Chizza

Myriads of cocoa grains trickle down sparklingly as cocoa dust swirls upwards, meeting in the middle for golden-radiant, warm-resinous wing beats, uniting to form a kind of sintering column; persistent and yet very fragile, constantly fading and appearing anew. Shimmering around the symbolic light, this fragrance develops further facets. Resinous nuances and damp wood evoke a balsamic heaviness that feels diametrically opposed to olfactory lightness.

In Roman mythology, the goddess of light merged with Juno, probably the most respected goddess in terms of rank. Like this, the first phases merge into a new fragrance, even if the bulk may simply represent the development of the oud. The eagle wood used here merely provides the foundation. Especially the beginning with the spicy entree, where cardamom and cocoa harmonize wonderfully.
The aforementioned resinous facets are then married with camphor. This creates fresh aspects, minty moments like in After Eight. Only with oud instead of chocolate.

Mineral-animalic ambergris gives us further facets, making the dusty, harsh-green element appear rounded and full-bodied. Dark wood, here soaked up like a sponge, in its most beautiful form. Lucina bathes this attar in light in all possible colors of the oud spectrum at ever new angles of incidence. Elegance, perfection, beauty.

More than two years ago, I wrote a few words about the extrait. I liked the fragrance, very much indeed. I can neither elevate the Attar above the Extrait nor do I want to place it below it. For this reason, I am not comparing the two. Sure, you can in terms of depth, sillage and so on. Both are successful, and I'll leave it at that.

Just one last word: anyone who judges oud fragrances by generalizing should try an Attar like this one to broaden their horizons. Perhaps one or the other will then follow Faust:
"If I say to the moment: Linger! You are so beautiful! then you may beat me in fetters, Then I will gladly perish!"

In this sense: I accept the bet on behalf of Mephisto.

Wow, super! I first had to buy a new car because of the scent! It's just stupid that I couldn't wear the new car for a year until the configured car finally arrived! Unfortunately I didn't have any money left for a decent engine, so I spent it all on the foot sensor on the trunk! But I have a problem. Several in principle, but only one with regard to the smell: the new coach smells better than the olfactory new car here. So it's also completely different. "Cheat pack of the year" suggestion is already out.

But yes! Yes, this fragrance smells of leather. Very classy, of course. Unfortunately, someone has sprayed a lot of varnish over it, some kind of fruity mixture too. Smells like nail polish remover with raspberry or strawberry. Uh, I mean like new leather *wink wink* in a new car *wink wink*.
Sorry, I had something in my eye, I was holding the spray head wrong.

Don't worry, friends: the fermented fruit will go away, it just smells like musk. *wink wink*....but so does this spray! Pepper is there, helps the fragrance too. Doesn't seem completely off, rounds it off, disguises it, you could say. The ozonic notes are actually there, it smells like sour air, so I think the air conditioning in the car is broken. But something else: I was wondering how a fragrance can smell like plastic, but people are raving about high-quality cars? The last plastic car my son had was an electric one in Mercedes design. He was three then. Maybe all the proclamations are about a car like that?
Then a few moments in which the violet reminds me of Fahrenheit, of the legendary gasoline note. Apparently you don't wash with water or just torch everything.

Seriously, this olfactory new car is extremely reminiscent of Ombre Leather, which, due to its squeaky synthetics, just smells snobbish, cheap and intrusive to my nose. These attitudes are also evoked here. What is not depicted is the smell of a new car with leather seats.

Whatever someone thinks of when naming fragrances, some of them are very tangible, others almost counteract the name. When ouds are named after their origin, you know where you stand. This is of course different with perfume than with pure oil. But how does one come up with the idea of naming a creation Manhattan Times Square, whose content is basically based on the classic triumvirate of oud, rose and musk? But as a Palladium owner, the mere list of ingredients seemed meaningful enough to me. For me, this implied a fragrance similar in quality to the aforementioned Palladium. That was enough for me to make a "blind purchase". I was also helped by various advertising slogans for this fragrance, which I would now like to share and analyze with you:

"Dear Georg, can't you send me something of yours? A bottle of the fragrance that harmonizes so beautifully with the oud in my belly button? Uh, on my wrist."

Clever. There could be many fragrances and the advertising victim will now have to buy countless bottles. Fortunately, we know where MGO resides. A place probably as big as Times Square. I just say, deduction, many greetings to Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a subtle hint of oud, but it is left open as to what harmonizes? Is it the ouds together? Or is it the classic combination of oud, rose and musk?

Another advertisement sheds light on this:
"If you had made the oud, would you have made it pleasing? / If you had made the rose, would you have made it sweet and kitschy? / And, if you had mixed it with musk, how would you have done it? / Exactly like this. / Not like the title, like the Manhattan. / Creamy, diversified oud."

The last sentence has alternative endings: "green-edgy rose", "rich-woody-sweet oud". Both sound good, but conceal the acidic nuance of roses, which usually has a negative connotation, but is not the case here. The ouds, I can filter out every single one. Not. In general, the consumer can expect a greenish, creamy, syrupy-resinous oud. The fact that the ouds are well-balanced, quite strong and striking but without being offensive, MGO derives from another advertising slogan: "All spray perfume with oud. Smells good."


