u/parataman360

Hey Everyone, question for the group:

Is there any inky note in Banadir's take on SMW?

I haven't gotten my nose on Banadir's SMW but I have tried the OG and Montagne's version and wasn't a big fan of the inky note on those. Was wondering if the Banadir version has that or if it bypassed it all together.

Appreciate any input/feedback. Thank you!

Wassup Everyone!

I think its awesome that Banadir offers 10ml decants of other Middle Eastern fragrances from different brands that might not be exposed to outside of the typical Rasasi and Lattafa stuff. Up until a couple months ago, I had not heard of Arabian Oud but it looks like its a higher tier company that legit makes high quality fragrances and are actually well regarded amongst the actual Middle Eastern community and fragrance enthusiasts alike. Arabian Oud is behind a lot of heavy hitters like Amiri, Sultani, Nobles, and Ramz.

A buddy of ours (and fellow Banadir enthusiast) recommended I check out Sultani. Up until this time, I had not had a chance to smell anything from the house yet and I couldn't find any decanters on reddit that had it in stock. The solution: I reached out to Salim Bhai and he was kind enough to stock up 10ml decants of Sultani. (Thank you, Salim!)

What's the fragrance like?

Sultani is one of those nice, clean, sober scents. No boozy or gourmand elements in there. It coms off fresh and clean. For some reason I get a little leather in the background but nothing overpowering. Im thinking the leather might actually be the berry note. Also - the fragrance is kinda musky. It has this elevated take on Bvlgari Pour Homme going on. Also kinda get a small tinge of screechiness that was present in the early releases of Dior Sauvage EDT - minus the lavendar. The screechiness of not overpowering or anything but its there and my nose can sense it - I wonder if its the pink pepper?

I do find myself going noseblind to it and after an hour it wears more like a skin scent. I wonder if I just need to spend more time with it since I just got it the other day. YMMV. There's been a lot of times that I didn't like a particular fragrance only for it to grow on me over time.

Who's wearing this fragrance?

Someone that can afford shelling out $100 for a 50ml and appreciates smelling different from others. Its a clean fragrance and its definitely different from the Sauvages and Valentinos of the world. Its not syrupy or cloying. There no overbearing sweetness or booziness. Clean and sober. That's what you're getting with this. Plus its unique enough to where it stands out but also hands the keys over to you on how you wear the fragrance. If you command respect at your workplace, this can help you feel confident in it while wearing it. But if you're casual or enjoy fun loving time casually with the friends or family - this really isn't it and there might be more fun options depending on your personality.

Buy it, Skip it, Sample it?

Definitely worth a sample. Really glad Banadir offers a 10ml of this and hope they continue to do decants of other brands because its something that's hard to find in a marketplace saturated with Rasasis and Lattafas.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading and found this informative. Thanks for sticking around and reading through it!

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Wassup Everyone!

Got the 10ml of Banadir 106 yesterday. Banadir's take on the Invictus Aqua DNA from 2024. I've heard the 2016 (or was it 2018?) formulation is the holy grail from the Invictus lineup since it had that sparkly yuzu note. Unfortunately never got a chance to smell that version of the DNA.

My first impression of this fragrance was that it was pretty spot-on of the general Invictus lineup without being too sweet, cloying, or extremely loud. I use to have decants of the Hawas OG and Hawas Ice that I ended up gifting because they were too sweet or too loud (8 hours of the same loud techno song stops feeling nice after the first hour).

I do have other takes on the general Invictus DNA... most notably a decant of Montblanc's Legend Spirit (which I enjoy) - as well as 50ml bottle Citadel's 119. Both are really nice and like them a lot. I can't comment on how accurate they are with the OG nor can I hone in on all the peculiar lil' nuances because I'm honestly not that experienced in the world of frags... I just know if I like it and if its wearable.

Banadir's 106 is likeable and wearable. It's definitely full bottle worthy if you don't have anything else that covers this DNA. Had I not had a 50ml bottle of Citadel - I would totally get a full bottle of 106.

Hope you guys found this informative. Thanks for stickin' around and reading! 😄

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