These came in yesterday. I got like 13 other fragrances I want to give a 2 month update on, plus another 2 fragrances coming in this week. With that being said, I'm keeping this review relatively short.

Random, Rasasi was my favorite house specifically for the Hawas line (I've never smelled any of their other line). I have all 19 current releases (well, I bought the 4 women's versions for my girl) and will get any and every future release, regardless if I like the DNA or not, or if it's a redundant DNA. I actually consider myself to be a Hawas collector and had been extremely satisfied with with their product up until recent. Viper and Atlantis were such a huge fall off for me, and I think Venom was heading that way which is why it probably got canned. London was ehhhhh. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either. Because of this fall off, Rayhaan swooped in as my #1 favorite house, followed by French Avenue. These 3 new fragrances are a good start at Rasasi reclaiming their throne, but I feel they're going to need another 2-3 super solid Hawas releases in a row before they can do that for me.

1. Hawas Lava Gold -

Let's start here. This is probably the more complicated one of the 3. From what I'm gathering, this is a clone of Maison Crivelli Oud Maracujá. I've never smelled that fragrance so I don't know how close this is to it. Without getting too wordy, I smell a lot of leather. There's a couple of other notes, but my nose can't identify what they are and I'm not going to look them up. Just know it's a whole lotta shit going on with this one lol. This is a super masculine fall/winter fragrance. I gotta spend some time with this one to get my final verdict. I like it as a stand alone, but it's my least favorite of these 3. That's not to say there's anything wrong with it because I can see myself wearing it, the other two just happen to be better. It's also super strong and the strongest of the 3 right out of the box. It was screaming off the back of my hand for like 4hrs straight. I don't think I have anything like this in my collection, so I don't really have anything to compare this to. Because it's a winter scent, I don't know when I'll get around to actually wearing it and have a proper 2 month update for y'all.

2. Hawas Exotic -

This is 9PM Elixir aka Le Male Elixir Absolu. If you like 9PM Elixir, this is that...just initially stronger. I'm not gonna give any sorta detailed note breakdown simply because I don't have one. I opened it, filled up my decant, sprayed a tester strip, acknowledged that it smelled like 9PM Elixir, then moved onto the next fragrance. Do they smell exactly alike? I don't know, but they're extremely close. I also don't know why they'd release this like a year or so after 9PM Elixir released but whatever.

3. Hawas Thunder -

When I first smelled MYSELF L'Absolu, I fell in love with it and couldn't wait for it to be cloned. Nitro Elixir hit the scene and it's VERY good, so good that I grabbed 2 bottles. That gets you in the realm of MYSLF L'Absolu, but it's very, very different. Based solely off of first spray, Hawas Thunder is far closer to the real MYSLF L'Absolu. I have a MYSLF L'Absolu sample at home that I was trying to find so I can compare the two, but I fell asleep😅. I'll try again later today. Anyway, I don't know what notes are in this or the real thing. I just know I get a beautiful fresh laundry smell. This is perfect for this weather. Didn't seem to be as strong as Lava Gold btw. Hopefully it at least matches Nitro Elixir's performance. Overall though, I like it. I can't wait to spend some time with it this summer.

That's it for these 3. For me, Thunder is the best, Lava Gold is the strongest, and Exotic is good, it's just super redundant. Actually, Exotic is really good. If 9PM Elixir didn't exist or it sucked, I'd have a lot more to say about Exotic. But I'm happy with these. My Khamrah Waha should be in today and I'll have a review on that tomorrow/this weekend. Super side note, I'm currently at work and I'm wearing French Avenue's Santal. Wow, simply wow. I smell amazing and this shit is BEAMING off of me. I sprayed it going on 4hrs ago and it's so strong and right in my face😳. I haven't worn it in a month or two and it seems to be way stronger than what I remember.

And I know someone's going to ask me so here we go:

TOP 3 Personal Favorite Summer Hawas' -

Kobra, Tropical, and maybe Verde🤔. Ice is an honorable mention, however, I can see Thunder possibly knocking one of them off. I just gotta see how it performs in the real world.

Got these in this week. I'm going to do a quicker-than-normal review on each because I haven't had much time to sit with them.

