----- Al Majed Oud -----

Hi All,

This is my 7th review write-up, and from here on, I will be reviewing the ME niche houses. This doesn't mean that these fragrances are not inspired by anything else, but that these brands are, in most cases, really old and well established brands primarily known for their fragrances and oud chips/oils.

The first brand I will cover is Al Majed Oud, and since I don't have many from each brand, these will thankfully be much smaller review posts.

I will cover the houses of Arabian Oud, Reef, Ayaam, Abdul Samad Al Qurashi (these 4 combined in one post), Gissah, Sedra, Assaf, IBRAQ (Already done), and the main one, Amouage.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

Serious

• Similar to: Bois Imperial, Armani Eau de Cedre, Imagination, Half Moon IBRAQ, Attacks Assaf, Hersh Lahab, AAM Ghaf, Atyab Al Sheikh Charisma,
• Weather: 0 to 35c 
• Thoughts: This is basically Bois Imperial with a black tea note. A very metallic, abstract, and cold scent. It is fresh, woody, green, earthy, and cooling. Opens up with a burst of fresh spices and tea with a cooling tulsi type of accord. Transitions into a mineral-woody scent that has some smooth sweetness. Genuinely a fantastic smell. This is a small addition to the scent profile but makes it stand out amongst the herd. And I dont normally care for this, but the bottle is so high quality, with a strong and satisfying magnetic cap, it is shocking to me this is sold for around $35. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Even with all the ME houses cloning Bois Imperial, this is the best in terms of scent profile)

Prestige Ruby

• Similar to: LV Stellar times, Pink Diamond Sakura IBRAQ, Reef Summer Pink etc 
• Weather: 0 to 28c 
• Thoughts: A very hard scent to explain. It is floral and light but also ambery and dense/musky. Smells like something that would disappear in a flash when it starts off but lasts a really long time. Leans feminine however.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office/Daily Wear 
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet 
• Rating: 10/10 (Love Prestige Ruby and this stuff lasts for weeks on clothes and I have tested this fact, the wife has made this her signature)

Ice

• Similar to: Musk Therapy, In the same space as Erba Pura/Erba Gold, Blue Talisman, Invictus, Sedra Blanco, Amouage Existence etc 
• Weather: 0 to 28c 
• Thoughts: A musky tropical juicy fruit bubble gum, where the fruits are ripe and fleshy. I would call this an Invictusified version of Erba Pura or basically very similar to musk therapy. BTW, the bubble gum feel comes from the note of tuberose, so the more you know. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual wear. Cant see this being worn in a setting where you are trying to come off serious. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10

Elbrince

• Similar to: In the space of Arabian Oud Sultani, Amiri, Diwan, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A musky, fresh, cardamomy, woody, sweet, frangipane scent. Imagine something like Sultani, but make it sweeter and fruitier. This is unique smell, but I would say the cardamom, musk, and sweetness can remind you of a milky Chai (i.e. without the tea)
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Boisee

• Similar to: Similar (to my nose) to Arabian Oud Musk Mubakhar or a fresh leather
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: An incensy, woody, smoky, and animalic leather scent. I get straight up freshly made animal leather. It smells like the leather drying shack had been doused in incense and slightly smoked by burning some woods. This is challenging, as the leather can be very animalic/funky. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Social occasions
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours on me and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (lower score as it does not last all that long on me)

Noir

• Similar to: AAM Black Fume, Orto Parisi Terroni, and somewhat like Maison Crivelli Oud Stallion, and Nasomatto Black Afghano. 
• Weather: 15c and below 
• Thoughts:  A very sweet fruity (Raspberry), leathery, smoky, and woody smell. This scent is wonderfully unique. Imagine the smell of your hands covered in the ashy remains of a campfire, after you handled a fresh animalic leather covered in cooked raspberries/raspberry coulis. This, to me, is the OG version of AAM Black Fume, if you wanted to try that scent out but couldn't, now you can with this. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out in the cold
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet 
• Rating: 9/10

Cuir

• Similar to: Al Majed Noir, AAM Black Fume Orto Parisi Ternoni, and somewhat like Maison Crivelli Oud Stalion, and Nasamato Black Afghano. etc.
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Very similar to Noir, but replace the raspberry opening with a fresh woody pineapple/burnt fruits opening. The opening will come across very dry/woody, and burnt. Kinda unpleasant to me at first, but once you expect this, it becomes more pleasant. The mid and dry down is the same as Noir to my nose. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet 
• Rating: 8.5/10

Mistral

• Similar to: YSL MYSLF EDP, Chanel Bleu de Chanel, Dior Sauvage 
• Weather: 15 to 35c 
• Thoughts: A citrusy fresh, aromatic, and white floral fabric softener smell. This is mix of MYSLF and a blue fragrance. Especially in the opening, the aromatic freshness mixed with the white florals feels like a perfect 50/50 mix of any bleu scent and MYSLF. But this is predominantly a MYSLF inspiration.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10

P.S. It was a nice change of pace to write a smaller post, but hopefully this is useful to a few people. I am yet to buy some more Al Majed Oud fragrances, maybe Wood Brown, and Wood Black, but I find the DNA to be very common.

I really do hope you guys find this helpful 😃. 

Part 4 - Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own

Hi All,

A continuation of the large write-up. Finally, the last part of the write up and in this I will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on Reddit 😂.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--- Afnan ---

Supremacy Collector’s Edition

• Similar to: Creed Absolu Aventus, Armaf CDN Precieux 1, Masion Asrar Vanguard, Zamaya Sharaf The Club etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c
• Thoughts: If you havent smelled the aventus DNA before, Absolu Aventus is a spicy, citrusy pineapple, and woody/earthy scent. For the rest, just think of it as a spicy and dark version of Aventus. Its like you layered some of the dark and spicy elements of Sauvage Elixir with Aventus. Now, to me, SCE is a fresher, lighter, and more fruity/pineappley version of Absolu Aventus. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Subjective score of 7.5 as I honestly dont reach for the aventus DNA much anymore)

9 PM Night Out

• Similar to: JPG Scandal, JPG Le Beau, Azzaro TMW, etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A very very designer scent. This is a sweet, fruity, aromatic, slight boozy, and a creamy woody scent. You can, and will, be reminded of so many designer scents. And for me, this is great! I have never been a fan of any of the scents this reminds me of, but somehow, the best parts of those scents were combined to make this. A great playful scent for a cold night out.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night Out, pretty much.
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

 

--- Rasasi ---

Hawas Fire

• Similar to: Imperial Valley, Paris Corner Khair, IBRAQ Blue Diamond Aqua etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: Used to love this scent but the Imperial Valley DNA just got played out so much for me, but objectively unique. Starts off feeling deceptively fresh, sweet, and airy and very soon turns into a very aromatic leather fragrance, heavy on the rosemary. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent. For me however, it has become so common that this is a daily wear, anywhere. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10 (Would have been 10, if not for all the other versions of the scent in the market)

Hawas Black

• Similar to: Hacivat, IBRAQ Cullinan Diamond Iris, Assaf Pegasus Aura, Aventus etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Basically a fresh pineapple and grapefruit juice you wear that then turns into something earthy, mossy, wet, and something that you wont expect. Not for someone who wants a complete freshie. More dense than something like IBRAQ Cullinan Diamond Iris, or SNOI. So if you thought these scents should be more dense, earthy, and long lasting, then Hawas Black would be a good option.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear, anytime and any place (Sprays dependent)
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Does sound like I dont like it but I really do)

Shuhrah Opulence

• Similar to: Gritti Mango Aoud, SHL Mango Kiss, FA Tropical Kiss, FA Vulcan Feu etc
• Weather: 10 to 40c+
• Thoughts: If Vulcan feu was made challenging, this is what it would be. Opulence starts off with a burst of fresh mango (tart and not overly sweet) with a greenish/lotiony element to it, It reminds me of fig but notes say guava. It then transitions into a floral and creamy scent (slightly lotiony) and basically remains that way till the end. If God Of Fire/Vulcan Feu is a Maaza Soda, this is a high quality realistic mango scented lotion. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical Vacation Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (feminine leaning and I like it)

--- Arabiyat Prestige ---

Fahad Gaze

• Similar to: Gucci Guilty Elixir, PDM Pegasus, Amoauge Reflection, Bond No 9 Lafayette street, YSL Myslf, Thomas Kosmala Star Chaser etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A sweet, fresh, slightly metallic, powdery, floral scent. This lives in the same space as the scents above, a masculine powdery floral scent. Not really my thing. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent, coupled with a clean white shirt. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Good scent, but I am personally not a fan of the DNA)

Kohl Opulence

• Similar to: Blue Talisman, Art of Universe, 
• Weather: 10 to 34c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A beautiful, perfectly balanced sweet, fruity, and musky scent, that is not loud. Oh, sorry, also add some leather to this, not suede, rugged leather. On paper, this shouldn’t work, but it does to me. Please be aware that this is not a safe pick-up. People do hate the leather note. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8.5/10 (Not strong enough!)

Lutfah Beyond Forever

• Similar to: Gissah Akoya, Maison Crivelli Oud Maracuja etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is a fruity sweet leathery scent. Just like Akoya, this scent opens with a sweet and candy like raspberry, and transitions into a dense sweet leathery/patchouli scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Marasi For Him

• Similar to: Loewe Solo Elixir, DHI, DHP, G&B Tales of Amber  etc
• Weather: 25c and below
• Thoughts: Just for context, when it comes to scents with iris in it, I am able to smell the iris note really prominently, even if it isn’t meant to be an iris scent. So please view this review with a pinch of salt. An ambery, buttery, sweet Iris and a powdery woody scent. This is a classy scent, and when it comes to an iris scent, I like this a lot.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (probably my favourite of the iris dupes as it reminds me of DHP)

Mouda

• Similar to: Torino 24, IBRAQ Greek tobacco, PDM Valaya, Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotica etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c
• Thoughts: Citrusy**,** Floral, fruity sweet, and musky scent. This gives me the same vibe as erba pura/IBRAQ Greek Tobacco (not the same smell) but with more florals and citrusier fruits. Love this on a hot day, but feminine leaning.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot and humid day
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Mouda High End

• Similar to: Nishane Wulong cha, D&G Velvet Infusion, Lattafa Dynasty, Aromatix Teas Me,  etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c
• Thoughts: The opening is ginger, citruses, and tea. Smells like every other tea scent that is popular in the market to me. Doesnt smell the same, but reminds me a lot of Wulong cha, and also Dynasty etc. It can be redundant to own more than one of these scents.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot and humid day
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Ramad Earthy

• Similar to: No Idea, maybe Tobacco Honey from Guerlain, and of course Sinbad
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: To my nose, this is a syrupy sweet honey, and ripe fruits, that dries down dark and woody. I really like this, as a smell, but as a fragrance to wear, I honestly dont know when to wear this. This can probably be a scent to wear during a freezing night outdoors. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold, freezing night, while camping maybe. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (unique which makes me love it, might get Amouage Elsewhere if its significantly better :D)

Revolt Uncaged

• Similar to: Nishane Terro, Lattafa Maharjan Gold etc
• Weather: 25c and below
• Thoughts: This is what Lattafa Maharjan Gold should have been, a sweet, caramel, peppery, and woody scent. The pepper helps make the scent not be too cloying or headache inducing.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

--- Ard Al Zaafran ---

Midnight Oud

• Similar to: Amoauge Interlude Man, Interlude black iris, SA Shagaf Oud Abyad, Afnan Supremacy Incense etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A bold, dark, spicy, resinous, and ambery scent. A unique scent, I can guarantee you would not have tried anything remotely like this before. I get a lot of oregano during the opening, along with that classic Amouage's insensy resinous feel. Challenging to the max, but in time, you will learn to love a scent like this. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion during a cold, freezing night
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8.5/10 (love the scent but I find this less wearable than Ramad Earthy)

--- Al Haramain ---

Detour Noir Exclusif

• Similar to: PDM Layton Exclusif, FA Miraj Absolu, Maison Alhambra Fabulo Intense, Detour Noir etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Similar to Layton exclusif but more powdery and less animalic. Smells extremely rich, dense, and spicy. This can be challenging as I do think it smells like Layton or its derivatives. Spicy apple pie with a woody and powdery base, not as creamy or vanillic as Detour Noir/Layton though and hence less enjoyable.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion during a cold, freezing night
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 7/10 (Not a fan of the powdery elements of Layton Exclusif as it makes it dated to me)

--- Armaf ---

Odyssey Aqua Edition

• Similar to: Rabanne Invictus Platinum, Bad Boy Cobalt, Khadlaj Shiyaaka Shadow, Rasasi Hawas etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Similar to the ubiquitous Invictus/Hawas DNA but with more mint. A bubble gummy, fruity sweet, citrus, and mint scent. Really good for a hot day and lasts a decent amount of time for a freshie.
• Vibes/Occasion: Beach Scent/Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (Nice, but since I am tried of the Invictus DNA, giving it an 8)

Ombre D’Or

• Similar to: Matiere Premier Crystal Saffron, IBRAQ Full Moon etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  Basically an ambery spicy saffron scent. The scent opens up with a cold metallic saffron that then transitions into an ambery sweet and warm scent that still retains that metallic saffron opening. This is a nice unique scent. If you like something like Ganymede (Paris Corner Celestial) or Bois Imperial you will like this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10

Tres Nuit

• Similar to: Creed Green Irish Tweed, Davidoff Cool Water, Coty Aspen, Armaf Le Parfait etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A really powdery, aromatic, lavender scent. A very old school feel to the scent, that doesnt come across as being the highest of quality. But a good recreation of GIT
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

 

--- Fragrances I used to own ---

Armaf Club De Nuit Intense Man EDT

• Similar to: Creed Aventus
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  Don’t need to say much. Used to own this when it was Rs 1000, ran through so many bottles of this and Aventus. Fragrances used to be much cheaper, but still felt expensive, If only I had known the state of this space in the future :D
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (will never buy this DNA again, but a lot of good times)

Armaf Club De Nuit Intense Woman

• Similar to: TF Noir de Noir
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts:  A chocolatey rose dominant scent. It has been a while, but I remember buying this based on a YouTube recommendation. That era of fragrance YouTube was so simple, but anyways. I remember liking the scent but at the time I felt it was too feminine for me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion.
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Armaf Club De Nuit Milestone

• Similar to: Creed Millésime Impérial, Sean Jean Unforgivable etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  A salty, aquatic, watermelon scent. Prefer this watermelon note to something like Rayhaan Pacific Aura. And the same as CDNIM and Aventus, ran through multiple bottles of this scent profile. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (10 for the memories)

Armaf Club De Nuit Sillage

• Similar to: Creed SMW, Armaf Derby Club House Blanche, Rasasi Al Wisam Day, Supremacy in Heaven, Alrehab Silver, Xerjoff Mefisto etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  A cold, metallic,  citrusy, fruity fresh, tea based scent. SMW along with Aventus, and Millésime Impérial used to be the only scents I wore.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (10 for the memories)

Armaf Derby Club House Blanche

• Similar to: Creed SMW, Armaf CDN Sillage, Rasasi Al Wisam Day, Supremacy in Heaven, Alrehab Silver, Xerjoff Mefisto etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  Basically the same as CDN Sillage but lighter.
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for errands
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (not as good as the rest)

Armaf Hunter Intense

• Similar to: Dior Sauvage, Rabanne Invictus etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A combination of Invictus and Sauvage, just much lighter. A decent scent for errands. More Invictus than Sauvage.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Armaf Le Parfait

• Similar to: Creed Aventus, Creed Green Irish Tweed, etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A combination of Aventus and GIT, just much lighter. Another decent scent for errands. This should have been amazing, but was just okay. More GIT than Aventus.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Armaf Opus Homme

• Similar to: Bought it because it was meant to be a clone of reflection man or Chanel allure homme edition blanche
• Weather: 10 to 25c
• Thoughts:  A powdery aromatic, and floral scent. This was bad to me. Anything that comes out nowadays is so much better than this era of clones.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 5/10 (Probably the worst perfume I have tried from a major brand)

Armaf Ventana

• Similar to: Dior Sauvage, etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts:  A lighter version of the Sauvage scent profile, not the best version of this scent. It is a spicy, aromatic, citrusy, and woody scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Armaf White Diamond

• Similar to: Lacoste L12.12 White, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A cardamomy, citrusy, sweet, and woody scent. I got a lot of cardamom and sweet fruits or florals from this scent. Was too dense for the humid weather though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Lomani Intense Black

• Similar to: Creed Royal Oud, etc
• Weather: 0 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A very light, fresh, and woody scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Reyanne Tradition Insurrection II Dark

• Similar to: Victor and Rolf Spicebomb
• Weather: 0 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A very very light fresh, spicy, and woody scent. Too boring for me, and the similarities are there to the OG but like a watered down version.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6/10

Reyanne Traditions Insurrection II Pure

• Similar to: Creed Aventus etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  Aventus but seriously watered down. Used to spray 20+ times.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10 (will never buy this DNA again, but a lot of good times)

P.S. After this long review, Ill be taking a short break 😪😪. I will be reviewing M.E. niche houses next. As there are a lot of fragrances I want to add from Arabian Oud, Sedra, Assaf, and Gissah, expect these in the next couple of months (hopefully).

This took a very very long time, and I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful. Thanks for your time! 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Part 4 - Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own

Hi All,

A continuation of the large write-up. Finally, the last part of the write up and in this I will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on Reddit 😂.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--- Afnan ---

Supremacy Collector’s Edition

• Similar to: Creed Absolu Aventus, Armaf CDN Precieux 1, Masion Asrar Vanguard, Zamaya Sharaf The Club etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c
• Thoughts: If you havent smelled the aventus DNA before, Absolu Aventus is a spicy, citrusy pineapple, and woody/earthy scent. For the rest, just think of it as a spicy and dark version of Aventus. Its like you layered some of the dark and spicy elements of Sauvage Elixir with Aventus. Now, to me, SCE is a fresher, lighter, and more fruity/pineappley version of Absolu Aventus. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Subjective score of 7.5 as I honestly dont reach for the aventus DNA much anymore)

9 PM Night Out

• Similar to: JPG Scandal, JPG Le Beau, Azzaro TMW, etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A very very designer scent. This is a sweet, fruity, aromatic, slight boozy, and a creamy woody scent. You can, and will, be reminded of so many designer scents. And for me, this is great! I have never been a fan of any of the scents this reminds me of, but somehow, the best parts of those scents were combined to make this. A great playful scent for a cold night out.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night Out, pretty much.
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

 

--- Rasasi ---

Hawas Fire

• Similar to: Imperial Valley, Paris Corner Khair, IBRAQ Blue Diamond Aqua etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: Used to love this scent but the Imperial Valley DNA just got played out so much for me, but objectively unique. Starts off feeling deceptively fresh, sweet, and airy and very soon turns into a very aromatic leather fragrance, heavy on the rosemary. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent. For me however, it has become so common that this is a daily wear, anywhere. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10 (Would have been 10, if not for all the other versions of the scent in the market)

Hawas Black

• Similar to: Hacivat, IBRAQ Cullinan Diamond Iris, Assaf Pegasus Aura, Aventus etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Basically a fresh pineapple and grapefruit juice you wear that then turns into something earthy, mossy, wet, and something that you wont expect. Not for someone who wants a complete freshie. More dense than something like IBRAQ Cullinan Diamond Iris, or SNOI. So if you thought these scents should be more dense, earthy, and long lasting, then Hawas Black would be a good option.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear, anytime and any place (Sprays dependent)
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Does sound like I dont like it but I really do)

Shuhrah Opulence

• Similar to: Gritti Mango Aoud, SHL Mango Kiss, FA Tropical Kiss, FA Vulcan Feu etc
• Weather: 10 to 40c+
• Thoughts: If Vulcan feu was made challenging, this is what it would be. Opulence starts off with a burst of fresh mango (tart and not overly sweet) with a greenish/lotiony element to it, It reminds me of fig but notes say guava. It then transitions into a floral and creamy scent (slightly lotiony) and basically remains that way till the end. If God Of Fire/Vulcan Feu is a Maaza Soda, this is a high quality realistic mango scented lotion. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical Vacation Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (feminine leaning and I like it)

--- Arabiyat Prestige ---

Fahad Gaze

• Similar to: Gucci Guilty Elixir, PDM Pegasus, Amoauge Reflection, Bond No 9 Lafayette street, YSL Myslf, Thomas Kosmala Star Chaser etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A sweet, fresh, slightly metallic, powdery, floral scent. This lives in the same space as the scents above, a masculine powdery floral scent. Not really my thing. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent, coupled with a clean white shirt. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Good scent, but I am personally not a fan of the DNA)

Kohl Opulence

• Similar to: Blue Talisman, Art of Universe, 
• Weather: 10 to 34c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A beautiful, perfectly balanced sweet, fruity, and musky scent, that is not loud. Oh, sorry, also add some leather to this, not suede, rugged leather. On paper, this shouldn’t work, but it does to me. Please be aware that this is not a safe pick-up. People do hate the leather note. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8.5/10 (Not strong enough!)

Lutfah Beyond Forever

• Similar to: Gissah Akoya, Maison Crivelli Oud Maracuja etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is a fruity sweet leathery scent. Just like Akoya, this scent opens with a sweet and candy like raspberry, and transitions into a dense sweet leathery/patchouli scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Marasi For Him

• Similar to: Loewe Solo Elixir, DHI, DHP, G&B Tales of Amber  etc
• Weather: 25c and below
• Thoughts: Just for context, when it comes to scents with iris in it, I am able to smell the iris note really prominently, even if it isn’t meant to be an iris scent. So please view this review with a pinch of salt. An ambery, buttery, sweet Iris and a powdery woody scent. This is a classy scent, and when it comes to an iris scent, I like this a lot.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (probably my favourite of the iris dupes as it reminds me of DHP)

Mouda

• Similar to: Torino 24, IBRAQ Greek tobacco, PDM Valaya, Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotica etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c
• Thoughts: Citrusy**,** Floral, fruity sweet, and musky scent. This gives me the same vibe as erba pura/IBRAQ Greek Tobacco (not the same smell) but with more florals and citrusier fruits. Love this on a hot day, but feminine leaning.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot and humid day
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Mouda High End

• Similar to: Nishane Wulong cha, D&G Velvet Infusion, Lattafa Dynasty, Aromatix Teas Me,  etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c
• Thoughts: The opening is ginger, citruses, and tea. Smells like every other tea scent that is popular in the market to me. Doesnt smell the same, but reminds me a lot of Wulong cha, and also Dynasty etc. It can be redundant to own more than one of these scents.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot and humid day
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Ramad Earthy

• Similar to: No Idea, maybe Tobacco Honey from Guerlain, and of course Sinbad
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: To my nose, this is a syrupy sweet honey, and ripe fruits, that dries down dark and woody. I really like this, as a smell, but as a fragrance to wear, I honestly dont know when to wear this. This can probably be a scent to wear during a freezing night outdoors. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold, freezing night, while camping maybe. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (unique which makes me love it, might get Amouage Elsewhere if its significantly better :D)

Revolt Uncaged

• Similar to: Nishane Terro, Lattafa Maharjan Gold etc
• Weather: 25c and below
• Thoughts: This is what Lattafa Maharjan Gold should have been, a sweet, caramel, peppery, and woody scent. The pepper helps make the scent not be too cloying or headache inducing.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

--- Ard Al Zaafran ---

Midnight Oud

• Similar to: Amoauge Interlude Man, Interlude black iris, SA Shagaf Oud Abyad, Afnan Supremacy Incense etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A bold, dark, spicy, resinous, and ambery scent. A unique scent, I can guarantee you would not have tried anything remotely like this before. I get a lot of oregano during the opening, along with that classic Amouage's insensy resinous feel. Challenging to the max, but in time, you will learn to love a scent like this. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion during a cold, freezing night
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8.5/10 (love the scent but I find this less wearable than Ramad Earthy)

--- Al Haramain ---

Detour Noir Exclusif

• Similar to: PDM Layton Exclusif, FA Miraj Absolu, Maison Alhambra Fabulo Intense, Detour Noir etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Similar to Layton exclusif but more powdery and less animalic. Smells extremely rich, dense, and spicy. This can be challenging as I do think it smells like Layton or its derivatives. Spicy apple pie with a woody and powdery base, not as creamy or vanillic as Detour Noir/Layton though and hence less enjoyable.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion during a cold, freezing night
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 7/10 (Not a fan of the powdery elements of Layton Exclusif as it makes it dated to me)

--- Armaf ---

Odyssey Aqua Edition

• Similar to: Rabanne Invictus Platinum, Bad Boy Cobalt, Khadlaj Shiyaaka Shadow, Rasasi Hawas etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Similar to the ubiquitous Invictus/Hawas DNA but with more mint. A bubble gummy, fruity sweet, citrus, and mint scent. Really good for a hot day and lasts a decent amount of time for a freshie.
• Vibes/Occasion: Beach Scent/Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (Nice, but since I am tried of the Invictus DNA, giving it an 8)

Ombre D’Or

• Similar to: Matiere Premier Crystal Saffron, IBRAQ Full Moon etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  Basically an ambery spicy saffron scent. The scent opens up with a cold metallic saffron that then transitions into an ambery sweet and warm scent that still retains that metallic saffron opening. This is a nice unique scent. If you like something like Ganymede (Paris Corner Celestial) or Bois Imperial you will like this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10

Tres Nuit

• Similar to: Creed Green Irish Tweed, Davidoff Cool Water, Coty Aspen, Armaf Le Parfait etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A really powdery, aromatic, lavender scent. A very old school feel to the scent, that doesnt come across as being the highest of quality. But a good recreation of GIT
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

 

--- Fragrances I used to own ---

Armaf Club De Nuit Intense Man EDT

• Similar to: Creed Aventus
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  Don’t need to say much. Used to own this when it was Rs 1000, ran through so many bottles of this and Aventus. Fragrances used to be much cheaper, but still felt expensive, If only I had known the state of this space in the future :D
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (will never buy this DNA again, but a lot of good times)

Armaf Club De Nuit Intense Woman

• Similar to: TF Noir de Noir
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts:  A chocolatey rose dominant scent. It has been a while, but I remember buying this based on a YouTube recommendation. That era of fragrance YouTube was so simple, but anyways. I remember liking the scent but at the time I felt it was too feminine for me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion.
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Armaf Club De Nuit Milestone

• Similar to: Creed Millésime Impérial, Sean Jean Unforgivable etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  A salty, aquatic, watermelon scent. Prefer this watermelon note to something like Rayhaan Pacific Aura. And the same as CDNIM and Aventus, ran through multiple bottles of this scent profile. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (10 for the memories)

Armaf Club De Nuit Sillage

• Similar to: Creed SMW, Armaf Derby Club House Blanche, Rasasi Al Wisam Day, Supremacy in Heaven, Alrehab Silver, Xerjoff Mefisto etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  A cold, metallic,  citrusy, fruity fresh, tea based scent. SMW along with Aventus, and Millésime Impérial used to be the only scents I wore.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (10 for the memories)

Armaf Derby Club House Blanche

• Similar to: Creed SMW, Armaf CDN Sillage, Rasasi Al Wisam Day, Supremacy in Heaven, Alrehab Silver, Xerjoff Mefisto etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  Basically the same as CDN Sillage but lighter.
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for errands
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (not as good as the rest)

Armaf Hunter Intense

• Similar to: Dior Sauvage, Rabanne Invictus etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A combination of Invictus and Sauvage, just much lighter. A decent scent for errands. More Invictus than Sauvage.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Armaf Le Parfait

• Similar to: Creed Aventus, Creed Green Irish Tweed, etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A combination of Aventus and GIT, just much lighter. Another decent scent for errands. This should have been amazing, but was just okay. More GIT than Aventus.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Armaf Opus Homme

• Similar to: Bought it because it was meant to be a clone of reflection man or Chanel allure homme edition blanche
• Weather: 10 to 25c
• Thoughts:  A powdery aromatic, and floral scent. This was bad to me. Anything that comes out nowadays is so much better than this era of clones.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 5/10 (Probably the worst perfume I have tried from a major brand)

Armaf Ventana

• Similar to: Dior Sauvage, etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts:  A lighter version of the Sauvage scent profile, not the best version of this scent. It is a spicy, aromatic, citrusy, and woody scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Armaf White Diamond

• Similar to: Lacoste L12.12 White, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A cardamomy, citrusy, sweet, and woody scent. I got a lot of cardamom and sweet fruits or florals from this scent. Was too dense for the humid weather though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Lomani Intense Black

• Similar to: Creed Royal Oud, etc
• Weather: 0 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A very light, fresh, and woody scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Reyanne Tradition Insurrection II Dark

• Similar to: Victor and Rolf Spicebomb
• Weather: 0 to 35c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A very very light fresh, spicy, and woody scent. Too boring for me, and the similarities are there to the OG but like a watered down version.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6/10

Reyanne Traditions Insurrection II Pure

• Similar to: Creed Aventus etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts:  Aventus but seriously watered down. Used to spray 20+ times.
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10 (will never buy this DNA again, but a lot of good times)

P.S. After this long review, Ill be taking a short break 😪😪. I will be reviewing M.E. niche houses next. As there are a lot of fragrances I want to add from Arabian Oud, Sedra, Assaf, and Gissah, expect these in the next couple of months (hopefully).

