AbdesSalaam Attar / La Via del Profumo - official fragrance discussion thread

[Varanis Ridari]

LE MAROC

Listed notes: Labdanum, Hemp, Cedarwood, Rose, Tobacco, Cumin, Carot, Coriander, Chamomile

The first thing I notice here is the hemp, then things start to move into hamster cage cedar territory, then the rest unfolds slowly. I don't have much context for the choice of name, other than knowing Le Maroc is basically the name of a kingdom in what is now modern Morocco.

Things do seem to get sweeter as time goes on, which is nice. I was worried at first that this was going to stay in hamster cage mode, but the labdanum and chamomile came out to play near the end of the first hour. Neither Rose nor tobacco is terribly evident to my nose, nor really is the cumin, but that's not a bad thing, just a sign that the blending is doing its job of merging all the seperate lucid tones into an abstract whole.

The carrot emerges much later to my nose, and the final skin glow is going to be wisps of that hemp and cedar, with a mulled spice melange underneath with a general "brown" feeling over the labdanum and chamomile. It's interesting but clearly made for someone who is really into this mixture, and I'm not that person.

Really well-blended though and blooms for hours, resisting even a good scrub. Whoever finds this combination to suit them will likely very happy for a whole day in Le Maroc.


-Moved from the other thread

 

[Varanis Ridari]

OUD BEYOND

Listed Notes: ouds blend, musk ambergris, civet musk

This one seemed simple and straightforward animalic, so I wanted to knock it out early since I knew I wasn't in store for much development being a mostly oud/musk oil. As expected, this one is a bit urinous, a bit barnyardish, and breathy. Although, the salty marine aspects of the ambergris actually does a lot to clean up the accord here. This isn't overly fecal or fatty like civet can sometimes be, nor is it total "between the legs" like the stinkiest ouds I've encountered.

Instead, the oud punch comes first, and the civet sort of follows behind with tail tucked between legs. The ambergris seems to be the base here, with the other two riding on top. All together, this could be a base for another perfume, if you added some rose and spice, or citruses alongside some other rounding elements, like vanilla. By itself, Oud Beyond quickly becomes about the ambergris and oud to me, with the civet being more of a joiner, with it's urinous/fecal facets briding the woodiness and rot of the oud with the desiccating salt of the ambergris.

Since all three are musks, you start tuning out the muskinesss all three provide, since they become background static to the other elements of each ingredient. For a perfume that's basically animal plus animal plus rotted wood (animal), I'm surprised by how easy this is to smell. Or maybe it's because they're not contrasted with anything sweeter and cleaner to smell more challenging likes these notes are when found as parts of larger compositions? Either way, after that initial gut punch, I acclimate quickly.

Of course there could be a lot of other unlisted stuff here I'm missing, that's playing push/pull on the three musks that make up Oud Beyond. I can't comment on what I don't know is there, and if I smell blindly, I just see the oud and the ambergris mainly, with the civet playing peek-a-boo if you go looking for it. I let my BF smell this and somehow he said "grape otter pops", but he also thinks cilantro smells soapy, so I wouldn't read much into that. Our roommate though, he wrinkled his nose. He isn't ready for this level of musk and should stick to his 1 Million. 🤣


-Moved from the other thread

 

[Diamondflame]

Glad you liked it, spelling errors and all! Gotta make it feel a little loosey goosey with the errors to keep ya on your toes lol.
(That's what I'm telling myself anyway)

Appreciate the candour. 👍

Btw an autocorrect function must have been responsible to for turrning ‘musk ambrette’ into ‘musk ambergris’ in the listed notes for Oud Beyond. I’m not familiar with musk ambrette but I doubt they’d smell the same.

 

[Lellabelle]

Awesome, thanks for the heads up! I just placed my order

Excellent! welcome to the custom sample group. It smells great over here

 

[Lellabelle]

(copied from the AbdesSalaam custom sampling thread)

I decided to start with Le Maroc.

