Baz Cuir The Spirit of Dubai 2024

I sit in the desert, dust-dry air, 40°C, breathing is difficult.
I am sitting on a dirty animal hide, remnants of dried feces around me.
The air is incredibly heavy, there is no escape. When I close my eyes and focus on my sense of smell, I sense a market with exquisite spices and a field of flowers in the distance. The hot wind allows me to catch a tiny breeze of it.

These thoughts went through my mind as I extensively tested BAZ Cuir. I ordered the fragrance sample from Gebauer, so it should be the original. I always give fragrances a fair chance, no matter how I initially perceive them. So I bravely wore BAZ Cuir on my skin for a full three days. I have read so much about the incredible transformation the scent undergoes, what great facets it can offer.

And yes, when I sniff my arm for so long that I fry all my receptors, I do actually perceive a very nice note that is truly masterfully good. But this indescribably heavy, dried, almost fecal main accord suffocates any beauty that may be hiding beneath it. And I notice no transformation; it is there and it stays, dominating everything even many hours later.

On the evening of the third day, I had to scrub it off in the shower because it actually made me feel sick.

Even though I am no longer the youngest and have tested quite a few heavy fragrances, it may be that my nose is simply not ready for the caliber that TSOD presents. Almost everyone found black coffee terrible at first, and now I can hardly do without it. I do not want to rule out that such a fragrance might be perceived very differently by me one day, but at this point in time, it is the worst scent I have ever had among my approximately 150 samples.

Actually, I would give it one star, but I think no fragrance deserves that, and it may be that I am just not ready for what it has to offer.