Shaghaf Oud Abyad Swiss Arabian

I bought two more backup bottles and noticed that there were slight differences between them.

One bottle was purchased from fragrancex, and very similar to Interlude, but more smoky and less sweet from the opening. It smells like a bonfire and it's a dark smoke bomb, but the resinous sweetness is constantly subtly sensed at its source. It is a 2018 batch.

The other was bought from an Israeli seller on ebay, and it's woody herbal soapy water flowed out from the opening and gradually become animalic resin scent. Its opening is slightly reminiscent of Narciso Bleu Noir for my nose. The smoky side in it is much less, and the amber stands out more than the frankincense/myrrh in the drydown. If I can say this, it only has a slight touch of vapor, and there is no dark smoke at all (except for the drydown). Nevertheless, the lush woody vibes that seem almost refreshing still make this mystical. It is a 2019 batch.

The first one is the smoky resinous version, the second one is the herbal woody version, I call. This difference may not be the difference in the year of production due to reformulation, but may be just a subtle difference between each bottle. The two make a noticeable difference only in the opening, but over time they both become equally similar to Interlude, and both are very luxurious.

The herbal woody version is a bit less complex but much wearable for me. There is little difference between the two in terms of performance, but it seems that the smoky version is projected a little further. Both are really high quality, not just cheap clones. I rate both with the same score. The smoky version is much closer to Interlude, but the herbal woody version has another charm.

Add: In the drydown, herbal woody version is like a patchouli powder what is very similar to Molinard Vanille Patchouli. I reviewed one more day and concluded that the 2018 and 2019 batches still share similarities, but the 2019 batch no longer resembles Interlude.