1. French Avenue Royal Blend Vintage -

I can't remember if I smelled Angel Share Old Fashioned or not. Whatever the case, I sprayed this in the air and on a tester strip. Based solely off of the first sprays, this is ok. Seems like they used cinnamon for the tobacco note. Those these two are cloning two totally different fragrances, I prefer Al Haramain Tobacco Edition for a good tobacco inspired fragrance. We'll see what happens after maturation but based off of this first spray, I'm not excited about this one. And it didn't last at ALL on that tester strip.

2. French Avenue Royal Blend Bourbon -

WTF IS THIS??? 🤮🤢🤮🤢 First spray, I don't like it. I even sprayed it on my wrist hoping for a different outcome. I thought Vintage had cinnamon. Bourbon has some serious effing cinnamon in it😳. Not a fan of this at all. We'll see what happens over the next few months.

⚠️It's been 15min since I sprayed this on my wrist. I'm still writing the other reviews and just caught a whiff. Hmmm...it's...interesting...to say the least. At first I hated it, but now it has my attention. I can't tell if I like it or not, but I sure as hell keep sniffing it. I'm gonna keep my eye on this one. This might end up being decent🤷🏽‍♂️.⚠️

3. French Avenue Royal Blend Sequoia -

I already have Lattafa Fire on Ice and Rayhaan Valhalla, so the DNA is familiar to me. I'll do a comparison of the 3 at a later date. For now, this one is cool. It's boozy raspberry. First spray and it's already stronger than Fire on Ice lol. Because I haven't spent any time with it, I don't know which one I'm going to choose between this and Valhalla. I only bought it to complete the collection.

4. Lattafa Al Nashama Caprice -

I've said this before, but I have a love/hate relationship with Lattafa. I think I now know what's going on. I HATE just about all pre-2025 Lattafa's lol. Lattafa's used to be soooooo weak😮‍💨. So here's why I bought this. I got Armaf Infinity in on like Monday. That is a clone of YSL L'Homme Ultime. I've never smelled that, but Infinity was 🔥🔥. Because of how Infinity smells, I was open to more clones of the original DNA/flankers. So apparently Caprice is a clone of YSL La Nuit de L'Homme Bleu Électrique, which I've never smelled. Not the same fragrance as what Infinity is cloning, but it was in the same family. I saw Caprice on sale for $19 so I figured I'd grab it. *Yawn🥱* I literally don't smell anything at all. The smell is so faint that I have zero opinion of this fragrance. Just know I HATE the old Lattafa's. Hopefully this becomes SOMETHING over the next two months😒.

5. Rayhaan Wolf -

I ordered on Tuesday and got it on Thursday. Probably my favorite pickup of this haul. I don't know the difference between The Most Wanted and the Parfum. I've smelled both of them multiple times at the store(s), but I can't identify which is which. Whatever the case, this smells great, is on par with those as far as being a clone, and it's pretty effing strong right out of the bottle. I sprayed my hand twice at the UPS store around 5pm and I could still smell it there when I woke up at 2am. It smells like a darker, deeper ASAD Bourbon with better ingredients used. No clue why it released in May, but whatever. I like it and am excited to see what it becomes in the next couple months. If you like that DNA, then this is a good buy based off my first impression.

6. Armaf Infinity -

Sleeper one out of this haul. First things first, the atomizer is horrible. I don't know if mine is malfunctioning or these have a design flaw. I kind of feel like a lot of my Armaf's have atomizer issues. Maybe I'm tripping, who knows🤷🏽‍♂️. But yea, this atomizer SUCKS. Anyway, I needed a fragrance to buy last week so I scoured this sub and Fragrantica looking for fragrances with good ratings and feedback. I ran across Infinity. Based solely off of the replies and feedback this got, I blind bought it without reading a single note. I wanted to be completely surprised. Wow, this is actually pretty good. I initially smelled citrus, then I went to Fragrantica to see what else I was smelling. Maybe it's the pepper I'm picking up? Or maybe the rose? Man, I don't know lol. My nose sucks when it comes to individual notes like this. What I do know is I personally don't smell the tobacco or woody notes they list. I also have no clue how "white flowers" smell lol. I just know that this was a successful blind buy. In fact, I wore it to my daughter's kindergarten orientation and it projected really well and lasted for like 5hrs. I'm not saying that's the max longevity, I'm saying it lasted the entire time of the event and sometime after. I showered before it actually wore off. It's a good masculine, summer citrus scent. But citrus is only a part of what it is, there's so much more going on. I can't wait to see how it matures over the next couple months.