I’ll admit that when I first sniffed this one from the vial, I found it very confusing. My initial notes were of a huge blast of something intensely citric, like fizzy lime, with a funky vegetal, resinous undercurrent that made me think of ancient mummification rituals. I wisely decided to revisit it with a fresh nose. It was a good decision, and a reminder to me that 1; sometimes perfume needs a little time to rest after shipping, and 2; that naturals express their complex character differently depending on a variety of factors. Le Maroc is a scent that needs the warmth of skin to open it up. I’ve been wearing it all day, and have been enjoying it very much.

Testing: as mentioned, this one is very different on skin.
A liberal application gives a chewy amber opening. The labdanum is warm, and toffee-thick, supported by juicy tobacco and dry spices. The tobacco is the molasses-soaked kind that is smoked in a hookah. Its mouthwateringly rich and the combination with the labdanum is superb. There are spices in the background, that add to the sense of place and time. The overall impression is like Moroccan leather that you would find in a souk or bazaar. At this early stage, it’s a thick amber leather, most prominently. Cumin adds a little dirtiness, but never to the point of being sweaty. Just enough to give an authentic tanned quality to the leather.

Dry spices start to rise in prominence, with a beautiful dry smokiness exuding. 20 minutes in, this smells like incense. Myrrh specifically, with touches of frankincense and benzoin. Really lovely in this phase and I could see owning this. Reminds me a little of the lovely Mona di Orio Myrrh Casati, but warmer and much less dry.

The tobacco‘d incense phase continues into first hour. It’s like a curling tendril of pipe tobacco, in a place where incense is burning and leather goods are nearby. Leather Spice Bazaar would be a good alternate name for this! This is my favourite phase by far.

Touches of chamomile, and almost a mild hay note emerge (from the tobacco, most likely), as it enters its next phase. We are leaving the bazaar and moving outside. There’s is a slightly funky grass note (hemp, perhaps?) that accompanies this. A little vegetal dankness that plays off the warmth of the labdanum. There’s a candied oranginess that I get from Atlas cedar that is adding sweetness to the mix. There’s a familiarity to this chord. If you enjoy ambers like Ambre Sultan, or LDDM, this would be a great choice in a similar vein; however, where those are dry, verging on bitter, Le Maroc retains its humidity and its persona is distinct as a result.

Finally, the sweetness recedes and it moves to a salty labdanum. There’s a little hint of olive brine, which is occasionally how labdanum develops on my skin at high doses, before softening again to something closely resembling ambergris. It’s soft, and intimate. 10 hours in, this is still present up close. Given its suggestive nature at this point, the close wear and modest sillage is probably a good thing.

Overall, this is very well balanced and a satisfying wear. It’s more labdanum-heavy than other Scents of the Soul that I’ve tried. The ingredients and the balance are excellent, and while this has a lot in common with other scents from Salaam, there is a definite departure from his usual style. This is warmer, and raunchier, than some of his other masculines. It doesn’t have the refined herbal elegance that characterizes his masculines for me, and I think that actually opens the door for a new audience. I can see it being very popular.

 

[Lellabelle]

(copied from the AbdesSalaam custom sampling thread)

Brothers in Arms. Nice herbal rose. Clean, fresh, well-balanced.

We have some Abdesalaam aficionados here, so I’ll start by saying that Brothers in Arms has the Profumo DNA. Of the samples we are testing, this one, to me, smells the most like the Salaam I am used to. There’s a woodiness I recognize from Legno di Nave (now called Sea Wood, I think), a vetiver I have encountered in Oakmoss (and others), and a rose that unfurls its pretty petals in a number of his creations, both masculine and feminine. If you’ve scented any of Salaam’s perfumes, you will immediately recognise his signature blend of herbal elegance.

So, how does it smell? Brothers in Arms is one of those deceptively simple, complex perfumes. There’s just enough going on to provide a fully-developed green, woody rose perfume, but not a drop of anything extraneous. It’s superbly well-balanced. All the listed notes are perceptible, but nothing screams for attention. Each note supports the other in a perfectly balanced house of scented cards; take any one away, and something vital would be lost, but together, they work in harmony to create an elegant, green, woody rose that manages to be neither dandified, or demanding. It’s quiet elegance is, in fact, it’s charm.

