Valentino888

From the house of Al Rehab, buying it whenever I see one online. Rumored to have been discontinued, if you know where to look you can still find these, at around the price they where supposed to be once upon a time which is about $5,00 for the 50ml.

Here and there in the past I've been price gauged rather badly in the endeavour to salvage wherever is left of them for sale. Weird thing is I just found one for €4,99 and a tester on the same site for €1,99. I paid 18,00 in the past, in my area they're somehow returning it seems. Not many but I'm puzzled to see them coming back and how cheap some of them are.

Anyhow, this has to be one of the best fragrances ever for me bc simply this; where do you get a perfume concentration with this quality for five bucks? Creds to Al Rehab, It's loud yet mellow bc these have been sitting on the shelf in stores probably for years and years. Bought mine years ago as well. The scent is a sentimental journey back in time whenever I spray this.

This house has expertly blended the notes to fit in place perfectly, main ones I'm picking up, amber, Oudh, vanilla, and caramel, some of them not being listed. All the harshness gone, it's been macerating in my collection for ever and a day. Barbershop energy has to be your thing, it's the same vintage green, fresh, earthy, mossiness from start to finish, absolutely back to basics linear fresh out of the shower confidence in a bottle. Radiates this aura of a guy who is was simply "supposed" to smell exactly like this back in the day. You know like, why wear anything else? this is where it's at, why try harder?

A surprisingly striking and characterful men's fragrance that effortlessly manages to combine a sense of old world toughness with classy refinement. Dakar is ideal I think for men who appreciate making a dominant impression, it's as classic as scents get yet still easily wearable in modern times. I rotate and I'm saving the sprays with this one but you can imagine people wearing this as a signature bc comes across as versatile, familiar, natural and reassuringly traditional. For me it's for Sunday mornings or festive occasions. A timeless choice you could say for a confident man who likes to make his presence felt.

Music: Umm Kulthum - Alfi Leila W-Leila

A classic 80's masterpiece in the world of mens perfumery with an unmistakably barbershop personality. My take; You have to have a sense of melodramatic appreciation for the vintage classics from time to time instead of being hyped up too much by the modern stuff that I often can't discern or afford anyway haha. I'm going back in time to be able to cross reference with the modern creations. A question of taste as well of course, So whenever the occasion allows it I'm reaching for these kinds of fragrances this summer, barbershop fougere, classic, vintage, powerful.

It's about the admiration for the history of perfumery in general as well as this kind of barbershop profile in particular that this history gave birth to. Lapidus pour homme has stood the test of time and is still going strong reportedly in terms of sales to this day. This fougere has outstanding quality for a steal. Above average silage and longevity, easily 8-10 hours, people can notice your scent from across the room with this.

Don't let the modest bottle design distract you, This powerhouse of a fragrance is an old school freshie or aromatic fougere to be more precise. It has me covered mainly for week days at work right throughout the year. Atomizer works fine, You don't need that many sprays because this does pack a punch.

Lapidus pour homme was launched by the design house of Ted Lapidus in 1987. Created by perfumer Martin Gras it is classified as a luxurious, spicy, lavender, and amber fragrance. This masculine scent extends a blend of rich spices, floral notes, woods, and lavender. An ideal fragrance for a romantic evening? Quite possibly once upon a time many decades ago but for most probably not anymore.

Not surprising when you think about it, I mean it's almost the notorious Kouros with a plot twist, the similarities aren't going unnoticed apart from a candied honey direction that's taken by LPH, a sort of a demi sec version of Kouros, the latter being the "brut" version, envision a dry Champagne as opposed to a smoother LPH being more of a comforting demi sec Chardonnay, by no means less impactful as the savage opening of YSL Kouros only sweeter with notes of woodiness and honey. Comparable olfactory intensity only sweeter.

To be on the safe side it's the reason I don't wear it as a signature because it's quite a strong old school projection in this day and age to be wearing too often around people you associate with throughout the week. Keep in mind this depends on location.

Okay okay I get it! for many this one may come across to some degree as a working class out of style cheapie. Admittedly this is not for some of the perfume elitists, boys or young males, this is definitely a 40 plus in terms of age range type of a scent. Occasionally at the gym or a week day fragrance is how I spray my LPH, it has an old fashioned charm and it's a traditional scent statement at the same time. I wear it when I think I can get away with it. A hidden gem? idk I think for the many still sleeping on this one it very well could be.

