Gold Myrrh Absolute Carolina Herrera 2021

After 4 years, my partner and I traveled to Dubai at the beginning of November;
in 2019, we were only there for 3 days in the summer as part of a Seychelles trip, where we had to layover in Dubai anyway.
This time, with more bearable temperatures, we wanted to spend 9 days in Dubai, see more, experience more, get to know Abu Dhabi, eat at Global Village and admire the reconstructed countries, which strongly reminded us of Las Vegas, eat at the marina (thanks @Connie for the great restaurant tip!), lie on the hotel beach, enjoy a fantastic view from "the view" on Palm Jumeirah; there was quite a bit of new stuff since we were there in 2019!
We were welcomed with 33 degrees and realized that it would have simply been too hot for us before November.

I had firmly resolved to test some fragrances from the Carolina Herrera Collection at the Dubai Mall, which were specifically launched for the Middle East, and I was already fixated on Gold Myrrh before the trip.

The fragrance begins with aromatic spicy myrrh, warm night air blowing through the desert, fine sugar sprinkling on myrrh trees. The dry-floral note seems to be immortelle, the straw flower. The air is aromatic-herb-sweet, one feels as if they can hear the cicadas chirping in the Mediterranean region.
Powdery soft.
The dry-smoky-sweet-spicy scent that I also perceived in the alleys of the souks in Dubai; the souk in Al Fahidi, where old Dubai has been somewhat artificially recreated, the tourist souk in the old town of Deira, and the chic souk Madinat Jumeirah, which belongs to the luxury hotel complex with a view of the Burj Al Arab; outside, tourists crowded to get a good photo with a view of the Burj Al Arab. The souks there have nothing to do with those in Tunisia, Egypt, or even in Salalah (South Oman); although you are also approached, goods are advertised, it feels more like a game there, a reproduced behavior that one expects from the Orient (my partner was still totally annoyed and wanted to run through the narrow alleys; at least in Deira).
The scents there: spices, dusty light, dried flowers, steaming incense pots everywhere (especially in Madinat Jumeirah, where at almost every corner, well-dressed people present perfume and oud oils, many shops of the brand Taif Al-Emarat, male sellers in suits in front).
Thus, "Gold Myrrh Absolute" also unites these oriental vibes without overwhelming (I did get a headache in Madinat at some point), "Gold Myrrh Absolute" somehow also refers to nature, the desert, sky, and earth.

As time goes on, I mainly smell, as I already described in my statement, vanilla-cocoa powder-myrrh, the vanilla becomes more pronounced, very smooth, gentle with a slight spicy twist. All in all, it reminds me of Armani Privé - Magenta Tanzanite in a fine, sweet, and less dry way.

The purchase at Sephora in the Dubai Mall was not pleasant; it was incredibly crowded, pushing customers, too many sales assistants, lurking security personnel. At the stand of the private Carolina Herrera Collection, "Gold Myrrh Absolute" was the only fragrance in the line not displayed when a sales assistant immediately approached me and took it out of the cabinet for testing.
I did not like Bronze Tonka at all; piercing oud, chemical like nail polish remover. Gold Incense was quite good at first impression, but very intense. So I made my way to the checkout, there were no samples at all. I was glad when I could leave Sephora again.

And so we later sat outside on the terrace of "Joe's Café" with a view of the Burj Khalifa and down to the Fountain Show, everywhere people with phones, I happily with my Sephora bag next to me, in front of me a plate of seafood pasta.
What remains from Dubai; the German-speaking guide from Egypt who showed us the Grand Mosque, the Etihad Tower, the pompous presidential palace and manically tried to entice us to emigrate to Dubai; crying newborns on the plane; women in hot pants and low-cut dresses at JBR, the party Cancun of Dubai; the best falafel and hummus with chilled Moroccan mint tea at the "Arabian Teahouse" in Al Fahidi sitting under lanterns; how my partner was addressed by name by the hotel staff and his butt was carried while I was hardly noticed; a Dubai Starbucks cup (how extremely many Starbucks locations there are all over Dubai!) and of course "Gold Myrrh Absolute".
A lot of sun stored in my head while we were expecting rain and 8 degrees in the evening in Düsseldorf, the prospect of cold waves and Christmas.