This took a very very long time, and I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful. Thanks for your time! 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Part 3 - Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances Fragrances

Hi All,

A continuation of the large write-up.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on Reddit 😂.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--- Khadlaj ---

Caffe Latte

• Similar to: Mancera Amore Cafe, Lattafa Classic Stone, Zimaya Tiramisu, Fragrance Cafe N’Cream etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A lactonic/ice-creamy, sweet, vanillic, coffee scent. This is a decadent, ice-cream and Latte smell. The coffee is not strong, its soft and edible. This is so so addicting, but you need to be ok with gourmand scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in/date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

 

Island Dreams 

• Similar to: LV Symphony, Zimaya Mizaaj Rhythm, etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A slightly gingery, fresh, grapefruit, bergamot, and musk scent. Super super fresh and musky smell. The opening is bright and uplifting, but the musk in the dry down can be too much for people. Don’t overspray as it can cause headaches. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summer days
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

 

Onyx Silver

• Similar to: PDM Castley, LV Imagination, Lattafa Mishla, Arabiyat Prestige Marwa etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A peppery, slightly spicy, fresh tea and citrus scent. Imagination with pepper and more citrus. Not quite exactly that, but you will get the direction for sure with that description.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Shiyaaka Snow

• Similar to: LV Meteore, Azzara Chrome, Creed SMW etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This reminds me of Silver Mountain Water for some reason, like a much softer, less sharp, and less metallic version. Anyways, this is a fresh, citrus, slightly metallic and spicy, neroli fragrance.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Epoque Artistique

• Similar to: Invictus Victory Elixir, Invicto Victorious Elixir, JPG Le Beau Le Parfum, Armaf Tag Him Uomo Rosso, Fragrance World Just Azraq etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A vanillic, sweet, spicy, coconuty, and aromatic scent. This is a strong and dense scent, but it wasnt all that impressive to me. Nice, but nothing great, to me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold weather scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Zayaan Gold

• Similar to: JPG Le Male Elixir Absolu, Afnan 9PM Elixir, Hawas Exotic, Le Male Elixir, Rayhaan Elixir etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: This has surprisingly more iris than I expected, and the plum in this is niceeeeee. This is a fruity sweet, irisy, spicy, ambery, JPG scent. However, this is too similar to the Le Male Elixir DNA, and can be redundant if you own any Le Male Elixir clone. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

--- Nusuk ---

Al Mukhtalif Silver

• Similar to: Lamar Kajal, Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman etc
• Weather: 10c to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet, slightly floral, and watery scent. The dry down does have a green or bitter element to it, probably the patchouli. It can lean slightly feminine, but anyone can wear this tbh.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-9 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Fawah Midnight Edition

• Similar to: PDM Oajan, One Million Prive, Angel’s Share
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: a surprisingly airy sugary sweet, cinnamony, amber and leather scent. In the same realm as Angel’s Share etc. Just with different notes added and removed. If you are not a collector, these scents will overlap heavily on the use cases. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

--- Rayhaan ---

Aquatica

• Similar to: Creed Virgin Island Water, Tommy Bahama St. Barts etc
• Weather: 10 to 40c
• Thoughts: Limey, slightly boozy, and coconut sun screen. The perfect vacation scent! But if you hate sunscreen or lotion vibes from your fragrance, try this with caution. Also, the lime is sharp and punchy at the top and that can be too much for few.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and a few feet.
• Rating: 9/10

Terra

• Similar to: Amouage Outlands, Arabiyat Prestige Ramad Oriental, etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, ambery, spicy, and resinous fragrance. The scent has been hyped a lot and for good reason. You get a heavy dose of patchouli and cardamom, at least to my nose, as the primary notes at the top. After a while, the scent settles to the classic Amouage-esque dry down of resins and amber. This is glorious. The patchouli in this reminds me a lot of Crimson though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Crimson

• Similar to: Creed Centaurus, Aromatix Royal taboo etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A rich, sweet, cinnamony, patchouli and tobacco fragrance. The tobacco is sweet and syrupy, and the cinnamon might remind you of any cinnamon candy or alcoholic drink you might have had. Pretty good scent tbh.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Italia

• Similar to: Xerjoff Naxos, FA Fierte Luna, Nusuk Ateeq, Paris Corner Voux Elegante etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: Hopefully the Naxos’ DNA is well known now. If not, this is a honeyed Lavender with a little vanilla and cinnamon on tobacco leaves. The tobacco just adds some depth to this scent, I am not able to detect the note however. This DNA is just classy and elegant, a must have for someone older than 25 for any important event/day.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Obsidian

• Similar to: Dior Homme Intense, DHP, Al Wataniah Kayaan Classic, Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee, Lattafa Qaed Intense, Valentino Uomo, Zimaya Ineka Luna, Lattafa His Confession etc 
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity 
• Thoughts:  A Sweet, powdery Iris and woody scent. Iris is a particular scent, and it is challenging to like. This will come across as makeupy or lipsticky. If you are ok with that idea, do give this scent profile a try. To my nose, this is DHI but more sweet and dense. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8.5/10

--- Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala ---

Riiffs Seasons Drift

• Similar to: Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif, all other BDC, FA Zenith Blue, Khadlaj Icon, Rayhaan Nocturno Elixir 
• Weather: 10 to 35c 
• Thoughts: A citrusy, musky, fresh scent with a woody and resinous feel. Make Bleu de Chanel more middle eastern basically. However, you can expect the opening to be harsh and have a cleaning product smell (not to me though). 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Riiffs Zenith

• Similar to: Mind Games Queening, Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, SA Essence of Casablanca, Rabanne 1 Million Elixir etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A slightly powdery, sweet, basic vanilla but done exceptionally well. Another perfect layering fragrance (crazy that Mind Games is charging $300 for this btw). Lives in the same space as Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, 1 Million Elixir etc
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Rue Broca League Arena

• Similar to: 1 Million elixir, other 1 Million scents 
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: A beautiful sweet vanilla with rose. This is fruity, sweet, and creamy. For a 1 Million, this smells pretty elegant. I do like the scent profile but just wished it projected more.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6–7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Rue Broca Theoreme Homme

• Similar to: Tygar, Vibrato, Ingenious Ginger, etc
• Weather: 0 to 30c
• Thoughts: a very fizzy, dense, musky, and gingery smell. If you have Ravine Ginger, then imagine that but without the vanilla. This has been one of the more popular DNAs going around in the last few years. But I am yet to rock this consistently as I keep getting a headache from it. Maybe it is the dense musky nature of the scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 not a fan of this DNA as it gives me a headache

Rue Broca Nexa Immortal

• Similar to: PDM Greenly, Versace Man eau Fraiche, AAM Zeleeny, FA Aether Extrait, Lattafa Sharif 
• Weather: 10 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Apple scented shampoo and fresh and clean florals. A nice mix of my favourite fresh (Man eau Fraiche) and a ‘Meh’ scent for me, PDM Greenly. This is fresh, slightly citrusy, fruity, soapy, and musky. This lives in the same space as Blue Talisman just with different fruits. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver/Hot summer's day
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Risala Meydan

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Madawi/Madawi gold, AAM Shy, AAM Endless 
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A really fruity sweet, floral, musky, and bitter patchouli scent. This tones down the earthiness/bitterness that Madawi has. But that does make this a lot more linear. Can lean feminine but I do love the peach note in this. If you havent tried this scent, this lives in the same fragrance space as Blue Talisman/Erba Pura. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

--- Swiss Arabian ---

Enigma Of Taif

• Similar to: Any rose and saffron scent, Brompton’s Immortal, Hawas London etc 
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Fruity, spicy, rose, and ambery woods. Another prickly/piercing rose and saffron scent, reminds me of so many ME offerings, but add some woods and amber in the base. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (This line gets a lower score than normal as I expected more)

Opulence Of Dubai

• Similar to: I get a lot of rose but it is not something I have tried before, maybe a spicy/cardomomy fragrance.
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Cardamomy, spicy, rosey, and woody. A nice spicy, fizzy, gingery opening drying down to a nice woody base. I might not have smelled something really similar to this but I can say that this does smell middle eastern.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (This line gets a lower score than normal as I expected more)

Essence Of Casablanca

• Similar to: Mind Games Queening, Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, SA Essence of Casablanca, Rabanne 1 Million Elixir etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A fruity, slightly powdery, sweet, basic vanilla but done exceptionally well. A basic vanilla with a beautiful fruity opening (if only it lasted longer). Lives in the same space as Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, 1Million Elixir etc
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out/in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Too similar to the above mentioned scents, but very well done)

Soul Of Bali

• Similar to: Not the same but in a similar space as JPG Paradise Garden 
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Fruity, fresh, watery, green, and spicy. A nice tropical scent, that can be too coconuty for some. To me however, it is too saffrony and green.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (This line gets a lower score than normal as I expected more)

Shagaf Oud

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Resala, Lancome Oud Bouquet, Lattafa Oud Mood etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, chocolatey, rose and oud fragrance. This isn’t the sharp/pirecing rose, this is the jammy, dessert like rose. This is a very beginner friendly rose and oud fragrance. I mean, as much as you can get.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Shagaf Oud Azraq

• Similar to: Montale Honey Aoud, FA Hypnotic Gold, Paris Corner Honeyed Fantasy
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: To my nose, this is a syrupy and dense honey, and spices(mostly cinnamon), that dries into a slightly animalic and ambery oud. I really like this scent but I can see how people can find this too syrupy or medicinal. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion 
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Shagaf Amber Infusion

• Similar to: Maybe slightly like MFK Grand Soir or Clive Christian Blonde Amber, FA Grow etc 
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A very ambery, fruity, spicy, slightly resinous and sweet scent. A fruity sweet opening and a sweet creamy amber dry down. I can detect the Havana very clearly here, which gives this scent a custardy feel, at least it reminds me of FA Grow, a bit. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

--- Zimaya ---

Abadi Opulent

• Similar to: YSL Y EDP, YSL Y EDP, Lattafa Fakhar Platin, FA Ripple, Paris Corner Zodiac Stratos, Arabiyat Prestige Qissat Al Najah Kiamichi  etc 
• Weather: 0 to 40c 
• Thoughts: If you havent tried YSL Y Elixir, just imagine a shower gely and slightly woody aromatic green apple scent. Nothing exceptional but a generic designer scent. (P.S. I am not a fan of designer :D :D :D) 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 7.5/10 (didnt find it special)

Al Barari Shore

• Similar to: Forever Wanted Elixir, Nusk Gladius, Tuscan Leather etc 
• Weather: 10 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: A designer take on the raspberry and leather combo of tuscan Leather and scents of that nature. The leather is not overly aggressive or animalic, it just adds a dense character to an otherwise aromatic scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Doesnt last on my skin)

Al Embratur Absolu

• Similar to: Invictus Victory Absolu, Invicto Victorious Absolu, CH Bad Boy Extreme etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A peppery, woody, vanillic, sweet, and aromatic scent. This is the Invictus Victory Elixir DNA perfected, it makes it more peppery and woody and honestly, mature.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold weather scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Daiman Eclipse

• Similar to: Acqua Di Gio Elixir, all other ADG, Dior Fahrenheit Aqua etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: The violet in the scent is not as prominent as in the OG, but it is basically you classic ADG scent profile with a little bit of a petrol/ozonic note (think Fahrenheit) and woods. A more buttoned up version of ADG basically.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (pretty light wear)

Inekas Luna

• Similar to: Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee, Dior Homme Intense, DHP, Al Wataniah Kayaan Classic, Lattafa Qaed Intense, Valentino Uomo, Zimaya Ineka Luna, Lattafa His Confession etc 
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity 
• Thoughts:  A boozy, irisy and woody scent. Classy classy scent, but I have the same issue with iris, I pick it up very easily and the scents remind me of each other. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10

Sharaf Divine

• Similar to: Gissah Sava, Angel Share Paradis, Angel’s Share, FA Royal Blend Sequoia, Lattafa Fire and Ice, Rayhaan Valhalla, etc
• Weather: 24c and below 
• Thoughts: This is a fruity/jammy sweet cinnamon gourmand scent with a touch of dark booze. Think of an apple pie (with less apple and more sticky dates and raspberries as fruits) and some booze in it. This to my nose is a lighter take on the Khamrah or Angel’s Share DNA.
• Vibes/Occasion: Perfect date night scent. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and arms length (kinda weak on me) 
• Rating: 8.5/10

P.S. The next part will be the remaining ME fragrances in my collection like Arabiyat Prestige etc

I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful, thanks for your time! 

Part 3 - Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances Fragrances

Hi All,

A continuation of the large write-up.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on Reddit 😂.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--- Khadlaj ---

Caffe Latte

• Similar to: Mancera Amore Cafe, Lattafa Classic Stone, Zimaya Tiramisu, Fragrance Cafe N’Cream etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A lactonic/ice-creamy, sweet, vanillic, coffee scent. This is a decadent, ice-cream and Latte smell. The coffee is not strong, its soft and edible. This is so so addicting, but you need to be ok with gourmand scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in/date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

 

Island Dreams 

• Similar to: LV Symphony, Zimaya Mizaaj Rhythm, etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A slightly gingery, fresh, grapefruit, bergamot, and musk scent. Super super fresh and musky smell. The opening is bright and uplifting, but the musk in the dry down can be too much for people. Don’t overspray as it can cause headaches. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summer days
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

 

Onyx Silver

• Similar to: PDM Castley, LV Imagination, Lattafa Mishla, Arabiyat Prestige Marwa etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A peppery, slightly spicy, fresh tea and citrus scent. Imagination with pepper and more citrus. Not quite exactly that, but you will get the direction for sure with that description.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Shiyaaka Snow

• Similar to: LV Meteore, Azzara Chrome, Creed SMW etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This reminds me of Silver Mountain Water for some reason, like a much softer, less sharp, and less metallic version. Anyways, this is a fresh, citrus, slightly metallic and spicy, neroli fragrance.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Epoque Artistique

• Similar to: Invictus Victory Elixir, Invicto Victorious Elixir, JPG Le Beau Le Parfum, Armaf Tag Him Uomo Rosso, Fragrance World Just Azraq etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A vanillic, sweet, spicy, coconuty, and aromatic scent. This is a strong and dense scent, but it wasnt all that impressive to me. Nice, but nothing great, to me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold weather scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Zayaan Gold

• Similar to: JPG Le Male Elixir Absolu, Afnan 9PM Elixir, Hawas Exotic, Le Male Elixir, Rayhaan Elixir etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: This has surprisingly more iris than I expected, and the plum in this is niceeeeee. This is a fruity sweet, irisy, spicy, ambery, JPG scent. However, this is too similar to the Le Male Elixir DNA, and can be redundant if you own any Le Male Elixir clone. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

--- Nusuk ---

Al Mukhtalif Silver

• Similar to: Lamar Kajal, Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman etc
• Weather: 10c to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet, slightly floral, and watery scent. The dry down does have a green or bitter element to it, probably the patchouli. It can lean slightly feminine, but anyone can wear this tbh.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-9 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Fawah Midnight Edition

• Similar to: PDM Oajan, One Million Prive, Angel’s Share
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: a surprisingly airy sugary sweet, cinnamony, amber and leather scent. In the same realm as Angel’s Share etc. Just with different notes added and removed. If you are not a collector, these scents will overlap heavily on the use cases. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

--- Rayhaan ---

Aquatica

• Similar to: Creed Virgin Island Water, Tommy Bahama St. Barts etc
• Weather: 10 to 40c
• Thoughts: Limey, slightly boozy, and coconut sun screen. The perfect vacation scent! But if you hate sunscreen or lotion vibes from your fragrance, try this with caution. Also, the lime is sharp and punchy at the top and that can be too much for few.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and a few feet.
• Rating: 9/10

Terra

• Similar to: Amouage Outlands, Arabiyat Prestige Ramad Oriental, etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, ambery, spicy, and resinous fragrance. The scent has been hyped a lot and for good reason. You get a heavy dose of patchouli and cardamom, at least to my nose, as the primary notes at the top. After a while, the scent settles to the classic Amouage-esque dry down of resins and amber. This is glorious. The patchouli in this reminds me a lot of Crimson though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Crimson

• Similar to: Creed Centaurus, Aromatix Royal taboo etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A rich, sweet, cinnamony, patchouli and tobacco fragrance. The tobacco is sweet and syrupy, and the cinnamon might remind you of any cinnamon candy or alcoholic drink you might have had. Pretty good scent tbh.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Italia

• Similar to: Xerjoff Naxos, FA Fierte Luna, Nusuk Ateeq, Paris Corner Voux Elegante etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: Hopefully the Naxos’ DNA is well known now. If not, this is a honeyed Lavender with a little vanilla and cinnamon on tobacco leaves. The tobacco just adds some depth to this scent, I am not able to detect the note however. This DNA is just classy and elegant, a must have for someone older than 25 for any important event/day.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Obsidian

• Similar to: Dior Homme Intense, DHP, Al Wataniah Kayaan Classic, Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee, Lattafa Qaed Intense, Valentino Uomo, Zimaya Ineka Luna, Lattafa His Confession etc 
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity 
• Thoughts:  A Sweet, powdery Iris and woody scent. Iris is a particular scent, and it is challenging to like. This will come across as makeupy or lipsticky. If you are ok with that idea, do give this scent profile a try. To my nose, this is DHI but more sweet and dense. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8.5/10

--- Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala ---

Riiffs Seasons Drift

• Similar to: Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif, all other BDC, FA Zenith Blue, Khadlaj Icon, Rayhaan Nocturno Elixir 
• Weather: 10 to 35c 
• Thoughts: A citrusy, musky, fresh scent with a woody and resinous feel. Make Bleu de Chanel more middle eastern basically. However, you can expect the opening to be harsh and have a cleaning product smell (not to me though). 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Riiffs Zenith

• Similar to: Mind Games Queening, Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, SA Essence of Casablanca, Rabanne 1 Million Elixir etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A slightly powdery, sweet, basic vanilla but done exceptionally well. Another perfect layering fragrance (crazy that Mind Games is charging $300 for this btw). Lives in the same space as Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, 1 Million Elixir etc
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Rue Broca League Arena

• Similar to: 1 Million elixir, other 1 Million scents 
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: A beautiful sweet vanilla with rose. This is fruity, sweet, and creamy. For a 1 Million, this smells pretty elegant. I do like the scent profile but just wished it projected more.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6–7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Rue Broca Theoreme Homme

• Similar to: Tygar, Vibrato, Ingenious Ginger, etc
• Weather: 0 to 30c
• Thoughts: a very fizzy, dense, musky, and gingery smell. If you have Ravine Ginger, then imagine that but without the vanilla. But this has been one of the more popular DNAs going around in the last 5 years. I have yet to be able to rock this consistently as I keep getting a headache from this DNA. Maybe it is the dense musky nature
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 not a fan of this DNA as it gives me a headache

Rue Broca Nexa Immortal

• Similar to: PDM Greenly, Versace Man eau Fraiche, AAM Zeleeny, FA Aether Extrait, Lattafa Sharif 
• Weather: 10 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Apple scented shampoo and fresh and clean florals. A nice mix of my favourite fresh (Man eau Fraiche) and a ‘Meh’ scent for me, PDM Greenly. This is fresh, slightly citrusy, fruity, soapy, and musky. This lives in the same space as Blue Talisman just with different fruits. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver/Hot summer's day
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Risala Meydan

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Madawi/Madawi gold, AAM Shy, AAM Endless 
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A really fruity sweet, floral, musky, and bitter patchouli scent. This tones down the earthiness/bitterness that Madawi has. But that does make this a lot more linear. Can lean feminine but I do love the peach note in this. If you havent tried this scent, this lives in the same fragrance space as Blue Talisman/Erba Pura. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

--- Swiss Arabian ---

Enigma Of Taif

• Similar to: Any rose and saffron scent, Brompton’s Immortal, Hawas London etc 
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Fruity, spicy, rose, and ambery woods. Another prickly/piercing rose and saffron scent, reminds me of so many ME offerings, but add some woods and amber in the base. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (This line gets a lower score than normal as I expected more)

Opulence Of Dubai

• Similar to: I get a lot of rose but it is not something I have tried before, maybe a spicy/cardomomy fragrance.
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Cardamomy, spicy, rosey, and woody. A nice spicy, fizzy, gingery opening drying down to a nice woody base. I might not have smelled something really similar to this but I can say that this does smell middle eastern.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (This line gets a lower score than normal as I expected more)

Essence Of Casablanca

• Similar to: Mind Games Queening, Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, SA Essence of Casablanca, Rabanne 1 Million Elixir etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A fruity, slightly powdery, sweet, basic vanilla but done exceptionally well. A basic vanilla with a beautiful fruity opening (if only it lasted longer). Lives in the same space as Fragrance World Notes Jazz/G&B Silky Woods, 1Million Elixir etc
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out/in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Too similar to the above mentioned scents, but very well done)

Soul Of Bali

• Similar to: Not the same but in a similar space as JPG Paradise Garden 
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Fruity, fresh, watery, green, and spicy. A nice tropical scent, that can be too coconuty for some. To me however, it is too saffrony and green.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (This line gets a lower score than normal as I expected more)

Shagaf Oud

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Resala, Lancome Oud Bouquet, Lattafa Oud Mood etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, chocolatey, rose and oud fragrance. This isn’t the sharp/pirecing rose, this is the jammy, dessert like rose. This is a very beginner friendly rose and oud fragrance. I mean, as much as you can get.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Shagaf Oud Azraq

• Similar to: Montale Honey Aoud, FA Hypnotic Gold, Paris Corner Honeyed Fantasy
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: To my nose, this is a syrupy and dense honey, and spices(mostly cinnamon), that dries into a slightly animalic and ambery oud. I really like this scent but I can see how people can find this too syrupy or medicinal. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion 
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Shagaf Amber Infusion

• Similar to: Maybe slightly like MFK Grand Soir or Clive Christian Blonde Amber, FA Grow etc 
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A very ambery, fruity, spicy, slightly resinous and sweet scent. A fruity sweet opening and a sweet creamy amber dry down. I can detect the Havana very clearly here, which gives this scent a custardy feel, at least it reminds me of FA Grow, a bit. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

--- Zimaya ---

Abadi Opulent

• Similar to: YSL Y EDP, YSL Y EDP, Lattafa Fakhar Platin, FA Ripple, Paris Corner Zodiac Stratos, Arabiyat Prestige Qissat Al Najah Kiamichi  etc 
• Weather: 0 to 40c 
• Thoughts: If you havent tried YSL Y Elixir, just imagine a shower gely and slightly woody aromatic green apple scent. Nothing exceptional but a generic designer scent. (P.S. I am not a fan of designer :D :D :D) 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 7.5/10 (didnt find it special)

Al Barari Shore

• Similar to: Forever Wanted Elixir, Nusk Gladius, Tuscan Leather etc 
• Weather: 10 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: A designer take on the raspberry and leather combo of tuscan Leather and scents of that nature. The leather is not overly aggressive or animalic, it just adds a dense character to an otherwise aromatic scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Doesnt last on my skin)

Al Embratur Absolu

• Similar to: Invictus Victory Absolu, Invicto Victorious Absolu, CH Bad Boy Extreme etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A peppery, woody, vanillic, sweet, and aromatic scent. This is the Invictus Victory Elixir DNA perfected, it makes it more peppery and woody and honestly, mature.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold weather scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Daiman Eclipse

• Similar to: Acqua Di Gio Elixir, all other ADG, Dior Fahrenheit Aqua etc
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: The violet in the scent is not as prominent as in the OG, but it is basically you classic ADG scent profile with a little bit of a petrol/ozonic note (think Fahrenheit) and woods. A more buttoned up version of ADG basically.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (pretty light wear)

Inekas Luna

• Similar to: Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee, Dior Homme Intense, DHP, Al Wataniah Kayaan Classic, Lattafa Qaed Intense, Valentino Uomo, Zimaya Ineka Luna, Lattafa His Confession etc 
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity 
• Thoughts:  A boozy, irisy and woody scent. Classy classy scent, but I have the same issue with iris, I pick it up very easily and the scents remind me of each other. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10

Sharaf Divine

• Similar to: Gissah Sava, Angel Share Paradis, Angel’s Share, FA Royal Blend Sequoia, Lattafa Fire and Ice, Rayhaan Valhalla, etc
• Weather: 24c and below 
• Thoughts: This is a fruity/jammy sweet cinnamon gourmand scent with a touch of dark booze. Think of an apple pie (with less apple and more sticky dates and raspberries as fruits) and some booze in it. This to my nose is a lighter take on the Khamrah or Angel’s Share DNA.
• Vibes/Occasion: Perfect date night scent. 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and arms length (kinda weak on me) 
• Rating: 8.5/10

P.S. The next part will be the remaining ME fragrances in my collection like Arabiyat Prestige etc

I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful, thanks for your time! 

