Top Notes 
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Bergamot
Heart Notes 
Date
Praliné
Mahonial®
Tuberose
Base Notes 
Roasted tonka bean
Vanilla
Amberwood
Benzoin Siam
Myrrh
06/06/2023
PetitePinup
28 Reviews
PetitePinup
Top Review
8
Spicy gourmand that deserves to be judged on its own merits
Why are you wearing a men's perfume? I'm asked that too often. Let's just get that nasty question out of the way first, shall we?
While there are certain scent profiles that seem inherintly female or male, that's because we as a society deem them such. Floral & sweet = female, whereas spicy-woody or clean-citrussy is male. As someone who wore (another of those horrific labels) “old lady” fragrances at 16 - meaning similar ones to my mom's scenterie – I don't care for boxes. Yes, I like sweet, I like floral, I even like fruity (which, apparently is “too young” for me, sigh). But I also like woody. And spicy. And ambery. The only reason I'm not into leathery or yellow citrus perfumes is because my skin chemistry does awful things with it.
So many times I've seen a "homme" fragrance's pyramid and thought "Ehm, make the bottle 'girly' and it could easily become popular on the women shelves. Sweet scents haven't been just for the ladies in a long time, and if you look at Middle Eastern perfumes, where the majority is unisex to begin with, you'll see that the guy-fums maybe have a little more (w)oudh or spice, but not always. I personally think when it comes to perfumes they have the right majority-idea: everything is for everybody.
Review>>
Which brings me to the Fragrance of the Story: the much lauded, much hyped Lattafa -Khamrah. While it's officially an Arabic concoction considered the second coming of Angel's Share, a popular men's fragrance by Killian, most of us know it's only *loosely* inspired by the boozy apple pie juice. The bottle is duped. The scent? Meeeeh.
Even though the Angels didn't protest to sharing, Lattafa took its pyramid, extracted what they liked most, then doubled down on their own Middle Eastern twist and voila: a gorgeous brown liquid in beautiful bottle entered YouTube Frag-circles and everyone went a lil' cray-cray. (THX for that by the way. Not. I tested it júst after release, but had to wait for €€ to buy a full bottle. By the time I could, the hype had doubled the price here.
Edit: after 2 Souk'ers didn't reply to my "I'd like to buy your bottle" I was about to get a 2nd, bigger, decant when lucky me got a Notino notification: Khamrah was back in stock AND only €44,- ex 3.95 shipping. So, I'm going to enjoy the Lattafa next winter for the original price! ).
Which begs the question: is it really worth it? Sadly, quite often a hype is nothing more than every social media channel copying someone else to stay somewhat relevant. So, am I bravely fighting the label-posse for naught?
To be honest, I rarely find the prices of perfumes "worth it", but I do think a lot of people will like this fragrance - men and women. Fair warning though – again- : if you are attracted to Khamrah because you're dreaming of smelling like Angel's Share for a fraction of the price... don't buy it. There are certainly nice dupes*, with a twist and with a very close to Killian-DNA, but both in its pyramid aswell as its scent on my skin, Khamrah is simply a unisex gourmand that could be loved by Angel Share enthusiasts on its own merit. Nothing more, nothing less.
The pyramid >>
If you're into a bit of sweet with a whole lotta kick, Khamrah will light up your day. Especially if that sweet isn't floral or fruity, but closer to end of the year yummies (for those countries celebrating Xmas).
Khamrah has a gingerbread meets cinnamon rolls kind of sweetness with a few extra delicious things thrown in. Which isn't strange considering the notes of cinnamon and nutmeg in the top.
In the opening these two spices are strong and when they start to diminish a bit, the cinnamon never leaving completely, they get company from tuberose and milk chocolate covered dates. Yum!
On some days however, I had an issue with that tuberose. I'm unsure if it was my hormone levels, my diet or something else, but there were certainly moments when the tuberose turned skanky, ruining the entire composition, overpowering everything else in the juice. Think of throwing away a bouquet of flowers that has been standing a few days too long. You take them out of the vase, inhale the leftover water, aaand get a very distinct sweet-sour, almost rotting smell. Thàt. Thàt.
Ruined Khamrah for me. It could be the bergamot pullling strongly, mixing with the white flower and turning her indolic. It is why – in case I'm not alone – I recommend spread testing with a decant. Not a blind buy.