7. French Avenue Happiness Oud -

I literally only bought this because it was like $19, and to go along with my Initio collection (Side Effect, Glorious Oud Royal Blanc, Intense Addiction, etc.). Truth be told, I actually hated Initio's Oud for Happiness whenever I smelled it in Sak's. Hell, back when I was just getting into fragrances, I laid my nose on both Oud for Greatness and Oud for Happiness, and I actually hated both lol. I ended up liking Oud for Greatness, so much so that bought Lattafa's Oud for Glory. When I saw this Happiness Oud available, I was hoping my nose has matured more and I'd like this one too. Nope, not at all lol. I HATE this the same way I hate the real thing. I don't what note it is, but the shit is spicy. It's just a weird fragrance to me but again, I don't like the real thing either so it is what it is. If you are a fan of the real thing, this is pretty dead on. It's all also lasting a while on this strip as well as projecting.

This was actually a disappointing haul lol. Luckily for me, my 3 Royal Blends were free. Huge middle finger🖕🏽to Caprice and Happiness Oud. The top two here are Rayhaan Wolf and Armaf Infinity.

Next week's reviews should be better. Khamrah Waha and the 3 new Hawas' are all en route as we speak. Thinking about grabbing Dumont Celerio Oros and Lattafa Al Qiam Gold. Anyone got any feedback on either that they'd like to share?

Took me like 3 days to write Part 1 of this. I'm gonna try and zip through this one in 10hrs while I'm at work. Wayyyy off topic but I'm wearing Lattafa Paris right now. This shit is 🔥🔥🔥.

⚠️I didn't come close to finishing😅. Some of this was wrote on 5/2, the rest on 5/4.⚠️

Maturation Process -

First things first, I've received a couple of DM's asking about my maturation process that I keep mentioning. Everyone has their own, here's mine. Long story less long, I get my new fragrance(s) in and I spray 30+ sprays in a 5ml decant bottle (that normally fills it up). I then put the fragrance back in the box and tuck the box away in my kitchen cupboard where it's cool and dark (2nd pic). I leave it there for at least 2 months. During those 2 months, I may use the fragrance every now and then to see how it's coming along. Using it won't hurt it.

But, that's pretty much it. That's my 2 month maturation process in a nutshell. Some fragrances change dramatically and for the better, some change minimally, and some don't change much at all. This isn't some magic trick, it's just something I do to get the best performance out of my fragrances.

Onto these reviews.

1. Afnan 9PM Night Out -

So, I don't have anything bad to say about Night Out. I'll just say this, I'm 40 y/o and I don't think I was the intended audience for this fragrance. I feel that's important to note. I wore it one time and got a couple compliments from co-workers. It's a good smelling fragrance that is well received, it's just a youthful smelling fragrance, that's all. Lasts for like 10+ hours on clothes, projects well for the first couple hours. I don't know any of the notes I'm picking up on, I just know it's fruity. I actually like it, but I won't be wearing it. It doesn't necessarily fit my profile. If you're 30 or younger, I definitely recommend it to you. Again, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not for me.