So, who would wear this? It’s a gentlemanly scent indeed. This is so finely tuned, it is begging to be worn, spritzed liberally, on a silk cravat, silver tie-pin and all. But it would just as well on a wool sweater, straight from pruning the rose garden. Sartorial choices aside, it’s a beautifully crafted scent, and would appeal to someone self-assured, and introspective. It’s refined, and quiet, and humble, with great structure and quality.

 

[Varanis Ridari]

Appreciate the candour. 👍

Btw an autocorrect function must have been responsible to for turrning ‘musk ambrette’ into ‘musk ambergris’ in the listed notes for Oud Beyond. I’m not familiar with musk ambrette but I doubt they’d smell the same.

Maybe, but there's still a certain saltiness about Oud Beyond so my observation holds up either way. You'll have to smell it to see.

 

[hoschhti]

Brothers in Arms Review

At its core "Brothers in Arms" is a sharp-green, mossy and slightly smoky scent in the vein of his "Oak Moss". To be honest I never was a big fan of "Oak Moss". I find it too brutal, too one-dimensional and ultimately too boring.

"Brothers in Arms" has a similar DNA but it's more interesting and less sharp because of nice enhancements in the top- and base-notes. At the top cypress and rose add a fresh and sweet-minty note, and at the base the vetiver together with the peru balsam (I supppose) create a nutty and creamy note that smells a lot like sandalwood. Funnily enough sandalwood isn't listed but to me it smells more sandalwoody than "Oak Moss" which actually contains sandalwood. So, either that's an illusion created by the interplay by the aforementioned notes or there is actually sandalwood in it, just not listed.

"Brothers in Arms" stays very close to the skin, there's almost no projection and longevity isn't glorious either on skin, though better on fabric/hair.


Notes: cypress, rose, cedarwood, vetiver, patchouli and peru balsam

 

[Diamondflame]

From the sampling thread, here’s Mumsy’s take on Oud Beyond :

A sweet intense animalic barnyard quickly gives way to a gentle aromatic plaster infused with bread and something like dark honey. Nuances of ginger parkin like my grandmother used to make. I feel like I'm in a vast dim old wooden hall with many doors, so as I walk through, the air from the activity within each one wafts around me, then swirls together in a warm woodiness. As I walk down the hall, the earth is soft beneath my feet whilst furry animals are entwining themselves around my ankles. Their furry warmth combining with the baking coming from some of the doors, whilst one has something almost medical inside. There is a sticking plaster cleanliness nuance in the distance. The animalic funky qualities of oud are never far away but they swirl gently behind these different aroma veils as I pass each door. I sit for a while and the entwining animals are close enough to make me tickle their bellies and I am enveloped in the soft, furry chocolateness of their musky warm tummies.

The overall feeling is of a calm, warm, snuggly sort of peace. This perfume is like snuggling into the old fur coat of an ancient storyteller on a dark but starry night. Outside and with some larger animals not far away. Magical serenity in an intense, warm, sweet night.

 

[PStoller]

Brothers in Arms

To do this justice in a description, I'm going to have to wear it again, which I can assure you will not be a chore. It's simply blend-a-rific. The way AS uses the rose and vetiver like balancing weights on either side of the woods is sublime, and the patch is both sweet and earthy in a way that grounds and enriches the composition. This is one of those fragrances that bears the perfumer's signature. Absolutely marvelous!

*

There’s quite a bit of longevity in the late drydown stage, which settles into a warm envelope of sweet, soapy woods. No pencil shavings or scratchy WACs here! FB worthy for sure.

 

[PStoller]

Migrated from the custom AbdesSalaam thread:



Le Maroc

Last night, I wore Serge Lutens La Couche du Diable, which is primarily labdanum with a tinge of oud (or what passes for it) and no doubt some other uncredited ingredients that do a fine job of evading my senses. As Le Maroc lists labdanum in the primary position, I thought it might be an instructive transition.