Part 2 - Fragrance World

Hi All,

A continuation of the large write-up. Apologies for what will be a lot of posts.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on reddit. :D.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

Aqua Pura

• Similar to: Lattafa Atlas, IBRAQ Spanish Tobacco, Orto Parisi Megamare 
• Weather: 0 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: This is a take on Megamare, and basically the same as Atlas or Spanish Tobacco. A unique salty aquatic freshie. I find this scent profile to be beautiful, but artificial. It smells like someone created the smell of wave crashing against algae covered rocks not through lived experience, but through second hand information. (Hope that made some sense 😅😅) 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear.  
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and 6+ feet 
• Rating: 10/10 (my favourite version of this DNA)

Blazing

• Similar to: Penhaligon’s Halfeti, The Blazing Mr Sam Penhaligon’s, Rayhaan Tiger, Chopard Oud Malaki, Lattafa Mohra etc
• Thoughts: Its a manly, spicy, woody, and slightly sweet aromatic scent. To my nose, really really similar to Warm Leather/Halfeti, maybe a little darker but not by much. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Colosseum

• Similar to: Argos Triumph of Baccus, CH Mystery Tobacco, Maison Alhambra Exclusif Tabac, PDM Carlisle, Mancera Red Tobacco, Bottled Absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A super sweet fruity, boozy, woody, tobaccoy, and patchouli scent to me. Dont think of this like a sweet Tobacco Vanille type tobacco scent, but more like a dry and dusty tobacco scent. This is really really similar to all the above mentioned fragrances and can be redundant to have more than one of this scent profile. Even this review is the same as my Cassius and Charuto Mysterius Tobacco reviews.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length 
• Rating: 9/10 (best rendition of this DNA)

Harmony Code Absolute

• Similar to: Armani Code Absolu
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A sweet, slightly fruity, ambery, and vanillic scent. It smells really cozy and warm. But missing a slight bit of character, a little tobacco or more leather would have done the trick.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Hayaati Royale

• Similar to: Rabanne 1 Million Lucky, Lattafa Ishq Al Shuyukh Silver etc 
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity 
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet, and woody scent. If you have tried the Lucky scent profile, just make it more airy and wearable in moderate heat. This is in the same scent family as God of Fire, not the same smell but the same family, just thicker and sweeter. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for the beach during winters
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10 (I usually love this scent profile but doesnt last long on me)

Icy Roses

• Similar to: Killian Roses on Ice, Nautica Voyage, Toy Boy’s rose note
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fresh airy, cucumber and rose scent. A smell you can wear when you dont want to annoy people. The cucumber makes this scent feel watery and clean, and rose adds a slight elegance to it. This is what Khamarah could have been with the cucumber note. Similar to Nautica with the cucumber, but to me the cucumber feels more realistic and green. The rose reminds me of Toy Boy for reference.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Imperium X

• Similar to: Roja Dove Apex, Polo green, Beach Hut Man (but this is much better)
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A very old school, barbershop fragrance. A dry, fresh, green, and aromatic fragrance. Not my taste, too dry.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Irish Coffee

• Similar to: Kinda similar to FA Zenith Tobacco, French Avenue Spectre Wraith, FA Vulcan Sable, X Xandal etc 
• Weather: 20c and below 
• Thoughts: Boozy, spicy, sweet, woody, coffee scent. Kinda reminiscent of Zenith tobacco, Spectre Wraith, and Vulcan Sable. Nice scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night during winters
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10

Jacques Yves Imaginari

• Similar to: Imagination, Marwa, etc 
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: A less refined clone of Imagination. A soapy, citrus fresh, tea scent that lasts a decent amount of time. If you can get this for a good price, check it out. It might not be the best, but it is redundant to own more than one version of this scent profile, all of the different versions of this scent give you the same experience.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-10 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10 (The other imagination options are better.)

Notes Jazz

• Similar to: Goldfield and Banks Silky Woods, Mercedes Club Black, SA Essence of Casablanca, Liquid Brun etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A vanillic, sweet, slightly spicy, amber/suede scent. This is a basic vanilla scent to my nose, and can lean feminine. Imagine Liquid Brun without the heavy warm spicy notes. This scent profile is not meant to project but should have lasted longer.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 4**-**6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

 

One Self

• Similar to: YSL MYSLF EDP
• Weather: 15 to 35c
• Thoughts: A fresh and floral fabric softener smell. The quality is as good (obviously) as MYSLF, but honestly this is good enough. If you have to buy a YSL MYSLF, get the Le parfum. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Nudo Exotic Flowers

• Similar to: Initio Narcotic Delight, BTSO Drunk Lovers, SWY Powerfully
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A syrupy sweet, boozy, fruit, tobacco scent. Imagine a less spicy, more feminine version of PDM Herod. The cherry is not medicinal or dark, and the booze is not as prominent compared to something like Angel Share. A very juvenile bottle for a scent that is pretty unisex, but slightly feminine leaning. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Prive Saffron

• Similar to: Maison Crevelli Safran Secret, La Luna Gissah
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: A spicy, metallic, semi sweet, woody scent. I get a lot of the saffron and woody notes. It reads as a dry scent, but feels thick and almost ambery. In the same space as Notes Jazz.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Proud Of You Tobacco

• Similar to: SWY Tobacco, All SWY scents, Maison Alhambra Your Touch line, etc 
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, nutty, warm spicy, ambery, vanillic, tobacco scent. A slightly spicy, aromatic and vanillic amber scent. This is the same space as SWY and the most wanted fragrances with tobacco. The tobacco is in the same style as Herod or Tobacco Vanille. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night/cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Star Men Nebula

• Similar to: Mugler A*men Pure Malt
• Weather: 0c to 24c
• Thoughts: A boozy/whiskey woody patchouli scent. There is a sweetness in the scent but not sure if it is the booze or the fruits listed. The thing that impressed me is how they got the signature Mugler patchouli note in this. Really impressed with this recreation of a discontinued scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Varakh Silver

• Similar to: MFK Gentle Fluidity Silver
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A dry spicy, fresh, and aromatic fragrance. I expected this to smell fresh but the spice and dry nature put me off. This is old school smelling again, and kinda herbal to me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

 

Tabac N’ Coke

• Similar to: Mancera Tonka Cola, Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Al Haramain Amber Oud Tobacco Edition, Fragrance World Tabac N’ Coke, Paris Corner Charuto Tobacco Vanille,  etc 
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: Tobacco Vanille with Coca Cola. A sweet and spicy, pipe tobacco and vanilla scent. This smells like a clove heavy coke infused with a vanilla pod and mixed with tobacco. A fun twist on a classic scent profile.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual wear during the winter
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8.5/10

P.S. The next part will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.

I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful. Thanks for your time! 

Part 2 - Fragrance World

Hi All,

A continuation of the large write-up. Apologies for what will be a lot of posts.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on reddit. :D.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

Aqua Pura

• Similar to: Lattafa Atlas, IBRAQ Spanish Tobacco, Orto Parisi Megamare 
• Weather: 0 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: This is a take on Megamare, and basically the same as Atlas or Spanish Tobacco. A unique salty aquatic freshie. I find this scent profile to be beautiful, but artificial. It smells like someone created the smell of wave crashing against algae covered rocks not through lived experience, but through second hand information. (Hope that made some sense 😅😅) 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear.  
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and 6+ feet 
• Rating: 10/10 (my favourite version of this DNA)

Blazing

• Similar to: Penhaligon’s Halfeti, The Blazing Mr Sam Penhaligon’s, Rayhaan Tiger, Chopard Oud Malaki, Lattafa Mohra etc
• Thoughts: Its a manly, spicy, woody, and slightly sweet aromatic scent. To my nose, really really similar to Warm Leather/Halfeti, maybe a little darker but not by much. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Colosseum

• Similar to: Argos Triumph of Baccus, CH Mystery Tobacco, Maison Alhambra Exclusif Tabac, PDM Carlisle, Mancera Red Tobacco, Bottled Absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A super sweet fruity, boozy, woody, tobaccoy, and patchouli scent to me. Dont think of this like a sweet Tobacco Vanille type tobacco scent, but more like a dry and dusty tobacco scent. This is really really similar to all the above mentioned fragrances and can be redundant to have more than one of this scent profile. Even this review is the same as my Cassius and Charuto Mysterius Tobacco reviews.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length 
• Rating: 9/10 (best rendition of this DNA)

Harmony Code Absolute

• Similar to: Armani Code Absolu
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A sweet, slightly fruity, ambery, and vanillic scent. It smells really cozy and warm. But missing a slight bit of character, a little tobacco or more leather would have done the trick.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Hayaati Royale

• Similar to: Rabanne 1 Million Lucky, Lattafa Ishq Al Shuyukh Silver etc 
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity 
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet, and woody scent. If you have tried the Lucky scent profile, just make it more airy and wearable in moderate heat. This is in the same scent family as God of Fire, not the same smell but the same family, just thicker and sweeter. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for the beach during winters
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10 (I usually love this scent profile but doesnt last long on me)

Icy Roses

• Similar to: Killian Roses on Ice, Nautica Voyage, Toy Boy’s rose note
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fresh airy, cucumber and rose scent. A smell you can wear when you dont want to annoy people. The cucumber makes this scent feel watery and clean, and rose adds a slight elegance to it. This is what Khamarah could have been with the cucumber note. Similar to Nautica with the cucumber, but to me the cucumber feels more realistic and green. The rose reminds me of Toy Boy for reference.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Imperium X

• Similar to: Roja Dove Apex, Polo green, Beach Hut Man (but this is much better)
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A very old school, barbershop fragrance. A dry, fresh, green, and aromatic fragrance. Not my taste, too dry.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Irish Coffee

• Similar to: Kinda similar to FA Zenith Tobacco, French Avenue Spectre Wraith, FA Vulcan Sable, X Xandal etc 
• Weather: 20c and below 
• Thoughts: Boozy, spicy, sweet, woody, coffee scent. Kinda reminiscent of Zenith tobacco, Spectre Wraith, and Vulcan Sable. Nice scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night during winters
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10

Jacques Yves Imaginari

• Similar to: Imagination, Marwa, etc 
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: A less refined clone of Imagination. A soapy, citrus fresh, tea scent that lasts a decent amount of time. If you can get this for a good price, check it out. It might not be the best, but it is redundant to own more than one version of this scent profile, all of the different versions of this scent give you the same experience.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-10 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10 (The other imagination options are better.)

Notes Jazz

• Similar to: Goldfield and Banks Silky Woods, Mercedes Club Black, SA Essence of Casablanca, Liquid Brun etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A vanillic, sweet, slightly spicy, amber/suede scent. This is a basic vanilla scent to my nose, and can lean feminine. Imagine Liquid Brun without the heavy warm spicy notes. This scent profile is not meant to project but should have lasted longer.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 4**-**6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

 

One Self

• Similar to: YSL MYSLF EDP
• Weather: 15 to 35c
• Thoughts: A fresh and floral fabric softener smell. The quality is as good (obviously) as MYSLF, but honestly this is good enough. If you have to buy a YSL MYSLF, get the Le parfum. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Nudo Exotic Flowers

• Similar to: Initio Narcotic Delight, BTSO Drunk Lovers, SWY Powerfully
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A syrupy sweet, boozy, fruit, tobacco scent. Imagine a less spicy, more feminine version of PDM Herod. The cherry is not medicinal or dark, and the booze is not as prominent compared to something like Angel Share. A very juvenile bottle for a scent that is pretty unisex, but slightly feminine leaning. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Prive Saffron

• Similar to: Maison Crevelli Safran Secret, La Luna Gissah
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: A spicy, metallic, semi sweet, woody scent. I get a lot of the saffron and woody notes. It reads as a dry scent, but feels thick and almost ambery. In the same space as Notes Jazz.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Proud Of You Tobacco

• Similar to: SWY Tobacco, All SWY scents, Maison Alhambra Your Touch line, etc 
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, nutty, warm spicy, ambery, vanillic, tobacco scent. A slightly spicy, aromatic and vanillic amber scent. This is the same space as SWY and the most wanted fragrances with tobacco. The tobacco is in the same style as Herod or Tobacco Vanille. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night/cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Star Men Nebula

• Similar to: Mugler A*men Pure Malt
• Weather: 0c to 24c
• Thoughts: A boozy/whiskey woody patchouli scent. There is a sweetness in the scent but not sure if it is the booze or the fruits listed. The thing that impressed me is how they got the signature Mugler patchouli note in this. Really impressed with this recreation of a discontinued scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Varakh Silver

• Similar to: MFK Gentle Fluidity Silver
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A dry spicy, fresh, and aromatic fragrance. I expected this to smell fresh but the spice and dry nature put me off. This is old school smelling again, and kinda herbal to me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

 

Tabac N’ Coke

• Similar to: Mancera Tonka Cola, Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Al Haramain Amber Oud Tobacco Edition, Fragrance World Tabac N’ Coke, Paris Corner Charuto Tobacco Vanille,  etc 
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: Tobacco Vanille with Coca Cola. A sweet and spicy, pipe tobacco and vanilla scent. This smells like a clove heavy coke infused with a vanilla pod and mixed with tobacco. A fun twist on a classic scent profile.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual wear during the winter
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8.5/10

P.S. The next part will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.

I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful. Thanks for your time! 

Part 1 - Paris Corner

Hi All,

This is my 6th review write-up, and a large one divided into 4/5 parts. In this series of posts I will be reviewing all the other fragrances I have from the M.E. ‘Inspired by’ companies. I will write a couple more reviews, a little while later, for all the M.E. niche houses.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on reddit. :D.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

Rifaqaat

• Similar to: YSL Babycat, Rosendo Mateu No. 5, FA Fierte, Lattafa Ishq Al Shuyukh Gold, etc 
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This is a leathery/rubbery tire, lathered with sweet vanilla, black peppers, and resins/incense. Sounds horrible, but it is so classy and elegant. This is a scent you wear with a suit to stand out. It is strong, punchy, and honestly worth every penny. Hard to find this now, and has increased in price, but still worth it.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion 
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10 (This will grow on you if you didnt like it at first)

Emir Celestial

• Similar to: Marc-Antoine Barrois Ganymede, Bois Imperial, Crystal Saffron etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c
• Thoughts: A cold, metallic, fruity sweet, fresh, and ethereal scent. It is tough to explain how this smells like to someone who hasn’t tried a similar DNA. This is a unique and brilliant scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion/Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Emir Fascination

• Similar to: Xerjoff Richwood, Coromandel Chanel, Rosendo Mateu No 7
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: Wow, this scent is magic in the air (not up close). This is old school, nothing modern, but damn does this smell like wealth and elegance. This is a patchouli and rose dominant powdery woody scent. This can smell like a scent an older person would wear, but I dont care, this DNA is so good!
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (fell in love with the scent, but thought it could be better, decided to get the OG)

Pendora Amorist

• Similar to: Issey Miyaki Le Sel d’Issey, Lattafa Atlas, etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A salty oceany, orange and neroli scent. Imagine your Le Sel d’Issey style fragrance, or your Lattafa Atlas style fragrance made fresher and with added orange rind. However, this is a watered down dupe of Bvlgari Aqua Amara. If you dont have Aqua Amara, then get it, it will give you a sense of that discontinued gem.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Midnight Sin (Daniel Rene)

• Similar to: Kinda similar to Armaf Odyssey Black Forest
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: It opens up as a semi gourmand chocolate and dark cherry opening, beautiful, but then it transitions into a generic lotiony scent . This is a Black Forest Cake smell, made into a iris dominant face cream style fragrance. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic
• Longevity and Sillage: 7–8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (So damn close to perfect, but again, the lotiony feel ruins it)

December Ambar

• Similar to: can remind you a bit of amber heavy sweet scents, like Grand Soir. 
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is a sweet, fruity, slightly spicy ambery scent. This is a beautiful plumy, sweet and cozy scent, that is surprisingly strong on me. In the same realm as Side Effect, or Eternal Oud by Lattafa/MFK Grand Soir.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

 

Emir When Soul Gets High

• Similar to: Killian Back to Black, Guerlain Tobacco Honey etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A very sweet honey, tobacco, and spicy fragrance. The scent does smell medicinal, the cherry and honey combined does come across pleasant. I haven't tried the original yet, but in any case, I am letting this sit for a year before revisiting.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6/10

Emir You’re Drugged

• Similar to: Killian Intoxicated, Mugler A*Men etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is a dry, cardamom forward, piney coffee scent. The coffee is not strong, but it is present. This can be a good layering scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Factory Edition: Camp Fire

• Similar to: Maison Margiela By The Fireplace, Maison Alhambra Smoked Oud & Vanilla, Lattafa Ameer Al Oudh Intense Oud, FW Ace, FA Capricorn 
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity 
• Thoughts: As a scent this is a sweet, vanillic, spicy and heavily woody scent. But what this smells like is burning marshmallows or something sugary sweet over a burning wood. This is one of those that will instantly transport you to an activity even if you have never done said activity. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8.5/10

Factory Edition: Warm Leather

• Similar to: Penhaligon’s Halfeti, The Blazing Mr Sam Penhaligon’s, Rayhaan Tiger, Chopard Oud Malaki, Lattafa Mohra etc
• Weather: 10 to 24c
• Thoughts: Its a manly, spicy, woody, and slightly powdery aromatic scent. In the dry down it does get a little sweet or vanillic, but not too much. This is another scent I like to layer with something sweet or ambery. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Factory Edition: Ultra Citrus

• Similar to: Le Frenchy Guerlain, Frenchy Lavande Guerlain, Eau Sauvage Dior etc 
• Weather: 15 to 35c
• Thoughts: To my nose, this is a tart citrus, aromatic neroli scent. It does have some green or earthy aspects to it as well. Can come across as a lemon cleaner scent and harsh though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

Factory Edition: Just Bergamot

• Similar to: Le Labo Bergamote 22, any other bergamot heavy scent.
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A pure bright and clean bergamot scent. If you want a citrus freshie thats not lemon, and that you dont mind overspraying and topping up every 4 to 5 hours, get this. Extremely underrated. Love at first sniff, and I would like people to get on this! 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10

Indomitable

• Similar to: Afternoon swim, Orange Sanguine, etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: This is a sweet, effervescent, orange lotiony scent. Imagine putting on a light cream on your face while having a refreshing Fanta/Mirinda (any orange soda). Similar to Afternoon swim, not in scent, but in idea.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers beach party
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (would have been a 10/10 if it just didnt have that light lotiony element)

Khair Pistachio

• Similar to: Kayali Yum Pistachio, Lattafa Affection etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A really sweet, creamy vanillic pista scent. Basically a Pistachio Ice cream. You will smell edible, but it isn't an easy wear. The sweetness can be headache inducing.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold winters date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (Good scent, but a love it or hate it one)

Mawj Appletini

• Similar to: Killian Apple Brandy on the Rocks, Boss Bottled etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Green apple, booze, and warm spices like cardamom. Sounds amazing on paper, but for some reason, certain boozy scents smell funky to me, and this is one of those. Almost like a bodily fluid. Sour and funky. I will say that this has matured well and that funky smell is reducing. Other than that, pretty good. Don't get fooled by the colour of the bottle, this is a winter scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out for a mature person
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Mawj Moscow Mule

• Similar to: Killian Blue Moon Ginger Dash
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A super effervescent, gingery, lemony, green scent. This is a ginger scent I can get behind. I expected Sospiro Vibrato or Tygar to smell like this. You need to like ginger to like this however. If you felt Tygar/Turathi Blue/Theoreme/Vibrato/Ingenious Ginger were too thick, or gave you a headache, try this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Mysterium

• Similar to: Xerjoff Toni Iommi Monkey Special
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Hated it at first sniff, fell in love with it at the second. A slightly sweet and boozy, spicy, powdery, rose, and pacthouli scent. This is what a rockstar smells like the day after a night out (as FragranceFlan said). Doesnt sound great, but thats what makes this so cool. If you have tried Monkey Special and felt it was too boozy, this solves that issue with the scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10 (Though I prefer Deified over Monkey Special)

Ophidian Black Cherry

• Similar to: Kayali Loveliest Burning Cherry, TF Cherry Smoke, Room 1015 Cherry Punk, L’homme Ideal EDP, Lovely cherie, Cherry Incense, TF Lost Cherry etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity 
• Thoughts: This is a gothic medicinal dark cherry. Its dark, woody, sweet, but light. Not as decent as a tom ford cherry scent, but in a similar realm. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Fig Hug

• Similar to: Acqua di Parma Fico di Amalfi, BTSO Fig Porn
• Weather: 10 to 25c low humidity
• Thoughts: As the name suggests, it is a fig scent. But this is not a jammy fig, this is a green fig, almost too green. This is green, fresh, and lactonic and a bit lotiony. Was not a huge fan.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

Pour Me Wild

• Similar to: Killian Angel's Share on the Rocks, FA Obsidian, Killian Angel Share
• Weather: 0 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: It is a watered down Angel's share. I.e. a citrus/fresh version of the Angel's Share DNA. It smells the same; sweet, boozy, spicy, woody, but slightly citrusy at the top.
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night during a mild or cold night
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (still a great DNA)

Autobiography Citron Vanille

• Similar to: Not really but meant to be close to Allure Homme Edition Blanche
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Meant to be a clone of Allure Homme Edition Blanche, but its doesnt necessarily smell like that. What this is however, is a scent in the same space. A citrus forward scent that dries down slightly vanillic and sweet. The quality is not up to the mark but it is a decent dumb reach summer freshy. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

Autobiography Salty Breeze

• Similar to: Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This scent is fresh, salty, and lotiony. A really good take on Wood Sage & Sea Salt. I did not initially like the lotiony vibe this gave, but over time (about a year :D) this has smoothed out and smells really nice now, I was shocked to see how much I like it.
• Vibes/Occasion: Soft and cozy vibes
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Vibrant Orange & Neroli

• Similar to: Byredo Sundazed
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A slightly sweet and musky/lotiony orange and neroli scent. Smells like a freshly laundered sheet to me, but can come across as feminine.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Vibrant Vetiver Delight

• Similar to: Byredo Bal d’Afrique
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A fruity, citrus, floral, lotiony wood scent. Another freshly laundered sheet scent. This is musky as well, and this mix can come across as feminine.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Voux Zingy

• Similar to: Torino 21, Aromatix Platine Blanc, Hawas Verde, Arabiyat Prestige Bamboo reflection, ELDO You or someone like you , etc 
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: A sweet minty/herbal fizzy lemony soda or a Mojito. Lives in the same space as Mouda High End or Just bergamot but more minty and herbal. Its a simple scent to describe really, nothing more to it. Super refreshing and green.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Zodiac Solmaris

• Similar to: Issey Miyaki Le Sel d’Issey, Bvlgari Aqua etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A super salty, fresh, aquatic, and damp/mossy scent. This scent has that classic seaweed smell but it doesnt get too fishy. But do be aware, the salt can be harsh during the high humidity. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Charuto Mysterious Tobacco

• Similar to: CH Mystery Tobacco, Maison Alhambra Exclusif Tabac PDM Carlisle, Mancera Red Tobacco, Argos Triumph of Baccus, Bottled Absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A semi sweet woody, tobaccoy, and patchouli scent to me. Dont think of this like a sweet Tobacco Vanille type tobacco scent, but more like a dry and dusty tobacco scent. This is really really similar to all the above mentioned fragrances and can be redundant to have more than one of this scent profile. Even this review is the same as my Cassius review
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10

Milano Prive

• Similar to: 1 Million Prive, Angel Share, PDM Oajan, Nusuk Fatah Midnight Edition, Lattafa Khamrah, etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Sweet, cinnamony, ambery, tobacco scent. Smells like Angel share but without the booze, and with added tobacco. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion/Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (would have been higher if it lasted longer)

Noir d’Arabie

• Similar to: Montale Arabians Tonka, Riiffs Momento, Khadlaj Karus Secret Musk, FA Cosmic Tonka, BR540 etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: A sugary sweet, musky, vanillic, woody/oudy, ambery, saffron and rose scent. This is your traditional middle-eastern rose and saffron smell, but mix it with the BR540 DNA and vanilla. It is nice, but can be polarising due to the synthetic nature of this scent profile (Synthetic doesnt necessarily mean low quality, BR540 is synthetic as well)
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion (but tough to wear)
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

P.S. The next part will cover my Fragrance World fragrances.

I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful, thanks for your time! 

Part 1 - Paris Corner

Hi All,

This is my 6th review write-up, and a large one divided into 4/5 parts. In this series of posts I will be reviewing all the other fragrances I have from the M.E. ‘Inspired by’ companies. I will write a couple more reviews, a little while later, for all the M.E. niche houses.

As I do not have many from each of these houses (except Paris Corner and Fragrance World), I thought combining them would make a lot of sense, and also I have to continue my streak of making unnecessarily long posts on reddit. :D.

