bryanscents

Musk Hareer is from the Violet Collection by Taif Al Emarat. I bought it with my girlfriend in mind. The packaging is simpler than most of the house's boxes but still high quality, with a sleeve that comes off and a box that opens from the side, and the bottle design is elegant.

The atomizer gave me some violet from the air, a clean, soapy scent that is still musky but definitely different from the Al Mesk Al Nabawi I opened first. On paper it is soapier still, a musky, clean linen smell. It has less citrus than the first one, and it feels sweeter. The card lists powdery musk and bergamot on top, peony in the heart, and fig and white oud at the base. It is unisex leaning heavily on the feminine side. If it really does have oud, I am interested in how it will perform over the long term, since I have only tried it on a strip so far. A pleasant, clean first impression, and I will report back on how it behaves on skin.

Velixir is one of the most hyped houses out there, and Icarus may be its most hyped bottle. It is inspired by Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman, one of my favorite scent profiles in niche fragrance. I would like to own the original someday, but maybe, just maybe, Icarus will stop me.

It opens aldehydic, fruity, aquatic and fresh, and it gives me good vibes with regard to Blue Talisman. I would prioritize it over the Middle Eastern alternatives from Assaf, Maison Asrar, Afnan and Lattafa. Sniffing it, it is a lot stronger than Maison Asrar Legacy, more well blended than Lattafa Art of Universe, and less sweet than Afnan Turathi Electric. For the original I read pear, Calabrian bergamot and mandarin on top, mandarin, orange blossom, Georgywood and ginger in the heart, and musk, Ambrofix, Akigalawood and cedarwood at the base. Akigalawood is considered an oud note, but this is not woody at all, although in my experience Blue Talisman inspired versions get a little woody as they dry down.

I will do a full wear test and follow up with a breakdown. If it lasts more than six hours it could climb even higher in my book.

I first knew Matière Première through Falcon Leather, which filled my entire office for at least two hours after I sprayed it, so an extrait de parfum from this house means something. The unboxing is nothing to write home about, but the fragrances are crazy. If the bottle scares you, it should.

Sprayed on paper, my first question was whether there was oud in it. It is woody and oudy, and then the rose comes in right in your face. Think of Ombre Nomade, only a lot bolder. It is unisex, neither masculine nor feminine, and it is not for daytime. This is for special occasions, date nights, anniversaries and weddings, because you will get more than you bargained for. I imagine a candlelit dining room with a table for two, a violinist playing your favorite tune while you sip your favorite wine, and rose petals raining down in the middle of the forest. That is the setting I see whenever I smell it, so sexy. The notes are saffron, pepper berries, rose centifolia absolute, patchouli, labdanum and immortelle absolute from Croatia.

After two hours it was still very woody and rosy, only intensified. What I like about this house is that whatever you get in the beginning is intensified after a couple of hours instead of fading. I can confirm this is the best rose oud fragrance, because of the consistency and the elegance, and I am very confident my opinion will not change after a full wear test.

Gardenia looks exactly like another bottle from Ahmed Al Maghribi, Lush Noir, with only the label different, so before I even sprayed it I worried I had made a mistake. They turned out to be very different once I looked at the oil concentration and the notes.

The first sniff was strong, very floral, creamy and a tad sweet from the floral accords. The notes I read are blackcurrant, orange, fruits and pink pepper on top, leather, damask rose, iris, saffron and oakmoss in the heart, and oud, patchouli, amber, cedar, vanilla and white musk at the base. Lush Noir has bergamot, bitter almond and a sparkling fresh accord, then peony, ylang-ylang, vanilla, coumarin and musk. Side by side, Lush Noir is more floral and a tad sweeter, while Gardenia is more complex, with oud and a lot of spices, and it is heavier in the opening. The oud in Gardenia feels like a white oud, not a dark, resinous one. It is really elegant.

Both are really good fragrances, and I highly recommend them. With that oil concentration you can assume it lasts long, and for something high in oil it does project, filling up the room. This is a unisex leaning feminine fragrance. If you are confident enough to wear a floral that is a tad airy and lighter, I would recommend it.

This is a tester-box Amouage with a gorgeous bottle and a magnetic cap. Nobody questions Amouage on lasting power, projection and sillage. The real question is whether it is worth a blind buy, and whether it works in our hot, humid climate, since these were created in Oman, where it is dry. I expect them to perform.

Reflection 45 is more mass appealing than Purpose 50, with a caveat: it is still not a designer-style crowd-pleaser. It is cozy, fresh, metallic and incense-y, with frankincense still present, unisex with a slight masculine lean, and one I would be more comfortable wearing in our climate. It is probably the lightest and most airy Amouage I own. The notes list has 19 materials: lavender, juniper berries, cardamom, clary sage, benzoin, pink pepper, iris, jasmine, neroli, angelica, tonka bean, vanilla, olibanum, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, myrrh and opoponax. The house signature is not just frankincense but also myrrh, an incense-y vibe, and that stays here with more freshness.

I reshot my review because it projected so much and reacted differently on my skin. On a hot, sweaty day I got at least seven hours of noticeable scent on skin, tapering to a light skin scent by the eighth hour, probably from the sweat. On my clothes it was still projecting while they were full of sweat, and it lasted over 24 hours. It is herbaceous, aromatic and spiced, unisex leaning heavily masculine, and a good pick whoever you are if you like complexity.