To my nose this particular offering by the house of Ted Lapidus has a favorable quality price ratio. Good juice for the price if you're a fan of the classic fougere fragrance category. As for myself, it's back up bottle worthy but for anyone else, try this one first. You may not be quite ready yet for one of these classic creations from a distant past, then again at the approx $20,00 mark, who dares wins.

Music: Charles Aznavour - Les plaisirs démodés

~ Valentino888 ~

"Excellent Men" by the house of Al Haramain is an underrated gem that, imo in any case, very much lives up to it's name.

A sweet, floral, warm, rose fragrance is how it comes across. I agree with others who bought this there is an aquatic side to it. There's some oud in the mix. There's definitely a unique smelling floral & outdoorsy happening going on here, seems unisex to me bc of the prominent rose note and an easy reach for the day time all year round but personally in the late spring, early summer time of year. It has better than average longevity with heavy projection in the first few hours.

Hard to compare this rosy, fruity, oriental scent I feel on my skin bc it's unlike most frags I have right now in my fragrance wardrobe. Some hints come to mind of an amped down PDM Layton minus the pungent Apple, Jasmin and Lavender. For someone who likes oriental fragrances in the 40-plus age range mostly.

In terms of value for money it's a solid 7.5/10 with "Excellent Men". A favorable proposition at the approx. $20,00 price point from the house of Al Haramain. I can recommend it although it's not a fashion statement or date night kind of scent, rather a non-offensive, gentle, unique, somewhat dreamy and well made woody blend with elevated rose and floral notes. If still available in your area, don't even think twice. I'm saving the sprays these days though bc it's sold out here lately.

Nice to have in the rotation as a modest yet blind buy worthy week day scent for work or to take to a holiday destination bc this one can go in different directions. It's that kind of a scent, it's either elevating the mood with an aromatic distraction as you breeze by from the oriental floral notes in a sometimes dreary office environment (or it's my imagination playing tricks on me) to underline/celebrate a vacation, the joyousness of a leisurely sunny afternoon.

The note breakdown according to the house of Al Haramain webpage I've listed down below FYI bc it differs somewhat from Parfumo and Fragrantica lists only the notes; "woody" and "warm spicy".

[Top notes] Rose, Geranium, Marigold, Hibiscus Blossoms, Spicy, Cassis, Passion fruit. [Middle notes] Marine, Rose, Saffron, Coriander, Ginger, White Pepper, Cardamom, Cypriol, Agar wood, Patchouli. [Base notes] Amber, Spicy, Mahogany, Sandalwood, Ebony, Guaiac wood, Patchouli, Cedar wood, Musk.

scent: 8/10
longevity: 7/10
projection: 6/10
overall: 7.5/10

Music: Seals & Crofts - Summer Breeze

~ Valentino888 ~

[Company introduction]
Al Rehab is a perfume company based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The brand was established in 1975. The focus and philosophy behind the brand lies in providing high quality perfumes using the best levels of expertise available; Taylor-made to meet specificities of customer tastes, preferences and demand. The Slogan of the Al Rehab perfume company from the outset has been, Quality at affordable prices for all.

[Name of the fragrance]
Oudy - Al-Rehab Eau De Natural Perfume Spray- 35 ml (1.15 fl. oz)

[Official note-breakdown]
Top notes: White Musk, Costus. Middle: Agarwood (Oud), Tobacco, Neroli. Base: Agarwood (Oud) and Broom.

[Performance]
Silage trail 30 minutes/hour. Longevity about 2 hours

[My take/review]
Greetings everyone, hope you're all doing well, I'm doing fantastic. (lol, just kidding) Okay so today we've got this lil beauty in front of us; Oudy by Al-Rehab. And I wanted to write a few words about it since I've had it in the collection for about a year at least. (juice level is about 3/4 of the way down). Been wearing it mainly in various religious settings (Mosque attendance, Arabic classes, Lectures on Islam etc) I really appreciate it and love it.

{The description} "Eau De Natural Perfume Spray" means that it based on natural perfume oil, with the exception of the Agar wood in this case I'm sure (alcohol added to make it into a spray version) in Arabic that's called "Itar/Attar" it's an essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources. Most commonly these oils are extracted via hydro or steam distillation. (thanks wiki). There's supposed to be an attar (for those shunning the alcohol) version of this but haven't been able to source that one yet. By no means a performance monster however little ole Oudy, it's a subtle woody Oriental skin-scent this one, however in hotter climes this could really perform altogether differently idk.