1. Part 1 will cover my Paris Corner fragrances
2. Part 2 will cover my Fragrance World fragrances
3. Part 3 will cover my Khadlaj, Nusuk, Swiss Arabian, Rayhaan, Zimaya, Riiffs, Rue Broca, and Risala fragrances.
4. Part 4 will cover Afnan, Rasasi, Arabiyat Prestige, Armaf, some miscellaneous houses, and fragrances I used to own.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

Rifaqaat

• Similar to: YSL Babycat, Rosendo Mateu No. 5, FA Fierte, Lattafa Ishq Al Shuyukh Gold, etc 
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This is a leathery/rubbery tire, lathered with sweet vanilla, black peppers, and resins/incense. Sounds horrible, but it is so classy and elegant. This is a scent you wear with a suit to stand out. It is strong, punchy, and honestly worth every penny. Hard to find this now, and has increased in price, but still worth it.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion 
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10 (This will grow on you if you didnt like it at first)

Emir Celestial

• Similar to: Marc-Antoine Barrois Ganymede, Bois Imperial, Crystal Saffron etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c
• Thoughts: A cold, metallic, fruity sweet, fresh, and ethereal scent. It is tough to explain how this smells like to someone who hasn’t tried a similar DNA. This is a unique and brilliant scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion/Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Emir Fascination

• Similar to: Xerjoff Richwood, Coromandel Chanel, Rosendo Mateu No 7
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: Wow, this scent is magic in the air (not up close). This is old school, nothing modern, but damn does this smell like wealth and elegance. This is a patchouli and rose dominant powdery woody scent. This can smell like a scent an older person would wear, but I dont care, this DNA is so good!
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (fell in love with the scent, but thought it could be better, decided to get the OG)

Pendora Amorist

• Similar to: Issey Miyaki Le Sel d’Issey, Lattafa Atlas, etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A salty oceany, orange and neroli scent. Imagine your Le Sel d’Issey style fragrance, or your Lattafa Atlas style fragrance made fresher and with added orange rind. However, this is a watered down dupe of Bvlgari Aqua Amara. If you dont have Aqua Amara, then get it, it will give you a sense of that discontinued gem.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Midnight Sin (Daniel Rene)

• Similar to: Kinda similar to Armaf Odyssey Black Forest
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: It opens up as a semi gourmand chocolate and dark cherry opening, beautiful, but then it transitions into a generic lotiony scent . This is a Black Forest Cake smell, made into a iris dominant face cream style fragrance. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic
• Longevity and Sillage: 7–8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (So damn close to perfect, but again, the lotiony feel ruins it)

December Ambar

• Similar to: can remind you a bit of amber heavy sweet scents, like Grand Soir. 
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is a sweet, fruity, slightly spicy ambery scent. This is a beautiful plumy, sweet and cozy scent, that is surprisingly strong on me. In the same realm as Side Effect, or Eternal Oud by Lattafa/MFK Grand Soir.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

 

Emir When Soul Gets High

• Similar to: Killian Back to Black, Guerlain Tobacco Honey etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A very sweet honey, tobacco, and spicy fragrance. The scent does smell medicinal, the cherry and honey combined does come across pleasant. I haven't tried the original yet, but in any case, I am letting this sit for a year before revisiting.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6/10

Emir You’re Drugged

• Similar to: Killian Intoxicated, Mugler A*Men etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is a dry, cardamom forward, piney coffee scent. The coffee is not strong, but it is present. This can be a good layering scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Factory Edition: Camp Fire

• Similar to: Maison Margiela By The Fireplace, Maison Alhambra Smoked Oud & Vanilla, Lattafa Ameer Al Oudh Intense Oud, FW Ace, FA Capricorn 
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity 
• Thoughts: As a scent this is a sweet, vanillic, spicy and heavily woody scent. But what this smells like is burning marshmallows or something sugary sweet over a burning wood. This is one of those that will instantly transport you to an activity even if you have never done said activity. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out 
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8.5/10

Factory Edition: Warm Leather

• Similar to: Penhaligon’s Halfeti, The Blazing Mr Sam Penhaligon’s, Rayhaan Tiger, Chopard Oud Malaki, Lattafa Mohra etc
• Weather: 10 to 24c
• Thoughts: Its a manly, spicy, woody, and slightly powdery aromatic scent. In the dry down it does get a little sweet or vanillic, but not too much. This is another scent I like to layer with something sweet or ambery. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Factory Edition: Ultra Citrus

• Similar to: Le Frenchy Guerlain, Frenchy Lavande Guerlain, Eau Sauvage Dior etc 
• Weather: 15 to 35c
• Thoughts: To my nose, this is a tart citrus, aromatic neroli scent. It does have some green or earthy aspects to it as well. Can come across as a lemon cleaner scent and harsh though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

Factory Edition: Just Bergamot

• Similar to: Le Labo Bergamote 22, any other bergamot heavy scent.
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A pure bright and clean bergamot scent. If you want a citrus freshie thats not lemon, and that you dont mind overspraying and topping up every 4 to 5 hours, get this. Extremely underrated. Love at first sniff, and I would like people to get on this! 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10

Indomitable

• Similar to: Afternoon swim, Orange Sanguine, etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: This is a sweet, effervescent, orange lotiony scent. Imagine putting on a light cream on your face while having a refreshing Fanta/Mirinda (any orange soda). Similar to Afternoon swim, not in scent, but in idea.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers beach party
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (would have been a 10/10 if it just didnt have that light lotiony element)

Khair Pistachio

• Similar to: Kayali Yum Pistachio, Lattafa Affection etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A really sweet, creamy vanillic pista scent. Basically a Pistachio Ice cream. You will smell edible, but it isn't an easy wear. The sweetness can be headache inducing.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cold winters date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (Good scent, but a love it or hate it one)

Mawj Appletini

• Similar to: Killian Apple Brandy on the Rocks, Boss Bottled etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Green apple, booze, and warm spices like cardamom. Sounds amazing on paper, but for some reason, certain boozy scents smell funky to me, and this is one of those. Almost like a bodily fluid. Sour and funky. I will say that this has matured well and that funky smell is reducing. Other than that, pretty good. Don't get fooled by the colour of the bottle, this is a winter scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out for a mature person
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Mawj Moscow Mule

• Similar to: Killian Blue Moon Ginger Dash
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A super effervescent, gingery, lemony, green scent. This is a ginger scent I can get behind. I expected Sospiro Vibrato or Tygar to smell like this. You need to like ginger to like this however. If you felt Tygar/Turathi Blue/Theoreme/Vibrato/Ingenious Ginger were too thick, or gave you a headache, try this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Mysterium

• Similar to: Xerjoff Toni Iommi Monkey Special
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Hated it at first sniff, fell in love with it at the second. A slightly sweet and boozy, spicy, powdery, rose, and pacthouli scent. This is what a rockstar smells like the day after a night out (as FragranceFlan said). Doesnt sound great, but thats what makes this so cool. If you have tried Monkey Special and felt it was too boozy, this solves that issue with the scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10 (Though I prefer Deified over Monkey Special)

Ophidian Black Cherry

• Similar to: Kayali Loveliest Burning Cherry, TF Cherry Smoke, Room 1015 Cherry Punk, L’homme Ideal EDP, Lovely cherie, Cherry Incense, TF Lost Cherry etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity 
• Thoughts: This is a gothic medicinal dark cherry. Its dark, woody, sweet, but light. Not as decent as a tom ford cherry scent, but in a similar realm. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic 
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Fig Hug

• Similar to: Acqua di Parma Fico di Amalfi, BTSO Fig Porn
• Weather: 10 to 25c low humidity
• Thoughts: As the name suggests, it is a fig scent. But this is not a jammy fig, this is a green fig, almost too green. This is green, fresh, and lactonic and a bit lotiony. Was not a huge fan.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

Pour Me Wild

• Similar to: Killian Angel's Share on the Rocks, FA Obsidian, Killian Angel Share
• Weather: 0 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: It is a watered down Angel's share. I.e. a citrus/fresh version of the Angel's Share DNA. It smells the same; sweet, boozy, spicy, woody, but slightly citrusy at the top.
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night during a mild or cold night
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (still a great DNA)

Autobiography Citron Vanille

• Similar to: Not really but meant to be close to Allure Homme Edition Blanche
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Meant to be a clone of Allure Homme Edition Blanche, but its doesnt necessarily smell like that. What this is however, is a scent in the same space. A citrus forward scent that dries down slightly vanillic and sweet. The quality is not up to the mark but it is a decent dumb reach summer freshy. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Errand runs
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

Autobiography Salty Breeze

• Similar to: Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This scent is fresh, salty, and lotiony. A really good take on Wood Sage & Sea Salt. I did not initially like the lotiony vibe this gave, but over time (about a year :D) this has smoothed out and smells really nice now, I was shocked to see how much I like it.
• Vibes/Occasion: Soft and cozy vibes
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Vibrant Orange & Neroli

• Similar to: Byredo Sundazed
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A slightly sweet and musky/lotiony orange and neroli scent. Smells like a freshly laundered sheet to me, but can come across as feminine.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Vibrant Vetiver Delight

• Similar to: Byredo Bal d’Afrique
• Weather: 10 to 35c
• Thoughts: A fruity, citrus, floral, lotiony wood scent. Another freshly laundered sheet scent. This is musky as well, and this mix can come across as feminine.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Voux Zingy

• Similar to: Torino 21, Aromatix Platine Blanc, Hawas Verde, Arabiyat Prestige Bamboo reflection, ELDO You or someone like you , etc 
• Weather: 20 to 40c+ 
• Thoughts: A sweet minty/herbal fizzy lemony soda or a Mojito. Lives in the same space as Mouda High End or Just bergamot but more minty and herbal. Its a simple scent to describe really, nothing more to it. Super refreshing and green.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Zodiac Solmaris

• Similar to: Issey Miyaki Le Sel d’Issey, Bvlgari Aqua etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A super salty, fresh, aquatic, and damp/mossy scent. This scent has that classic seaweed smell but it doesnt get too fishy. But do be aware, the salt can be harsh during the high humidity. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Charuto Mysterious Tobacco

• Similar to: CH Mystery Tobacco, Maison Alhambra Exclusif Tabac PDM Carlisle, Mancera Red Tobacco, Argos Triumph of Baccus, Bottled Absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A semi sweet woody, tobaccoy, and patchouli scent to me. Dont think of this like a sweet Tobacco Vanille type tobacco scent, but more like a dry and dusty tobacco scent. This is really really similar to all the above mentioned fragrances and can be redundant to have more than one of this scent profile. Even this review is the same as my Cassius review
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length 
• Rating: 8/10

Milano Prive

• Similar to: 1 Million Prive, Angel Share, PDM Oajan, Nusuk Fatah Midnight Edition, Lattafa Khamrah, etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Sweet, cinnamony, ambery, tobacco scent. Smells like Angel share but without the booze, and with added tobacco. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion/Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (would have been higher if it lasted longer)

Noir d’Arabie

• Similar to: Montale Arabians Tonka, Riiffs Momento, Khadlaj Karus Secret Musk, FA Cosmic Tonka, BR540 etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: A sugary sweet, musky, vanillic, woody/oudy, ambery, saffron and rose scent. This is your traditional middle-eastern rose and saffron smell, but mix it with the BR540 DNA and vanilla. It is nice, but can be polarising due to the synthetic nature of this scent profile (Synthetic doesnt necessarily mean low quality, BR540 is synthetic as well)
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion (but tough to wear)
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Killer Oud Lyre Intense

• Similar to: Amouage Lyric Man/Woman, IBRAQ Black Carbon
• Weather: 10c to 28c
• Thoughts: A nice fresh, powdery rose, sandalwood, and Incense scent. Smells like a rose scented agarbatti. It does smell elegant, but honestly the projection is horrendous. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

Killer Oud Cabana

• Similar to: Beach Hut Man and in the same scent family as Roja Dove Apex, and Polo green
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: Another classic old school manly scent. I got this because I love Beach Hut Man, this scent gives the same smell, but much lower quality. One of those times that the quality difference impacts the wearing experience as well. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10

P.S. The next part will cover my Fragrance World fragrances.

I really do hope you guys find my reviews helpful, thanks for your time! 

----- Ahmed Al Maghribi Fragrances -----

Hi All,

This is my 5th review post, one of all the Ahmed Al Maghribi fragrances I have. Another popular brand, especially on reddit, not so much on YouTube I guess.

After write 5 post I am able to review or put down my thoughts much faster, and now, I want to finish what I had intended to do, which is review all the Inspired by and M.E. niche fragrances I have.

I will write two more reviews, basically speed running my M.E. fragrance collection. One large post for all the other fragrances I have from the M.E. ‘inspired by' companies, and another one for all the fragrances I have from M.E. niche houses.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--The Alchemy Lab Series--

2025

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Taraf, Imperial Valley, Hawas Fire etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A fruity, cardamomy, spicy/peppery, and real oud version of Imperial valley.  A leathery, rosemary, incensy, woody/oudy, and animalic scent. This fragrance is on the expensive range, but the price to quality ratio is justified. It’s niche perfumery at a designer price. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion.
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (best version of this DNA)

2050

• Similar to: Not the same but in the realm of Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman, Lattafa Art of Universe, Ahmed Al Maghribi Azure Royal etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A beautiful, perfectly balanced sweet, fruity, and musky scent, that is loud. I got a compliment 10 mins after trying it on at the store, and immediately bought it (I know, shallow). However, for some reason after an hour or so, it just becomes a musky and woody scent, nothing else, almost like the other notes just vanished. I don’t know why this is the case, or if it is my bottle. If only that opening lasted, if only.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day (dry heat preferably)
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 hours and a few feet (initially and then less than an arms length)
• Rating: 7.5/10 (could have been a 9 or above)

--The ‘Bin’ Series--

Bin Shaikh

• Similar to: Initio Oud For Greatness, PDM Haltane, Lattafa Oud for Glory, Haramian Detour Eco, Shagaf Oud Royale, BR540, etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Real skanky oud oil mixed with traditional rose, saffron, and ambery accords. If you have tried any of the above DNAs, just add some real oud to that. You get that same cotton candy/sugary sweetness with the classic saffron and rose combo you would have smelled in many M.E. oud scents. The oud is animalic/barnyardy for the first hour then you get the notes as mentioned above. This scent is oily though, and can smell oily up close, so do be aware.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (I dont get the beast mode longevity that most do, but this experience may vary though)

Bin Ameer

• Similar to: Roja Aoud Aoud, Arabian Oud Madawi etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a fruity sweet and floral scent, with an animalic oud. This is a beautiful, beginner friendly real funky oud scent. The fruity and floral aspects are in the same realm as something like Arabian Oud’s madawi or think of it as having a similar vibe to 2050 or Blue Talisman (not smell, vibe). It can lean feminine but for me anyone can pull this off.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (really disappointed with the performance of this series, hopefully you guys don’t have this same complaint)

--Marj Style Bottle Series 😄--

Marj

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Ahl, Imperial Valley gissah, Hawas Fire, Paris corner Khair etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is the Imperial Valley DNA, but with honey, fruits and soft florals. You get that same oud and leather combo from Imperial Valley but with a suede type feel and these added sweet elements make the DNA a lot more enjoyable to wear. However, I would say this doesnt have the signature rosemary from Imperial Valley and hence the resemblance is fleeting to me. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion 
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

 

Ahl

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Marj
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: The same as Marj, but with even more fruity sweetness, and surprisingly, I do get the banana in this scent. If I haven’t explained this scent profile well, both Marj and Ahl are predominantly a sweet, fruity, and floral oud scent. The oud is funky as well. Marj, Ahl, and Bin Ameer all live in the same space but with different ingredients used. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (can lean feminine, more than Marj, but again, wear anything!)

--Kaaf and Ignite Oud Style Bottles--

Kaaf

• Similar to: PDM Percival, Abercrombie and Fitch Fierce etc
• Weather: 15 to 35c
• Thoughts: An old school barbershop scent profile. A ton of musky and lavender, with some elements of fruitiness that does resemble watermelon to me, but might just be a combination of the other elements in this scent. You need to like musk and lavender, honestly. For years I found this scent too funky on my skin, too aggressive with the lavender. But for the price, it is a decent daily scent, that some like me, might need to get used to.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10 (not a fan of the scent profile, but a good scent)

Kaaf Noir / Ma’ani

• Similar to: D&G K EDT, D&G K EDP, Lattafa Ra’ed Luxe, Ahmed Al Maghribi Hirfah, etc
• Weather: 15 to 30c
• Thoughts: A spicy, fresh, and aromatic scent. This is a very safe scent profile that is quintessentially office friendly. Nothing about this is aggressive or off-putting. In fact, in the D&G K series there is a prominent, and somewhat challenging, pimento note that has been removed in this interpretation. Kaaf Noir is basically this, re-skinned, and with minimal changes. Don’t know why they did this, but Ahmed Al Maghribi does this quite often, same juice in different bottles.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Muzn

• Similar to: Musk therapy, Erba Pura’ish, etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c
• Thoughts: A beautiful musky, melony, and salty/aquatic scent. If there was a fresh scent I would suggest you try, it would be this. This to me is unique, and interesting. Might lean feminine, like Musk Therapy, but it is worth a try.
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Ghaf

• Similar to: Bois Imperial, Half Moon IBRAQ, Attacks Assaf, Al Majed Oud Serious, Atyab Al Sheikh Charisma, etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 35c
• Thoughts: This is basically Bois Imperial with pepper. A very metallic, abstract, and cold scent. It is peppery, fresh, woody, earthy, and cooling. Opens up with a burst of fresh pepper with a cooling tulsi type of accord. Transitions into a mineral-woody scent that has some smooth sweetness. Genuinely a fantastic smell, however, every M.E. brand seems to have a version of this scent, and it is so ubiquitous where I live.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Objective score, but 6/10 subjective score since I am bored of every M.E. house cloning Bois Imperial)

Ignite Oud

• Similar to: Hawas Lava gold, FA Sultry Woods, Sedra Dorado, Nishane Shems etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts:  Another leather dominant scent from Ahmed al maghribi, the more I write about the scents I have from them, the more I notice the similarities between many of their scents. This is not Oud Maracuja, maybe in a similar space, but not really. This is a slightly fruity, green, woody, and an aromatic leather scent. I was disappointed by this, given all the hype and praise. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights out/Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10 (I prefer Sedra Dorado to this)

Summer Oud

• Similar to: MFK BR540, Armaf CDN Untold, Mancera Instant Crush, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  Another prickly/piercing rose and saffron scent. But this is probably the best version of it. This is sweet, oudy, and leathery. There is a slight smokiness to this but not much. This is a well blended interpretation of a scent profile that might be familiar to people.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights out/Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9/10 (not the best version of BR540)

--50ml Bottles--

Bidun Essam

• Similar to**:** All the rose and saffron scents
• Weather**:** 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts**:** If you want to add rose and saffron (and a little oud) to any scent, buy this. This is again, the traditional spicy/prickly/piercing rose with saffron and a little oud combo that you will be familiar with. But without any other significant nuances.
• Vibes/Occasion**:** Traditional wear
• Longevity and Sillage**:** 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating**:** 7/10 (Basic, and feminine, but still nice)

Tanuf

• Similar to**:** Bidun Essam, Fruity rose scents etc
• Weather**:** 0 to 18c
• Thoughts**:**  Another rose dominant scent to my nose, with some fresh, musky, and funky nuances. The dry down reminds me of Bidun Essam, if it were more stanky (probably the musk or maybe there is oud in this). I see this as a more playful version of Bidun Essam, or that just might be my nose. 
• Vibes/Occasion**:** Social occasion, mainly because of the funky nature I detect.
• Longevity and Sillage**:** 8–10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating**:** 7/10

Little Hearts

• Similar to: Erba Pura, Erba Gold, Hawas Chrome, IBRAQ Emerald Diamond,  etc
• Weather: 15 to 35c low humidity
• Thoughts:  A childish and feminine bottle, but a unisex scent. A musky tropical juicy fruit bowl, where the fruits are overripe. This can be off-putting for some. I find this to be less sharp than Erba Pura and similar to Erba Gold. There is also a mango type scent that also reminds me of Erba Gold.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent/casual wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8–10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Leather

• Similar to: Tuscan Leather, Ombre Leather, PDM Godolphin, Maison Al Hambra Galatea, Sève Nouvelle and Crépuscule Ardent by Thomas Kosmala, Byredo Black Saffron,  etc etc etc etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts:  The most common fruit leather scent profile. If you have smelled any of the above mentioned scents, you have smelled this. This is basically a ripe red fruit bowl, squished all over a new leather car seat. This smells better than most alternative options of this scent profile. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Social occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 10–12 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (One of the best clone/‘inspired by’ creation of this scent profile.)

Oud Classic

• Similar to: not the same but I do get a tiny bit of Outlands (possibly the spices, patchouli and sweetness), Some chocolatey patchouli scents
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A sweet, vanillic, spicy, and woody scent. I do detect a boozy and chocolatey (due to the patchouli) aspect to the scent, but it doesn’t last all that long. This is another scent I got a few days ago, so I need to let it mature. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (I see potential)

--Miscellaneous--

Oud & Roses

• Similar to: Rasasi shuhrah, IBRAQ Spicy Oud
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts:  This is a floral (rosy), spicy, green, and slightly oudy/woody scent. There is a slight leafy or vegetal nuance to this scent that might not be for everyone. This reminds me very much of IBRAQ Spicy Oud, but a lot less powdery and green, and more floral. Also reminds me a lot of Rasasi Shuhrah tbh.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10

Bombay Oud

• Similar to: Not many, maybe a little bit of Dunhill Indian Sandalwood
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts:  This is a sandalwood perfume, with semi sweet, spicy, leathery/oudy, and musky facets. There is a powdery element to this scent that I dont particularly enjoy, as it is coupled with the high oil concentration of the scent itself. Not my favourite from the collection, but still not a bad scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Black Fume

• Similar to: Al Majed Oud Noir, Orto Parisi Ternoni, and somewhat like Maison Crivelli Oud Stalion, and Nasamato Black Afghano.
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts:  A very sweet fruity (Raspberry), leathery, smoky, and woody smell. This scent is wonderfully unique. Imagine the smell of your hands covered in the ashy remains of a campfire, after you handled a fresh animalic leather covered in cooked raspberries/raspberry coulis. This to me is a clone/'inspired by' of Al Majed Oud Noir, if you wanted to try that scent out but couldn't, well now you can with this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9/10

Blu Oud

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Cinder, Gissah Imperial valley, Hawas Fire, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  Another variation of the Imperial Valley DNA. A leathery, incensy, woody/oudy, and slightly animalic scent with added violet leaves that gives this a cooling effect, Some might describe it as ozonic or crisp. Basically, its Imperial Valley with violet. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasions/Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10

Cinder

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Cinder, Gissah Imperial valley, Hawas Fire, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  I cant find any differences between this and Imperial Valley. A leathery, incensy, woody/oudy, rosemary and slightly animalic scent. Maybe there is a quality difference and Cinder comes across as more oily, but thats about it. Honestly, it’s redundant to own more than one Imperial Valley DNA in general for me/my nose.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10 (lower score just for being another imperial valley clone)

Kawkab

• Similar to: Nothing I know of
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is predominantly a spicy, ambery, and aromatic scent, with rose as the floral element and mango adding some sweetness. This is slightly animalic, but for some reason I dont get that aspect of the scent all the time, which is weird.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear or special occasion. Depending upon the person
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Musk & Leather

• Similar to: Nothing I know of
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  This is just like the name says, its a musk and leather scent. It is sweet, fruity, powdery, and vanillic. This is a scent that can come across slightly feminine, as the leather is more suede like and soft, not like the leather in Tuscan Leather or Ombre Leather or Imperial Valley. This is pretty unique in my opinion. From the notes I assumed this would remind me of Byredo’s Bullion or Raw Human by Lattafa, but it doesnt.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear, basically a classy scent that is not loud
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (just for being a unique leather scent in my collection)

Azure Royal

• Similar to: Not the same but in the realm of Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman, Lattafa Art of Universe, Ahmed Al Maghribi Azure Royal etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fruity, sweet, and musky and slight floral scent, but, tbh, this is very shower gel like. This is similar to 2050, but the quality in 2050 is much better. This is a simple scent profile, nothing complicated, but perfect for a hot day.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day/gym
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10 (Too shower gel like, could have been a 9)

Zeleny

• Similar to: PDM Greenly, Rue Broca Nexa Immortal, FA Aether Extrait, Lattafa Sherif etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This is an apple scented shampoo, its fresh, slightly citrusy, fruity, soapy, and musky. This lives in the same space as Azure royal, just with different fruits. I got this a few days ago (along with Azure Royal), so I’ll edit this if things change.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day/gym
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10 (Too shower gel like, and greenly is not my favourite scent)

P.S. I will try and review all the M.E. fragrances I have in my collection, whenever I can. Hopefully I can finish this series soon!

I really do hope you guys find this helpful. 

----- Ahmed Al Maghribi Fragrances -----

Hi All,

This is my 5th review post, one of all the Ahmed Al Maghribi fragrances I have. Another popular brand, especially on reddit, not so much on YouTube I guess.

After write 5 post I am able to review or put down my thoughts much faster, and now, I want to finish what I had intended to do, which is review all the Inspired by and M.E. niche fragrances I have.

I will write two more reviews, basically speed running my M.E. fragrance collection. One large post for all the other fragrances I have from the M.E. ‘inspired by' companies, and another one for all the fragrances I have from M.E. niche houses.