Indeed, Le Maroc is largely, though not exclusively, about labdanum. The kicker is, AbdesSalaam, no slouch in the oud department, either doesn't include any, or includes so little that there was no room to list it after the chamomile. However, the use of hemp and cumin does a bang-up job of approximating some of the better synth-ouds in popular use, all the more so alongside rose. Our dear perfumer probably wasn't even considering that, but it still amuses me to think of him as a sly devil.

Now, as I'm not a fan of recreational hemp or its distinctive armpit aroma, the inclusion of hemp here is just a tiny bit off-putting. But, really, just a tiny bit. Le Maroc, after all, is not primarily hemp, and the blend is sophisticated enough that it's best to step far enough back (metaphorically if not literally) to place it in context.

That done, we have a warm, resinous, spicy-smoky scent that shape-shifts enough to maintain intrigue but not so much as to cause whiplash. The cedar steers the labdanum in the direction of wood resin, the tobacco makes it smokier, the rose imparts sweetness, and the spices add character to that rather than transporting us to the kitchen. Carrot and chamomile? I'm not picking them up, but AbdesSalaam never does anything gratuitous, and they're certainly not gumming up the works.

Fine stuff for fall/winter weather!

*

 

[PStoller]

Oud Beyond

To adequately review this, it would be helpful to be more of an oud aficionado than I currently am. (I like it just fine, but I haven't experienced enough ouds to say where this falls in the range.) I can say that what AbdesSalaam has achieved here is a warm-and-fuzzy oud, buttressed by the musk, sharper at the onset than in the drydown. It's an easy wear for me, and more dimensional than, say, a Tom Ford "oud," if less exciting than I recall the Oud Caravan series being. While there's question that it's high in quality, it's not my first choice for a FB—though not my last, either.

 

[Clarissochka]

Has anyone had a chance to try any of fragrances that are part of Parfumetherapy? Honey bee looks really interesting and so does Benzoin.

 

[hoschhti]

Has anyone had a chance to try any of fragrances that are part of Parfumetherapy? Honey bee looks really interesting and so does Benzoin.

These are basically essential oils diluted in alcohol to make them wearable as perfumes. They are of high quality but being a single note they lack the complexity of his proper perfumes. It's a good way to find out how certain materials smell like, or if you want to wear a single note that you are a fan of, like sandalwood for example.

 

[Eilenberg]

-30% Black Friday promo on the entire assortment.

 

[Diamondflame]

-30% Black Friday promo on the entire assortment.

30% OFF! Abdessalam Attar Black Friday sale. Use Coupon 20BLFRD21.

Applicable now sitewide. Abdessalaam Attars. Coupon code: 20BLFRD21 *Coupon valid until 30 November. 🙂

basenotes.com

Use coupon: 20BLFRD21

 

[hoschhti]

There's a new perfume with a rather controversial name:

Taliban flower - - Uncategorized

The theme of this perfume is a travel in the highlands of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and the scent of a mythical nocturnal flower.

naturalnicheperfume.com

I don't think it's a wise move to name a perfume like that. I don't mind a bit of controversy, a bit of provoking, but reading the word "Taliban" on a perfume bottle just feels so wrong in my opinion.

 

[Xerohome]

after reading this thread and perfume reviews I decided to go and place an order from AbdesSalaam. I went with Tabac, Sharif and Oud Beyond as my first purchase. can't wait to put my nose on them!

 

[Profumo]

There's a new perfume with a rather controversial name:

I don't think it's a wise move to name a perfume like that. I don't mind a bit of controversy, a bit of provoking, but reading the word "Taliban" on a perfume bottle just feels so wrong in my opinion.

Yes. You are right.
This is why this perfume is on a secret page.
it is not reachable from anywhere on the site except from the internal search engine, by typing its name in the search window.
It means that only those who already know that it exists can reach it.
Now my secret page is a bit blown up.
Practically Hoschhti, you did the launch of the perfume.
I am looking for one old picture of me in Afghanistan in the seventies. I shall upload it there. As I did for Oud Beyond.
Salaam

 

[james1051]

after reading this thread and perfume reviews I decided to go and place an order from AbdesSalaam. I went with Tabac, Sharif and Oud Beyond as my first purchase. can't wait to put my nose on them!

