Olfactive Dreams

Rosa Verdade is a rose festival from  Mellifluence Perfumes   - a one man all-natural perfume brand by Abdullah.  It starts off with a beautiful sparkly green and slightly spicy rose note coming from all those different rose ingredients - assisted by neroli. The neroli is not strong enough to b e indolic, which is a good feature in this composition as it is a very soft rose soliflore to my nose. I suspect it helps to lift the citrus/sparkly facets at initial stage. From the very beginning I also get a rose smell that I tend to get only after the top note subsides - i.e., reduced intensity of sparkly, citrus and green facets of rose. This smell is quite realistic – as if I am smelling rose from the plant in the morning when rose shreds most of its fragrance. RV  is  never too loud, always demure and avuncular. Rosa Verdade (2018): A Demure Rose Soliflore I then get a creamy rose, which to me, is the best part of this attar. It is probably ...

A Mini Review Malik Al Taif (2018) by Russian Adam (of Areej Le Dore ) is an olfactive orchestra of rose (Taif and Indian), oud and deer musk. The scent progression on skin is far more complex than on clothes than I expected. It starts off with a very spicy and sparkly rose. Few months ago, whilst it was slightly windy in the mosque, I could clearly smell deer musk - very similar to a deer musk grain maceration in sandalwood that I made, but it is lot deeper and less sharp er - followed by some resinous and incensy facets of Indian oud. The oud on me is always dignified, never too loud. One can make MAT loud by wearing 3-4 sprays though! The oud part was a revelation to me - I first thought that someone else was wearing the oud! In later stages, rose becomes almost like a dry down of rose absolutes with some rose lokum like facets - sweeter and ambery. I cannot yet detect Cambodian oud in it - mainly because I have very little experience with ouds of that region, and/or, it is used i...

Brief Review 29 April, 2019 It is  28°C . Celsius (but outside it feels like 35). So I’m going through some ‘softies’. Borneo Prism begins like a mid-phase of oakmoss absolute - very very green - but with more intensity. I also get camphor, galbanum like greenness, a wisping caress of of pleasant hay. Those who are used to Hindi oud - or more specifically wore some Hindi with an intense barnyard strong just before BP will probably not get the soft hay. It happened in my case. Initially there is no sweetness what so ever. Its medicinal sharpness somehow reminds me of smelling salt! Do not get nervous with its intense start. After 5 minutes, it softens and becomes a little sweet and resinous/balsamic – some people may use the term ambery (but I’ll stick to formers). At this stage the balsamic facet has some similarities with benzoin (but only), and Himalyan cedar. The sweetness I get now is somewhat a combination of beeswax absolute and benzoin, with an earthy note play...

Mandalay Signature (Burma, 2017) Khenata House A Short Review Mandalay Signature was distilled in 2017 using wild Burmese agarwood chips. It begins with a subtle citric note, then quickly moves toward fruity and tart territories. The citrus note is a ‘weird’ one as it somehow does not smell like fresh citrus – yet very pleasant and concentrated. I can also smell something deeply resinous in the background. The tart and fruity facets somehow remind me of sweet tamarind from Thailand (– yummy, you definitely should taste this). There is medicinal bitterness just adjacent to the tartness and a very faint amount of menthol. There is a barnyard smell too, but not unpleasant - especially if you like good oils from Assam belt (Bangladesh & India), you’ll like this one’s. After 5-10 minutes, s.t. temperature and humidity, the fruity ‘accord’ becomes very similar to a slightly sweet and spicy mango bar. Just imagine you unwrapped a packet and taking a big sniff of it! Hay, ...

Encens Chypre (2014): Tale of A Green Incensed Chypre Sultan Pasha Attars Encens Chypre (2017) Encens Chypre (EC) is a full blown classic chypre, full of animalics, intoxicating florals, unashamedly sensual, spicy and fruity and then some! This is my most favourite chypre. Let me explain why! From the applicator, I get peach, citrus, lots of civet, jasmine and oakmoss. I later detect beeswax/honey like sweet facets that also contribute to its deep incensiness. Sultan made EC as an ode to vintage Mitsuoko extrait - and oakmoss, the most iconic ingredient for chypres. Overall, Mitsuoko extraits (let alone lower concentrates) from 1970s and onwards pale into comparison to this. I have not smelt any earlier version, so cannot compare it to those. I applied only 2 pin-head amounts on skin. It begins with a lot of citruses (bergamot and lime) with an animalic fruity vibe just behind it, supported by orange blossom – overall, making it sharp, bitter, medicinal, and a...

A Saffronic Extravaganza Âme Sombre (G1)  Sultan Pasha Attars   greets me with a heavy dose of saffron – dry, herbal, sparkly and spicy. Spicy and sparkly Persian rose otto and dry frankincense (especially their top notes) provides an extra boost to the saffron’s overall performance from the start. The first 15-20 mins is a saffron lover’s dream - almost as if it is on steroids, highlighting it’s dry, spicy and sombre (yet contemplative) facets with the help of rose, frankincense and tobacco. I can clearly detect some tobacco after about 10 minutes when AS gets drier, where it also adds an earthy quality. Âme Sombre [G1] (2017 Batch) Dry saffron (that we buy from shops) does not laid bare its olfactory wonders like this – or at least, we cannot detect them as they evaporate too quickly since it is not a base material. Here Sultan guided it in ‘a natural way’, but slowing things down and thus allowing each facets (spice, dry and leather) to shine without any discordance (i....

Tabac Grande (2017): A Tobacco Magnum Opus Sultan Pasha Attars Tabac Grande (TG) is probably the best tobacco fragrance I have tried so far within the cuir sub-category. When I smelt it early last year (2018) for the first time, I was quite perplexed as I had no idea what magical elixir I am smelling! Over the last 14-15 months, after smelling a few individual oils (say about 110, without ouds), I can finally detect some - barely. I used the term barely intentionally because I consider myself a novice and thus without Sultan’s notes list, it would have been a bigger challenge to detect some of them notwithstanding the fact that some of the oils are blended so well that it is almost impossible for me to detect them individually. Upon smelling it now, it immediately reminds me of a very old and austere gentlemen’s club I visited last year (2018), where they have some stunning leather sofas that have been used for generations. If I understand correctly, thick and top quality l...