In our city, there is a small African shop that sells all sorts of equally African goods. Spices, special grains, such as "cassava", and products unknown to me.
There is also a small display case with various African cosmetics (from Cameroon, Somalia, Niger, etc.). In a second case; fragrances from the aforementioned countries and those from the United Arab Emirates.
There, I noticed a red box with "Azaari" in golden lettering and embellishments... pure perfume oil, 17 ml.
It had to be a densely packed scent, similar to those that were available in many stores in the 70s and 80s.
Unfortunately, the fragrance couldn't be tested, but I took it "blind" anyway, and I don't regret it.
In the small, red bottle adorned with a lot of kitschy golden decorations (to the point that it’s almost cult-like), there is a very oily "liquid" that can be applied with a glass tube attached to the screw cap.
And just a minimal "bit" is enough to indulge in the full aroma of this "attar".
First noticeable is a full-toned, sonorous, yet sensitive voice of vanilla citrus notes, sprinkled with rose and amber, accompanied by woods, musk, and moss that evoke an exotic enchanted forest. Warm, humid, almost "thunderous", and always with the full intensity of all aromas, yet shifting within itself like an oscillating 3D image. Very powerful, yet not intrusive. Strange, I hadn't known this scent before. But what was it again that smelled like this?
Something in my deepest memory wants to surface but can't quite manage it.
But let's wait and see, maybe I can unveil part of the mystery of this "Chypre-Oriental"...?