2. Rasasi Hawas London -

For those that may not know, I'm a big time Hawas guy. I have every single Hawas that has released to the public thus far, and I'll be buying every one that releases moving forward. Hawas was my favorite line, but shit got shakey with the last 3 releases. I wore Atlantis once during maturation and I'll never wear it again. Viper was so trash to me that I refuse to even let it touch my body. I'll NEVER wear that. Then came London. When I first sprayed it on a tester strip, shit was the most feminine "men's" fragrance I ever smelled in my life😤. It didn't smell bad, it just smelled like a woman's perfume. I was so turned off by it that I never wore it during the maturation period. I was actually gonna write this review and just shit all over it. However, I decided I'd actually wear it to work after I took this picture last week. Long story short, turns out that it's not that bad...not that bad at all. First things first, longevity is good. I could still easily smell it on my clothes at the end of a 12hr shift. It's not beast mode and didn't project like normal Hawas' do, but it was decent. I'd catch whiffs of it throughout my shift. Secondly, of all of the HEAT I consistently wear into work, one of my co-workers FINALLY decides to compliment me while I'm wearing this😑. Hawas fucking London is the fragrance where he finally had to step to me and ask me what was I wearing😒. Absolute nonsense😅. Anyway, that ultra feminine note I'm smelling has to be the rose. However, it didn't smell so feminine while I was wearing it. The fragrance became more masculine once I actually sprayed it on my body. I can't explain it, but it smelled like I was wearing some rich, mature niche scent. I could see myself wearing this out on date night when I'm dressed up, and that's about the only time I'd wear it. Other than that occasion, I don't know when this would get pulled out. And honestly, I have plenty of other fragrances for that occasion. I don't see me scanning my collection and settling on Hawas London for a date night. In closing, I do NOT recommend this as a blind buy. But if you do come across it and you like the DNA, I can confidently say that the performance is solid. It's a bit more subtle than other Hawas fragrances, but it's there. And no matter how much good I said about it in this review, it's still the 3rd WORST Hawas that has released thus far.

3. French Avenue Vulcan Black -

This is a clone of Xerjoff's Tony lommi Deified.

I DO NOT LIKE TONY IOMMI DEIFIED!!!!

I want to put that out there first. I smelled it last year, then I ended up getting a sample and yea, I don't like this DNA at all. I actually only got this fragrance because I like the bottle, and I only paid $27 for it from Burlington. With that being said, Vulcan Black is pretty spot on to Tony lommi Deified. Performance is really, really good. I wore it to work one day and it lasted every bit of 10+ hours. Solid projection as well. It's strong as hell and left a crazy scent trail. It's not a safe blind buy AT ALL. If you like the real thing then get this. I don't like Deified or Vulcan Black, so that's it for this review lol.

4. Lattafa Eternal Vanille -

Here's where the fun starts. Right off the bat, this fragrance is a 10/10 FOR ME. Longevity, 12+ hours. Projection, strong for at least the first 3 hours or so. There isn't a moment that goes by while wearing this where I can't just focus, hone in on it and catch a whiff. In other words, it's always present. TO ME, it smells like By The Fireplace. Not really close to it, just in the family of it. I'm not gonna get into all of the notes because I really don't know which ones I'm smelling. My nose isn't mature enough to distinguish akigalawood from benzoin from cedarwood. I just know all of this shit is blended together into something beautiful. I have nothing bad to say about this and I'm really looking forward to wearing this more next winter.

5. Lattafa Musamam Black Intense -

I have a love/hate relationship with Lattafa. Normally I hate them, but then they will put out some absolute heat rockers that makes me take back all of my negative shit. Eternal Vanille was one, Musamam Black is #2. This shit right here is incredible, plain and simple. During the maturation period, it got so strong for me. I wore it last week and I could still smell it on my clothes days later. Either the nutmeg or that cocoa pulse note is what I'm smelling the most, and it's become so creamy, smooth and chocolatey. This is such a strong, sexy, masculine fragrance. And it's so unique. When I first sprayed it, it reminded me of ASAD Elixir. That is no more. This is definitely doing it's own thing. This dethroned Teriaq Intense as my favorite Lattafa. It is not blind buy safe simply because it's so different. I rate it very high, but I can see how others might not like it.

6. Rayhaan Jungle Vibe -

I bought this simply because it was cheap. I never actually "wanted" it. Honestly, I don't think I'm a green fragrance guy. Some are cool, but they're not my go to. Anyway, this turned out to be really good, and even better after maturation. I wore this one day last week as well. Longevity was about 7hrs or so. I think I went nose blind because I couldn't really smell it anymore, but one of my co-workers could. It smells like fruit and outdoors, like citrus and plants. Definitely a spring/summer fragrance. Honestly, I still can't give a final take on this because I have yet to wear it in the right setting. It's still cold here in Cleveland so I'm not wearing this how it was intended to be worn. Luckily I'm an outside guy so I will 100% be pulling this out at some point this summer. I like to go on hikes and nature walks and shit, so this will be my fragrance of choice.

That's it for now. I've got a few coming out of maturation in a few weeks that I'll review. I also got an order coming in of 3 Royal Blend fragrances that should've been here last week but are delayed. Hopefully I can get my hands on the 3 new Hawas' this week...