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Notes05/20/2022
NicheOnly
12 Reviews
NicheOnly
6
The soulstealer
I had been looking to break into both end-game and lesser-known niche perfumery for a while, once I had established a significant foothold in and understanding for several mainstream niche brands like Marly, Initio, Xerjoff etc. Royal Crown was atop the pyramid as an end-game brand through a combination of pricing and notoriety, but exposure to the house was difficult as they don't sell samples directly and their customer support... well, let's just say they're not all that active.
Writing this review today, it all came back to me. My first experience with Sultan was in London. I was surprised to find out that Roja Dove is a fan of the house and sells it in his Haute Parfumerie on the top floor in Harrods (Knightsbridge in London). I went through the six bottles that were on the stall on strips, one-at-a-time, beginning with Sultan and Khan, then moving to Ytzma and Rose Masquat, and lastly to Rain and Ambrosia. Sultan and Khan impressed even on paper, but as I moved to the fresher profiles, the less impressed I became with the house. A bit like meeting your heroes and they're not everything you had hoped. I'm still waiting to get a true feel for the house once they begin offering samples because blind-buying a 50ml for €400+ requires quite the courage.
But the strips weren't where my experience with Sultan ended. I went back the next day and asked the VERY friendly salesman for a full wear. After the green light, I started to apply the scent. 3 on both sleeves, 1 on each side of the neck, 2 on the back of the neck, all of it on the dress shirt that I was wearing to the team meeting with my employer in an hour. I closed my eyes and it engulfed me, it filled my soul.
Sultan's profile is rare in perfumery - it is a true end-game gourmand. What floats around in the air is a dense, sweet cloud. Very heavy on the vanilla and amber, does not have boozy or floral aspects to it. The base is a very different type of balsamic/medicinal wood that is effectively never used in gourmand scents.
It was only after leaving Harrods that I had realized that my spraying was not just aggressive, but also excessive. Walking through central London, I could not even escape my own scent cloud. It helps being a confident extravert, because I got looks, a lot of looks. I took the tube (London's version of a metro/underground) back to Victoria. In the carts/wagons of the tube, keeping the window slightly down at the end of the cart is encouraged for better ventilation. The experience in the store was one thing, but standing there, even next to the slightly tilted-down window in a hot metro, it took Sultan to a whole new level. It was a type of sillage and strength that I had never experienced. To the raggedly-clothed man that stood opposite of me for 5 minutes before lowering the window to the bottom, my sincerest of apologies.
Few stand at the top as it relates to gourmand fragrances. There are two scents that I've tried which do this much - Kilian's "Intoxicated" and Roja's "Sweetie Aoud". If you've tried either of these two, you'd have a fair understanding for what Sultan is able to achieve at the peak of its powers. I was browsing other websites to see comparables and the top two on the other primary website were Initio's Absolute Aphrodisiac and Atelier des Ors' Lune Feline. I tried Lune Feline back in May 2022 when this Sultan review was written, and subsequently added a bottle in August 2022 - as far as my sampling goes, I would say this is the most accurate comparison. You mainly get cardamom rather than vanilla in the open, and it dries smokier than Sultan, but you achieve a lot of the same. The Initio stands out in a different way, i.e. I get more of a burnt caramel in the air than vanilla and the base is very medicinal, reminding me of cough syrup. Absolute Aphrodisiac leans more feminine to me.
I don't feel the need to spend time on most of the ratings for Sultan - we are talking an elite end-game gourmand with 12h+ longevity, these two are 10/10s. I've gotten 10/10 sillage, but mostly in hotter weather and with plenty sprays. The average wear will have a sillage of around 8-9 (and it doesn't pop the most in winter weather either). The bottles of Royal Crown, to me, are among top 2 for niche with the lovely crown caps that have the encrusted jewels in them. The only other house whose packaging I love this much is Xerjoff. The bottle actually doesn't tell the whole story either because you get this incredible case as well, just like Xerjoff. What I do want to discuss is price because Royal Crown sells the 100ml for €579. While I feel comfortable with the $ paid, I objectively cannot say that this is more than good value. Once you get into this price bracket and you don't have the $ to constantly buy at this price point, I don't think you'll ever feel like you got 10/10 for your money. If you like the Initio or the Atelier des Ors just slightly less for 2/5 the money, Sultan becomes a luxury. The only question is what is that luxury worth to you?