I can vouch for the quality of Tabac and Sharif, both beautiful scents. Haven't tried the third.

 

[Clarissochka]

+1 for Tabac. I received mine yesterday and it is amazing.

 

[Mick B]

This is why this perfume is on a secret page.

Is there also a secret page for "a dream"? ;-)

 

[Profumo]

If there is, it is enough to type the name in the internal search Engine box.
However there is not, because the perfume "A Dream" is a secret that does not belong to me.

 

[TagoMago]

Thanks for the generous black friday coupon! Been wanting to try a few samples for some time but the delivery price wasn't cost-effective for my fairly small order. I just placed an order as the BF coupon covered the delivery cost which is more expensive (€22.00) for my EU country than it is for the more distant USA.

 

[Diamondflame]

Maybe, but there's still a certain saltiness about Oud Beyond so my observation holds up either way. You'll have to smell it to see.

Yes. I noticed that facet too.

after reading this thread and perfume reviews I decided to go and place an order from AbdesSalaam. I went with Tabac, Sharif and Oud Beyond as my first purchase. can't wait to put my nose on them!

Great selection! I have finished Tabac, still enjoying Sharif and only recently was lucky enough to try Oud Beyond. They are all excellent.

 

[PStoller]

Placed a nice big order with AbdesSalaam today—long overdue!

 

[Lellabelle]

copied from the sampling thread:

Oud Beyond: beautifully blended Oud.

And so, we come to the end of the sampling. I‘m reviewing this last as it wasn’t truly part of the custom selections, and will copy this review over on the main thread also, as I know there are some interested parties following there.

I’m no expert in ouds, but this one is the most wearable, most nuanced, most complete olfactory journey I have experienced from an oud. It’s a remarkably balanced, soft, animalic, euphoric, interesting thing. Simultaneously approachable, and curious enough that I return to it over and over. Very successful.

Not that it matters, but I should mention that this a very masculine scent, by any definition of the term. Personally, gender associations in perfume are fairly meaningless to me, and I wear and enjoy many masculine-oriented perfumes without thought or hesitation. This was the only scent in the package that I also tested on my husband, in addition to myself, before writing this, as I suspected it would show its many faces very differently (it did). My review is mostly based on how I experienced it on his skin, as it bloomed beautifully on his skin and the scent just made so much more sense on him than it did on me. It wore a little drier, more barn-straw, and a little dirtier on my skin, whereas on him it blossomed into a significantly more nuanced, rounded, warm and almost gourmand musk. Big appreciation from us both!

Oud Beyond has a big opening, then softens relatively quickly. As I mentioned, it is a remarkably faceted Oud, with distinct notes of tobacco, hay, chocolate and leather. No dirty funk here, just a cocoa-dusted, warm animal pelt muskiness and a huge dose of lightly fermented fine tobacco. I have a large male mastiff who went mad for this. As soon as he smelled it, his eyes went wide and he rubbed himself all over it, pushing at my hands where I had touched the vial. He’s used to a house full of perfume smells, and is quite discerning about what piques his interest. This got more attention than ambergris, muskrat or castoreum, so it checks the ‘animalic’ box in a big way!
The central profile is the fermented leaves of cuban tobacco, with lots of hay alongside. This smells like being in a curing barn at one of the Cuban tobacco farms. There is an apocryphal story of Cuban cigars being rolled on the thighs of virgins, to impart an alluring virginal musk to the cured tobacco, and further rarify an already sought after luxury item. While I highly doubt the veracity of this particular piece of marketing (the constraints for manufacturing alone would make this deeply impractical, without even considering the logistical headache of finding and negotiating terms with women of intact virtue) This blend smells like the idea of that. Ambrette and civet do a masterful job of adding muskiness in a way that is sensual, without being obviously overdone. It is inviting, but not loud; it murmurs (purrs) rather than demanding attention.

