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Notes12/09/2022
Elysium
717 Reviews
Elysium
Helpful Review
4
A Superstar's Lingering Scent Trail
If you are also reckless like me, and you read my impressions, you should know that I am a blind buyer because I enjoy the surprise and excitement of the unknown. Sure, not completely blind, but I often rely on notes and chords and then rely on my instincts. The positive reviews here and on YouTube drew me, and when I saw the low price, I couldn’t help but order it online. Lattafa has a few scents named Sheikh Al Shuyukh, which I still need to get, and this one is Luxe, which features a rich and delicious caramel sauce. You will be surprised to find how this smells like natural caramel made of high-quality butter, toasted and melted white sugar, a pinch of cream, and a healthy amount of salt. And I want to stress white sugar since brown sugar and molasses are used for making butterscotch and toffee. Plain white sugar doesn’t have a strong smell on its own, but the real magic happens when it’s heated. Eerie enough, caramel seems not to be a purely American-made confection, as there are believe that Arabs discovered the caramel around 1000 AD; they called it “kurat al milh,“ i.e., sweet ball of salt. Therefore, what is better than an Arabian scent with a touch of caramel?
Sheikh Al Shuyukh Luxe is the typical Middle Eastern style fragrance, solid and smooth, well rounded, and never pungent. The opening is intoxicating, like a boozy drink, a flavoured Armagnac with creamy amber and spicy nuances. A blast of sweet, rosy, and tangy cinnamon oozes at first. Followed by a detectable rose, balanced by the lovely, hay-like fresh saffron flower. The dark red spicy powder is not as medicinal as in other Middle Eastern fragrances. I get lots of oud sap along with rose or whatever smells like oud, as that note does not show anywhere. However, not the typical rose-oud combo. There is a twist here; the earthy oud is prominent while flowers and spices walk a few steps behind it. The first minutes are all about sweet booziness with a honeyed, waxy tinge, enjoyable and not obnoxious. Some people liken the initial aroma to a waxing salon’s smell because of the beeswax with the resin used there. The rose leads here, not too feminine, though you must like the rose to appreciate the fragrance.
If the opening act is intriguing, the middle one is even better. I mentioned a pink-oud pairing with a twist, and that’s because of the caramel, a smoky and incensed caramel, toasty and not to be confused with burnt sugar. You must smell it to understand how good and beautiful dark oud feels when mixed with salted caramel. The scent begins to develop complexity in terms of smell, like the granulated sugar that melts when the heat increases and releases a nutty aroma. The smokiness and sweetness get more depth when dirty patchouli kicks in. The scent projects, and a kind of mysterious warmth wraps my body.
And then comes the last act, where the scent softens to a woody and amber veil. Cedarwood adds a pencil shavings vibe to the creaminess of blond sandalwood. The vanilla gains thickness and its dustiness expands and joins the oud and the woods. A beautiful base full of powdery amber and sweetness, with a smoky oud background. The nearly chocolaty caramel turns into burnt sugar. Now it’s patchouli’s turn to lead the race; very earthy and sweetish, so you have to like patchouli too to appreciate the fragrance. What about amber and ambroxan? Well, the former is clean, no question about it. Instead, the latter shows up with salty and musky facets, not dominant and not on par with #Sauvage and all other modern releases.
Sheikh Al Shuyukh Luxe has the same intensity and power as Montale’s perfumes without being a copy of them. It is a deep, dense, cold weather fragrance I will wear throughout the cutting chilly nights outdoors here in Italy. Not recommended in summer, as it might be annoying. It projects easily for a few hours and lasts many hours as a skin scent. I sprayed it on my backhand and pillow before going to sleep, and the warmth of the amber tinge lingered the day after. It seems the strongest and best performer among all the Lattafa items I’ve tested. The sweetness in there makes it a fragrance with a slightly feminine slant. Enjoy this great, dreamy jewel if you are a man with a penchant for sweet, cozy, and gourmand colognes.
I base my feelings and opinion on a bottle I have owned since December 2022 (BC M81.0301291, PD 03.2022)
-Elysium
Sheikh Al Shuyukh Luxe is the typical Middle Eastern style fragrance, solid and smooth, well rounded, and never pungent. The opening is intoxicating, like a boozy drink, a flavoured Armagnac with creamy amber and spicy nuances. A blast of sweet, rosy, and tangy cinnamon oozes at first. Followed by a detectable rose, balanced by the lovely, hay-like fresh saffron flower. The dark red spicy powder is not as medicinal as in other Middle Eastern fragrances. I get lots of oud sap along with rose or whatever smells like oud, as that note does not show anywhere. However, not the typical rose-oud combo. There is a twist here; the earthy oud is prominent while flowers and spices walk a few steps behind it. The first minutes are all about sweet booziness with a honeyed, waxy tinge, enjoyable and not obnoxious. Some people liken the initial aroma to a waxing salon’s smell because of the beeswax with the resin used there. The rose leads here, not too feminine, though you must like the rose to appreciate the fragrance.
If the opening act is intriguing, the middle one is even better. I mentioned a pink-oud pairing with a twist, and that’s because of the caramel, a smoky and incensed caramel, toasty and not to be confused with burnt sugar. You must smell it to understand how good and beautiful dark oud feels when mixed with salted caramel. The scent begins to develop complexity in terms of smell, like the granulated sugar that melts when the heat increases and releases a nutty aroma. The smokiness and sweetness get more depth when dirty patchouli kicks in. The scent projects, and a kind of mysterious warmth wraps my body.
And then comes the last act, where the scent softens to a woody and amber veil. Cedarwood adds a pencil shavings vibe to the creaminess of blond sandalwood. The vanilla gains thickness and its dustiness expands and joins the oud and the woods. A beautiful base full of powdery amber and sweetness, with a smoky oud background. The nearly chocolaty caramel turns into burnt sugar. Now it’s patchouli’s turn to lead the race; very earthy and sweetish, so you have to like patchouli too to appreciate the fragrance. What about amber and ambroxan? Well, the former is clean, no question about it. Instead, the latter shows up with salty and musky facets, not dominant and not on par with #Sauvage and all other modern releases.
Sheikh Al Shuyukh Luxe has the same intensity and power as Montale’s perfumes without being a copy of them. It is a deep, dense, cold weather fragrance I will wear throughout the cutting chilly nights outdoors here in Italy. Not recommended in summer, as it might be annoying. It projects easily for a few hours and lasts many hours as a skin scent. I sprayed it on my backhand and pillow before going to sleep, and the warmth of the amber tinge lingered the day after. It seems the strongest and best performer among all the Lattafa items I’ve tested. The sweetness in there makes it a fragrance with a slightly feminine slant. Enjoy this great, dreamy jewel if you are a man with a penchant for sweet, cozy, and gourmand colognes.
I base my feelings and opinion on a bottle I have owned since December 2022 (BC M81.0301291, PD 03.2022)
-Elysium
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Elysium
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