On the days the note, or better said: my skin, behaved the flower simply added sweetness that translated somehow as a very coconutty heart – straight into the base.
That base leans heavily on vanilla and the three woods; Mahogany from the heart, and Akigala + Amber woods on the bottom tier. Here and there the benzoin and myrrhe give it extra depth and warmth. I've often heard describe Khamrah as “boozy”, but I'm not getting any of that. Just like the apple pie has never entered my olfactory senses when wearing this chique Lattafa.
These are just two of the reasons why, for me, Khamrah is its own fragrance. A gourmand that might attract Angel's Share lovers because those are gourmand lovers – not due to the overwhelming similarities. I honestly think Lattafa made a smart marketing move with the packaging. YouTube & TikTok did the rest.
So, I'm not getting a Killian, but what I dó get – save the sometimes issue with the tuberose – is a wonderful set of spicy and mature gourmand sweet accords with a coconutty-date heart that'll be great on anyone and everybody. As long as you like smelling like a snack.
While Khamrah unfolds and follows different steps in the pyramid it's in many ways pretty linear. The first whiffs are a good indication of what you'll keep. You'll just get a tad more sweetness from the very edible heart and a vanilla-warm-woody base to have both a longer lasting effect and depth. That spicy cinnamonroll/gingerbread opening stays with you - though in a more subdued way.
Projection and sillage are moderate. Longevity is ...hours. And hours. Which came as quite the surprise. My skin doesn't project and “eats perfume”, making beastmode fragrances and very longlasting scents a near impossibility. Khamrah does it though. Even a first test with one spray on the top of my hand stayed for 8 hours. A full wear remained even longer and kept a moderate projection quite constantly. I've not tested on clothes, as I rarely do so, but I wouldn't be surprised if that would result in a 24h+ wear.
Khamrah is whatever you want it to be, but I assume most people'll wear this fragrance in the colder months of the year. It is also when it performs best, though I have worn it to bed in Fall and cooler Spring days.
All-in-all: while the original reason for the hype is weak (dupe), many have definitely, accurately designated Khamrah's worth. The fragrance can measure itself with scent and quality against a niche caliber juice and come out, if not on top, then certainly holding an award for “Best Middle Eastern Gourmand of 2022 with excellent marketing”.
NB* I've tested several dupes/inspired by Angel's Share and am considering a short blog describing them all.
While there are certain scent profiles that seem inherintly female or male, that's because we as a society deem them such. Floral & sweet = female, whereas spicy-woody or clean-citrussy is male. As someone who wore (another of those horrific labels) “old lady” fragrances at 16 - meaning similar ones to my mom's scenterie – I don't care for boxes. Yes, I like sweet, I like floral, I even like fruity (which, apparently is “too young” for me, sigh). But I also like woody. And spicy. And ambery. The only reason I'm not into leathery or yellow citrus perfumes is because my skin chemistry does awful things with it.
So many times I've seen a "homme" fragrance's pyramid and thought "Ehm, make the bottle 'girly' and it could easily become popular on the women shelves. Sweet scents haven't been just for the ladies in a long time, and if you look at Middle Eastern perfumes, where the majority is unisex to begin with, you'll see that the guy-fums maybe have a little more (w)oudh or spice, but not always. I personally think when it comes to perfumes they have the right majority-idea: everything is for everybody.
Review>>
Which brings me to the Fragrance of the Story: the much lauded, much hyped Lattafa -Khamrah. While it's officially an Arabic concoction considered the second coming of Angel's Share, a popular men's fragrance by Killian, most of us know it's only *loosely* inspired by the boozy apple pie juice. The bottle is duped. The scent? Meeeeh.
Even though the Angels didn't protest to sharing, Lattafa took its pyramid, extracted what they liked most, then doubled down on their own Middle Eastern twist and voila: a gorgeous brown liquid in beautiful bottle entered YouTube Frag-circles and everyone went a lil' cray-cray. (THX for that by the way. Not. I tested it júst after release, but had to wait for €€ to buy a full bottle. By the time I could, the hype had doubled the price here.
Edit: after 2 Souk'ers didn't reply to my "I'd like to buy your bottle" I was about to get a 2nd, bigger, decant when lucky me got a Notino notification: Khamrah was back in stock AND only €44,- ex 3.95 shipping. So, I'm going to enjoy the Lattafa next winter for the original price! ).
