Areej le Doré : The Official Discussion Thread

[Cheetah1919]

I think this one will be a lighter perfume that's a bit more green and kinam like. That's the thing I caught, that perfume is similar to his green kinam distillation in its flowery aroma. So he is just reinforcing the base, but it shouldn't be anything crazy.
The darkest I think this perfume will be is if Khmer kinam and Chinese our were mixed together.

Those two almost combined somehow as an idea….I’d be ALL over that!

 

[Mak-7]

Now let's all be less excited so scalpers won't fetch everything up

 

[Scent Detective]

I think this one will be a lighter perfume that's a bit more green and kinam like. That's the thing I caught, that perfume is similar to his green kinam distillation in its flowery aroma. So he is just reinforcing the base, but it shouldn't be anything crazy.
The darkest I think this perfume will be is if Khmer kinam and Chinese our were mixed together.

Yeah, I was excited when Taha and Adam were talking about the kinam like quality in this perfume...I can't wait to smell this one!!!

 

[Scent Detective]

Now let's all be less excited so scalpers won't fetch everything up

SHHHHH......

 

[MuskyCat]

The note list for this new release sounds right up my alley...But the castoreum is putting me off buying it. I have not liked how my sample of Cuir de Russie has aged, nauseating.

 

[DearMusk]

For a musky cat, you don't seem to like musks
To be honest, there's not a single ALD perfume that have been overwhelmingly challenging in terms of animalics so I wouldn't worry too much.
The biggest culprit yet (by far) is Golden Ambergris by Anonim and even then it's only rumored that Adam is behind that one.

 

[Dothraki]

Now let's all be less excited so scalpers won't fetch everything up

Theres still people sitting on entire 6th collections trying to offload on ebay for over a year. Plus this new one doesn't have musk, no sandalwood, not centered on oud… I think the days of scalping ALDs are dying. He is pumping out enough releases now, people get in on splits, and a lot of the folks who went crazy for the hype train probably soon after realized these fragrances are NOT chick magnets

 

[Singularious]

Lol. Trying to gauge any kind of romantic attraction based on scent is futile.

It is always surprising what my wife fawns over, vs wrinkling her nose.

She is indifferent to most of my ALDs.

The exceptions have been Antiquity (she likes), Santal Galore (not a fan), CdN (likes), and AA2 ("smells like Christmas").

 

[Mak-7]

Theres still people sitting on entire 6th collections trying to offload on ebay for over a year. Plus this new one doesn't have musk, no sandalwood, not centered on oud… I think the days of scalping ALDs are dying. He is pumping out enough releases now, people get in on splits, and a lot of the folks who went crazy for the hype train probably soon after realized these fragrances are NOT chick magnets

I kind of agree, and on the days that are not so good, I look at these unsold listings, and day brightens up a little
But technically - it's not their time yet.
Even Siberian summer recently went over 200, and I am not talking about oud luwak or others from that collection.
It's just mater of time unfortunately.

 

[Mak-7]

Overall, I tried a few of the older offerings, and from my personal experience alot of them are quite flat and unfinished. Solid bones are there, but seems to me that Adam really started producing finished products around the 5th collection. That's, coincidentally or not, he stated a re-release of some favorites.
There are exceptions to this I am sure but Atlantic ambergris is monotonous, like an accord. Smells good but no development. Inferno Russo - stinky animals butt and almost unbearable(but great to have in the collection to spray unaware but curious people, and observe how they cringe over and roll on the floor in agony when you say thisll last good 8-10 hours ). Russian oud has nice start, but then it's pretty basic transparent drydown(agar de noir is much better in the choco department), indolis is surprisingly unfinished to my nose, starts promising but then plummits down into being borring. Going to 4th collection, malik was flat to me, just lots of rose that drowned everything else, luwak was just bitter burned ground smell, gris was re-release, nothing changed, and kohinoor was kind of good, but weirdly bitter and chemical on my skin.
I am definitely looking to try samples of others in hope that I can find something nice, but the trend doesn't look good.
I think that way of the Classic collection, where Adam had time and experience to close the gaps in older formulas is the way to go.
What do you boys and girls think?