As ever, the same important caveats are below:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--The Alchemy Lab Series--

2025

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Taraf, Imperial Valley, Hawas Fire etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A fruity, cardamomy, spicy/peppery, and real oud version of Imperial valley.  A leathery, rosemary, incensy, woody/oudy, and animalic scent. This fragrance is on the expensive range, but the price to quality ratio is justified. It’s niche perfumery at a designer price. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion.
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (best version of this DNA)

2050

• Similar to: Not the same but in the realm of Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman, Lattafa Art of Universe, Ahmed Al Maghribi Azure Royal etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A beautiful, perfectly balanced sweet, fruity, and musky scent, that is loud. I got a compliment 10 mins after trying it on at the store, and immediately bought it (I know, shallow). However, for some reason after an hour or so, it just becomes a musky and woody scent, nothing else, almost like the other notes just vanished. I don’t know why this is the case, or if it is my bottle. If only that opening lasted, if only.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day (dry heat preferably)
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 hours and a few feet (initially and then less than an arms length)
• Rating: 7.5/10 (could have been a 9 or above)

--The ‘Bin’ Series--

Bin Shaikh

• Similar to: Initio Oud For Greatness, PDM Haltane, Lattafa Oud for Glory, Haramian Detour Eco, Shagaf Oud Royale, BR540, etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Real skanky oud oil mixed with traditional rose, saffron, and ambery accords. If you have tried any of the above DNAs, just add some real oud to that. You get that same cotton candy/sugary sweetness with the classic saffron and rose combo you would have smelled in many M.E. oud scents. The oud is animalic/barnyardy for the first hour then you get the notes as mentioned above. This scent is oily though, and can smell oily up close, so do be aware.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (I dont get the beast mode longevity that most do, but this experience may vary though)

Bin Ameer

• Similar to: Roja Aoud Aoud, Arabian Oud Madawi etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a fruity sweet and floral scent, with an animalic oud. This is a beautiful, beginner friendly real funky oud scent. The fruity and floral aspects are in the same realm as something like Arabian Oud’s madawi or think of it as having a similar vibe to 2050 or Blue Talisman (not smell, vibe). It can lean feminine but for me anyone can pull this off.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (really disappointed with the performance of this series, hopefully you guys don’t have this same complaint)

--Marj Style Bottle Series 😄--

Marj

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Ahl, Imperial Valley gissah, Hawas Fire, Paris corner Khair etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is the Imperial Valley DNA, but with honey, fruits and soft florals. You get that same oud and leather combo from Imperial Valley but with a suede type feel and these added sweet elements make the DNA a lot more enjoyable to wear. However, I would say this doesnt have the signature rosemary from Imperial Valley and hence the resemblance is fleeting to me. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion 
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

 

Ahl

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Marj
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: The same as Marj, but with even more fruity sweetness, and surprisingly, I do get the banana in this scent. If I haven’t explained this scent profile well, both Marj and Ahl are predominantly a sweet, fruity, and floral oud scent. The oud is funky as well. Marj, Ahl, and Bin Ameer all live in the same space but with different ingredients used. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (can lean feminine, more than Marj, but again, wear anything!)

--Kaaf and Ignite Oud Style Bottles--

Kaaf

• Similar to: PDM Percival, Abercrombie and Fitch Fierce etc
• Weather: 15 to 35c
• Thoughts: An old school barbershop scent profile. A ton of musky and lavender, with some elements of fruitiness that does resemble watermelon to me, but might just be a combination of the other elements in this scent. You need to like musk and lavender, honestly. For years I found this scent too funky on my skin, too aggressive with the lavender. But for the price, it is a decent daily scent, that some like me, might need to get used to.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10 (not a fan of the scent profile, but a good scent)

Kaaf Noir / Ma’ani

• Similar to: D&G K EDT, D&G K EDP, Lattafa Ra’ed Luxe, Ahmed Al Maghribi Hirfah, etc
• Weather: 15 to 30c
• Thoughts: A spicy, fresh, and aromatic scent. This is a very safe scent profile that is quintessentially office friendly. Nothing about this is aggressive or off-putting. In fact, in the D&G K series there is a prominent, and somewhat challenging, pimento note that has been removed in this interpretation. Kaaf Noir is basically this, re-skinned, and with minimal changes. Don’t know why they did this, but Ahmed Al Maghribi does this quite often, same juice in different bottles.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Muzn

• Similar to: Musk therapy, Erba Pura’ish, etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c
• Thoughts: A beautiful musky, melony, and salty/aquatic scent. If there was a fresh scent I would suggest you try, it would be this. This to me is unique, and interesting. Might lean feminine, like Musk Therapy, but it is worth a try.
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Ghaf

• Similar to: Bois Imperial, Half Moon IBRAQ, Attacks Assaf, Al Majed Oud Serious, Atyab Al Sheikh Charisma, etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 35c
• Thoughts: This is basically Bois Imperial with pepper. A very metallic, abstract, and cold scent. It is peppery, fresh, woody, earthy, and cooling. Opens up with a burst of fresh pepper with a cooling tulsi type of accord. Transitions into a mineral-woody scent that has some smooth sweetness. Genuinely a fantastic smell, however, every M.E. brand seems to have a version of this scent, and it is so ubiquitous where I live.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10 (Objective score, but 6/10 subjective score since I am bored of every M.E. house cloning Bois Imperial)

Ignite Oud

• Similar to: Hawas Lava gold, FA Sultry Woods, Sedra Dorado, Nishane Shems etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts:  Another leather dominant scent from Ahmed al maghribi, the more I write about the scents I have from them, the more I notice the similarities between many of their scents. This is not Oud Maracuja, maybe in a similar space, but not really. This is a slightly fruity, green, woody, and an aromatic leather scent. I was disappointed by this, given all the hype and praise. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights out/Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10 (I prefer Sedra Dorado to this)

Summer Oud

• Similar to: MFK BR540, Armaf CDN Untold, Mancera Instant Crush, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  Another prickly/piercing rose and saffron scent. But this is probably the best version of it. This is sweet, oudy, and leathery. There is a slight smokiness to this but not much. This is a well blended interpretation of a scent profile that might be familiar to people.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights out/Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9/10 (not the best version of BR540)

--50ml Bottles--

Bidun Essam

• Similar to**:** All the rose and saffron scents
• Weather**:** 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts**:** If you want to add rose and saffron (and a little oud) to any scent, buy this. This is again, the traditional spicy/prickly/piercing rose with saffron and a little oud combo that you will be familiar with. But without any other significant nuances.
• Vibes/Occasion**:** Traditional wear
• Longevity and Sillage**:** 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating**:** 7/10 (Basic, and feminine, but still nice)

Tanuf

• Similar to**:** Bidun Essam, Fruity rose scents etc
• Weather**:** 0 to 18c
• Thoughts**:**  Another rose dominant scent to my nose, with some fresh, musky, and funky nuances. The dry down reminds me of Bidun Essam, if it were more stanky (probably the musk or maybe there is oud in this). I see this as a more playful version of Bidun Essam, or that just might be my nose. 
• Vibes/Occasion**:** Social occasion, mainly because of the funky nature I detect.
• Longevity and Sillage**:** 8–10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating**:** 7/10

Little Hearts

• Similar to: Erba Pura, Erba Gold, Hawas Chrome, IBRAQ Emerald Diamond,  etc
• Weather: 15 to 35c low humidity
• Thoughts:  A childish and feminine bottle, but a unisex scent. A musky tropical juicy fruit bowl, where the fruits are overripe. This can be off-putting for some. I find this to be less sharp than Erba Pura and similar to Erba Gold. There is also a mango type scent that also reminds me of Erba Gold.
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent/casual wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8–10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Leather

• Similar to: Tuscan Leather, Ombre Leather, PDM Godolphin, Maison Al Hambra Galatea, Sève Nouvelle and Crépuscule Ardent by Thomas Kosmala, Byredo Black Saffron,  etc etc etc etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts:  The most common fruit leather scent profile. If you have smelled any of the above mentioned scents, you have smelled this. This is basically a ripe red fruit bowl, squished all over a new leather car seat. This smells better than most alternative options of this scent profile. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Social occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 10–12 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (One of the best clone/‘inspired by’ creation of this scent profile.)

Oud Classic

• Similar to: not the same but I do get a tiny bit of Outlands (possibly the spices, patchouli and sweetness), Some chocolatey patchouli scents
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A sweet, vanillic, spicy, and woody scent. I do detect a boozy and chocolatey (due to the patchouli) aspect to the scent, but it doesn’t last all that long. This is another scent I got a few days ago, so I need to let it mature. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (I see potential)

--Miscellaneous--

Oud & Roses

• Similar to: Rasasi shuhrah, IBRAQ Spicy Oud
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts:  This is a floral (rosy), spicy, green, and slightly oudy/woody scent. There is a slight leafy or vegetal nuance to this scent that might not be for everyone. This reminds me very much of IBRAQ Spicy Oud, but a lot less powdery and green, and more floral. Also reminds me a lot of Rasasi Shuhrah tbh.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10

Bombay Oud

• Similar to: Not many, maybe a little bit of Dunhill Indian Sandalwood
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts:  This is a sandalwood perfume, with semi sweet, spicy, leathery/oudy, and musky facets. There is a powdery element to this scent that I dont particularly enjoy, as it is coupled with the high oil concentration of the scent itself. Not my favourite from the collection, but still not a bad scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Black Fume

• Similar to: Al Majed Oud Noir, Orto Parisi Ternoni, and somewhat like Maison Crivelli Oud Stalion, and Nasamato Black Afghano.
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts:  A very sweet fruity (Raspberry), leathery, smoky, and woody smell. This scent is wonderfully unique. Imagine the smell of your hands covered in the ashy remains of a campfire, after you handled a fresh animalic leather covered in cooked raspberries/raspberry coulis. This to me is a clone/'inspired by' of Al Majed Oud Noir, if you wanted to try that scent out but couldn't, well now you can with this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9/10

Blu Oud

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Cinder, Gissah Imperial valley, Hawas Fire, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  Another variation of the Imperial Valley DNA. A leathery, incensy, woody/oudy, and slightly animalic scent with added violet leaves that gives this a cooling effect, Some might describe it as ozonic or crisp. Basically, its Imperial Valley with violet. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasions/Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 8/10

Cinder

• Similar to: Ahmed Al Maghribi Cinder, Gissah Imperial valley, Hawas Fire, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  I cant find any differences between this and Imperial Valley. A leathery, incensy, woody/oudy, rosemary and slightly animalic scent. Maybe there is a quality difference and Cinder comes across as more oily, but thats about it. Honestly, it’s redundant to own more than one Imperial Valley DNA in general for me/my nose.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10 (lower score just for being another imperial valley clone)

Kawkab

• Similar to: Nothing I know of
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is predominantly a spicy, ambery, and aromatic scent, with rose as the floral element and mango adding some sweetness. This is slightly animalic, but for some reason I dont get that aspect of the scent all the time, which is weird.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear or special occasion. Depending upon the person
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Musk & Leather

• Similar to: Nothing I know of
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  This is just like the name says, its a musk and leather scent. It is sweet, fruity, powdery, and vanillic. This is a scent that can come across slightly feminine, as the leather is more suede like and soft, not like the leather in Tuscan Leather or Ombre Leather or Imperial Valley. This is pretty unique in my opinion. From the notes I assumed this would remind me of Byredo’s Bullion or Raw Human by Lattafa, but it doesnt.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear, basically a classy scent that is not loud
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (just for being a unique leather scent in my collection)

Azure Royal

• Similar to: Not the same but in the realm of Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman, Lattafa Art of Universe, Ahmed Al Maghribi Azure Royal etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fruity, sweet, and musky and slight floral scent, but, tbh, this is very shower gel like. This is similar to 2050, but the quality in 2050 is much better. This is a simple scent profile, nothing complicated, but perfect for a hot day.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day/gym
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet 
• Rating: 8/10 (Too shower gel like, could have been a 9)

Zeleny

• Similar to: PDM Greenly, Rue Broca Nexa Immortal, FA Aether Extrait, Lattafa Sherif etc
• Weather: 15 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This is an apple scented shampoo, its fresh, slightly citrusy, fruity, soapy, and musky. This lives in the same space as Azure royal, just with different fruits. I got this a few days ago (along with Azure Royal), so I’ll edit this if things change.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day/gym
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10 (Too shower gel like, and greenly is not my favourite scent)

P.S. I will try and review all the M.E. fragrances I have in my collection, whenever I can. Hopefully I can finish this series soon!

I really do hope you guys find this helpful. 

----- Part 2 - MAISON ALHAMBRA FRAGRANCES -----

Hi All,

Apologies for the bombardment of reviews again😅😅!

This is part two of my reviews on the Lattafa and Maison Alhambra fragrances I have.

The same important caveats as before:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated 'house' reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.
• I tried to leave enough spaces between the fragrances, but for some reason it does not reflect that in the post. Sorry!

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--Jean Lowe Line--

Jean Lowe Immortal

• Similar to: LV L’Immensite, Bvlgari Tygar, Sospiro Vibrato, Turati Blue, etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: a citrus and ginger scent that can be used all year round. This is not a freshie in the classic sense however, as it does have some spicy and ambery nuances. If you have Rue Broca theoreme or Turathi Blue, then imagine that same scent but less playful and more mature. This can come across funky/eggy to some, so do be aware.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 5.5/10 (object score of 8.5 but this DNA gives me a headache)

Jean Lowe Vibe

• Similar to: Afnan Rare Reef, Rayhaan Pacific Aura, LV Pacific chill etc
• Weather: 15c to 35c
• Thoughts: Based on what I had heard and read online, I thought this would be a citrusy fresh scent. But think of this more as a fruity/apricoty scent with mint and citrus with it. This is sweet and tropical and I do think this version is a lot fruitier than Pacific Aura and Rare Reef. So if you want a fresher take, go for those. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (I am not a huge fan of the pacific chill DNA, it is good though)

Jean Lowe Azure

• Similar to: LV Afternoon Swim, Rayhaan Adonis Icarus, Armaf Odyssey Limoni, Lattafa Pisa, Paris Coner North Stag IV, etc
• Weather: 25 to 40c+
• Thoughts: My favourite LV freshie scent profile, this is literally a zesty orange scent. Imagine squeezing an orange rind on yourself, and it somehow being not bitter. It is the most refreshing scent you can wear on a hot and humid summers day. Go for 20 sprays though as this will not last.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day 
• Longevity and Sillage: 2-4 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

--PDM Inspired Line--

Cassius

• Similar to: PDM Carlisle, Mancera Red Tobacco, CH Mystery Tobacco, Argos Triumph of Baccus, Bottled Absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A semi sweet apple, tobacco, and patchouli scent to me. Dont think of this like a sweet Tobacco Vanille type tobacco scent, but more like a dry and dusty tobacco scent. If you are into a tobacco scent, and thought Red Tobacco was too sweet and loud, go for this. However, this is really really similar to all the above mentioned fragrances and can be redundant to have more than one of this scent profile. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions 
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Hercules

• Similar to: PDM Herod, Armaf Radical Brown, Armaf Majestueux, TF Tobacco Vanille, Stronger with your Tobacco, Essentials Parfums etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A sweet spicy pipe tobacco smell. This is the sweet and syrupy tobacco scent that is more mass appealing than Cassius. This has a beautiful fruit jam (like a red fruit) and cinnamon sweetness accompanying the tobacco and vanilla base. For some, this can come across as the TF TV DNA without the clove note. Not redundant to own both but they remain in the same space
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Galatea

• Similar to: Tom Ford Tuscan Leather, Ombre Leather, PDM Godolphin, Rasasi La Yuqawam, Byredo Black Saffron, Afnan Rare Carbon, Thomas Kosmala Brume Radieuse etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: The most common fruit leather scent profile. If you have smelled any of the above mentioned scents, you have smelled this. This is basically a ripe fruit bowl with primarily red fruits, squished all over a new leather car seat. Objectively a beautiful scent but just disappointing that the scent profile is replicated by a lot of companies. Not saying all are the same, but they are similar.   
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

The fragrances in the PDM inspired line are lighter/softer compared to the originals, so please keep that in mind. 

--Tom Ford Inspired Line--

Fabulo Intense

• Similar to: Tom Ford F***ing Fabulous, PDM Pegasus, Pegasus Exclusif, Detour Noir Exclusif, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: A powdery almond and lavender scent with a hint of leather. This is a scent of an older gentleman as it smells slightly dated, but sophisticated, to me.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 (I dont mind it, but too old school for me)

Dark Aoud

• Similar to: Tom Ford Oud Wood, Versace pour homme Oud Noir, Maison Alhambra Crafted Oud, Thameen Carved Oud, Ahmed Al Maghribi Royal Wood, Rayhaan Wood Noir etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: A woody cardamon scent with a hint of creaminess. This scent opens up with a blast of pepper and cardamon and settles into a woody and creamy base, with the cardamon ever present. This is a sophisticated scent profile, same as most of Tom Ford’s creations.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Porto Neroli

• Similar to: tom Ford Neroli Portofino, Ferrari Bright Neroli, 4711 Original, Bvlgari Wood Neroli etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This a citrus and floral scent that is classy as well as refreshing. I primarily get a lot of neroli and some Jasmine along with lemon/orange. For some reason, I think of Italy when I smell this, I haven't even been to the country. A classy and sophisticated summer scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Tobacco Touch

• Similar to: Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Al Haramain Amber Oud Tobacco Edition, Fragrance World Tabac N’ Coke, Paris Corner Charuto Tobacco Vanille,  etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A sweet and spicy, pipe tobacco and vanilla scent. This smells like a clove heavy fruit syrup infused with a vanilla pod and mixed with tobacco. A classic scent profile that could come across old to some. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

--Miscellaneous--

Baroque Satin Oud

• Similar to: MFK Oud Satin Mood, Paris Corner Oud Satin, FW Barakkat Satin Oud, Roja Dove Amber Aoud etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A powdery rose and oud scent. This is the definition of a classic and old school rose scent. Does it smell good? Yes, but can it come across as ‘old’ or ‘grandma’ like? Yes. Saying all that, this has grown on me a lot!
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9/5/10

Dark Door Intense

• Similar to: Dior Homme Intense, DHP, Al Wataniah Kayaan Classic, Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee, Lattafa Qaed Intense, Valentino Uomo, Zimaya Ineka Luna, Lattafa His Confession etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A powdery Iris and woody scent. Iris is a particular scent, and it is challenging to like. This will come across makeupy or lipsticky. If you are ok with that idea, do give this scent profile a try. Any of the above scents will make you feel like a classy MF.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (good, but Kayan Classic is better)

Exclusif Saffron

• Similar to: CH Saffron Lazuli, Initio Side Effect etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: a sweet rose and saffron leather scent. There is a metallic edge to this scent that can make this off-putting to some. The problem I have with rose and saffron scent is that they can come across smelling the same but with twists, either a heavy or a light twist but a twist nonetheless. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Glacier Le Noir

• Similar to: JPG Le Male Le parfum, Le Male, Le Male Elixir, Dior Homme Parfum
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A cardamon heavy, woody, lavender and vanilla scent. You get hints of Iris as well that can remind you of the Dior Homme scents. If you have smelled any of the Le Male scents, you will be familiar with the backbone of lavender and vanilla. This scent makes that DNA a lot more sophisticated and alluring. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Jorge Di Profumo

• Similar to: Acqua Di Gio Profumo, all the other Acqua Di Gios
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A fresh incense heavy, slightly powder aquatic scent. If you have any of the acqua di gios, this is basically that but with incense. I dont normally clarify this, but this scent is just too weak compared to the original. The DNA is the same but the quality difference is more than I would like. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6/10 (smells good, but not good enough)

Jubilant Vitality

• Similar to: Versace Eros Energy, Creed Aventus etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Just a citrus bomb, in the same vein as Afternoon Swim, but just a mixer of different citruses. This does give you a slight Aventus vibe, but a lot lot more citrus and no pineapple. Overspray for the best result.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 3-4 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Nebula II

• Similar to: BDK Velvet Tonka, Swiss Arabian Schaaf Oud Tonka, Rayhaan Tonquin Giza, JPG Le Beau Narcisse, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A powdery and sweet vanillic almond scent. This will remind you of a marzipan sweet. It smells delicious, not too thick or sweet, but might be better suited as a layering scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Roman Leather

• Similar to: Memo Irish Leather, IBRAQ Sapphire Leather etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Dry, Spicy, Smoky, slightly sweet, and dusty Leather. When it opens there is a hint of freshness and sweetness along with a dry leather scent. It is so dry that it feels dusty. I explained sapphire leather in a similar manner, if something like ombre leather is a sweet wet leather seat, this is a dusty, vintage, and brittle leather seat.
• Vibes/Occasion: Riding down a dusty road in a leather jacket
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 (took a long time to macerate)

Smoked Oud & Vanilla

• Similar to: Maison Margela By The Fireplace, Paris Corner Camp Fire, Dior Bois Talisman, Lattafa Ameer Al Oudh Intense Oud, FW Ace, FA Capricorn
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: As a scent this is a sweet, vanillic, spicy and heavily woody scent. But what this smells like is burning marshmallows or something sugary sweet over a burning wood. This is one of those scents that will instantly transport you to an activity even if you have never done said activity.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Paris Corner Camp Fire is better)

The Tux

• Similar to: YSL Tuxedo, Rochas Moustache EDP, FW Suits, Afnan Turathi Brown Paris Corner Rifaaqat Adorn, FA Ighwa etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A predominantly aromatic patchouli smell, with some spices and a very slight vanillic base. If you want to know what patchouli smells like, try this. BTW this is another classic scent profile, that if given time, will grow on you. This is was not love at first sniff for me as I found this too old school due to the patchouli. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Your Touch Amber

• Similar to: Stronger With You Amber, other Stronger with you fragrances, Issey Miyake Nuit Ambre, Azzaro The most wanted line etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A slightly spicy, aromatic and vanillic amber scent. This is the same strong with you and the most wanted style fragrance with amped up amber. Not saying stronger with you and TMW smells the same, but they run in the same race essentially. Pretty nice but ultimately there are better options if you don’t care much for amber. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily winter wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Zaffiro Collection Regale

• Similar to: Thameen Regent Leather
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet saffron and vanillic scent with animal undertones. This is a strange one, it is so pleasant and easy to wear at first but it has a funky backbone that will be too much for many people. This is so close to being a safe blind buy, as this is strong and loud as well.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

P.S. I will review the few Fragrance world and other inspired by houses like Zimaya, Arabiyat etc in my next post. I don’t have many from these brands, primarily because there would be a lot of redundancy in my collection. 

Followed by a shorter post on Ahmed Al Maghribi.

The other M.E. niche house will be at the end, as there are a lot of fragrances I want to add from Arabian Oud, Assaf, and Gissah :D :D

I really do hope you guys found this helpful. 

----- Part 2 - MAISON ALHAMBRA FRAGRANCES -----

Hi All,

Apologies for the bombardment of reviews again😅😅!

This is part two of my reviews on the Lattafa and Maison Alhambra fragrances I have.

The same important caveats as before:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated 'house' reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.
• I tried to leave enough spaces between the fragrances, but for some reason it does not reflect that in the post. Sorry!

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--Jean Lowe Line--

Jean Lowe Immortal

• Similar to: LV L’Immensite, Bvlgari Tygar, Sospiro Vibrato, Turati Blue, etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: a citrus and ginger scent that can be used all year round. This is not a freshie in the classic sense however, as it does have some spicy and ambery nuances. If you have Rue Broca theoreme or Turathi Blue, then imagine that same scent but less playful and more mature. This can come across funky/eggy to some, so do be aware.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 5.5/10 (object score of 8.5 but this DNA gives me a headache)

Jean Lowe Vibe

• Similar to: Afnan Rare Reef, Rayhaan Pacific Aura, LV Pacific chill etc
• Weather: 15c to 35c
• Thoughts: Based on what I had heard and read online, I thought this would be a citrusy fresh scent. But think of this more as a fruity/apricoty scent with mint and citrus with it. This is sweet and tropical and I do think this version is a lot fruitier than Pacific Aura and Rare Reef. So if you want a fresher take, go for those. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (I am not a huge fan of the pacific chill DNA, it is good though)

Jean Lowe Azure

• Similar to: LV Afternoon Swim, Rayhaan Adonis Icarus, Armaf Odyssey Limoni, Lattafa Pisa, Paris Coner North Stag IV, etc
• Weather: 25 to 40c+
• Thoughts: My favourite LV freshie scent profile, this is literally a zesty orange scent. Imagine squeezing an orange rind on yourself, and it somehow being not bitter. It is the most refreshing scent you can wear on a hot and humid summers day. Go for 20 sprays though as this will not last.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day 
• Longevity and Sillage: 2-4 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

--PDM Inspired Line--

Cassius

• Similar to: PDM Carlisle, Mancera Red Tobacco, CH Mystery Tobacco, Argos Triumph of Baccus, Bottled Absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A semi sweet apple, tobacco, and patchouli scent to me. Dont think of this like a sweet Tobacco Vanille type tobacco scent, but more like a dry and dusty tobacco scent. If you are into a tobacco scent, and thought Red Tobacco was too sweet and loud, go for this. However, this is really really similar to all the above mentioned fragrances and can be redundant to have more than one of this scent profile. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions 
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Hercules

• Similar to: PDM Herod, Armaf Radical Brown, Armaf Majestueux, TF Tobacco Vanille, Stronger with your Tobacco, Essentials Parfums etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A sweet spicy pipe tobacco smell. This is the sweet and syrupy tobacco scent that is more mass appealing than Cassius. This has a beautiful fruit jam (like a red fruit) and cinnamon sweetness accompanying the tobacco and vanilla base. For some, this can come across as the TF TV DNA without the clove note. Not redundant to own both but they remain in the same space
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasions
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Galatea

• Similar to: Tom Ford Tuscan Leather, Ombre Leather, PDM Godolphin, Rasasi La Yuqawam, Byredo Black Saffron, Afnan Rare Carbon, Thomas Kosmala Brume Radieuse etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: The most common fruit leather scent profile. If you have smelled any of the above mentioned scents, you have smelled this. This is basically a ripe fruit bowl with primarily red fruits, squished all over a new leather car seat. Objectively a beautiful scent but just disappointing that the scent profile is replicated by a lot of companies. Not saying all are the same, but they are similar.   
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

The fragrances in the PDM inspired line are lighter/softer compared to the originals, so please keep that in mind. 

