Interestingly enough Teriaq smells more like a latte than most perfumes with coffee listed in their notes. Mix of burned caramel, bitter almond, honey, labdanum and leather notes blends bitterness and sweetness in a way that creates a very reaslistic impression of coffee - or more specifically the taste of coffee, a light, creamy one, with a little too much milk and a little too much sugar, probably sweetened with a pump of some fancy syrup on top of everything else.
The first time I wore it I was very surprised and impressed with it. The notes listed looked like a messy everything burger but the result was a pleasant and realistic coffee gourmand that I didn't expect at all. Unfortunately after a few days the scent started progressively getting more and more tiring to me. It felt like there's constantly a cup of lukewarm oversweetened coffee standing next to me on my desk while I work and it bothered me, at times making my empty stomach churn. I guess in a way this is a testament to how well blended Teriaq is.
Typically I choose to wear very sweet scents only when they are anchored by some stronger woody notes, a tobacco note or perhaps some dry spices. However, at least on my skin Teriaq leans overwhelmingly sweet. The labdanum and vetiver aren't very prominent and the leather note while discreet and elegantly done isn't my favorite. I can't sense any rose or rhubarb either. There's definitely a bit more spice if you spray it on your clothes - but it also smells like you spilled a bit of coffee all over yourself. Overall Teriaq is a pretty cool perfume, but probably not one for me. If you're someone who enjoys spice with moderate sweetness I would recommend trying out "Teriaq Intense /ترياق | Lattafa / لطافة" instead. If you're the kind of person who adds milk and multiple pumps of syrup into your coffee Teriaq is a love letter to you.