Like the hand-rolled cigar, with which this shares more than a few notes, exclusivity is a feature here. How you feel about Oud Beyond will ultimately be influenced by how comfortable you are spending on rare scents. This is a beautiful scent, no doubt. All the complexity, depth and quality one could hope for in a surprisingly wearable form. It’s exotic, snuggly, and smells expensive. Which it is. I know the quality and value of Salaam’s materials and have no reason to doubt that Oud Beyond is similarly positioned relative to the cost of his materials. It is out of my personal comfort zone for price, however, especially given my limited knowledge of rare ouds. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to sample this, and I’m sure it will become a reference point against which other ouds will be measured. I‘m sure there are Oud aficionados here that would give a better account than me, and I expect that they are closer to the target market than I am. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it remains as beautiful a presentation of natural musk as it is of Oud, which is a remarkable thing indeed.

 

[PStoller]

So, these arrived today…

L to R: Oud Caravan No. 3, Mecca Balsam, Persona, Sharif (back), Taliban Flower (front), Gringo, Tabac, Oakmoss

Not shown: Hindu Kush (en route: it didn’t fit in the box!)

 

[strifeknot]

It's a start.

 

[PStoller]

It's a start.

Yeah, these ought to last me until April.

 

[PStoller]

As an aside, Salaam apparently checked my order history of mignons from some years back, and then (apart from one or two requests) specifically selected samples of fragrances I hadn’t yet tried. This, my friends, is a class act.

 

[james1051]

Received a goody box from Profumo today, also. Two favorites, Palermo Don Corleone and Acqua Santa.
He also bonused me a sample of another of his I have been wanting to try.

 

[joe king]

Just ordered my 3rd bottle of Tabac and a bottle of Oud Beyond, based on the great reviews here it sounds like a easy blind buy for me.

 

[Eilenberg]

I got a sample of "Taliban Flower" with my recent order, too. What are everyone's thoughts? I really like it personally. The official notes haven't been released yet but I get a prominent dusty-resinous, clay-like accord made of labdanum I think (and perhaps something alike Choya Loban or Mitti Attar?). It's really nicely contrasted by some sharper, brighter and slightly citric (?) resins that I would attribute to elemi and tad of incense. I think I also pick up some herbaceous, slightly green and bitter undertones that in my mind could be galbanum and some subtle florals. Those florals turn into white flowers' direction and I have a general sense that this might be some subtle jasmine used here, but I'm not entirely sure. Would jasmine be the said "Taliban flower"?

Dominique: how accurate is that description when compared to the real notes?

 

[PStoller]

I got a sample of "Taliban Flower" with my recent order, too. What are everyone's thoughts? I really like it personally. The official notes haven't been released yet but I get a prominent dusty-resinous, clay-like accord made of labdanum I think (and perhaps something alike Choya Loban or Mitti Attar?). It's really nicely contrasted by some sharper, brighter and slightly citric (?) resins that I would attribute to elemi and tad of incense. I think I also pick up some herbaceous, slightly green and bitter undertones that in my mind could be galbanum and some subtle florals. Those florals turn into white flowers' direction and I have a general sense that this might be some subtle jasmine used here, but I'm not entirely sure. Would jasmine be the said "Taliban flower"?

I haven't worn mine yet: I'll post my thoughts when I do.

 

[Eilenberg]

Really curious to hear your thoughts about it, PStoller.