In any case, this relatively speaking, short lived sensation, can be handy if you want to go for different fragrances throughout the day and you don't want them clashing. Sinds it's pretty much gone after a few hours except for perhaps the slightest hint of musky powderiness, you can just go over the top with something different to adapt to changes in scenery/occasion/time of day. But, if you're not done yet, this slim lil 35ml bottle lends itself to being conveniently transported in the side pocket of a Jellabiya or handbag or whatever the case may be for re-application later in the day.

The fragrance to me in the beginning has these very distinct resinous birchy and woody notes, as if you just walked into a carpenters workshop or you've been using a pencil sharper. But that's only after a creamy cloud of musk has moved over as the intro. Towards the mid, there's that smoky Oudh coming through then flowery Amber with an understated Tobacco note. It dries down to a close powdery musk. Parfumo has clove and Mir listed as the notes as well. I can relate to that with the resin and spiciness I'm getting right the way through pretty much but mainly in the middle somewhere. It's noted down as a Unisex fragrance but to me this exudes masculinity big time, could be just me idk.

Considering this experience will set you back around € 5,00 locally in my case; You really can't go wrong with this. It's a winner scent, it's that super high quality, classy, modest, woody, old world, oriental, classic vibe that we know and love about the Al-Rahab brand. “Sultan Al Oud” supposed to be great as well by this brand, getting that one next as well as more backups.

[Background]
Looking forward to trying and reviewing more from this brand and Middle Eastern perfume brands for men in general (primarily due to being of the Islamic faith myself as I mentioned earlier). I thoroughly enjoy the price category I'm working with now of both the Western and the Oriental ones. (The Louis Vuitton's, Roja Parfums and Tom Ford's etc of the fragrance world are going to have to wait for now, I'll get to those later lol).

The ones I've experienced over the years made by Al Rehab (and others brands like it) tend to have one thing in common and that is the traditional, conservative Oriental nature of their perfumes that really makes them stand out from the Western style perfumes. Largely due to the sales market being based in the middle east for the most part where end users are primarily an Islamic demographic, they are made to suit that specific taste and tradition etc. which I love as well.

In other words it is one of those typical Saudi-Arabian perfume brands with Al Rehab being one of the more "old world" conservatively oriental brands I've seen thus far compared to some of the others that are widely available for me here in the West where I'm currently situated.

~Valentino888~

As the air was heating up for what is probably going to be remembered as a great summer for NL in the capital city this year 2022; I just couldn't resist any longer and I grabbed for it. I mean "Sun Men" the spicy aromatic fragrance release from 2002 by fashion house Jil Sander.

Loving the minimalist rectangle bottle design, frosted glass, bright metallic orange and white theme, atomizer good as well, overall a sleek presentation.

For some perhaps a bit on the common side and main stream, but to me it's quality perfume with uniqueness, top notes Bergamot Rosemary; middle notes Cardamom Nutmeg; base notes Musk Sandalwood.

A quality proposition for the price, a fine scent with a good amount of sweetness and oil rich density. Good value for money with decent projection, around 6 hours plus longevity.

The thing about it though, the sentimental quality it has bc of the association with that sunny time of year. Just seems familiar like you've experienced this all your life, the citrus opening and aquatic notes takes your imagination to a day at the beach in fourty plus degree temperatures bc it can, bc that's just how this rolls. Reminds me of sun lotion and it is definitely a " for men" masculine type of edt.

Admittedly I applied skin moisturizer that day prior to spraying Sun Men. As I was running errands commuting in and out of metro's and trams around town in the sweltering summer heat; that aromatic sweet silage that wasn't letting up for easily 6 hours plus. The skin cream and the heat probably made it stand out a bit extra. A hack I'm normalizing now in my scent routine, as reviewers tell us sometimes as well, I can now speak from experience that it really does seem to help the loudness of the scent.

I just kept getting the powerful aroma right throughout the day of this summer sweet freshie. With the Rosemary giving it that zing I was amazed at how long this stayed on my skin, the day after it was still there, during the morning shower that sandalwood was still hitting me.

A major selling point for me with any fragrance, noticing for hours on and off you're wearing this gorgeous scent that's got your back all the way with staying power. Nothing more rewarding for me than catching the fragrance here and there all day.

Some people complain about the performance of Sun Men I'm thinking, seriously? for the money this Eau de Toilette has plenty of umpf.

Main one I'm reaching for this season. (A bit panicky I surf the discounters) Bitte! wo ist meine back up bottle?