Crown of Emirates Nabeel

In sight of the hotel where we are staying lies the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It is a masterpiece of architecture, slightly above our budget. In this case, it’s look but don’t touch. We take a taxi and skip the heat. Already in front of the hotel, we are hit by a mass of scents coming towards us. It smells rich, complex, layered. I detect a blend of fresh, floral, spicy, and deep woody oriental fragrances. They slowly become warm and sensual. This is what Crown of Emirates smells like. An unforgettable experience.

I first encountered the fragrance through a sample from a souk and was immediately fascinated.
You can clearly recognize rose, saffron, a bit of citrus, a good amount of leather, and even though it’s not listed, there’s something peppery about it.
The motto for testing is: Less is more!
If you’re too generous in your initial enthusiasm, your sense of smell will take a break for a few minutes.
Pressing the spray head three times could serve as self-defense. And I say this as someone who definitely advocates for strong longevity and sillage and is a fan of powerful oriental fragrances.
However, once you regain control of your senses and stay engaged, a floral heart unfolds, delicately blending with the woody notes, and from this point on, vanilla, as well as musk and amber, make their appearance.
The scent is exceptional; I have no comparison to another perfume.
It has become one of my favorites for special occasions. I don’t see it as an office scent, as the space might be too small for it.
Definitely worth a test, but absolutely not a blind buy.

"Crown of Emirates" is a very fresh-powdery scent with a lot of rose & saffron. The oud is only very subtly noticeable here. In the drydown, I recognize a relative similarity to Roeya by Spirit of Dubai. H/S is somewhat muted, but sufficient. P/L is unbeatable, as with all fragrances in this collection!