
(R2BF) Left high and dry: colossal scents with dreary longevities
They say that when you don't succeed, you ought to try and try again. From the title of this blog post, you can already tell that I'm here to articulate my exasperation and displeasure with the established notion of poor longevity in an impressive eau de parfum (EDP). Within the fragrance industry, I'm afraid the saying has been, "when you do succeed, water down and water down again." My collection is small for a perfume collector, and so the perfumes I will discuss today which have been affected by this common phenomenon are two- Rasasi's La Yuqawam pour femme and Al Haramain's Royal Musk.

The best of the best, la crème de la crème, when I spritz fragrance onto my skin or clothing, I want to be so impressed by it, I smile. I feel that exact way about La Yuqawam pour femme every time I make an application. She impresses upon you the scent memory of Tom Ford's Black Orchid, and yet her dry down corrects your assertion that no, she is her own woman. A first cousin to the beloved, but a bud in her own right. Yet in all her earthy loveliness, she now lacks the ability to hold on for the long haul. Like a lover faint to commit to more than an evening of sighs and sweet embraces. Oh no, when it comes to fragrances, I want that Sunday kind of love. I want La Yuqawam to stay with me, waft around me, cling to me... I want more than an hour of projection and a quarter of the morning of companionship. I've heard whispers, tales of how potent she was in her heyday. Sad to say, she's been all but watered down.
There are few fragrances that can make me close my eyes and drift into a dream, anytime I take the time to sniff and appreciate them. What can I say? Al Haramain's Royal Musk does it for me with every single spray. Oh but if she could only magically macerate, improve and commit! If the joyous celebration of beeswax, ylang ylang and musk could last for half a day on the skin of my neck, or waft with every beat of my heart and ebb of blood flow at my pulse points. What a joy it would be... Perhaps I could even utter the fabled words of 'signature scent'. But I know she was once a powerhouse of a woman. C'est dommage, with every new batch, she becomes more and more a shadow of her once glorious self.
There you have it- some flowery language masking deep disappointment that two such colossal scents in my collection should promise more than they delivered. That two fragrances which were once known to be powerhouse projectors, have now been watered down to what they are today. In time, I'll get over it, and one day will find myself both thoroughly enchanted with a scent and satisfied with its performance. Perhaps that will be the day and subsequent article where I will write, "rejoice with me, for I have found my signature scent."
** This article is part of my road to black friday (R2BF) series where I will weekly chronicle my thoughts about popular Middle Eastern fragrances you may have on your mind and thereby wishlists!