Bahrain Taif Al-Emarat

Bahrain by Taif al Emarat came into my hands quite by chance, or rather, it has now found its place in my collection. As an enthusiastic fan of oriental fragrances and brands, I couldn't miss out on the scents from Taif al Emarat. Despite initial skepticism, especially regarding their sometimes hefty pricing policy, I was later proven wrong.
Confidently, with clear ideas in mind, I ventured into one of the many shops in Dubai and asked for the strongest ouds, musk fragrances, and a few attars. And even though there were many that I liked, I ultimately had to realize that there was no real candidate for purchase. However, since my mother was also with me, we focused more on finding a scent for her - after all, I already have far too many. Without much hesitation, we chose Bahrain.

After my nose had a chance to recover a bit from the strong ouds and attars, the nice lady at the counter brought out Bahrain, saying, "This is what most people come here for." Relatively unimpressed by this now-inflationary choice of words, I had the scent sprayed on me and could barely manage more than a "Wow!" After a bit of settling time, the "Wow" turned into "This is definitely the one, I've never smelled anything like this before!" My mother was equally enthusiastic, but why exactly..?

Taif al Emarat Bahrain opens with a pleasant, exciting pepper note and quickly transitions into a light, soft leather opening. The sweetness of vanilla rounds off the composition very strongly, taking away the aggressiveness and loudness typically associated with pepper and leather fragrances. This creates a truly pleasant, gentle opening that completely forgoes classic oriental notes like oud, musk, or the well-known fruit basket. Instead, it opts for subtle elegance with a light sweetness and a certain portion of sophistication from the leather. After a truly impressive opening, the scent remains relatively linear with light notes of vanilla and pleasant, warm sandalwood in the drydown. I personally couldn't perceive any bergamot. Overall, it is a rather warm, pleasant composition that slightly pulls back on the opulence of Arabic fragrances while bringing a certain elegance. Furthermore, this scent is significantly more rounded in its overall structure than I am used to from Arabic houses.

So this scent had to come home with me, and since my mother wasn't quite sure yet, it was I who took the fragrance. After we enthusiastically sprayed it on ourselves for two more days at the hotel, a second bottle was purchased for her. I now wear it incredibly often, and in my opinion, it even works in more professional settings if you adjust your spray amount accordingly. Room-filling, not really; I would classify it as one of the weaker Taif scents. Nevertheless, the performance is absolutely above average and impressive for European noses. 75ml for just under 200 euros is painful; sales are almost never available, and if they are, then with minimal discounts. Unfortunately, there are also no samples available. On the bright side, the packaging is beautiful, the service in the stores is excellent, where you are generally always offered water, dates, and Arabic coffee, making you feel as if you are buying a luxury watch or car, and the scent composition is indeed above average in the Arab world. Taif al Emarat also claims to use exclusively natural ingredients, although I have not researched this further.

So, anyone looking to buy an exciting, unusual, yet still wearable fragrance during their Dubai vacation will be extremely well served here. The availability of Taif fragrances is severely limited; the stores are exclusively in the Gulf states, and even there, it becomes very sporadic once you leave the UAE. Therefore, it is all the more delightful when you can snag one of these scents and enjoy it at home.