ShaunBaker

My first review of El Nabil. First of all, a few key facts.
El Nabil was not produced in the UAE like many other perfume oils, but in France, where it is also bottled and marketed in European countries, although it is probably also available in Arab countries. The fragrance concentration is an Extrait de Parfum and not a Concentrate as is usual in Arab countries.

This is also noticeable when applying the fragrance, where most Al rehab fragrances, for example, immediately have an insane power, the fragrances are very oily for a long time and some can be smelled well for several hours, respectively also have a good sillage, the El Nabil fragrances are rather more dignified. Musc Imran in particular gets off to a fantastic start after application. After about 20-30 minutes, the fragrances sort themselves out and you have body kouros vibes in your nose for a while. But the biggest problem here: The fragrance doesn't stay too long and develops into a skin scent after about 2h, you also look in vain for an oily film on the skin after a while, which significantly improves the skin feel, as not everyone can cope with this oily texture. It really depends on the amount you use and where you apply it. I actually bathed in Musc imran one day against all reason and after lavish application (without roll on, on the chest, neck and arms) was actually able to get 8 hours of longevity out of it.

However, nobody at work complained that it was too much, let alone noticed the fragrance, so a sillage of 4/10 is probably already high.

In principle, the fragrance itself is quickly explained: Body Kouros without the grandiose eucalyptus-incense opening, but from the heart note onwards most of the similarities, but the somewhat "dirty" of the original and the depth is definitely missing here, so that the fragrance gets a maximum score of 90% from me in terms of similarity.
As I haven't yet come across a dupe of Body Kouros, apart from Musc Imran, and El Nabil has done an exceptionally good job here, I'm going to get the EdP as well as the extrait.

As is always the case with fragrances that scratch the 40-year mark or even go beyond it. The fragrance still has the same name, the bottle may still look the same, but often the font or placement of the perfume name changes and from then on you automatically know: something has happened to the fragrance.

This is also the case with Arrogance Uomo. The bottle has changed, the "Uomo" has moved to the right under Arrogance and the fragrance has been "adapted".

Arrogance uomo didn't last forever in the past either, but from now on you have to be prepared to have an old Italian firecracker on your skin for about 15 minutes and a fragrance close to your skin for the remaining 2-3 hours. The fragrance from the bottle pictured here has a little more to offer.

What has changed rather less, and I have to say this commendably, is the fragrance itself.
Spicy herbal notes and a little soapiness at the beginning still fit.
Once the notes have sorted themselves out, Arrogance uomo comes alive with clove, rose geranium, oakmoss and vetiver. The whole thing is kept very green and spicy and still transports you olfactorily to Mediterranean climes, but unfortunately only on a low flame. As is often the case, I missed out on a large vintage bottle back then. Now I just have to live with the new one. At least I still have vintage deodorant, which lasts longer than the current EdT

Concentrated perfume oils are still an exciting thing for me. On the one hand, they don't contain any alcohol, and on the other, you can tell from the concentration of the oil whether it would also have potential in EdP form. There are oils that are so highly concentrated that they have to develop first, and those that lie on the skin after application, are there and linger gently.

This definitely includes Sultan al oud.

In the end, I knew what I was getting into with this fragrance, as I know Ameer al oud, Black Afgano, as well as Black oud by Al Haramain from the past. I can't find Oud Wood here even with a lot of imagination...

All in all, I would say 70% Ameer, 20% BA and 10% Black oud, which I found very earthy. Sultan al oud has a slightly earthy note at the beginning, but this soon disappears. The woody notes push forward, and whatever oud is mixed in here, I certainly don't notice any. What the fragrance cannot deny after a while is patchouli and/or vetiver in the base.

The sweetness of Ameer al oud is actually absent here too.

All in all, a very straightforward and rather dry fragrance with few changes and an unfortunately very dimmed durability and sillage, I am simply used to more from the three fragrances mentioned above. However, this should not be a criterion to rate the fragrance lower, it has just never quite been my scent.

Well, the headline here is meant differently than is well known.

In the zeal of my fragrance oil order, I was no longer aware that I probably already owned Musk Play, and I also realized that it is supposed to be a dupe of Givenchy Play. Since I didn't realize that Play and Play Intense are light years different, I fell for the fragrance oil, for the second time as it turns out.

In itself, Musk Play is not bad, it's fresh, the pepper does quite well in the middle section and patchouli and vetiver add some depth at the end, unfortunately, the longevity is disappointingly short, I'll leave it open whether there is any sillage at all with this CPO

However, there were many fragrances that went in this direction and still do.
Play does not have such a unique selling point as Play Intense, which I would have liked with this fragrance oil.

So all that remains is to say: too bad Marmelade and often fate strikes twice.

Fancy Bouquet at least sounds interesting, like a lot of what Al Rehab has to offer. In this case, however, disillusionment sets in as the name and color scheme do not live up to expectations.

The concentrated oil starts off quite herbal and tart, but this tart fragrance impression quickly subsides and the floral notes come to the fore. Unfortunately, I don't smell too much clove and rose, as it quickly turns into a creamy floral scent, which is probably due to the daisies, and there is also a certain sugary sweetness. So the fragrance progresses from tart to floral and from floral to creamy-sweet, but without coming across as too feminine. The fragrance is rightly unisex.

As indicated in my statement, Fancy Bouquet develops into a fragrance that I would most likely associate with a hand cream or bath additive.

The longevity is unusually short, or rather it quickly turns into a skin scent and lingers for a long time, but always discreetly.
So for once an al rehab that doesn't scream

The sillage is therefore also limited, it may be noticeable, but never intrusive.