 

[JonoBorneo]

Overall, I tried a few of the older offerings, and from my personal experience alot of them are quite flat and unfinished. Solid bones are there, but seems to me that Adam really started producing finished products around the 5th collection. That's, coincidentally or not, he stated a re-release of some favorites.
There are exceptions to this I am sure but Atlantic ambergris is monotonous, like an accord. Smells good but no development. Inferno Russo - stinky animals butt and almost unbearable(but great to have in the collection to spray unaware but curious people, and observe how they cringe over and roll on the floor in agony when you say thisll last good 8-10 hours ). Russian oud has nice start, but then it's pretty basic transparent drydown(agar de noir is much better in the choco department), indolis is surprisingly unfinished to my nose, starts promising but then plummits down into being borring. Going to 4th collection, malik was flat to me, just lots of rose that drowned everything else, luwak was just bitter burned ground smell, gris was re-release, nothing changed, and kohinoor was kind of good, but weirdly bitter and chemical on my skin.
I am definitely looking to try samples of others in hope that I can find something nice, but the trend doesn't look good.
I think that way of the Classic collection, where Adam had time and experience to close the gaps in older formulas is the way to go.
What do you boys and girls think?

I disagree with a ton of this.

First of all, Baikal Gris is not a re-release of anything. It’s a unique composition and smells nothing like Atlantic Ambergris.

Russian Oud and Russian Musk, and Siberian Musk are three of the most sought after artisanal fragrances for a reason. They laid the groundwork for entirely new genres of perfume….contemporary oud solifleurs, and contemporary musk-laden Chypres.

Think about the context of their releases….quite literally nothing like them existed beforehand.

I do agree that Adam has grown as a perfumer, and that the latter collections are generally more developed. For example, I find Musk Lave to be a superior composition to Siberian Musk. I also think he has developed more styles and ideas, such the wonderful Grandenia. I don’t think these new developments take anything away from the original compositions he worked on, though.

BUT, for someone just dipping their toes into Areej, I don’t think it makes sense to spend crazy sums of money for the oldies. His new releases are just as good, and some better

For the collector? It’s hard to put a price on something you hold dearly, and desire to own. So I do understand the temptation of over-paying.

 

[Scent Detective]

For a musky cat, you don't seem to like musks
To be honest, there's not a single ALD perfume that have been overwhelmingly challenging in terms of animalics so I wouldn't worry too much.
The biggest culprit yet (by far) is Golden Ambergris by Anonim and even then it's only rumored that Adam is behind that one.

That was exactly what I was going to say!

 

[james1051]

Theres still people sitting on entire 6th collections trying to offload on ebay for over a year. Plus this new one doesn't have musk, no sandalwood, not centered on oud… I think the days of scalping ALDs are dying. He is pumping out enough releases now, people get in on splits, and a lot of the folks who went crazy for the hype train probably soon after realized these fragrances are NOT chick magnets

LOL. I love RMII, but it literally drives my wife out of the room! She picks up that deer musk immediately and is gone!

If I had worn it when we were dating… I would not have had a second date!

 

[Scent Detective]

I disagree with a ton of this.

First of all, Baikal Gris is not a re-release of anything. It’s a unique composition and smells nothing like Atlantic Ambergris.

Russian Oud and Russian Musk, and Siberian Musk are three of the most sought after artisanal fragrances for a reason. They laid the groundwork for entirely new genres of perfume….contemporary oud solifleurs, and contemporary musk-laden Chypres.

Think about the context of their releases….quite literally nothing like them existed beforehand.

I do agree that Adam has grown as a perfumer, and that the latter collections are generally more developed. For example, I find Musk Lave to be a superior composition to Siberian Musk. I also think he has developed more styles and ideas, such the wonderful Grandenia. I don’t think these new developments take anything away from the original compositions he worked on, though.