--Tom Ford Inspired Line--

Fabulo Intense

• Similar to: Tom Ford F***ing Fabulous, PDM Pegasus, Pegasus Exclusif, Detour Noir Exclusif, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: A powdery almond and lavender scent with a hint of leather. This is a scent of an older gentleman as it smells slightly dated, but sophisticated, to me.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 (I dont mind it, but too old school for me)

Dark Aoud

• Similar to: Tom Ford Oud Wood, Versace pour homme Oud Noir, Maison Alhambra Crafted Oud, Thameen Carved Oud, Ahmed Al Maghribi Royal Wood, Rayhaan Wood Noir etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: A woody cardamon scent with a hint of creaminess. This scent opens up with a blast of pepper and cardamon and settles into a woody and creamy base, with the cardamon ever present. This is a sophisticated scent profile, same as most of Tom Ford’s creations.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Porto Neroli

• Similar to: tom Ford Neroli Portofino, Ferrari Bright Neroli, 4711 Original, Bvlgari Wood Neroli etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This a citrus and floral scent that is classy as well as refreshing. I primarily get a lot of neroli and some Jasmine along with lemon/orange. For some reason, I think of Italy when I smell this, I haven't even been to the country. A classy and sophisticated summer scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Tobacco Touch

• Similar to: Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Al Haramain Amber Oud Tobacco Edition, Fragrance World Tabac N’ Coke, Paris Corner Charuto Tobacco Vanille,  etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A sweet and spicy, pipe tobacco and vanilla scent. This smells like a clove heavy fruit syrup infused with a vanilla pod and mixed with tobacco. A classic scent profile that could come across old to some. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

--Miscellaneous--

Baroque Satin Oud

• Similar to: MFK Oud Satin Mood, Paris Corner Oud Satin, FW Barakkat Satin Oud, Roja Dove Amber Aoud etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A powdery rose and oud scent. This is the definition of a classic and old school rose scent. Does it smell good? Yes, but can it come across as ‘old’ or ‘grandma’ like? Yes. Saying all that, this has grown on me a lot!
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9**.**5/10

Dark Door Intense

• Similar to: Dior Homme Intense, DHP, Al Wataniah Kayaan Classic, Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee, Lattafa Qaed Intense, Valentino Uomo, Zimaya Ineka Luna, Lattafa His Confession etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A powdery Iris and woody scent. Iris is a particular scent, and it is challenging to like. This will come across makeupy or lipsticky. If you are ok with that idea, do give this scent profile a try. Any of the above scents will make you feel like a classy MF.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (good, but Kayan Classic is better)

Exclusif Saffron

• Similar to: CH Saffron Lazuli, Initio Side Effect etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: a sweet rose and saffron leather scent. There is a metallic edge to this scent that can make this off-putting to some. The problem I have with rose and saffron scent is that they can come across smelling the same but with twists, either a heavy or a light twist but a twist nonetheless. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10

Glacier Le Noir

• Similar to: JPG Le Male Le parfum, Le Male, Le Male Elixir, Dior Homme Parfum
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A cardamon heavy, woody, lavender and vanilla scent. You get hints of Iris as well that can remind you of the Dior Homme scents. If you have smelled any of the Le Male scents, you will be familiar with the backbone of lavender and vanilla. This scent makes that DNA a lot more sophisticated and alluring. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Jorge Di Profumo

• Similar to: Acqua Di Gio Profumo, all the other Acqua Di Gios
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A fresh incense heavy, slightly powder aquatic scent. If you have any of the acqua di gios, this is basically that but with incense. I dont normally clarify this, but this scent is just too weak compared to the original. The DNA is the same but the quality difference is more than I would like. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6/10 (smells good, but not good enough)

Jubilant Vitality

• Similar to: Versace Eros Energy, Creed Aventus etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Just a citrus bomb, in the same vein as Afternoon Swim, but just a mixer of different citruses. This does give you a slight Aventus vibe, but a lot lot more citrus and no pineapple. Overspray for the best result.
• Vibes/Occasion: Hot summers day
• Longevity and Sillage: 3-4 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Nebula II

• Similar to: BDK Velvet Tonka, Swiss Arabian Schaaf Oud Tonka, Rayhaan Tonquin Giza, JPG Le Beau Narcisse, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A powdery and sweet vanillic almond scent. This will remind you of a marzipan sweet. It smells delicious, not too thick or sweet, but might be better suited as a layering scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Roman Leather

• Similar to: Memo Irish Leather, IBRAQ Sapphire Leather etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Dry, Spicy, Smoky, slightly sweet, and dusty Leather. When it opens there is a hint of freshness and sweetness along with a dry leather scent. It is so dry that it feels dusty. I explained sapphire leather in a similar manner, if something like ombre leather is a sweet wet leather seat, this is a dusty, vintage, and brittle leather seat.
• Vibes/Occasion: Riding down a dusty road in a leather jacket
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 (took a long time to macerate)

Smoked Oud & Vanilla

• Similar to: Maison Margela By The Fireplace, Paris Corner Camp Fire, Dior Bois Talisman, Lattafa Ameer Al Oudh Intense Oud, FW Ace, FA Capricorn
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: As a scent this is a sweet, vanillic, spicy and heavily woody scent. But what this smells like is burning marshmallows or something sugary sweet over a burning wood. This is one of those scents that will instantly transport you to an activity even if you have never done said activity.
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (Paris Corner Camp Fire is better)

The Tux

• Similar to: YSL Tuxedo, Rochas Moustache EDP, FW Suits, Afnan Turathi Brown Paris Corner Rifaaqat Adorn, FA Ighwa etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A predominantly aromatic patchouli smell, with some spices and a very slight vanillic base. If you want to know what patchouli smells like, try this. BTW this is another classic scent profile, that if given time, will grow on you. This is was not love at first sniff for me as I found this too old school due to the patchouli. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Your Touch Amber

• Similar to: Stronger With You Amber, other Stronger with you fragrances, Issey Miyake Nuit Ambre, Azzaro The most wanted line etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A slightly spicy, aromatic and vanillic amber scent. This is the same strong with you and the most wanted style fragrance with amped up amber. Not saying stronger with you and TMW smells the same, but they run in the same race essentially. Pretty nice but ultimately there are better options if you don’t care much for amber. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily winter wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Zaffiro Collection Regale

• Similar to: Thameen Regent Leather
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet saffron and vanillic scent with animal undertones. This is a strange one, it is so pleasant and easy to wear at first but it has a funky backbone that will be too much for many people. This is so close to being a safe blind buy, as this is strong and loud as well.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

P.S. I will review the few Fragrance world and other inspired by houses like Zimaya, Arabiyat etc in my next post. I don’t have many from these brands, primarily because there would be a lot of redundancy in my collection. 

Followed by a shorter post on Ahmed Al Maghribi.

The other M.E. niche house will be at the end, as there are a lot of fragrances I want to add from Arabian Oud, Assaf, and Gissah :D :D

I really do hope you guys found this helpful. 

----- Part 1 - LATTAFA FRAGRANCES -----

Hi All,

After the previous two reviews, I wanted to continue again as I am finding this exercise really cathartic as it helps me express thoughts I never/seldom get to do with people 🤣🤣. Unfortunately, this resulted in my longest review post yet!

Apologies for the review bombardment, BTW😅!

These are my reviews of the Lattafa and Maison Alhambra fragrances I have. Probably the most popular houses from the M.E. and my entry into the ‘inspired by’ space.

I will be splitting this post into 3 parts (but still a very long post) the first two covering Lattafa and the third covering Maison Alhambra fragrances.

The same important caveats as before:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated 'house' reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.
• I had to make some formatting concessions, like reducing the spaces between fragrances and removing the 'Bold' texts, to allow me to post😅😅

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--Khamrah Line--

Khamrah ( OG )

• Similar to: Gissah Sava, Angel Share, etccccccccc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: In my eyes, the second most influential fragrance in the ‘inspired By/Dupe’ space. Its a shame that Gissah Sava didn’t get the worldwide recognition it deserved for making this scent profile first (Angel Share gets enough love already). This is an extremely sweet cinnamon gourmand scent with a touch of dark booze. Think of an apple pie (with less apple and more sticky dates like fruits). 
• Vibes/Occasion: Perfect date night scent. Surpassing D&G the one in this hyper sweet gourmand era.
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and arms length (kinda weak on me)
• Rating: 8/10 (objective score of 9, but the DNA has been perfected)

Khamrah Qawha

• Similar to: Same as above with Qahwa
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Khamrah with cardamon coffee. It gives the Kharmah DNA some edge and character. This scent is denser and also performs a lot more. This give the same, overly sweet pie vibe but flavoured with Qahwa, which is a ground coffee drink flavoured with a heavy dose of cardamom. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10 (the second best Khamrah for me)

Khamrah Dukhan

• Similar to: Same as above but with all the kitchen spices
• Weather: 0 to 18c
• Thoughts: This is Khamrah, but with smoky and toasted kitchen spices (not the pungent kind of spices, but the ones that be used to perfume the whole house). I didnt like this much at first as I wasnt getting the tobacco, but once it matured for a few months, the spices and tobacco gave this DNA that much needed dark edge. A mature Khamrah that, for an already polarising scent, makes this almost revolting for some.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion/date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (my favourite Khamrah)

Khamrah Waha

• Similar to: JPG Le Beau, kinda OG Khamrah, Wood Sage & Sea Salt
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Got this last week, so this is my first impression, and it will change for sure. This starts off like a Le Beau style coconuty scent (no coconut in the notes, so not sure why I am getting this) then a lotiony sea salty sage, like the Jo Malone fragrance. Then, the late dry down has some hints of the Khamrah DNA. There are transitions to this scent, but not sure if I like them yet. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10 (people who like coconuty scents might love this, but I hope it gets better)

--Asad Line--

Asad ( OG )

• Similar to: Dior Sauvage Elixir, FA Enigma Une, AAM Ighraa, MB Explore Extreme, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: In my eyes, the third most influential fragrance in the ‘inspired By/Dupe’ space. I did not like this at first, wayyyyyy too much pepper, and felt too old school. Had heard so much about Sauvage elixir and didnt like that either, I didnt get the hype for this scent profile. That was 5 years ago, now, I understand the love this gets. Its peppery and licouricy still but I get the sweet ambery dry tobacco vanilla prominently as well. It is not the same as Sauvage Elixir, but it’s really close and kinda easier to like for me. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Presentations/Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (Like it more now, but still not a huge fan)

Asad Zanzibar

• Similar to: Dior homme, JPG Le Beau, Valentino Purple Melancholia
• Weather: 0 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: Not a bad scent, at least not as bad as people have touted it to be. This is a lavender, coconut, and iris scent. This might remind you some of the fresher iris based scents, but more of the Le Beau or Valentino Purple Melancholia DNA. Imagine mixing Dior Homme with Valentino Purple Melancholia, and adding a little salty touch. The dry down is where people hate this scent, but still, not horrible. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Presentations/Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Asad Bourbon

• Similar to: BIR Intense, Stronger With You, Azzaro The Most Wanted, Lattafa Ansaam Silver, maybe Scandal absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: If Asad was tough to like niche style scent, this is an easy to like designer scent. It smells like a mixture of the best parts of all the above scents. It opens up slightly sweet and fruity, but like a designer quality effervescent fruit (as in it doesnt smell like a fruit you can eat) mainly because you get that lavender from a BIR style scent instantly. After a while, add some designer cocoa into the mix, like the old axe deo (used to hate it as a deo). You also get a sweet ambery vanilla akin to the Azzaro and Armani scents. It does sound lovely, and it is mass pleasing, but I find this core DNA of Amber Lavender and Vanilla a bit too common and hence dont reach for this often
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (nice scent, and if you love DNA’s like The most wanted and BIR Intense you will love this as well)

Asad Elixir

• Similar to: Asad, Bottled Absolu, PDM Carlise, Al Wataniya Kayaan Terra etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: To my nose, this comes across like a 40-60 mix of Asad and Bottled Absolu. It's like they mixed the peppery ambery vanilla Asad DNA with the leather and patchouli heavy tobacco from Absolu. This is beautiful, dont go into this expecting a clone of Bottled Absolu, think of this as a flanker to Sauvage Elixir.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

--Lattafa Pride Collection--

Ajwaa

• Similar to:  Penhaligon’s Legacy of Petra, FA Opus Magnum etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A unique take on dates. This is semi sweet incensy, and resinous, scent. The liquorice and incense remind me a bit of Amouage’s Royal Tobacco. This is not a safe scent, and please done get this thinking it will smell of sweet dates. Think of this as Amouage’s take on a dates scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion and elegant
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Al Areeq Gold

• Similar to: Rosendo Matteo No. 5, YSL Babysat, Paris Corner Rifaqaat, Crystal Saffron etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a suede/leather, incense, and vanilla scent. I cant detect much of the saffron but you do get the ambery and smoky nuance of something like crystal saffron. The other way to describe this, think of Rifaqaat’s opening, that rubbery suede and smoky opening, and tone down the think and sweet vanillic dry down.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Al Qiam Gold

• Similar to: LV Ombre Nomad, LV Nouveau Monde, LV Matière Noire, Jean Lowe Noir, Jean Lowe Fraiche, IBRAQ Grey Pearl Diamond etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: People might not agree with this, but I find the mentioned 3 LV fragrances to be similar.. Just imagine a similar inky rosy oud of Ombre Nomade, and increase fruity leather elements and tone down the rosy oud elements. For people who havent tried Ombre Nomade or Nouveau Monde, Al Qiam gold is a sweet leathery and oud dominant smell slightly easier to wear than a Blue Oud by IBRAQ.
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 9/10

Art of Arabia III

• Similar to: Clive Christian Blond Amber, FA Amber Empire, Maison Asrar Faris Al Arab, Khadlaj Onyx Gold etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: As described in my Amber Empire review, this is a sweet ambery spicy woody scent. Imagine how the Jurassic Park amber would smell like if it was filled with rum soaked fruit/plum cake. Compared to Amber Empire, this is slightly more spicy and incensy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Artisan Ethnique

• Similar to: BTSO Sugar Addict, Sugarcane Vanilla Arabiyat Prestige etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This is just a sugary sweet spiced woody scent. There is some boozy element to it, but I get a lot of the sugar sweetness, makes it feel almost like a dusty granular scent (maybe the Cocoa making me feel that way). Not a big fan of this, or BTSO Sugar Addict
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Brioche Vanille

• Similar to: haven’t smelled anything like this. 
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This smells like a sweet bread batter that has too much yeast in to. It starts of unique and interesting but the yeasty smells lingers for too long, goes from smelling like bread to an uncooked fermenting batter
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure, maybe cold winters stroll
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10 (unique, but not great)

Eternal Oud

• Similar to: MFK Grand Soir, Boss Bottled Elixir
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A fruity, ambery, and vanillic scent. This is a beautifully cozy scent, inspired by MFK grand sour, but for me more fruity and slight more funky. I dont know if there is oud, but there is a funk that smelled weird at first. Maybe its the resins or labdanum. But that initial funky toned down, or I got used to it, and this is now one of my favourite Lattafa’s
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10

Eternal Vanilla

• Similar to: Maison Crevelli Oud Cadenza, FA Cocoa Morado, Maison Margela By The Fireplace etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A woody, vanillic, and cocoa scent that can remind you of Oud Cadenza and By The Fireplace. Not the same as these, but you can catch elements from them. This is not a sweet scent, this is a classy/dry vanillic and dusty woods scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Ishq Al Shuyukh Silver

• Similar to: Rabanne 1 Million Lucky etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet, and woody scent. If you have tried the Lucky scent profile, just tone down the sweetness by a bit, make it more airy and wearable in the moderate heat. This probably has a similar scent profile to a God of Fire, not the same smell but the same profile, just thicker.
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for the beach
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (I usually love this scent profile but doesnt last long on me)

La Collection d'antiquités 1505

• Similar to: TF Cherry Smoke, Room 1015 Cherry Punk, L’homme Ideal EDP, Lovely cherie, Cherry Incense, TF Lost Cherry
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This has that classic medicinal dark cherry smell that a lot TF cherry fragrances have. But that cherry is so strong that I dont get a lot of the other notes. This to me is a medicinal cherry with a hint of woody/smoke. It is classy and sophisticated though. I loved it at first, but it has dropped down to a like.
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Raw Human

• Similar to: Byredo Bullion, FW Chic Unique TF Tuscon Leather, TF Ombre Leather etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is that classic fruit leather scent profile but with a twist, with apricot as the fruit. This has a gasoline like notes in the opening but that is addictive to me. Do note that even if there are some resemblances to Tuscon Leather and Ombre Leather, it is not the same. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few length
• Rating: 9/10

Shaheen Gold

• Similar to: Kinda like Rabanne Phantom but not really
• Weather: 15 to 28c
• Thoughts: An aromatic sweet pineapple scent that has a greenish element to it due to the fig. This is not a smooth scent, it has rough nature to it almost like you have juiced the skins of the pineapple as well. But nonetheless, a beautiful tropical scent. Stay away if you dont like fig though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Vintage Radio

• Similar to: Initio Paragon, Lattafa Al Nashama etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: What a scent, the second best from Lattafa for me. This is a potent unique scent profile that I will always have in my collection. In simple terms, it is an aromatic, fruity sweet, woody scent. But the elements in this scent make it special. The woody nature of Palo Santo makes this smell ethereal to me and the plum in this doesnt smell like a fruit at all 🤣🤣. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10

Maharjan Gold

• Similar to: Nishane Terro, etc
• Weather: 0c to 28c
• Thoughts: A sweet peppery, incensy, and woods/Pencil shavings. When I first got this in, I could only smell cedar. Basically all I got was pencil shavings. It took a few months for the other elements to come through. Hated it at first, but now it is just a dislike. I can see how this can be similar to Terro, but honestly there is no comparison in terms of the scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

--Ajayeb Line--

Ajayeb Dubai

• Similar to: Can’t think of anything this smells like
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A strong coffee flavoured hard candy. The scent is sweet, and can smell like a coffee butterscotch hard candy but not a good one. Even if this doesn’t smell smooth or elegant, it still is interesting. I would place this as an artisanal scent that you can spray and sniff but not actually wear. I dont mind this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure, maybe like a cold night going for coffee
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (I do not recommend, but I dont mind it)

Ajayeb Dubai Portrait

• Similar to: SHL Mango Kiss, FA Tropical Kiss, FA Vulcan Feu etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: If Vulcan feu was made challenging, this is what it would be. Dubai Portrait starts off with a burst of fresh mango (tart and not overly sweet) with a greenish element to it, It reminds me of fig but I can be wrong. It then transitions into a floral and woody scent (slightly lotiony) and basically remains that way till the end. If God Of Fire/Vulcan Feu is a Maaza Soda, this is a high quality realistic mango scented lotion. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical Vacation Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (feminine leaning and I like it)

--Ana Abiyedh Line--

Ana Abiyedh Coral

• Similar to: Room 1015 Wavechild, FA Atlantis Extrait etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a watermelon candy shampoo to my nose. If you have tried FA Atlantis extrait, just imagine a more sweeter/less fresh and slight more feminine version of that scent. This scent is sweet, airy, and soapy. Can be cloying in the very high heat though. I can see people loving this, but not for me as I am not a fan of this scent profile for some reason.
• Vibes/Occasion: Beach Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 (Nice, but I dont know why the wavechild scent profile gives me a headache)

Ana Abiyedh Rouge

• Similar to: MFK BR540, Armaf CDN Untold, Mancera Instant Crush, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A lighter version of the BR540 scent profile, not the best version of this scent. It is sweet metallic saffron with some ambery warmth. This is a beautiful artificial scent profile, very common but still very good.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (not the best version of BR540)

--Fragrances I used to own--

Fakhar Black

• Similar to: YSL Y EDP, Rabanne Invictus etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c
• Thoughts: Widely touted as a YSL Y EDP clone, but I have always found it to be a mix of Invictus and Y EDP. I used to get a lot of that bubblegum sweetness that overpowered my senses. Used it up and never bought again. But a very good beginner scent to own.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (didnt find it special)

--Niche Emarati Collection--

Dream of Haze

• Similar to: JPG Le Male Elixir/Absolu, Afnan 9 PM Elixir, etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: This is Le Male Elixir with more fruity sweetness. I dont get an apple shisha smell like Smoking Hot/Mashrabya but there is a sweetness from a fruit, maybe apple, at the start. But this then become the same minty, lavender, and honeyed tobacco scent of Le Male Elixir. Probably the best version of the scent profile for me, but it can be redundant if you have any other scent of that style. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Classic Stone

• Similar to: PDM Althair, Mancera Amore Cafe, Liquid Brun, Khadlaj Caffe Latte etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: It's that cardamon praline scent from althair but mixed with the coffee/amaretto ice cream scent from Amore Cafe. If you like either Liquid Brun or Caffe Latte just try this if you can. This is a decedent and addictive scent. Higher price, but I still think that this is worth it. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion (but tough to wear)
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10 (Love at first sniff, but not going to recommend unless you like Amore Cafe)

--Miscellaneous--

Al Nashama Caprice

• Similar to: YSL LNDL, LNDL Bleu Electric, Riiffs Fareed, etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A semi sweet powdery cardamom and lavender scent. This is the amber that turns powdery on people. This is an elegant scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent/date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

 

Teriaq Intense 

• Similar to: Angel Share, Khamrah, etc (in the style of)
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, booze, and classier version of the Angel Share style scents. Something about the plum liqueur makes this elegant and addictive, and the fact that this is not as sickly sweet as Angle Share or Khamrah, makes this the best version of this scent around for me. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night/night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 10/10

 

Bade'e Al Oud Honor & Glory

• Similar to: Nothing I know of
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A beautiful pineapple and vanilla custard smell, with a weirdly fresh turmeric and pepper smell. Its basically a pineapple creme brûlée with a hint of grated turmeric and cracked pepper. Beautiful. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9.5/10

Dynasty

• Similar to: Creed SMW, Clive Christian L Red Tea Vetiver (havent tried that), Arabiyat prestige Mouda High End, Aromatix Teas Me etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c
• Thoughts: The opening is ginger, lemons, and tea. I havent smelled rooibos tea, but there is a tea scent reminiscent of SMW. This scent also has a fresh and aromatic woody and suede/leather character to it that gives this scent a classy edge.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Ejaazi

• Similar to: Office for Men, maybe Sauvage
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: Generic peppery and citrusy woody scent. Nothing special in this scent, and it has been a while since I even thought about this scent
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6/10

Emeer

• Similar to: Clive Christian Town and Country, Fragrance Du Bois Lucious, ‘Aventus’ style scents, Lattafa Dynasty etc
• Weather: 10c to 40c+
• Thoughts: A really strong aromatic and citrusy tea fragrance. I do hear people say it reminds them of cleaning products etc, when any lemon/citrus scent can remind you of some cleaning product, unfortunately you have associated a negative connotation to that scent. BTW, it doesnt remind me of a cleaning product. But the tea can remind you of fragrances like Dynasty etc, but make it more lemony and spicy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Habik

• Similar to: CH men Prive, Le Male Essence, Lumeire garçon, YSL LNDL, Halfeti etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A spicy aromatic scent, as simple as that. The spices are predominantly pepper and cardamon with a little cinnamon, and the lavender and I believe tonka gives this that aromatic lift. Think of this as a less ambery sweet and more peppery LNDL. This can be redundant if you own any dry spicy scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Maahir Legacy

• Similar to: PDM Sedley
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This scent genuinely smells like sprite or a sweet lemon soda. It is minty, limey, and sharp. Its the perfect scent for a hot and humid day and dont forget to overspray the hell out of it.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

His Confession

• Similar to: Dior homme intense, Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Prive, Celine Black Tie, Penhaligon’s the Omniscient Mr Thompson etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A very soft vanillic and ambery iris scent. Think of scents like DHI, make it less powdery and vanillic. This is not over sweet and very classy. I just wished it projected more. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 3-4 Hours and arms length/skin scent
• Rating: 7.5/10 (just because it doesn't last on my skin)

Jasoor

• Similar to: Valentino BIR Coral Fantasy
• Weather: 10c to 30c
• Thoughts: A spicy and aromatic apple and dry tobacco scent. This is not over sweet, and makes this suitable when the temperature is slightly higher. Think of biting into a crisp apple as you sniff on a dry tobacco leaf, with some cardamon and lavender around you. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear/special nights
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Mashrabya

• Similar to: Killian Smoking Hot, FA Veneno Black etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: My favourite lattafa, the first and last back up bottle fragrance. A really strong smoky and realistic apple shisha scent with a hint of cinnamon. This can remind you of the shisha tobacco mix after it has heated up, synthetic and chemically but absolutely divine! 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arm length
• Rating: 10/10 (if this lasted longer on me, would have been an 11)

Mishlah

• Similar to: Spicebomb Metallic Musk, PDM Castley, LV Imagination, etc
• Weather: 10c to 40c+
• Thoughts: An effervescent peppery spiced tea and musky aromatic scent. Mix a lot of musk with your spicebomb scent, and add a little bit of imagination/Marwa. Great daily driver
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Musamam Black Intense

• Similar to: Penhaligon’s Halfeti, Maison Asrar Thriller, Eternal Vanilla Lattafa etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A dry, spicy, aromatic woody scent; that’s the basic scent structure. I dont get much sweetness or vanillic and amber base, it is there but not prominent. It comes across dry or dusty at times. This comes under the Habik style of scents, it is lovely and unique with its smell but not style. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Nasheet

• Similar to: Nishane Ani, Ani X, FA Spectre Ghost, Mancera Cedrat Boise, Ingenious Ginger etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, Low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a harsher version of Ani/Spectre Ghost but clearly the same scent. The opening is Blackcurrant and lemons, reminiscent of Cedrat Boise, but with added ginger like Ingenious ginger etc. It dries down to a citrusy vanillic and woody base. (My family and friends dont like this but like Spectre Ghost and Ani, maybe because it comes across woodier)
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Qaed Al Fursan Untamed

• Similar to: Versace Eros Najim/Eros etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A very basic spicy sweet aromatic scent. It is a designer scent, so I cant pick up individual notes, but it smells aromatic, sweet, and spicy with a woody and smooth base. This is a nice, easy to wear scent, but wont be special if you own other designer mass pleasing scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Raghba

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Kalemat and Kalemat black, Xerjoff Bouquet Ideal etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sickly sweet sugary oud scent. You need this scent to rest for years in my opinion. Same with the Arabian Oud scents, the Oud in this can come across as funky and off-putting. If you have smelled this scent profile, think of By The Fireplace but make it less boring firewoods and more sugary sweet and funky Oudy. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10 (the oud makes this a tough wear, it will take years to become better)

Ramz Lattafa Silver

• Similar to: JPG Ultra Male, Afnan 9pm, Rayhaan Lion, Armaf Odyssey spectra
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: It opens up with a minty and pulpy pear mixed with lavender to give this scent an aromatic feel. The dry down is basically the same, just with added amber and vanilla. The lavender, mint, and vanilla combo is distinctly JPG and honestly this DNA is well replicated by all the dupes of Ultra Male. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Sheikh Al Shuyukh Supreme

• Similar to: Armaf Checkmate King, JPG Scandal, Armaf Mandarin Sky line, 
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: This is an aromatic caramel and sweet orange smell. I dont get plum to make this an Absolu clone but it does smell similar. For some reason however, I am not a fan of this scent profile as it turns weirdly green and leafy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

P.S. Part 2 of this post will be a review of Maison Alhambra

I will review the few Fragrance world and other inspired by houses like zimaya, arabiyat etc in my next post. I dont have many from these brands, primarily because there would be a lot of redundancies in my collection. Followed by a shorter post on Ahmed Al Maghribi.

