Dahaab Saafi is part of the trilogy of perfumes that Afnan created with the brand Bait Al Bakhoor. I recently added it to my collection, together with Yaa Gaali, and now after wearing it for an entire evening and day, having received a series of compliments, I want to tell you what sensations it gives me. From the first notes, the oriental gourmand genre is perceived as a powdery rose wrapped in gentle, vanilla and musky puffs. It is a sophisticated version of a rose and vanilla perfume, with special thanks to the unusual olfactory pyramid. Many compare it to Intense Cafe, but it could resemble other fragrances based on rose, vanilla, and white musk. I could list all the perfumes I have that recall Dahaab Saafi, for example, Roses Musk Eau de Parfum, Roses Vanille Eau de Parfum, Rose Gourmand Women, or Maison Royale - Plaisir Café.
Dahaab Saafi announces itself with dense, sweetish accords; the rose petals are clean, sharp, powdery, caramelized and sprinkled with pulverized vanilla. I like to think of rose-flavoured jelly desserts. Lokum, known in Europe as Turkish delight, are gelatinous sweets typical of Turkish cuisine based on corn starch and sugar, flavoured with rose water or other perfumed flavourings, and covered with icing sugar. In this opening phase, I do not feel the coffee note, even if there is a slight nuance of something more similar to a cappuccino or latte macchiato.
In the next phase, the perfume takes on a powdery tone. I feel creamy wood notes combined with clean notes of white musk. There is no trace of animal notes; the musk is vegetal, candid, of the kind encountered in the perfumes of Musk Eau de Toilette. Now the sharp floral and sweet component has moved to the background. The essence I breathe is a musky, powdery rose, creamy, attractive, and addictive. It’s not enough to hear it rise from my clothes and neck. I keep bringing my nose closer to my wrists and always want more.
After a few hours, the perfume fades away on mainly floral accords, tending towards the sensual. Now the scent of vanilla pods is intense and heady, but thanks to slightly earthy roses and creamy musk, the scent never takes on the sentimental aspects of a pastry dessert. On the contrary, a salty aspect is also perceived as if there was ambergris or, more likely, ambroxan. The creamy facet has hints of lemon, a bit like the characteristic aroma of magnolia with its fleshy, thick, and lemony petals. I am surprised by how the aroma of lemon intensifies more and more, present here in the final, persistent and non-volatile phase.
Dahaab Saafi takes inspiration from Intense Cafe while remaining a different perfume with more sweetness and creaminess. As I wrote in the opening, there is a glimmer of something based on coffee, but it is not the dominant theme of this fragrance. It is a well-made perfume with excellent quality compared to its price, and not at all cheesy or synthetic. It is suitable for a cold climate, during autumn and winter days and evenings, although I also like to wear it in early spring. Compared to Yaa Gaali, this one performs very well, with projection and duration that are average or even better.
I'm basing my opinion on a bottle I've owned since March 2023.
ExUser 2 years ago