Indian Shamama Attar, 1987 Vintage Krim Rose, Thai Blue Lotus Absolute (which I already liked so much in
Mandalay), myrrh of the highest quality, wild-harvested and aged agarwood, and complemented with musk. Damn! Sounds exciting, right?! :)
#4 of the tested Nebirus from the Elite XQ Line is the
Zora XQ. As hyped as I was beforehand, I must now say after 2 "skin tests" that the raw material quality is once again 'superb', but the composition ultimately does not bring an AHA-effect for me, as much of it is already known from other/previous Nebirus.
Alongside Zora,
Marlina XQ and
Helix XQ present me with exactly the same problem. Only the
Seraphim XQ truly blew me away ...
Well then, let's dive into the scent development :-)
• Upon spraying:
A lot of oud. Dark, deep, spicy, intense.
Alongside a light musky animalic note, balanced by a bright, yet zesty bergamot.
A pleasant floral veil lies over everything.
Promising and somewhat more demanding than the last two tested Nebirus. I like it, although the opening reminds me a bit of Marlina.
• After 20 minutes:
Sweet-floral with a pronounced resin-wood counterpoint.
Sillage is definitely present, but not overwhelming. It radiates, but not in a penetrating way. Just right for me.
• 1h:
The floral note has unfortunately only made a brief appearance so far. Dark oud wood with the very typical resinous balsamic of a Nebiru now shines through well. This makes it almost subtly creamy and sweeter.
• 1.75h:
Sweet, floral on a dark-spicy, yet restrained (sandalwood? or is it still oud?) wood base. I already know this DNA. I hope there’s a twist coming. Something spicy or another exciting turn ...
• 3.25h:
The floral aspect has significantly diminished, almost gone on my skin. Sillage has noticeably decreased, now only close to the skin.
Still a very pronounced, spicy wood note combined with the classic Nebiru resin-balsamic.
• 5.5h:
"Dark wood" has now transformed into "light wood". Very pleasant. Very comforting and appealing. If oud is still present, then it is definitely now very subtle and rather light. The great thing: Through the soft, gentle wood, the floral notes make (their) comeback! I'll take it!
• 7.5h:
Resinous-balsamic, minimally floral, light (oud?) wood.
Sillage is gone.
Longevity has significantly decreased. This won't hold on my skin for much longer.
• After 9h:
Officially done for me. It was a nice experience! Just not a new one ...
######
Conclusion:
I already touched on my thoughts or evaluation at the beginning.
High-quality ingredients.
Likeable DNA.
Pleasant, although not "absolute"-ly emerging lotus on my skin with a strong oud base and typical Nebiru-DD.
For someone who has already gone through 11? 12? Nebirus, this is not a revelation. In the pre-announcement, I quickly realized that
Zora XQ would be a must-have. Simply because I miss the
Mandalay or couldn't buy it :-(
Am I disappointed for having shelled out 360€ for this? No. "Disappointed" would be too harsh.
Maybe they all just need a bit more maturity and aren't quite "done" yet at release :D
Further tests will follow for all. For sure. And then there might be a point or two more ;-)
Calabrian bergamot
Cambodian oud
Chinese ginseng
Crimean rose
Muskrat
Myrrh
Nag Champa
Shamama attar
Thai blue lotus absolute
Bergamoto
44muc