BUT, for someone just dipping their toes into Areej, I don’t think it makes sense to spend crazy sums of money for the oldies. His new releases are just as good, and some better

For the collector? It’s hard to put a price on something you hold dearly, and desire to own. So I do understand the temptation of over-paying.

Agreed! Good post…

 

[Paddington]

Sometimes i consider buying a bottle of santal galore but then i realise i dont need it

 

[Scent Detective]

Sometimes i consider buying a bottle of santal galore but then i realise i dont need it

That’s my problem…I do need it!
LOL…

 

[Olympe de Gouges]

Overall, I tried a few of the older offerings, and from my personal experience alot of them are quite flat and unfinished. Solid bones are there, but seems to me that Adam really started producing finished products around the 5th collection. That's, coincidentally or not, he stated a re-release of some favorites.
There are exceptions to this I am sure but Atlantic ambergris is monotonous, like an accord. Smells good but no development. Inferno Russo - stinky animals butt and almost unbearable(but great to have in the collection to spray unaware but curious people, and observe how they cringe over and roll on the floor in agony when you say thisll last good 8-10 hours ). Russian oud has nice start, but then it's pretty basic transparent drydown(agar de noir is much better in the choco department), indolis is surprisingly unfinished to my nose, starts promising but then plummits down into being borring. Going to 4th collection, malik was flat to me, just lots of rose that drowned everything else, luwak was just bitter burned ground smell, gris was re-release, nothing changed, and kohinoor was kind of good, but weirdly bitter and chemical on my skin.
I am definitely looking to try samples of others in hope that I can find something nice, but the trend doesn't look good.
I think that way of the Classic collection, where Adam had time and experience to close the gaps in older formulas is the way to go.
What do you boys and girls think?

For the sake of the internet/text-based communication to be explicitly clear my tone is playful: It looks like Mak-7 woke up this morning and chose chaos

I cannot speak to all of this, I started getting into perfume as a hobby around the 4th collection and in my first random mass samples on LuckyScent where I ended up after being turned on to perfume by Tom Ford (my how I have changed). I wanted to try something more expensive to expand my taste and ended up with samples of Baikal Gris, Malik Al Taif, and Oud Luwak. I remember thinking the Baikal Gris poem made it sound really good and the description of female rose harvest on MAT sounded really pretentious and ridiculous, and ordered OL because it had oud in the name and I wanted to try this oud stuff all the cool kids were talking about.

I digress, anyhow, coming from Tom Ford I was not ready for ALD and was overwhelmed, threw my samples in a drawer and completely missed the 5th collection, then around the 6th figured I should use up this pile of expensive samples because they were expensive and tried MAT and it was kind of this "[diety of your choice] take the wheel" moment as MAT and then OL knocked my socks and pantalones off. I was still unconfident and not rich so I hesitated and missed the 6th completely as well. I remember seeing ADN in stock at LuckyScent ( if I could turn back ti-ime ).

Anyhow, after a probably unnecessary introduction: I never tried the og, but AAII and BG strike me as nothing alike. They both feel like they have very different characters to me. I do not remember perfectly because once I re-tried them my samples of MAT and OL lasted less than a week before I had greedily consumed them and that was just when I was starting to really appreciate perfume, but I found them both to be so intense rich and in both cases I have actually since then been searching for replacements that approximate them (without having to pay a massive premium for the originals on eBay). Actually that is why I was most excited for Oud Zhen because I was naively hoping/assuming that it would just be the successor in the line of Russian Oud - Oud Luwak - Agar de Noir (helas).

Anyhow, I will shut up, but just adding my two cents that I am carefully waiting ready to pounce on either the classic rereleases of MAT, RO, OL, and ADN (and honestly also Indolis, Koh-I-Nor, and Walimah) or any revisions of similar ideas in the 7th or 8th collections.

it is funny to think back on the days when I knew nothing and was a bit weirded out by this strange possibly sexist Russian guy everyone was talking about who was going on and on about amazing magic rose oil that is only touched and prepared by women.

