours and a duration that is perhaps above average. As I said before, after a long time, I perceive those characteristic chords of Baccarat Rouge 540.
I'm basing my sensations and review on a bottle I've owned since December 2022.
-Elysium
Top Notes 
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Elysium
Finerthings8