The other M.E. niche house will be at the end, as there are a lot of fragrances I want to add from Arabian Oud, Assaf, and Gissah :D :D

I really do hope you guys found this helpful. 

----- Part 1 - LATTAFA FRAGRANCES -----

Hi All,

After the previous two reviews, I wanted to continue again as I am finding this exercise really cathartic as it helps me express thoughts I never/seldom get to do with people 🤣🤣. Unfortunately, this resulted in my longest review post yet!

Apologies for the review bombardment, BTW😅!

These are my reviews of the Lattafa and Maison Alhambra fragrances I have. Probably the most popular houses from the M.E. and my entry into the ‘inspired by’ space.

I will be splitting this post into 3 parts (but still a very long post) the first two covering Lattafa and the third covering Maison Alhambra fragrances.

The same important caveats as before:

• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance. 
• I have kept these reviews as loooongg posts intentionally to serve as consolidated 'house' reviews. Apologies if these are tough reads.
• I had to make some formatting concessions, like reducing the spaces between fragrances and removing the 'Bold' texts, to allow me to post😅😅

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--Khamrah Line--

Khamrah ( OG )

• Similar to: Gissah Sava, Angel Share, etccccccccc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: In my eyes, the second most influential fragrance in the ‘inspired By/Dupe’ space. Its a shame that Gissah Sava didn’t get the worldwide recognition it deserved for making this scent profile first (Angel Share gets enough love already). This is an extremely sweet cinnamon gourmand scent with a touch of dark booze. Think of an apple pie (with less apple and more sticky dates like fruits). 
• Vibes/Occasion: Perfect date night scent. Surpassing D&G the one in this hyper sweet gourmand era.
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and arms length (kinda weak on me)
• Rating: 8/10 (objective score of 9, but the DNA has been perfected)

Khamrah Qawha

• Similar to: Same as above with Qahwa
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Khamrah with cardamon coffee. It gives the Kharmah DNA some edge and character. This scent is denser and also performs a lot more. This give the same, overly sweet pie vibe but flavoured with Qahwa, which is a ground coffee drink flavoured with a heavy dose of cardamom. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10 (the second best Khamrah for me)

Khamrah Dukhan

• Similar to: Same as above but with all the kitchen spices
• Weather: 0 to 18c
• Thoughts: This is Khamrah, but with smoky and toasted kitchen spices (not the pungent kind of spices, but the ones that be used to perfume the whole house). I didnt like this much at first as I wasnt getting the tobacco, but once it matured for a few months, the spices and tobacco gave this DNA that much needed dark edge. A mature Khamrah that, for an already polarising scent, makes this almost revolting for some.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion/date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (my favourite Khamrah)

Khamrah Waha

• Similar to: JPG Le Beau, kinda OG Khamrah, Wood Sage & Sea Salt
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: Got this last week, so this is my first impression, and it will change for sure. This starts off like a Le Beau style coconuty scent (no coconut in the notes, so not sure why I am getting this) then a lotiony sea salty sage, like the Jo Malone fragrance. Then, the late dry down has some hints of the Khamrah DNA. There are transitions to this scent, but not sure if I like them yet. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10 (people who like coconuty scents might love this, but I hope it gets better)

--Asad Line--

Asad ( OG )

• Similar to: Dior Sauvage Elixir, FA Enigma Une, AAM Ighraa, MB Explore Extreme, etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c
• Thoughts: In my eyes, the third most influential fragrance in the ‘inspired By/Dupe’ space. I did not like this at first, wayyyyyy too much pepper, and felt too old school. Had heard so much about Sauvage elixir and didnt like that either, I didnt get the hype for this scent profile. That was 5 years ago, now, I understand the love this gets. Its peppery and licouricy still but I get the sweet ambery dry tobacco vanilla prominently as well. It is not the same as Sauvage Elixir, but it’s really close and kinda easier to like for me. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Presentations/Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 (Like it more now, but still not a huge fan)

Asad Zanzibar

• Similar to: Dior homme, JPG Le Beau, Valentino Purple Melancholia
• Weather: 0 to 24c low humidity
• Thoughts: Not a bad scent, at least not as bad as people have touted it to be. This is a lavender, coconut, and iris scent. This might remind you some of the fresher iris based scents, but more of the Le Beau or Valentino Purple Melancholia DNA. Imagine mixing Dior Homme with Valentino Purple Melancholia, and adding a little salty touch. The dry down is where people hate this scent, but still, not horrible. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Presentations/Special Occasions  
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 7/10

Asad Bourbon

• Similar to: BIR Intense, Stronger With You, Azzaro The Most Wanted, Lattafa Ansaam Silver, maybe Scandal absolu etc
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: If Asad was tough to like niche style scent, this is an easy to like designer scent. It smells like a mixture of the best parts of all the above scents. It opens up slightly sweet and fruity, but like a designer quality effervescent fruit (as in it doesnt smell like a fruit you can eat) mainly because you get that lavender from a BIR style scent instantly. After a while, add some designer cocoa into the mix, like the old axe deo (used to hate it as a deo). You also get a sweet ambery vanilla akin to the Azzaro and Armani scents. It does sound lovely, and it is mass pleasing, but I find this core DNA of Amber Lavender and Vanilla a bit too common and hence dont reach for this often
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver 
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (nice scent, and if you love DNA’s like The most wanted and BIR Intense you will love this as well)

Asad Elixir

• Similar to: Asad, Bottled Absolu, PDM Carlise, Al Wataniya Kayaan Terra etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: To my nose, this comes across like a 40-60 mix of Asad and Bottled Absolu. It's like they mixed the peppery ambery vanilla Asad DNA with the leather and patchouli heavy tobacco from Absolu. This is beautiful, dont go into this expecting a clone of Bottled Absolu, think of this as a flanker to Sauvage Elixir.  
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

--Lattafa Pride Collection--

Ajwaa

• Similar to:  Penhaligon’s Legacy of Petra, FA Opus Magnum etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A unique take on dates. This is semi sweet incensy, and resinous, scent. The liquorice and incense remind me a bit of Amouage’s Royal Tobacco. This is not a safe scent, and please done get this thinking it will smell of sweet dates. Think of this as Amouage’s take on a dates scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion and elegant
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Al Areeq Gold

• Similar to: Rosendo Matteo No. 5, YSL Babysat, Paris Corner Rifaqaat, Crystal Saffron etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a suede/leather, incense, and vanilla scent. I cant detect much of the saffron but you do get the ambery and smoky nuance of something like crystal saffron. The other way to describe this, think of Rifaqaat’s opening, that rubbery suede and smoky opening, and tone down the think and sweet vanillic dry down.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Al Qiam Gold

• Similar to: LV Ombre Nomad, LV Nouveau Monde, LV Matière Noire, Jean Lowe Noir, Jean Lowe Fraiche, IBRAQ Grey Pearl Diamond etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: People might not agree with this, but I find the mentioned 3 LV fragrances to be similar.. Just imagine a similar inky rosy oud of Ombre Nomade, and increase fruity leather elements and tone down the rosy oud elements. For people who havent tried Ombre Nomade or Nouveau Monde, Al Qiam gold is a sweet leathery and oud dominant smell slightly easier to wear than a Blue Oud by IBRAQ.
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 9/10

Art of Arabia III

• Similar to: Clive Christian Blond Amber, FA Amber Empire, Maison Asrar Faris Al Arab, Khadlaj Onyx Gold etc
• Weather: 0 to 24c, low humidity
• Thoughts: As described in my Amber Empire review, this is a sweet ambery spicy woody scent. Imagine how the Jurassic Park amber would smell like if it was filled with rum soaked fruit/plum cake. Compared to Amber Empire, this is slightly more spicy and incensy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Artisan Ethnique

• Similar to: BTSO Sugar Addict, Sugarcane Vanilla Arabiyat Prestige etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This is just a sugary sweet spiced woody scent. There is some boozy element to it, but I get a lot of the sugar sweetness, makes it feel almost like a dusty granular scent (maybe the Cocoa making me feel that way). Not a big fan of this, or BTSO Sugar Addict
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Brioche Vanille

• Similar to: haven’t smelled anything like this. 
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This smells like a sweet bread batter that has too much yeast in to. It starts of unique and interesting but the yeasty smells lingers for too long, goes from smelling like bread to an uncooked fermenting batter
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure, maybe cold winters stroll
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10 (unique, but not great)

Eternal Oud

• Similar to: MFK Grand Soir, Boss Bottled Elixir
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A fruity, ambery, and vanillic scent. This is a beautifully cozy scent, inspired by MFK grand sour, but for me more fruity and slight more funky. I dont know if there is oud, but there is a funk that smelled weird at first. Maybe its the resins or labdanum. But that initial funky toned down, or I got used to it, and this is now one of my favourite Lattafa’s
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 10-12 Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10

Eternal Vanilla

• Similar to: Maison Crevelli Oud Cadenza, FA Cocoa Morado, Maison Margela By The Fireplace etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A woody, vanillic, and cocoa scent that can remind you of Oud Cadenza and By The Fireplace. Not the same as these, but you can catch elements from them. This is not a sweet scent, this is a classy/dry vanillic and dusty woods scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Ishq Al Shuyukh Silver

• Similar to: Rabanne 1 Million Lucky etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet, and woody scent. If you have tried the Lucky scent profile, just tone down the sweetness by a bit, make it more airy and wearable in the moderate heat. This probably has a similar scent profile to a God of Fire, not the same smell but the same profile, just thicker.
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for the beach
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (I usually love this scent profile but doesnt last long on me)

La Collection d'antiquités 1505

• Similar to: TF Cherry Smoke, Room 1015 Cherry Punk, L’homme Ideal EDP, Lovely cherie, Cherry Incense, TF Lost Cherry
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This has that classic medicinal dark cherry smell that a lot TF cherry fragrances have. But that cherry is so strong that I dont get a lot of the other notes. This to me is a medicinal cherry with a hint of woody/smoke. It is classy and sophisticated though. I loved it at first, but it has dropped down to a like.
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Raw Human

• Similar to: Byredo Bullion, FW Chic Unique TF Tuscon Leather, TF Ombre Leather etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: This is that classic fruit leather scent profile but with a twist, with apricot as the fruit. This has a gasoline like notes in the opening but that is addictive to me. Do note that even if there are some resemblances to Tuscon Leather and Ombre Leather, it is not the same. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Shaheen Gold

• Similar to: Kinda like Rabanne Phantom but not really
• Weather: 15 to 28c
• Thoughts: An aromatic sweet pineapple scent that has a greenish element to it due to the fig. This is not a smooth scent, it has rough nature to it almost like you have juiced the skins of the pineapple as well. But nonetheless, a beautiful tropical scent. Stay away if you dont like fig though.
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

Vintage Radio

• Similar to: Initio Paragon, Lattafa Al Nashama etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: What a scent, the second best from Lattafa for me. This is a potent unique scent profile that I will always have in my collection. In simple terms, it is an aromatic, fruity sweet, woody scent. But the elements in this scent make it special. The woody nature of Palo Santo makes this smell ethereal to me and the plum in this doesnt smell like a fruit at all 🤣🤣. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10

Maharjan Gold

• Similar to: Nishane Terro, etc
• Weather: 0c to 28c
• Thoughts: A sweet peppery, incensy, and woods/Pencil shavings. When I first got this in, I could only smell cedar. Basically all I got was pencil shavings. It took a few months for the other elements to come through. Hated it at first, but now it is just a dislike. I can see how this can be similar to Terro, but honestly there is no comparison in terms of the scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

--Ajayeb Line--

Ajayeb Dubai

• Similar to: Can’t think of anything this smells like
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A strong coffee flavoured hard candy. The scent is sweet, and can smell like a coffee butterscotch hard candy but not a good one. Even if this doesn’t smell smooth or elegant, it still is interesting. I would place this as an artisanal scent that you can spray and sniff but not actually wear. I dont mind this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure, maybe like a cold night going for coffee
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (I do not recommend, but I dont mind it)

Ajayeb Dubai Portrait

• Similar to: SHL Mango Kiss, FA Tropical Kiss, FA Vulcan Feu etc
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: If Vulcan feu was made challenging, this is what it would be. Dubai Portrait starts off with a burst of fresh mango (tart and not overly sweet) with a greenish element to it, It reminds me of fig but I can be wrong. It then transitions into a floral and woody scent (slightly lotiony) and basically remains that way till the end. If God Of Fire/Vulcan Feu is a Maaza Soda, this is a high quality realistic mango scented lotion. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Tropical Vacation Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (feminine leaning and I like it)

--Ana Abiyedh Line--

Ana Abiyedh Coral

• Similar to: Room 1015 Wavechild, FA Atlantis Extrait etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a watermelon candy shampoo to my nose. If you have tried FA Atlantis extrait, just imagine a more sweeter/less fresh and slight more feminine version of that scent. This scent is sweet, airy, and soapy. Can be cloying in the very high heat though. I can see people loving this, but not for me as I am not a fan of this scent profile for some reason.
• Vibes/Occasion: Beach Scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 (Nice, but I dont know why the wavechild scent profile gives me a headache)

Ana Abiyedh Rouge

• Similar to: MFK BR540, Armaf CDN Untold, Mancera Instant Crush, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts:  A lighter version of the BR540 scent profile, not the best version of this scent. It is sweet metallic saffron with some ambery warmth. This is a beautiful artificial scent profile, very common but still very good.
• Vibes/Occasion: Nights Out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (not the best version of BR540)

--Fragrances I used to own--

Fakhar Black

• Similar to: YSL Y EDP, Rabanne Invictus etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c
• Thoughts: Widely touted as a YSL Y EDP clone, but I have always found it to be a mix of Invictus and Y EDP. I used to get a lot of that bubblegum sweetness that overpowered my senses. Used it up and never bought again. But a very good beginner scent to own.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7.5/10 (didnt find it special)

--Niche Emarati Collection--

Dream of Haze

• Similar to: JPG Le Male Elixir/Absolu, Afnan 9 PM Elixir, etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: This is Le Male Elixir with more fruity sweetness. I dont get an apple shisha smell like Smoking Hot/Mashrabya but there is a sweetness from a fruit, maybe apple, at the start. But this then become the same minty, lavender, and honeyed tobacco scent of Le Male Elixir. Probably the best version of the scent profile for me, but it can be redundant if you have any other scent of that style. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Classic Stone

• Similar to: PDM Althair, Mancera Amore Cafe, Liquid Brun, Khadlaj Caffe Latte etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: It's that cardamon praline scent from althair but mixed with the coffee/amaretto ice cream scent from Amore Cafe. If you like either Liquid Brun or Caffe Latte just try this if you can. This is a decedent and addictive scent. Higher price, but I still think that this is worth it. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion (but tough to wear)
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 10/10 (Love at first sniff, but not going to recommend unless you like Amore Cafe)

--Miscellaneous--

Al Nashama Caprice

• Similar to: YSL LNDL, LNDL Bleu Electric, Riiffs Fareed, etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A semi sweet powdery cardamom and lavender scent. This is the amber that turns powdery on people. This is an elegant scent.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scent/date night
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10

 

Teriaq Intense 

• Similar to: Angel Share, Khamrah, etc (in the style of)
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet, booze, and classier version of the Angel Share style scents. Something about the plum liqueur makes this elegant and addictive, and the fact that this is not as sickly sweet as Angle Share or Khamrah, makes this the best version of this scent around for me. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Date night/night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 10/10

 

Bade'e Al Oud Honor & Glory

• Similar to: Nothing I know of
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A beautiful pineapple and vanilla custard smell, with a weirdly fresh turmeric and pepper smell. Its basically a pineapple creme brûlée with a hint of grated turmeric and cracked pepper. Beautiful. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9.5/10

Dynasty

• Similar to: Creed SMW, Clive Christian L Red Tea Vetiver (havent tried that), Arabiyat prestige Mouda High End, Aromatix Teas Me etc
• Weather: 10 to 30c
• Thoughts: The opening is ginger, lemons, and tea. I havent smelled rooibos tea, but there is a tea scent reminiscent of SMW. This scent also has a fresh and aromatic woody and suede/leather character to it that gives this scent a classy edge.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Ejaazi

• Similar to: Office for Men, maybe Sauvage
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: Generic peppery and citrusy woody scent. Nothing special in this scent, and it has been a while since I even thought about this scent
• Vibes/Occasion: Office scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-6 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6/10

Emeer

• Similar to: Clive Christian Town and Country, Fragrance Du Bois Lucious, ‘Aventus’ style scents, Lattafa Dynasty etc
• Weather: 10c to 40c+
• Thoughts: A really strong aromatic and citrusy tea fragrance. I do hear people say it reminds them of cleaning products etc, when any lemon/citrus scent can remind you of some cleaning product, unfortunately you have associated a negative connotation to that scent. BTW, it doesnt remind me of a cleaning product. But the tea can remind you of fragrances like Dynasty etc, but make it more lemony and spicy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Habik

• Similar to: CH men Prive, Le Male Essence, Lumeire garçon, YSL LNDL, Halfeti etc
• Weather: 24c and below
• Thoughts: A spicy aromatic scent, as simple as that. The spices are predominantly pepper and cardamon with a little cinnamon, and the lavender and I believe tonka gives this that aromatic lift. Think of this as a less ambery sweet and more peppery LNDL. This can be redundant if you own any dry spicy scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Maahir Legacy

• Similar to: PDM Sedley
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This scent genuinely smells like sprite or a sweet lemon soda. It is minty, limey, and sharp. Its the perfect scent for a hot and humid day and dont forget to overspray the hell out of it.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

His Confession

• Similar to: Dior homme intense, Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Prive, Celine Black Tie, Penhaligon’s the Omniscient Mr Thompson etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A very soft vanillic and ambery iris scent. Think of scents like DHI, make it less powdery and vanillic. This is not over sweet and very classy. I just wished it projected more. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 3-4 Hours and arms length/skin scent
• Rating: 7.5/10 (just because it doesn't last on my skin)

Jasoor

• Similar to: Valentino BIR Coral Fantasy
• Weather: 10c to 30c
• Thoughts: A spicy and aromatic apple and dry tobacco scent. This is not over sweet, and makes this suitable when the temperature is slightly higher. Think of biting into a crisp apple as you sniff on a dry tobacco leaf, with some cardamon and lavender around you. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily wear/special nights
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Mashrabya

• Similar to: Killian Smoking Hot, FA Veneno Black etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: My favourite lattafa, the first and last back up bottle fragrance. A really strong smoky and realistic apple shisha scent with a hint of cinnamon. This can remind you of the shisha tobacco mix after it has heated up, synthetic and chemically but absolutely divine! 
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arm length
• Rating: 10/10 (if this lasted longer on me, would have been an 11)

Mishlah

• Similar to: Spicebomb Metallic Musk, PDM Castley, LV Imagination, etc
• Weather: 10c to 40c+
• Thoughts: An effervescent peppery spiced tea and musky aromatic scent. Mix a lot of musk with your spicebomb scent, and add a little bit of imagination/Marwa. Great daily driver
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10

Musamam Black Intense

• Similar to: Penhaligon’s Halfeti, Maison Asrar Thriller, Eternal Vanilla Lattafa etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A dry, spicy, aromatic woody scent; that’s the basic scent structure. I dont get much sweetness or vanillic and amber base, it is there but not prominent. It comes across dry or dusty at times. This comes under the Habik style of scents, it is lovely and unique with its smell but not style. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Office wear
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Nasheet

• Similar to: Nishane Ani, Ani X, FA Spectre Ghost, Mancera Cedrat Boise, Ingenious Ginger etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, Low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a harsher version of Ani/Spectre Ghost but clearly the same scent. The opening is Blackcurrant and lemons, reminiscent of Cedrat Boise, but with added ginger like Ingenious ginger etc. It dries down to a citrusy vanillic and woody base. (My family and friends dont like this but like Spectre Ghost and Ani, maybe because it comes across woodier)
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Qaed Al Fursan Untamed

• Similar to: Versace Eros Najim/Eros etc
• Weather: 10 to 28c
• Thoughts: A very basic spicy sweet aromatic scent. It is a designer scent, so I cant pick up individual notes, but it smells aromatic, sweet, and spicy with a woody and smooth base. This is a nice, easy to wear scent, but wont be special if you own other designer mass pleasing scents.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Raghba

• Similar to: Arabian Oud Kalemat and Kalemat black, Xerjoff Bouquet Ideal etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sickly sweet sugary oud scent. You need this scent to rest for years in my opinion. Same with the Arabian Oud scents, the Oud in this can come across as funky and off-putting. If you have smelled this scent profile, think of By The Fireplace but make it less boring firewoods and more sugary sweet and funky Oudy. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Cozy night in
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10 (the oud makes this a tough wear, it will take years to become better)

Ramz Lattafa Silver

• Similar to: JPG Ultra Male, Afnan 9pm, Rayhaan Lion, Armaf Odyssey spectra
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: It opens up with a minty and pulpy pear mixed with lavender to give this scent an aromatic feel. The dry down is basically the same, just with added amber and vanilla. The lavender, mint, and vanilla combo is distinctly JPG and honestly this DNA is well replicated by all the dupes of Ultra Male. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Sheikh Al Shuyukh Supreme

• Similar to: Armaf Checkmate King, JPG Scandal, Armaf Mandarin Sky line, 
• Weather: 10 to 28c low humidity
• Thoughts: This is an aromatic caramel and sweet orange smell. I dont get plum to make this an Absolu clone but it does smell similar. For some reason however, I am not a fan of this scent profile as it turns weirdly green and leafy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 6.5/10

P.S. Part 2 of this post will be a review of Maison Alhambra

I will review the few Fragrance world and other inspired by houses like zimaya, arabiyat etc in my next post. I dont have many from these brands, primarily because there would be a lot of redundancies in my collection. Followed by a shorter post on Ahmed Al Maghribi.

The other M.E. niche house will be at the end, as there are a lot of fragrances I want to add from Arabian Oud, Assaf, and Gissah :D :D

I really do hope you guys found this helpful. 

Hi All,

After my review for IBRAQ, I thought I could tackle the French Avenue fragrances in a long post again🤣 (I didn’t include Fragrance World in this).

I do understand that there are many reviews of these fragrances on Youtube and Reddit, but as this is probably the most popular M.E. house, I just thought to share my experience on their fragrances as well. Hope this helps!

Again, some important caveats:

• I have kept this review as a single, loooongg post intentionally to serve as a consolidated 'house' review. Apologies as this is a tough read for people not interested in every fragrance.
• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance.

 

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--Aromatix X French Avenue--

X Xandal

• Similar to: Lorenzo Pazaglia Van Pi Rum, somewhat similar to Arabian Tobacco Ibraq/Crush On Me and Dior Tobacolor.
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: To me this is a chocolate truffle scent, I dont get a lot of the Rum, but it is there just overpowered by a dusty chocolatey truffle like smell. The chocolate doesnt smell decadent but I still dont know if you can wear it regularly as a scent on its own (good for layering though). The reason I said its similar to Tobacolor to Crush on me is that the chocolate nuances reminds me of the chocolate of these scents. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Whenever you want to smell like a chocolate truffle. Good to layer with darker woodier scents to add some mature sweetness.
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Forbidden Fruit

• Similar to: Lorenzo Pazaglia Sun-Gria, Arabiyat Prestige Bhaiya Ruby
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: Best way to describe this, a fruity vanillic gummy bear. The fruit is not citrusy but fleshy like a peach or mango. Another way to let you know how this comes across is, imagine Erba Pura without the overbearing Musky nature (not the same as that but in the same space).
• Vibes/Occasion: Playful beach/vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours on me and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (I do really like this)

Teas Me

• Similar to: Nishane Wulong cha, D&G Velvet Infusion, Arabiyat Prestige Mouda High End, Lattafa Dynasty
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: This smells like every other tea scent that is popular in the market to me. Doesnt smell the same, but reminds me a lot of Wulong cha, and also Dynasty etc etc. But the only difference I feel is that this comes across a lot denser and hence lasts longer (for a fresh scent). The combination of the spices, amber, tonko, and vanilla helps this perform on my skin.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scentable daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (my favourite of the tea based inspired by scents in the market)

Sun-Kissed

• Similar to: Maison Margiela Never Ending Summer, John Varvatos Artisan Pure, Terre D’hermes Eau Tres Fraiche
• Weather: 28 to 40c+
• Thoughts: For those who are not familiar with the terre d’hermes DNA, imagine squeezing an orange zest over a fizzy soda lightly spiced with cardomom. For those who are familiar with the TDH DNA, it is just that but tone the vetiver and flint down by a lot and add some cardamom into the mix. I dont get much of the vanilla or creaminess but that might just be a ‘me’ thing. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual 
• Longevity and Sillage: 3-4 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (smells great but doesnt last on my skin)

Platine Blanc

• Similar to: Torino 21, Paris Corner Voux Zingy, Hawas Verde, Arabiyat Prestige Bamboo reflection, ELDO You or someone like you , etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A minty/herbal fizzy lemony soda. Lives in the same space as Sun-Kissed but more minty and herbal. Its a simple scent to describe really, nothing more to it. Super refreshing and green. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver for me, can be a vacation scent as well
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Carnal Desire

• Similar to: Maison Crivelli Cuir Infrarouge, Oud Maracuja etc.
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: People say this is a beast mode scent, but for some reason this doesnt last as long as advertised on me. Regardless this a great, sweet leathery oud scent. Imagine French Avenue Azzure oud but replace the juicy passion fruit with a sweet raspberry smell. Or imagine tuscan leather (and clones of that) with the leather toned down by a lot and woods turned up. This can be cloying or animalic for a few but honestly not that much for me. If you found Azzure Oud too strong, get this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

I dont have the rest yet, but I plan to add them as well when I get them at a good price.