 

[Mak-7]

I disagree with a ton of this.

First of all, Baikal Gris is not a re-release of anything. It’s a unique composition and smells nothing like Atlantic Ambergris.

Russian Oud and Russian Musk, and Siberian Musk are three of the most sought after artisanal fragrances for a reason. They laid the groundwork for entirely new genres of perfume….contemporary oud solifleurs, and contemporary musk-laden Chypres.

Think about the context of their releases….quite literally nothing like them existed beforehand.

I do agree that Adam has grown as a perfumer, and that the latter collections are generally more developed. For example, I find Musk Lave to be a superior composition to Siberian Musk. I also think he has developed more styles and ideas, such the wonderful Grandenia. I don’t think these new developments take anything away from the original compositions he worked on, though.

BUT, for someone just dipping their toes into Areej, I don’t think it makes sense to spend crazy sums of money for the oldies. His new releases are just as good, and some better

For the collector? It’s hard to put a price on something you hold dearly, and desire to own. So I do understand the temptation of over-paying.

Well that's what I am saying, for users, who actually use perfumes, new stuff is better than old. So called "Collectors" are a different breed that I could care less for. They'll hold their bottles untouched till accident happens and their kids sell "that stink" on eBay for cheap. But I digress....

I found Baikal gris to be lighter AA, and AA2 is completely different story completely.

When you talk about "Think about the context of their releases….quite literally nothing like them existed beforehand." What do you mean? East meets West philosophy?

yes, maybe Siberian musk and Russian musk is good, which I hope I said that there are exceptions, but I stand my ground that new releases and classic collection is what users should be seeking out to wear

 

[Mak-7]

It looks like Mak-7 woke up this morning and chose chaos

Blame crows and magpies that start their party under my window at 5 am,

 

[JonoBorneo]

Well that's what I am saying, for users, who actually use perfumes, new stuff is better than old. So called "Collectors" are a different breed that I could care less for. They'll hold their bottles untouched till accident happens and their kids sell "that stink" on eBay for cheap. But I digress....

I found Baikal gris to be lighter AA, and AA2 is completely different story completely.

When you talk about "Think about the context of their releases….quite literally nothing like them existed beforehand." What do you mean? East meets West philosophy?

yes, maybe Siberian musk and Russian musk is good, which I hope I said that there are exceptions, but I stand my ground that new releases and classic collection is what users should be seeking out to wear

Hmm, maybe we’re agreeing more than I thought LOL.

I think what I’m trying to say is that these fragrances started a new genre of perfumes; so yes, the newer ones are better, but the older ones still hold lots of weight in my mind.

 

[Paddington]

Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura - takeonethingoff.com

Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura is a woodsy citrus-oud-leather scent that surprises with its simplicity and lightness

takeonethingoff.com

first review so far



for the lazy

 

[Proust_Madeleine]

Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura - takeonethingoff.com

Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura is a woodsy citrus-oud-leather scent that surprises with its simplicity and lightness

takeonethingoff.com

first review so far

View attachment 226134

for the lazy

Interesting! What do y’all think? Are you sweating? I could see some disappointment setting in, for a few, especially after the BN receptions of Manly and CDN. What do people think? Is this too different? I’m interested. A 10 ml wouldn’t go astray!

 

[bl00drunzcold]

“Let me start by saying that Aquilaria Blossom surprised me by its lightness and its simplicity. Now, never were two words more guaranteed to make the Basenotes boys sweat than these, so let me clarify. When I say ‘light’, I mean that texturally, it wears as thinly and elegantly on the skin as an Hermès silk scarf (compared to, say, an Aran sweater).”

She knows us so well

 

[Paddington]

Interesting! What do y’all think? Are you sweating? I could see some disappointment setting in, for a few, especially after the BN receptions of Manly and CDN. What do people think? Is this too different? I’m interested. A 10 ml wouldn’t go astray!

