Saudi Arabia: desert, oil, sheikhs. Superficially, a person like me, who has not delved deeply into this desert state, would give such a description. However, the fragrance impressively proves: There is more than just sand in Saudi Arabia.
19°4'N 72°52'E - Mumbai was tested by me yesterday and did not completely convince me. "26°33'N 37°57'E - Al-'Ula | Les Destinations," on the other hand, impresses throughout all phases. The opening particularly surprised me. A beautiful presentation of a sweet oud note. Until now, I had mostly experienced oud in combination with softer ingredients like rose, but raspberry and oud seem to work excellently together. It is a mature and adult sweetness and by no means a bubblegum sweetness like with JPG. As the fragrance develops, it becomes increasingly creamy and somewhat floral. Until the end, it is a balanced scent that is perfectly balanced as a unisex fragrance.
One drawback and point of criticism would be the performance. Generally, oud is a promise of good performance, but unfortunately not in this case. I could perceive about four hours with four sprays on my neck. With an EdP, one should expect more.
In principle, I find the idea of the coordinates on the bottle good; however, the design is a bit too minimalist for my taste. I am sure that the bottle could have been given more character by using some typical Saudi Arabian symbolism. As it is, the bottle style reminds me a little of the minimalism of Maison Margiela or Byredo.
In terms of price, 120 euros for 50ml is quite a sum. The DNA justifies the price completely, but the performance and the bottle do not.
However, I can overlook the mediocre performance, as the fragrance DNA makes up for it entirely. In the question of India vs Saudi Arabia, 26°33'N 37°57'E - Al-'Ula clearly wins in this case.
