Part of the Renaissance Collection and inspired by the Plateau of Dhofar. Perfumer Mackenzie Reilly says:
Salalah holds one of the most precious gems of the fragrance world. The finest quality of Frankincense is harvested from the Boswellia trees growing in the rich soil in the middle of the desert.
I chose to paint a contradiction between lush green vegetal notes and warm dry desert dust: fog and smoke; real and unreal. Two different qualities of Olibanum, an oil and a resinoid, lend the precious incense signature the fragrance carries throughout its development. This character is enhanced with rich, earthy notes of Carrot Heart and Orris root, deep smoky Cypriol, and Vetiver from the island of Java. Sensuous creamy Sandalwood wraps these powerful notes with a gentle sophistication and a touch of Jonquille evokes the unexpected lush nature of the land.
Meander fragrance notes
Head
- olibanum, carrot, pink pepper, black pepper
Heart
- orris, rose, cypriol, jonquil
Base
- olibanum, vetiver, sandalwood
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Latest Reviews of Meander
Frankincense, sandalwood and vetiver, layered with chalky carrot seed. On me, this is very warm, very dry, linear wood. Calming. Like napping inside the hollow of a fragrant, sun-bleached log. Or relaxing in a wood-paneled dry sauna at some luxury spa. It remains consistent and potent throughout the drydown, simple and stunning.
I'm really enjoying Meander. If I smell closely, I can recognize how some of the named notes are contributing - The sandalwood adds butter, the incense adds creaminess, the iris adds perfumey depth, and the jonquil adds fresh yellow florals. But really, it all melts together into a rich, buttery wood smell with bright, sunny, lemony florals on top. Without reading the notes or reviews, I would have assumed this was mastic, with its lemony frankincense smell, mixing with a buttery lumberyard sandalwood.I almost always enjoy buttery incense wood perfumes, and the addition of the uplifting, abstract florals on top is really clever. The juxtaposition of the flowers with the peppery piquancy of the incense is fantastic, transcending gender and instead adding a holographic brightness that swirls over the more grounded woody incense elements. Nicely done!
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.Strangely mismatched, the name and the promotional blurb. One thing Salalah doesn't have, for all its Boswellia sacra, is a river. And something no Omani rivers do is meander: they're either dry wadis or they're raging in flood. Still, that's just the copy, what about the thing itself? Nice enough. Reminiscent of Ormonde Woman for me, although that's better than this.
Starts with ashy top notes and leathery orris. There’s Olibanum in that strange peppery pale resin way, with leathery undertones of orris, and the faintest green feeling of walking in fresh grass or hay. A skin scent from the get go and doesn’t project at all. Maybe the sprayed version would show better than the 1ml vial? Not much of anything at all on my skin and what I can detect is not really anything I want to smell like. Not bad, but not interesting or evocative enough to interest me. Retry months later: woody. Mostly I just smell sandalwood. I can’t figure out where all these listed notes have gone. It’s okay, but it’s nothing at all special.
Slightly green, earthy sandalwood opening. I also get a little lemon citrus but don't see anything like that listed. The drydown tones down the green notes and focus on the earthy sandalwood, which is pretty pleasant. Sandalwood is the main note and does have some resemblance to Wonderwood in the late drydown. Feels unisex to me. With minimal sprays, I get strong projection and all-day longevity.
Stardate 20210618:It is a run of the mill faux sandalwood fragrance. Kinda CdG Wonderwood or the Atelier one.
The Top is SW, minty and fig-gy. There is some green. In heart there is some iris (carrot kind) and then the drydown is same faux-SW.
Pretty linear and nothing great.