Taraf (black) Zimaya

Taraf (black) is my first perfume from the house of Zimaya, which I believe belongs to Afnan.
I have had good experiences with Afnan, and since the price was right, I thought why not.
The notes also looked very appealing, so I thought not much could go wrong.

As soon as I picked up my package, I immediately sprayed it on and knew right away what it was trying to clone.
I was able to test the original this year.
Unfortunately, I do not own it to make a 1:1 comparison, but I have a rough memory of it.
I could be wrong, as I only got to test it briefly; others might evaluate it better, but it’s still worth a test.

Edit: I now own a decant of Arabians Tonka to see if my perception was right or not.
And I must say the scent is definitely not a good dupe of Arabians Tonka.
You can be so mistaken.
It is more of an independent scent, but at most inspired by Arabians Tonka; that might be a better way to describe it.

Now to the scent:
At first, I perceive a rather sharp saffron note with a medicinal oud.
That sounds terrible to most, including me, because I like neither saffron nor oud, but I do like rose and sugar, and these become more prominent in the dry down and harmonize perfectly with the saffron and oud.
As a result, the sharp/medicinal aspect fades more into the background.
What remains is a sweet, rosy, oriental scent with a pleasant saffron and oud combination.
I would describe the rose here as "black rose."
It appears very dark and masculine, especially as it becomes woodier in the dry down.
But at the same time, it is also very elegant.
Overall, it leans quite towards niche.

The performance is not as strong as the original.
However, the original also costs about 11 or 12 times as much, which one must keep in mind.
For a few hours, you have a nice, sweet, oriental cloud around you that is not too overpowering, but you definitely notice it.
The longevity is also quite okay.
On clothes, the scent lasts for days.

All in all, I can only say I do not regret the purchase.
I don’t know how long the perfume will still be available for under 11 euros, but it is truly worth every cent.