Edit (4th Feb '23): After ATH published his video reviewing the scent, I adjusted sillage down for the sake of an honest review. I previously had it at a 10, but I don't think I'd ever get a 10/10 sillage unless I was wearing Sultan in hot weather or with a serious amount of sprays.
Writing this review today, it all came back to me. My first experience with Sultan was in London. I was surprised to find out that Roja Dove is a fan of the house and sells it in his Haute Parfumerie on the top floor in Harrods (Knightsbridge in London). I went through the six bottles that were on the stall on strips, one-at-a-time, beginning with Sultan and Khan, then moving to Ytzma and Rose Masquat, and lastly to Rain and Ambrosia. Sultan and Khan impressed even on paper, but as I moved to the fresher profiles, the less impressed I became with the house. A bit like meeting your heroes and they're not everything you had hoped. I'm still waiting to get a true feel for the house once they begin offering samples because blind-buying a 50ml for €400+ requires quite the courage.
But the strips weren't where my experience with Sultan ended. I went back the next day and asked the VERY friendly salesman for a full wear. After the green light, I started to apply the scent. 3 on both sleeves, 1 on each side of the neck, 2 on the back of the neck, all of it on the dress shirt that I was wearing to the team meeting with my employer in an hour. I closed my eyes and it engulfed me, it filled my soul.
Sultan's profile is rare in perfumery - it is a true end-game gourmand. What floats around in the air is a dense, sweet cloud. Very heavy on the vanilla and amber, does not have boozy or floral aspects to it. The base is a very different type of balsamic/medicinal wood that is effectively never used in gourmand scents.
It was only after leaving Harrods that I had realized that my spraying was not just aggressive, but also excessive. Walking through central London, I could not even escape my own scent cloud. It helps being a confident extravert, because I got looks, a lot of looks. I took the tube (London's version of a metro/underground) back to Victoria. In the carts/wagons of the tube, keeping the window slightly down at the end of the cart is encouraged for better ventilation. The experience in the store was one thing, but standing there, even next to the slightly tilted-down window in a hot metro, it took Sultan to a whole new level. It was a type of sillage and strength that I had never experienced. To the raggedly-clothed man that stood opposite of me for 5 minutes before lowering the window to the bottom, my sincerest of apologies.
Few stand at the top as it relates to gourmand fragrances. There are two scents that I've tried which do this much - Kilian's "Intoxicated" and Roja's "Sweetie Aoud". If you've tried either of these two, you'd have a fair understanding for what Sultan is able to achieve at the peak of its powers. I was browsing other websites to see comparables and the top two on the other primary website were Initio's Absolute Aphrodisiac and Atelier des Ors' Lune Feline. I tried Lune Feline back in May 2022 when this Sultan review was written, and subsequently added a bottle in August 2022 - as far as my sampling goes, I would say this is the most accurate comparison. You mainly get cardamom rather than vanilla in the open, and it dries smokier than Sultan, but you achieve a lot of the same. The Initio stands out in a different way, i.e. I get more of a burnt caramel in the air than vanilla and the base is very medicinal, reminding me of cough syrup. Absolute Aphrodisiac leans more feminine to me.
I don't feel the need to spend time on most of the ratings for Sultan - we are talking an elite end-game gourmand with 12h+ longevity, these two are 10/10s. I've gotten 10/10 sillage, but mostly in hotter weather and with plenty sprays. The average wear will have a sillage of around 8-9 (and it doesn't pop the most in winter weather either). The bottles of Royal Crown, to me, are among top 2 for niche with the lovely crown caps that have the encrusted jewels in them. The only other house whose packaging I love this much is Xerjoff. The bottle actually doesn't tell the whole story either because you get this incredible case as well, just like Xerjoff. What I do want to discuss is price because Royal Crown sells the 100ml for €579. While I feel comfortable with the $ paid, I objectively cannot say that this is more than good value. Once you get into this price bracket and you don't have the $ to constantly buy at this price point, I don't think you'll ever feel like you got 10/10 for your money. If you like the Initio or the Atelier des Ors just slightly less for 2/5 the money, Sultan becomes a luxury. The only question is what is that luxury worth to you?
Edit (4th Feb '23): After ATH published his video reviewing the scent, I adjusted sillage down for the sake of an honest review. I previously had it at a 10, but I don't think I'd ever get a 10/10 sillage unless I was wearing Sultan in hot weather or with a serious amount of sprays.
TriumphANT
