Shaghaf Oud Elixir Swiss Arabian 2024

I simply wasn’t a fan at first sniff. It was very oud forward. There really was nothing special
About this at all to me. I prefer oud tonka and azraq. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so impatient and should have allowed it to macerate a bit- but I just didn’t want to… so it went back.
Maybe one day I’ll revisit it- but for now I am very much ok with my decision since it just didn’t make an impact on me at all

Hello everyone,

About 1-2 weeks ago, thanks to my acquaintance, I got a bottle of Shaghaf Oud Elixir and I want to share a few thoughts on it!

There’s really no need to beat around the bush - yes, it is similar, even very similar, and if we’re talking numbers, it’s certainly 90% to 95% (easily), there aren’t really any noticeable differences - just pure subtleties/ nuances (a bit more of this, a bit less of that = something like that).

What you do notice is an increase in power, and please don’t get me wrong (!) the regular Shaghaf Oud Eau de Parfum was already very, very good and deserves a 9 - 9.5 in the H/S, but here the creators have completely "escalated"!

For roughly €70 (considering the performance alone), it’s probably the strongest fragrance in that price segment!
(Rose + Oud + Praline = a pure oriental gourmand powerhouse!)

Do you need it?

It’s not uninteresting, and as far as I know, it’s limited!

Do you need it (urgently) if you already have the regular one?

Not really! Unless you sell the regular one after testing! Because whether you have a fragrance that lasts 13 hours or 20 hours and more (intense remains intense). You decide for yourselves, it really impressed me!

Maybe we have a future star here....., I wouldn’t be surprised!

If I really weren’t convinced, I wouldn’t recommend it to you!
(At least for a test)

And now, have a nice day/ evening or whenever you read this review, best regards, Benny
_______

If you love the OG Shaghaf, you will love this one just as much, if not more.
I was a big Shaghaf fan about 7-8 years ago.
By now, I can no longer tolerate the DNA as well, yet I still own the old batches of Shaghaf Oud Eau de Parfum and was able to compare it with Shaghaf Oud Elixir.

Basically, they are very similar.
In the opening, you immediately notice that the Elixir smells spicier and of higher quality.
Oud and saffron come through clearly.
It’s another Oud that reminds me a bit of hairspray, yet it smells more high-quality than in the OG.

I also perceive the rose at some point, just like in Shaghaf Oud Eau de Parfum; it doesn’t smell realistic to me, but rather synthetic, and it can only be recognized with a lot of imagination.
Then amber comes in, adding warmth to the fragrance.

I perceive praline and vanilla subtly in the air.
And here again, there’s the problem that both notes don’t smell very realistic, but quite synthetic.
The most prominent note remains the Oud note, which I just can’t warm up to.

The performance is top-notch.
On my skin, it lasts 14 hours and the projection/sillage is simply super strong.

It’s not a completely safe oriental unisex fragrance, with strong performance.
However, if you already have the OG, you don’t necessarily need this one, as they are perhaps 85%-90% similar.
If you don’t own either of the two, I would recommend Shaghaf Oud Elixir.

The Shaghaf Oud Elixir is a new, standalone Shaghaf Oud and has only a slight connection to the original. Unfortunately, there is again criticism that a flanker is being released and that it is called Elixir.
I would say it could have been named something completely different; Intense or whatever. But that wouldn't have done justice to the scent. Here we have more of an oud-heavy, darker fragrance that starts off quite differently right from the opening. The saffron is more pronounced, and while the original had praline, rose, and sweetness, here we have a more oud-focused scent that suddenly explodes after about 10 to 20 seconds. And the oud remains dominant. I find the oud used here better than in the original.
The Elixir is more of an amber-oud scent. I also believe that the Elixir is more suited for experienced oud enthusiasts; beginners in terms of oud may be disappointed.
Longevity is around 8 to 9 hours and for me, it is the "more mature version" of Shaghaf Oud!
It will definitely be a hit - just like its predecessor! Absolutely recommended! I purchased the Elixir on the Swiss Arabian EU site and it was delivered to me within two days!

As I am a huge fan of "Shaghaf Oud / شغف عود (Eau de Parfum) | Swiss Arabian," I immediately had to order a sample of the new Shaghaf Oud Elixir when I heard about the new release. After a bit of waiting for a sample offer to finally appear in the Souk, my 5 ml sample was now in front of me. It had been a long time since I was so excited about a fragrance as I was about this one.
So, cap off, *Spray* *Spray*. *Spray* … WOW.

Even after the first spray, my entire apartment was flooded with the well-known DNA of "Shaghaf Oud / شغف عود (Eau de Parfum) | Swiss Arabian." Anyone who rates the sillage of this fragrance below a 9.0 should probably see an ENT doctor.
The same goes for the longevity. This is, as expected from its predecessor "Shaghaf Oud / شغف عود (Eau de Parfum) | Swiss Arabian," very good, but in this case, due to the higher concentration of fragrance oils, even a bit better.

So far, so good, let's get to the most important point. And that is the scent.
Let's keep it short. I find the predecessor (unfortunately?) much better.
The DNA of the predecessor is not as clearly recognizable as I had imagined.
Only after some time do the characteristics of the little brother also emerge in the big brother. In the first half hour, the two fragrances have little in common; the new Shaghaf Oud Elixir could even pass as an independent fragrance in the Shaghaf Oud line from Swiss Arabian during this period. The Elixir stands out quite a bit from its predecessor, although the basic DNA becomes somewhat more present after a while, albeit a bit hidden.

I would describe the scent as follows:

Take the predecessor "Shaghaf Oud / شغف عود (Eau de Parfum) | Swiss Arabian," and throw in double the amount of oud. However, unfortunately, it is very synthetic oud, which remains very synthetic and even slightly piercing throughout the entire scent journey. Additionally, you throw in double the amount of chocolate, but this time dark chocolate!
The rose remains at the same concentration but becomes a bit more floral in the scent progression than in the predecessor.
The rest does not noticeably change.

All in all, I am rather disappointed with the new release due to the very prominent synthetic oud, as it makes the fragrance, which usually seems so high-quality, appear very cheap. However, I am a huge fan of the new chocolate, which comes across as a very dark chocolate as described above!

Unfortunately, the fragrance does not convince me enough to purchase the full bottle.
However, I will still very much enjoy making the streets
(and especially enclosed spaces!) unsafe with my 5 ml sample.

Cheers!

(By the way, the bottle is already available for order on the Swissarabian.eu homepage for just under €70 with free shipping. However, it is not available on swissarabian.com!)