• Since, I have Rayhaan Crimson (similar to Royal Taboo) I didnt pick it up yet. 
• I found the DNA of Magnetic to be abundant. 
• Naughty Dates and Frostbite are not easily available where I live.

--Random assortments--

Zenith Tobacco

• Similar to: Dior tobacolor, French Avenue Spectre Wraith, FA Vulcan Sable, X Xandal etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: a honeyed chocolate tobacco smell. The tobacco comes across dusty to me hence the comparison with X Xandal. However this has a lot more going on for it like the honey and caramel. For some reason, the chocolate, in all of the scents I mentioned above, overpowers the other elements in the scents. Not saying they are the same, but to me these genuinely have the same scent structure or backbone. But please do try it yourself and other notes might pop out more for you.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 ( I do prefer this over X Xandal)

Zenith Vanilla

• Similar to: Ibraq Honey Musk, Dior Vanilla Diorama
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: An orange candy drink, mixed with vanilla and honey. This is really similar to vanilla Diorama, to my nose, just really really good quality. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Liquid Brun

• Similar to: PDM Althair etc
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: Not much to say, that hasn’t been said. Didnt like it much at first, but love it now. It is a decadent scent, you need to like sweet and spicy vanillic scents to love this. So if you like scents like Spicebomb extreme, you will like this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (Love this but got overplayed)

Liquid Brun Limited Edition

• Similar to: PDM Althair etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Liquid Brun made stronger, denser, and richer. Imagine the same scent as liquid brun but the opening is less spicy and more creamy. Love this a lot even if it might be redundant.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 10/10

Azzure Oud

• Similar to: Maison Crivelli Oud Maracuja, Cuir Infrarouge etc.
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: Passion fruit juice over a leather seat covered in Oud oil. If this sounds like your speed you will love this, if not, you will hate this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Anytime/whenever you are allowed to smell like this.
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ hours and 6 feet plus
• Rating: 10/10

Cocoa Morado

• Similar to: Maison Crivelli Oud Cadenza, Arabiyat Prestige Swar Seduire, Paris Corner Zodiac Lunaris
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: a sweet and spicy dates scent with oud and vanilla. Its sweet but not really sweet, somehow. It has a very unique scent profile to my nose, and I love it for that.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

After Effect

• Similar to: Initio Side Effect, Assaf Tobacco Rage 32, Sospiro Il Padrino, D&G Luminous Night etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: a syrupy sweet cinnamon rum on tobacco leaves, with saffron essence sprayed on top. This is what I would call a middle eastern smell (the rum doesnt smell like alcohol, but like a syrup). It can come across as a super sweet Luminous Night/Lumiere Garcon.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10 (a good scent, but something about Side effect’s saffron annoys me)

Amber Empire

• Similar to: Clive Christian Blond Amber, Lattafa Art of Arabia 3, Maison Asrar Faris Al Arab, Khadlaj Onyx Gold etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a sweet ambery spicy woody scent. Since Amber is a fantasy note, cant explain how this would smell for someone not familiar with that note. Imagine how the Jurassic Park amber would smell like if it was filled with rum soaked fruit/plum cake.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion and elegant
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (Great smell but doesnt last long)

Vulcan Feu

• Similar to: God of Fire etc etc etc etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Imagine mixing maaza (Mango juice) and soda and letting it sit uncovered for 30 mins, thats the smell. Dont know if that sounds nice but the smell is actually really good!
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual/Beach/Chill vibes
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (Played out)

Vulcan Black

• Similar to: Xerjoff Toni Iommi Deified, Rasasi Hayan
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Love at first sniff. A jammy apple flavoured with saffron and rose over leather. I dont know if that conveys a particular smell but this needs to be tried by all. Even if you hate rose, try this. But if you hate leather this might not be for you.
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic!
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 10/10

Fierte Luna

• Similar to: Xerjoff Naxos etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: I do believe Naxos’ DNA is well known now, but all this is is a Honeyed Lavender with a little vanilla and cinnamon on tobacco leaves. The tobacco gives this scent more of the dark feel, as the smell of tobacco might not be detectable (at least it is for me). This DNA is just classy and elegant, a must have for someone older than 25 for any important event/day.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (My favourite of the Naxos Inspired by’s)

Grow

• Similar to: Not the same but in the style of Blond Amber or Nabatieh
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: Smells like a fruit, dates, and vanilla custard on woods. The custard gives the woody dry a creamy and honestly beautiful feel. I get Davana a lot, but hard to explain what Davana smells like apologies.
• Vibes/Occasion: Elegant and dressed up
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Lumiere Garcon

• Similar to: D&G Luminous Night, Initio Side Effect etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This is a spicy/peppery dates and incensy amber scent. The dates in this is not the overly sweet sticky kind, its the dried out and brittle kind. A very traditional M.E. scent profile to me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Nabatieh

• Similar to: Not the same but can remind you of Grow, Side Effect, or Luminous Night
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet spicy/cardomomy dates coffee scent. The coffee isn’t overpowering, but gives an earthy aroma. Due to the spicy or dates nuances, this could remind you of the above mentioned scents smell. (Grow wont remind you of Side Effect however)
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Marmara

• Similar to: Amouage Purpose 50, Assaf tobacco Jam 50, Bois Imperial etc
• Weather: 0 to 30c
• Thoughts: A mix of Purpose 50 and Bois imperial (40/60 split, I guess). Hard to explain the scent, all I can say is that this smells ethereal and slightly soapy. I guess its the Frankincense and pepper that makes it feel this way.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Genesis - Aquarius

• Similar to: Megamare, Lattafa Atlas etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: Similar vibe to Megamare or Lattafa Atlas but not the same, I find this a lot fishier. Again, this is a very tough scent profile to explain, but imagine a mineralic rock by the ocean covered in seaweed (much more seaweed than megamare or atlas to me)
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for the beach
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6/10 (I usually love this scent profile but it goes too fishy for me)

Genesis - Pisces

• Similar to: Mix of Aventus and YSL Y, but still not quite the same
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A beautiful, but generic, fruity fizzy scent. This is probably the best  version of this scent profile, but since this style of scent is all over the market, it can be boring for a few.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (a great scent, but not special if you have tried any of the Aventus style scents)

Nomad

• Similar to: Vanilla Powder/Arabians Tonka, Megamare etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: Imagine adding the vanilla from Vanilla Powder or Arabians Tonka to Megamare/Atlas. It makes the Megamare DNA sweeter and more mass pleasing
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (But I prefer the Megamare scent over this version)

Opus Magnum

• Similar to: Amouage Royal Tobacco, Lattafa Ajwaa etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A very very unique scent. Challenging to the max. Its a very incensy, liquorice, tobacco, and fenugreek scent. If you are aware of how fenugreek smells, you will catch that quickly here. It smells like cooking spices and can be very off putting. But I love it, its unique! The liquorice and incense remind me a bit of Ajwaa by Lattafa, if anyone has smelled that before.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 8/10 (very situational hence 8 and not 9.5)

Ravine Ginger

• Similar to: Ingenious Ginger, Vibrato, Tiger, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: a very sweet, fizzy, and gingery smell. If you have Rue Broca theoreme or Turathi Blue, then imagine that with the vanilla from Nishane Ani (or any vanilla). It makes the vibrato/Tygar DNA sweet.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 not a fan of this DNA as it gives me a headache

Ravine Ice

• Similar to: Goldfield and Banks Pacific Rock Moss, Nusuk Sama
• Weather: 20c to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fresh, salty and mossy scent. This will give you vibes of the ocean air, but without the fishiness. Beautiful scent
• Vibes/Occasion: Beach Vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Royal Blend Vintage

• Similar to: Killian Old Fashioned/Single Malt, FA Firestorm
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet and boozy digestive biscuit. I dont get the tobacco, probably adds depth. Its a unique scent profile but in the space of Angel share. FA also has Firestorm that smells similar.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

 

Safari Breeze

• Similar to: MOAPC Tales from Zanzibar, D&G Light Blue Forever
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This scent opens with a tart grapefruit rinds smell that instantly reminded me of D&G Light Blue Forever, transitioning into a guava and herbal scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Humid vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9.5/10 (since it reminded me of Light blue forever, its gets a high score)

Spectre Ghost

• Similar to: Nishane Ani, Ani X, Lattafa Nasheet, Mancera Cedrat Boise, Ingenious Ginger etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, Low humidity
• Thoughts: The opening is Blackcurrant and lemons, reminiscent of Cedrat Boise, but with added ginger like Ingenious ginger etc. It dries down to a citrusy vanillic base. I think of this as ingenious ginger mixed with Cedrat Boise.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Spectre Wraith

• Similar to: Killian Black Phantom, French Avenue Spectre Wraith, FA Vulcan Sable, X Xandal etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: Chocolatey, coffee, and Rum scent. Reminiscent of Zenith tobacco and Vulcan Sable. Nice scent but not a safe blind buy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Western Shisha

• Similar to: Not so close, but in the realm of Killian Smoking Hot, Lattafa Mashrabya, FA Veneno Black etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A really strong artificial grape and apple bubble gum flavoured shisha. This is basically a non-smoky Smoking Hot, which I loooveeeeee. It can remind you of the shisha mix before it is heated up, synthetic and chemically but still nice!
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Veneno Scarlet

• Similar to: SHL Venom Incarnat, Maison Alhambra Sceptre Desert
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Probably one of the few scents I dont like much. This smells like a strawberry and caramel candy, that slowly becomes leathery and earthy. the patchouli is dark in this and along with the artificial fruit candy scent gives me a headache.
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure if I can see a place to wear this, but it can be a persons signature scent for the cold
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 5.5/10

Sultry Woods

• Similar to: Nishane Shem, Ignite Oud
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: My recent purchase, seems to be strong enough but reminds me a lot of Ignite Oud. Havent tried Nishane Shem but once I do, will update accordingly. This is a predominantly leather based scent, that slight sweet, aromatic, rosey, and earthy. Can be redundant if you own Ignite Oud, even if it isn't the exact same.
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure if I can see a place to wear this, but it can be a persons signature scent for the cold
• Longevity and Sillage: 9-10 Hours and a few feet (seems really strong for now)
• Rating: 8/10 (like it, but not in love yet)

P.S.

1. I do plan on reviewing Arabian Oud, Reef, Gissah, Sedra, Ayaam, Assaf, and Al Majed Oud next but I dont have many from each house. So I might combine a few houses in one post.
2. I do have a few Ahmed Al Maghribi fragrances as well, would like to share my thoughts on those but there are quite a few reviews already on reddit.

I really do hope you guys found this helpful, and apologies for my ramblings. 

Hi All,

After my review for IBRAQ, I thought I could tackle the French Avenue fragrances in a long post again🤣 (I didn’t include Fragrance World in this).

I do understand that there are many reviews of these fragrances on Youtube and Reddit, but as this is probably the most popular M.E. house, I just thought to share my experience on their fragrances as well. Hope this helps!

Again, some important caveats:

• I have kept this review as a single, loooongg post intentionally to serve as a consolidated 'house' review. Apologies as this is a tough read for people not interested in every fragrance.
• I don’t think I have a great nose, so there will definitely be people who will disagree with my assessments. Performance, fragrance similarities, and overall fragrance appeal are really really subjective, so I do completely understand if you disagree with my opinion. Apologies in advance.

 

Below are my thoughts on the fragrances I have, in no particular order.

--Aromatix X French Avenue--

X Xandal

• Similar to: Lorenzo Pazaglia Van Pi Rum, somewhat similar to Arabian Tobacco Ibraq/Crush On Me and Dior Tobacolor.
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: To me this is a chocolate truffle scent, I dont get a lot of the Rum, but it is there just overpowered by a dusty chocolatey truffle like smell. The chocolate doesnt smell decadent but I still dont know if you can wear it regularly as a scent on its own (good for layering though). The reason I said its similar to Tobacolor to Crush on me is that the chocolate nuances reminds me of the chocolate of these scents. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Whenever you want to smell like a chocolate truffle. Good to layer with darker woodier scents to add some mature sweetness.
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10

Forbidden Fruit

• Similar to: Lorenzo Pazaglia Sun-Gria, Arabiyat Prestige Bhaiya Ruby
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: Best way to describe this, a fruity vanillic gummy bear. The fruit is not citrusy but fleshy like a peach or mango. Another way to let you know how this comes across is, imagine Erba Pura without the overbearing Musky nature (not the same as that but in the same space).
• Vibes/Occasion: Playful beach/vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 hours on me and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (I do really like this)

Teas Me

• Similar to: Nishane Wulong cha, D&G Velvet Infusion, Arabiyat Prestige Mouda High End, Lattafa Dynasty
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: This smells like every other tea scent that is popular in the market to me. Doesnt smell the same, but reminds me a lot of Wulong cha, and also Dynasty etc etc. But the only difference I feel is that this comes across a lot denser and hence lasts longer (for a fresh scent). The combination of the spices, amber, tonko, and vanilla helps this perform on my skin.
• Vibes/Occasion: Signature scentable daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (my favourite of the tea based inspired by scents in the market)

Sun-Kissed

• Similar to: Maison Margiela Never Ending Summer, John Varvatos Artisan Pure, Terre D’hermes Eau Tres Fraiche
• Weather: 28 to 40c+
• Thoughts: For those who are not familiar with the terre d’hermes DNA, imagine squeezing an orange zest over a fizzy soda lightly spiced with cardomom. For those who are familiar with the TDH DNA, it is just that but tone the vetiver and flint down by a lot and add some cardamom into the mix. I dont get much of the vanilla or creaminess but that might just be a ‘me’ thing. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual 
• Longevity and Sillage: 3-4 hours and arms length
• Rating: 8/10 (smells great but doesnt last on my skin)

Platine Blanc

• Similar to: Torino 21, Paris Corner Voux Zingy, Hawas Verde, Arabiyat Prestige Bamboo reflection, ELDO You or someone like you , etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A minty/herbal fizzy lemony soda. Lives in the same space as Sun-Kissed but more minty and herbal. Its a simple scent to describe really, nothing more to it. Super refreshing and green. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver for me, can be a vacation scent as well
• Longevity and Sillage: 5-7 hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Carnal Desire

• Similar to: Maison Crivelli Cuir Infrarouge, Oud Maracuja etc.
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: People say this is a beast mode scent, but for some reason this doesnt last as long as advertised on me. Regardless this a great, sweet leathery oud scent. Imagine French Avenue Azzure oud but replace the juicy passion fruit with a sweet raspberry smell. Or imagine tuscan leather (and clones of that) with the leather toned down by a lot and woods turned up. This can be cloying or animalic for a few but honestly not that much for me. If you found Azzure Oud too strong, get this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

I dont have the rest yet, but I plan to add them as well when I get them at a good price.

• Since, I have Rayhaan Crimson (similar to Royal Taboo) I didnt pick it up yet. 
• I found the DNA of Magnetic to be abundant. 
• Naughty Dates and Frostbite are not easily available where I live.

--Random assortments--

Zenith Tobacco

• Similar to: Dior tobacolor, French Avenue Spectre Wraith, FA Vulcan Sable, X Xandal etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: a honeyed chocolate tobacco smell. The tobacco comes across dusty to me hence the comparison with X Xandal. However this has a lot more going on for it like the honey and caramel. For some reason, the chocolate, in all of the scents I mentioned above, overpowers the other elements in the scents. Not saying they are the same, but to me these genuinely have the same scent structure or backbone. But please do try it yourself and other notes might pop out more for you.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10 ( I do prefer this over X Xandal)

Zenith Vanilla

• Similar to: Ibraq Honey Musk, Dior Vanilla Diorama
• Weather: 20 to 40c+
• Thoughts: An orange candy drink, mixed with vanilla and honey. This is really similar to vanilla Diorama, to my nose, just really really good quality. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Liquid Brun

• Similar to: PDM Althair etc
• Weather: 0 to 25c
• Thoughts: Not much to say, that hasn’t been said. Didnt like it much at first, but love it now. It is a decadent scent, you need to like sweet and spicy vanillic scents to love this. So if you like scents like Spicebomb extreme, you will like this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10 (Love this but got overplayed)

Liquid Brun Limited Edition

• Similar to: PDM Althair etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Liquid Brun made stronger, denser, and richer. Imagine the same scent as liquid brun but the opening is less spicy and more creamy. Love this a lot even if it might be redundant.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 10/10

Azzure Oud

• Similar to: Maison Crivelli Oud Maracuja, Cuir Infrarouge etc.
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: Passion fruit juice over a leather seat covered in Oud oil. If this sounds like your speed you will love this, if not, you will hate this.
• Vibes/Occasion: Anytime/whenever you are allowed to smell like this.
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ hours and 6 feet plus
• Rating: 10/10

Cocoa Morado

• Similar to: Maison Crivelli Oud Cadenza, Arabiyat Prestige Swar Seduire, Paris Corner Zodiac Lunaris
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: a sweet and spicy dates scent with oud and vanilla. Its sweet but not really sweet, somehow. It has a very unique scent profile to my nose, and I love it for that.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and 6 feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

After Effect

• Similar to: Initio Side Effect, Assaf Tobacco Rage 32, Sospiro Il Padrino, D&G Luminous Night etc
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: a syrupy sweet cinnamon rum on tobacco leaves, with saffron essence sprayed on top. This is what I would call a middle eastern smell (the rum doesnt smell like alcohol, but like a syrup). It can come across as a super sweet Luminous Night/Lumiere Garcon.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 7/10 (a good scent, but something about Side effect’s saffron annoys me)

Amber Empire

• Similar to: Clive Christian Blond Amber, Lattafa Art of Arabia 3, Maison Asrar Faris Al Arab, Khadlaj Onyx Gold etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: This is a sweet ambery spicy woody scent. Since Amber is a fantasy note, cant explain how this would smell for someone not familiar with that note. Imagine how the Jurassic Park amber would smell like if it was filled with rum soaked fruit/plum cake.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion and elegant
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (Great smell but doesnt last long)

Vulcan Feu

• Similar to: God of Fire etc etc etc etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: Imagine mixing maaza (Mango juice) and soda and letting it sit uncovered for 30 mins, thats the smell. Dont know if that sounds nice but the smell is actually really good!
• Vibes/Occasion: Casual/Beach/Chill vibes
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9/10 (Played out)

Vulcan Black

• Similar to: Xerjoff Toni Iommi Deified, Rasasi Hayan
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: Love at first sniff. A jammy apple flavoured with saffron and rose over leather. I dont know if that conveys a particular smell but this needs to be tried by all. Even if you hate rose, try this. But if you hate leather this might not be for you.
• Vibes/Occasion: Gothic!
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 10/10

Fierte Luna

• Similar to: Xerjoff Naxos etc etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: I do believe Naxos’ DNA is well known now, but all this is is a Honeyed Lavender with a little vanilla and cinnamon on tobacco leaves. The tobacco gives this scent more of the dark feel, as the smell of tobacco might not be detectable (at least it is for me). This DNA is just classy and elegant, a must have for someone older than 25 for any important event/day.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special Occasion
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 10/10 (My favourite of the Naxos Inspired by’s)

Grow

• Similar to: Not the same but in the style of Blond Amber or Nabatieh
• Weather: 0 to 28c, low humidity
• Thoughts: Smells like a fruit, dates, and vanilla custard on woods. The custard gives the woody dry a creamy and honestly beautiful feel. I get Davana a lot, but hard to explain what Davana smells like apologies.
• Vibes/Occasion: Elegant and dressed up
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Lumiere Garcon

• Similar to: D&G Luminous Night, Initio Side Effect etc
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: This is a spicy/peppery dates and incensy amber scent. The dates in this is not the overly sweet sticky kind, its the dried out and brittle kind. A very traditional M.E. scent profile to me.
• Vibes/Occasion: Night out
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-8 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10

Nabatieh

• Similar to: Not the same but can remind you of Grow, Side Effect, or Luminous Night
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: A sweet spicy/cardomomy dates coffee scent. The coffee isn’t overpowering, but gives an earthy aroma. Due to the spicy or dates nuances, this could remind you of the above mentioned scents smell. (Grow wont remind you of Side Effect however)
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Marmara

• Similar to: Amouage Purpose 50, Assaf tobacco Jam 50, Bois Imperial etc
• Weather: 0 to 30c
• Thoughts: A mix of Purpose 50 and Bois imperial (40/60 split, I guess). Hard to explain the scent, all I can say is that this smells ethereal and slightly soapy. I guess its the Frankincense and pepper that makes it feel this way.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 10+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 8.5/10

Genesis - Aquarius

• Similar to: Megamare, Lattafa Atlas etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: Similar vibe to Megamare or Lattafa Atlas but not the same, I find this a lot fishier. Again, this is a very tough scent profile to explain, but imagine a mineralic rock by the ocean covered in seaweed (much more seaweed than megamare or atlas to me)
• Vibes/Occasion: Scent for the beach
• Longevity and Sillage: 6-7 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6/10 (I usually love this scent profile but it goes too fishy for me)

Genesis - Pisces

• Similar to: Mix of Aventus and YSL Y, but still not quite the same
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: A beautiful, but generic, fruity fizzy scent. This is probably the best  version of this scent profile, but since this style of scent is all over the market, it can be boring for a few.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 7.5/10 (a great scent, but not special if you have tried any of the Aventus style scents)

Nomad

• Similar to: Vanilla Powder/Arabians Tonka, Megamare etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: Imagine adding the vanilla from Vanilla Powder or Arabians Tonka to Megamare/Atlas. It makes the Megamare DNA sweeter and more mass pleasing
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10 (But I prefer the Megamare scent over this version)

Opus Magnum

• Similar to: Amouage Royal Tobacco, Lattafa Ajwaa etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A very very unique scent. Challenging to the max. Its a very incensy, liquorice, tobacco, and fenugreek scent. If you are aware of how fenugreek smells, you will catch that quickly here. It smells like cooking spices and can be very off putting. But I love it, its unique! The liquorice and incense remind me a bit of Ajwaa by Lattafa, if anyone has smelled that before.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 8/10 (very situational hence 8 and not 9.5)

Ravine Ginger

• Similar to: Ingenious Ginger, Vibrato, Tiger, etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c
• Thoughts: a very sweet, fizzy, and gingery smell. If you have Rue Broca theoreme or Turathi Blue, then imagine that with the vanilla from Nishane Ani (or any vanilla). It makes the vibrato/Tygar DNA sweet.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily Driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 6.5/10 not a fan of this DNA as it gives me a headache

Ravine Ice

• Similar to: Goldfield and Banks Pacific Rock Moss, Nusuk Sama
• Weather: 20c to 40c+
• Thoughts: A fresh, salty and mossy scent. This will give you vibes of the ocean air, but without the fishiness. Beautiful scent
• Vibes/Occasion: Beach Vacation
• Longevity and Sillage: 4-5 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 8.5/10

Royal Blend Vintage

• Similar to: Killian Old Fashioned/Single Malt, FA Firestorm
• Weather: 0 to 20c
• Thoughts: A fruity sweet and boozy digestive biscuit. I dont get the tobacco, probably adds depth. Its a unique scent profile but in the space of Angel share. FA also has Firestorm that smells similar.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

 

Safari Breeze

• Similar to: MOAPC Tales from Zanzibar, D&G Light Blue Forever
• Weather: 0 to 40c+
• Thoughts: This scent opens with a tart grapefruit rinds smell that instantly reminded me of D&G Light Blue Forever, transitioning into a guava and herbal scent. 
• Vibes/Occasion: Humid vacation scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 6 Hours and arms length
• Rating: 9.5/10 (since it reminded me of Light blue forever, its gets a high score)

Spectre Ghost

• Similar to: Nishane Ani, Ani X, Lattafa Nasheet, Mancera Cedrat Boise, Ingenious Ginger etc
• Weather: 0 to 28c, Low humidity
• Thoughts: The opening is Blackcurrant and lemons, reminiscent of Cedrat Boise, but with added ginger like Ingenious ginger etc. It dries down to a citrusy vanillic base. I think of this as ingenious ginger mixed with Cedrat Boise.
• Vibes/Occasion: Daily driver
• Longevity and Sillage: 7-8 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 9/10

Spectre Wraith

• Similar to: Killian Black Phantom, French Avenue Spectre Wraith, FA Vulcan Sable, X Xandal etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: Chocolatey, coffee, and Rum scent. Reminiscent of Zenith tobacco and Vulcan Sable. Nice scent but not a safe blind buy.
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 8-10 Hours and a few feet
• Rating: 8/10

Western Shisha

• Similar to: Not so close, but in the realm of Killian Smoking Hot, Lattafa Mashrabya, FA Veneno Black etc
• Weather: 15c and below
• Thoughts: A really strong artificial grape and apple bubble gum flavoured shisha. This is basically a non-smoky Smoking Hot, which I loooveeeeee. It can remind you of the shisha mix before it is heated up, synthetic and chemically but still nice!
• Vibes/Occasion: Special occasion scent
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 9.5/10

Veneno Scarlet

• Similar to: SHL Venom Incarnat, Maison Alhambra Sceptre Desert
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: Probably one of the few scents I dont like much. This smells like a strawberry and caramel candy, that slowly becomes leathery and earthy. the patchouli is dark in this and along with the artificial fruit candy scent gives me a headache.
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure if I can see a place to wear this, but it can be a persons signature scent for the cold
• Longevity and Sillage: 12+ Hours and 6+ feet
• Rating: 5.5/10

Sultry Woods

• Similar to: Nishane Shem, Ignite Oud
• Weather: 20c and below
• Thoughts: My recent purchase, seems to be strong enough but reminds me a lot of Ignite Oud. Havent tried Nishane Shem but once I do, will update accordingly. This is a predominantly leather based scent, that slight sweet, rosey, and earthy
• Vibes/Occasion: Not sure if I can see a place to wear this, but it can be a persons signature scent for the cold
• Longevity and Sillage: 9-10 Hours and a few feet (seems really strong for now)
• Rating: 7.5/10 (like it, but not in love yet)

P.S.

1. I do plan on reviewing Arabian Oud, Reef, Gissah, Sedra, Ayaam, Assaf, and Al Majed Oud next but I dont have many from each house. So I might combine a few houses in one post.
2. I do have a few Ahmed Al Maghribi fragrances as well, would like to share my thoughts on those but there are quite a few reviews already on reddit.

I really do hope you guys found this helpful, and apologies for my ramblings.