HMM I'm not sure where I stand personally, I don't mind a light composition but hmm, seeming like a 10Ml and probably might grab that prin i wanted or wait for the trnp return one of the two

 

[Cheetah1919]

Not a review that I expected, but sounds very interesting!

 

[TNBLUEMIKE]

Sounds like a Will of the Wisp type collaboration. I hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears and becomes a standout.

 

[Singularious]

When I say ‘light’, I mean that texturally, it wears as thinly and elegantly on the skin as an Hermès silk scarf (compared to, say, an Aran sweater).”

Really wish I could relate to this metaphor!

This one is sounding promising to me. It is hot here, and will be for another 4+ months. Oud Zhen is less appealing than it was over the winter.

 

[JonoBorneo]

This sounds honestly like it’s in a similar vein to Chinese oud, and if so, will most likely be a love for me.

 

[Mak-7]

Really wish I could relate to this metaphor!

This one is sounding promising to me. It is hot here, and will be for another 4+ months. Oud Zhen is less appealing than it was over the winter.

Chine our versus war and peace wear experience.
Agar ebene vs Tuscan leather.
You can smell both clearly, but ur not constantly aware of the scent at its full force

 

[Mak-7]

Hmm, maybe we’re agreeing more than I thought LOL.

I think what I’m trying to say is that these fragrances started a new genre of perfumes; so yes, the newer ones are better, but the older ones still hold lots of weight in my mind.

I am not sure that they started a genre per se, but I would say that he brought quality back 8n the game when other houses started to deflate.

 

[Singularious]

Chine our versus war and peace wear experience.
Agar ebene vs Tuscan leather.
You can smell both clearly, but ur not constantly aware of the scent at its full force

Wish I could understand this example too!

 

[FragSyndrome]

“Let me start by saying that Aquilaria Blossom surprised me by its lightness and its simplicity. Now, never were two words more guaranteed to make the Basenotes boys sweat than these, so let me clarify. When I say ‘light’, I mean that texturally, it wears as thinly and elegantly on the skin as an Hermès silk scarf (compared to, say, an Aran sweater).”

I'm wondering if this will wear like Prin Oqachol

 

[Castingshadows]

That review sounds exactly like what I was expecting! Wow I can’t wait for this one now. I’m so excited haha! I had a feeling this one is gonna be a banger and executed beautifully. So stoked.

 

[Dothraki]

Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura - takeonethingoff.com

Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura is a woodsy citrus-oud-leather scent that surprises with its simplicity and lightness

takeonethingoff.com

first review so far

View attachment 226134

for the lazy

I love the way she described it…I didn’t expect anything leaning animalic, but then again, we are all used to huffing straight ouds and musks and everything in between here. So for me, I think i’m even more excited. AA’s Le Cheikh Boheme has a touch of animalic along with a fresh polished leather in there too…but I still consider it a fresh scent, so hoping this will be in a similar vein.

Good writeup too! Enjoyed reading it.

 

[Scent Detective]

I can definitely relate to the smell of a “tack room”, “like the smell of removing a saddle of a horse that you’ve been riding”. I used a description very similar to this to describe the OG Atlantic Ambergris years ago when I first smelled it after it’s initial release. I love that smell personally, so I’m excited to see where this fragrance takes us…

 

[Mak-7]

Wish I could understand this example too!

Like the sun in the morning, and the sun at 13:00?
One is a gentle warmth, and the other is scorching?

 

[Scent Detective]

Last thought for tonight on Aqualaria Blossom. I like the idea of AB being sheer and lighter like Chinese Oud and like that comparison…but I hope it’s unique and different as well. Can’t wait to smell it!!!

 

[Diamondflame]

For me it’s a question of paying crazy shipping for a 10 ml vs close to $300 for a 30 ml. But from Claire’s take it seems light & wearable enough to warrant the larger bottle.

 

[Paddington]

had a nap thought about it but seems like I’m hitting the skip button something else on my radar atm that gives me the tingles

 

[TNBLUEMIKE]

I'm wondering if this will wear like Prin Oqachol

If it does then I would be extremally satisfied.