12/20/2024
MrHonest
115 Reviews
MrHonest
1
The "Man of Qualities"
Honestly the bottle is a bit bulky, heavy, cheaply adorned and strangely shaped with a concave bottom, but the juice inside is absolutely magnificent. Easily the least expensive fragrance I blind bought this year and was SHOCKED how good it was straight out of the bottle, without having to endure those silly "maturation" times so often necessitated by hastily marketed middle eastern scents. Especially since it's virtually unknown, with almost no information available on it anywhere.
To put it simply, it's predominantly a vanilla scent balanced out with a spicy patchouli and a few florals added to the mix. Definitely not woody like the description above would intimate, but leaning more to the barbershop vanillas of the early-to-mid 1900s. So it's classical in nature; but seriously not out of place amongst many modern fougeres. The blend is a bit jagged in the opening, but it settles well after about 30 minutes into an awesome vanilla-chouli that doesn't smell cheap at all. The only thing I'll say is that there are itsy bitsy touches of incense in the drydown that tickle the nose with the same spicy tenacity as garlic at times. Not the actual scent of chopped garlic, but the IDEA of it having been chopped far in the background....by an old man wearing too much aftershave in the foreground. LOL
As far as the comparisons with Coromandel edt...I'd say they're justified, but I wouldn't call it an outright dupe. This one is more basic, 'fuzzier' - if that makes any sense - less complex, more barbershopy and a little flatter. It's also less volatile so it sits a bit closer to the skin, but that doesn't mean that the projection is bad. In fact, it's slightly better than average, depending on where and how much you spray. For me, it warms up exceptionally well on skin, but 100% unisex on clothing. It's a moderate-sprayer, and can easily become stuffy if overapplied. But man is this stuff good. I even get tiny hints of Guerlain's Heritage and Habit Rouge edt at times.
What's crazy to me however, is just how well hidden this scent is. Quite a few western online retailers stock it, so it's not like it's not available anywhere; but the price ranges are frankly puzzling. Picked it up for less than 20 bucks myself; and judging from the box and bottle alone, that's about what it's worth. Until I sprayed it and was like, whaaaaAAAAaaa.......t? Isss this?? Precisely the kind of scent I was looking to add to my collection, and literally for dirt cheap.
With all the uber-sweet and piercing woody ambers being popularized right now - even coming from Lattafa itself - classical-leaning scents like this deserve so much more attention in the mainstream. Granted the presentation is pretty unimpressive, but at least the plastic cap fits on snugly and the atomizer is very decent. It almost feels like it was a victim of its own crappy presentation. Perhaps bottled in beautifully sheer glass with metallic accents and a super heavy cap it might've been praised more openly. Unfortunately, there are scents that brands tend to sweep under the rug for one reason or another, and this might have been one of them. My advice - look past the budget exterior and consider taking the middle eastern name "Wasaf" at its intended meaning - expansive, comprehensive, a narrator and 'man of qualities.' Certainly befitting of the scent. A massive hit imo and most certainly, a cheapie gem-of-gems.
To put it simply, it's predominantly a vanilla scent balanced out with a spicy patchouli and a few florals added to the mix. Definitely not woody like the description above would intimate, but leaning more to the barbershop vanillas of the early-to-mid 1900s. So it's classical in nature; but seriously not out of place amongst many modern fougeres. The blend is a bit jagged in the opening, but it settles well after about 30 minutes into an awesome vanilla-chouli that doesn't smell cheap at all. The only thing I'll say is that there are itsy bitsy touches of incense in the drydown that tickle the nose with the same spicy tenacity as garlic at times. Not the actual scent of chopped garlic, but the IDEA of it having been chopped far in the background....by an old man wearing too much aftershave in the foreground. LOL
As far as the comparisons with Coromandel edt...I'd say they're justified, but I wouldn't call it an outright dupe. This one is more basic, 'fuzzier' - if that makes any sense - less complex, more barbershopy and a little flatter. It's also less volatile so it sits a bit closer to the skin, but that doesn't mean that the projection is bad. In fact, it's slightly better than average, depending on where and how much you spray. For me, it warms up exceptionally well on skin, but 100% unisex on clothing. It's a moderate-sprayer, and can easily become stuffy if overapplied. But man is this stuff good. I even get tiny hints of Guerlain's Heritage and Habit Rouge edt at times.
What's crazy to me however, is just how well hidden this scent is. Quite a few western online retailers stock it, so it's not like it's not available anywhere; but the price ranges are frankly puzzling. Picked it up for less than 20 bucks myself; and judging from the box and bottle alone, that's about what it's worth. Until I sprayed it and was like, whaaaaAAAAaaa.......t? Isss this?? Precisely the kind of scent I was looking to add to my collection, and literally for dirt cheap.
With all the uber-sweet and piercing woody ambers being popularized right now - even coming from Lattafa itself - classical-leaning scents like this deserve so much more attention in the mainstream. Granted the presentation is pretty unimpressive, but at least the plastic cap fits on snugly and the atomizer is very decent. It almost feels like it was a victim of its own crappy presentation. Perhaps bottled in beautifully sheer glass with metallic accents and a super heavy cap it might've been praised more openly. Unfortunately, there are scents that brands tend to sweep under the rug for one reason or another, and this might have been one of them. My advice - look past the budget exterior and consider taking the middle eastern name "Wasaf" at its intended meaning - expansive, comprehensive, a narrator and 'man of qualities.' Certainly befitting of the scent. A massive hit imo and most certainly, a cheapie gem-of-gems.
MrHonest
