As part of my big mistake of letting myself get influenced by the online hype and acquire
Khamrah Qahwa, I got a bottle of
Al Areeq Gold as a gift alongside. Sure, at the time, I was extremely excited about it, this being the first leather fragrance that I got my nose onto. Given that, it's no surprise that I found it very interesting. But now, with more experience in my pocket, I realize just how blind and inexperienced I was.
Being a Lattafa fragrance, the extremely rough and synthetic opening is more than expected. For like the first two minutes, all I smell is alcohol. Afterwards, it gets worse, with a very rubbery and artificial smelling saffron, accompanied by undertones of leather, mild spices, and a subtle sweetness. The black tea is held at bay, adding some herbal warmth with an earthy edge, but also a bitter accord in the background. However, it doesn't take a lot of experience to tell just how low quality this composition is and just how bereft of balance it is. The saffron is rubbery beyond acceptance and synthetic more than leathery.
After a good while, it does settle down, making way for a basic leathery scent, with warm smokiness and continued faint sweetness. The suede tries its best to add a more distinct leather smell, adding a slightly musky, velvety, and powdery tone. However, once again, the lack of balance just throws everything completely off, smelling more chemical than anything else. The frankincense is... well, hard to pinpoint on its own (no wonder), but I do get some hints of spice and a balsamic undertone for which I hold it accountable.
I will admit that after a couple of hours, things get borderline decent. The rubbery, artificial aura is mostly gone, leaving you with a mild and warm leather, paired with rather strong muskiness which cover some vanilla sweetness and warm woodiness. Still, it's not enough to save the composition. There's simply no balance whatsoever, with the best examples being the rubbery saffron in the opening, the synthetic leather afterwards, and the strong muskiness at the base, overpowering everything else. It is also a pretty linear scent, and it takes forever for some sort of development to show. Overall, everything here screams "oriental", just the kind that says, "Habibi, don't come to Dubai! Stay away!"
It's a real curse that fragrances I truly enjoy often leave me wanting in terms of performance, but scents I'd rather flush down the toilet stick to my skin like ticks.
Al Areeq Gold lasts for nearly 12 hours on me, while also showing decent projection performance. The first hour, I get close to 2 feet of projection, with a very prominent trail being left behind. For the next few hours, I get a very solid and consistent bubble around me, which starts to diminish around the 4-5 hour mark. In the air, it also seems to smell significantly sweeter, as per my cousins' statements.
Regarding versatility, it's a bit difficult to pull a conclusion, primarily because I just wouldn't wear this anywhere. But keeping in mind that in the air it doesn't smell AS synthetic/artificial/rubbery, I'd probably say it's mostly suited for dressed-up events. Definitely not a daily driver for school or work, but again, if you ask me, this is best suited for gathering dust on Lattafa's storage rooms.
If you couldn't tell already, I think I'll skip this one. And so should you. The attractive $20-$30 price tag (even $40 in some places) shouldn't excite you, for what you're getting here is anything but bang for your buck. Sure, if you don't give a damn about perfumery as a whole, and just want a rubbery, oriental, leathery fragrance for pocket money, then knock yourself out. But otherwise, make an effort, invest some more cash in a proper leather fragrance, and I promise you that the difference will be significant and worth it.
Also, this is totally unisex. Parfumo seems to have it labeled as a women's perfume. And while I must say that it does lean a little more feminine, it's hardly a women-only scent.
Overall Rating: 5.8/10
Top Notes 
Saffron
Black tea
Heart Notes 
Leather
Suede
Frankincense
Base Notes 
Musk
Vanilla
Amberwood
Notsosweet
StinkSultan
Reap
Rossie
Soerens
LinoFr
Miri0808
Cedrolemon
Duftblind
Stayinalive
