Olfactive Dreams

Imagine you are invited in Topkapi Palace in Istanbul by Sultan Mehmed II  somewhere around 1470 . You are sitting in the large domed diwan, where some bakhoor (Hindi oud, myrrh, frankincense, and opoponax) has been burning for a long time at low temperature. Long enough that they have turned the air of the room sweet and smoky. You are sipping some Persian saffron-flavoured tea whilst wearing a blend of medicinal Chinese, incensy Cambodian/Vietnamese and resinous Assamese ouds. Smell of dry herbs and spices wafting from Büyük Çarşı. It is autumn and the air is crisp and cold. So when the sun warms up the area, you get all those aroma whilst sitting there enjoying your tea with some dates and other dry fruits. Dewaniya (2017) Dewaniya opens with a big and regal smell of ouds. It smells like a composition of mostly pure aged ouds from different regions - incensy Cambodian/Vietnamese and subdued leather and mildly sweet resinous and incensy Assamese, and bitter and me...

SOMA (2019): An Ode to Gardenia NOT Perfumes Mini Review Johanna Venables initiates SOMA with bitter green galbanum, citrus-like green stems with a big but pleasant dose of sensual gardenia. The gardenia is quite realistic in it - almost as if I am sniffing a freshly bloomed one - one which has not bloomed fully yet, so the green facets of gardenia flower is more prominent than usual. I am thinking of the first day of bloom - when it blooms partially and the weather is not that warm and humid, which tend to accentuate the heady and sensual facets of this flower. So effectively a gardenia with those early green facets and the one that has not released all its creamy and heady facets. Gardenia from Our Rooftop Garden (2018) I also liked how Johanna kept the jasmine (possibly grandiflorum) and tuberose just below gardenia and green vegetal combo smell – used largely to lift the gardenia up and not to overwhelm it with their own unique aroma profiles. But they are c...

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...