It's been a few weeks, and I'm still failing to fully comprehend Abdes' "Oakmoss" (perfume not the attar version). This was the scent thanks to which I've learned about Abdes Salaam Attars and I had read quite a lot prior to ordering it. I'm a big oakmoss lover and most of the descriptions here, on Claire's and Kafkaesque's blogs were reassuring that this is something that'd be a perfect fit for me. I think I need to spend some more time with it. Do people here really pick up a prominent oakmoss note? I think it was Kafkaesque described one of the accords in "Oakmoss" as something like decaying, wet leaves. After a few wears, I think I've started seeing it. There's indeed some cold, wet, slightly earthy quality buzzing around this scent. This is the closest thing to oakmoss I can point my finger at. But it could very well be just auto-suggestion on my part. Are there any other reference oakmoss fragrances that have this note done similarly as here, so it could help me understand it? However, I think I've started noticing some coniferous accords here. During my first few wears of it all I was getting was a big, green blob of an accord of unidentified source (for me). At least I'm making some progress with understanding that part of this fragrance. However, what I still get as the dominant scent here is an almost gourmandy, nutty-spicy accord served on some dry and creamy woods contributing to the velvety feel of this fragrance. I think the creaminess can be attributed to Sandalwood (is that the scent profile of the famous Mysore kind?) and dryness is of cedar-like kind. When focused and deliberately looking for it, I think I can also pick up some earthy-rooty vetiver there. I'm curious what notes everyone is getting here from the most to the least prominent?

I am also a bit confused about the discussion surrounding "Sensemilla". Namely, the lavender note many people write about. I've spent some time with this fragrance and I cannot really smell it very well. I'm aware that Luca Turin famously made a comment about "smooth lavender" in Sensemilla, and I'm curious if that's the reason standing behind auto-suggestion of some sorts of many. Lavender is not officially listed on Abdees' website but it's not a strong argument against presence of lavender here at all, as I believe he only lists SOME of the ingredients and keeps lots of notes unknown. However, I really cannot pick up much of ot here. At least not of any lavender scent profile I would be personally familiar with. Definitely not of the floral kind like (one of the kinds of lavender) in Bogue MEM that was mentioned in some of reviews. After the short-lived green opening, there's definitely a noticeable coumarin-forward, hay-like accord with some herbaceous-green undertones. Is that what people mean by "lavender" here? I would personally attribute it to narcissus and perhaps some base notes of hemp, but could be wrong. In any case I still need to spend some time thinking about this fragrance.

On the subject of unlisted notes, I was meditating on the source of spicy accord in Mecca Balsam. During one of the wears, I identified it as cinnamon (that is not listed). Since then, I couldn't let this thought go in my mind. Every time I have worn Mecca Balsam since then, I was getting a very prominent cinnamon note. To the extent that it has changed my perception of this fragrance completely lol. I feel like my testing Abdees Saalam Attar's fragrance has quickly become rather a detective work of sorts instead of just simply enjoying them but I can't help that. These are beautifully complex and often have interesting structures holding all of the accords and their interplay together (especially for natural fragrances).

 

[Eilenberg]

I just sorted out my lavender-confusion in Sensemilla. Funnily enough, again thanks to Luca Turin. I've only read his review in his book but in one of later blogposts he writes.
"[...] This is where the story gets weird. First, he [Dominque Dubrana] let me know the perfume contains no lavender at all, and is composed from hemp absolute, cocoa, neroli, tuberose, narcissus, and cedar. When I next congratulated him on having done for lavender what Guerlain supposedly did for Nahema, the “rose without rose,” [...]"

 

[slpfrsly]

There's a new perfume with a rather controversial name:

Taliban flower - - Uncategorized

The theme of this perfume is a travel in the highlands of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and the scent of a mythical nocturnal flower.

naturalnicheperfume.com

I don't think it's a wise move to name a perfume like that. I don't mind a bit of controversy, a bit of provoking, but reading the word "Taliban" on a perfume bottle just feels so wrong in my opinion.

Alternatively, an excellent selling pitch to certain parts of the world?

 

[Eilenberg]

Another test of "Taliban Flower" ensures me that it's definitely a full bottle worthy scent. One of my favorites. I was accidentally testing it wrist in wrist with Olympic Orchid's "Hamsa" that I sprayed earlier today. That was a happy accident, because the comparison of the two made me sure that what I like about "Taliban Flower" is the citric, turpentine-like fresh resinous undertone buzzing behind labdanum. I identified it in my last post as elemi but Hamsa made me aware that it could be mastic or lentisque, too. I'm really curious about the official notes.

 

[hoschhti]

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