Which begs the question: is it really worth it? Sadly, quite often a hype is nothing more than every social media channel copying someone else to stay somewhat relevant. So, am I bravely fighting the label-posse for naught?
To be honest, I rarely find the prices of perfumes "worth it", but I do think a lot of people will like this fragrance - men and women. Fair warning though – again- : if you are attracted to Khamrah because you're dreaming of smelling like Angel's Share for a fraction of the price... don't buy it. There are certainly nice dupes*, with a twist and with a very close to Killian-DNA, but both in its pyramid aswell as its scent on my skin, Khamrah is simply a unisex gourmand that could be loved by Angel Share enthusiasts on its own merit. Nothing more, nothing less.
The pyramid >>
If you're into a bit of sweet with a whole lotta kick, Khamrah will light up your day. Especially if that sweet isn't floral or fruity, but closer to end of the year yummies (for those countries celebrating Xmas).
Khamrah has a gingerbread meets cinnamon rolls kind of sweetness with a few extra delicious things thrown in. Which isn't strange considering the notes of cinnamon and nutmeg in the top.
In the opening these two spices are strong and when they start to diminish a bit, the cinnamon never leaving completely, they get company from tuberose and milk chocolate covered dates. Yum!
On some days however, I had an issue with that tuberose. I'm unsure if it was my hormone levels, my diet or something else, but there were certainly moments when the tuberose turned skanky, ruining the entire composition, overpowering everything else in the juice. Think of throwing away a bouquet of flowers that has been standing a few days too long. You take them out of the vase, inhale the leftover water, aaand get a very distinct sweet-sour, almost rotting smell. Thàt. Thàt.
Ruined Khamrah for me. It could be the bergamot pullling strongly, mixing with the white flower and turning her indolic. It is why – in case I'm not alone – I recommend spread testing with a decant. Not a blind buy.
On the days the note, or better said: my skin, behaved the flower simply added sweetness that translated somehow as a very coconutty heart – straight into the base.
That base leans heavily on vanilla and the three woods; Mahogany from the heart, and Akigala + Amber woods on the bottom tier. Here and there the benzoin and myrrhe give it extra depth and warmth. I've often heard describe Khamrah as “boozy”, but I'm not getting any of that. Just like the apple pie has never entered my olfactory senses when wearing this chique Lattafa.
These are just two of the reasons why, for me, Khamrah is its own fragrance. A gourmand that might attract Angel's Share lovers because those are gourmand lovers – not due to the overwhelming similarities. I honestly think Lattafa made a smart marketing move with the packaging. YouTube & TikTok did the rest.
So, I'm not getting a Killian, but what I dó get – save the sometimes issue with the tuberose – is a wonderful set of spicy and mature gourmand sweet accords with a coconutty-date heart that'll be great on anyone and everybody. As long as you like smelling like a snack.
While Khamrah unfolds and follows different steps in the pyramid it's in many ways pretty linear. The first whiffs are a good indication of what you'll keep. You'll just get a tad more sweetness from the very edible heart and a vanilla-warm-woody base to have both a longer lasting effect and depth. That spicy cinnamonroll/gingerbread opening stays with you - though in a more subdued way.
Projection and sillage are moderate. Longevity is ...hours. And hours. Which came as quite the surprise. My skin doesn't project and “eats perfume”, making beastmode fragrances and very longlasting scents a near impossibility. Khamrah does it though. Even a first test with one spray on the top of my hand stayed for 8 hours. A full wear remained even longer and kept a moderate projection quite constantly. I've not tested on clothes, as I rarely do so, but I wouldn't be surprised if that would result in a 24h+ wear.
Khamrah is whatever you want it to be, but I assume most people'll wear this fragrance in the colder months of the year. It is also when it performs best, though I have worn it to bed in Fall and cooler Spring days.
All-in-all: while the original reason for the hype is weak (dupe), many have definitely, accurately designated Khamrah's worth. The fragrance can measure itself with scent and quality against a niche caliber juice and come out, if not on top, then certainly holding an award for “Best Middle Eastern Gourmand of 2022 with excellent marketing”.
NB* I've tested several dupes/inspired by Angel's Share and am considering a short blog describing them all.
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