In another commercial, they even mock fresh fragrances and the like; this one is in English and is aimed at perfume cosmopolitans. I am one of them, I buy my fragrances in this spirit. All over the world. I'm sure that's as good as it gets.

"Fresh doesn't go at all
manhattan's oudness
Fresh goes away please
With MGOs, fresh and full of expensive ingredients! (And also rounded off with a dirty vanilla note.)"

Round with Vanilla, Dr. Staudtker. The good bourbon vanilla. Sure. Is not included. You know it from the offers in the supermarket, dubiously cheap. In fact, no commercial mentions this facet of Manhattan, which appears relatively late, but lets the base fade away in an embracing and yet not too generic or predictable way. Sure, unless you're a Norne or Parze, in which case you're in the know.

It wasn't until the final commercial, in which one of his regular customers pranced around in a bikini with a bottle in one hand, that all of Manhattan's characteristics came to the fore. There was the idea of using an ugly sweater with a Times Square silhoutte and confusingly flashing LEDs instead of a bikini. It stayed with the mind game:

"Come on over have some fun
Dancin′ in the mornin' Ambra
Look into the bright blue sky
Come and let your other perfumes fly
Livin′ it up this brand new day
A lot of oud and rose, it's time to play
Doing things that feel so good
Get into the musk."

Now everyone and hands up, clapping arrhythmically, bast skirt swung again or, if you prefer, the light, belted white scarf, good that it doesn't seem downright harlequinesque:
"What I'm feeling
It′s never been so multi-layered
When I′m dreaming
Manhattan dreaming
When you, Georg, are with me"

Super exciting, here the reference is once again made to the complexity of the ouds, obviously a dream, a harmony through the alliance with the adult rose and the distinguished, introverted musk. The salty moments thanks to the ambergris, the spray foothills, which are played over to the woody notes, also find their way in. So I have to buy it now thanks to the advertising.

If you buy it too, you can save with the code "PokalherduLump". You're welcome.

It is not uncommon for oud fragrances that do not mention the origin of the oud to give the impression that they are of high quality, perhaps not even that they are "real" oud. At the very least, releases from brands that are otherwise communicative in this respect give the same impression. In this respect, I was surprised by this fragrance, as Agar Aura is known for proclaiming such details. Be that as it may, this skepticism turned out to be unfounded, so here is my travel report:

Initially, I walked through golden, autumnal forests, the trees on the earthy ground lined with yellow-brown leaves that had sailed down. A pleasant woody scent pervades the scenery. Oily, ideas of polish refine this fragrance, an olfactory golden-brown incarnation of a sun-drenched forest in cool air. Sweetly woody, trickling, no, creeping drops of resin.

Agar Attar gradually takes on a green facet, first subtle, then dark green, evoking bitter leafy brew. This interlude is short-lived, it becomes harsher, the wind roars, the forests sway in this wind. Woody notes, freshly cut wounds, tree sap.

Now transformation; leathery nuances, a hint of green for a moment, then gourmand accents. Here, the status quo lingers, but not in the sense of Mephistopheles or Faust, but because this creation is stagnating in its development. Still woody, albeit only slightly, still leathery. Likewise without any extraordinary characteristics, even paler in scent, at least partially.

This is where the journey ends, infinitely beautiful at the moment but without any further progression, you like to linger here, but don't make any progress anyway. In this respect, an entertaining, olfactory adventure, catchy, easy to get into.
If you want to criticize, then the durability and lack of unique selling points. Sure, Agar Attar is strong, smells good, is not complex but is right there. But it is very gentle in places, sometimes less than moderately woody, only rarely hypnotic like the leather here. That's a shame, more would probably have been possible, as the brand and its works are otherwise characterized by more depth.

Sweet start, intense oily, dark woody and noble at the same time; yet tamed, no archaic oud, no wilderness; domesticated. Gentle coffee notes, medium strength, scent of a freshly made, pure coffee. Al-Arabiya is nevertheless not a purist. The softly drawn floral notes are too clear.

The minutes pass, the oud becomes darker, becomes more mature, becomes the protagonist. Sublime hint of incense, but resinous not smoky. Oriental incense rituals, impressions of Bedouins in tents. Oudist roller, thick, dominant but melancholy kinetics.

Overwhelming variety in terms of oud. From fresh resinous, light minty nuances to dark green woody facets and final depth. This spits smoke, wraps the earth in an oud mist, whispers of past cultic rituals.
The oud and its wild weaving, diverse elaborate experience. The development progresses like a single day; towards the end, an aura is evoked like a nocturnal forest skeleton in the moonlight. Mystical, yet not gloomy; siren-like aura spraying and no Pavor Nocturnus.

Spellbound stare, then a sudden smoke meanders into the scenery, snakes mercilessly around the olfactory sensation, occupies the senses, imposes these time-honored, woody-resinous echoes, knows in a gentle but stringent-straightforward way to inspire. Leathery nuances show themselves in the course, refine; high level.

Agar Aura is for me a brand that has created wonderful creations in terms of oud, not only with oils but also with sprayable versions. Recently, something was lost in reputation due to the mediocre Solafa fragrances, the own Aura leveled a bit. Let's simply hope for more fragrances like this one. Solafa is then forgiven and forgotten - like a pale cry from another time: faded into nothingness.