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Post by fram773 on May 22, 2015 17:42:07 GMT -6
I scoff at the thought of paying $100 for a bottle of cologne. A lot of the money you pay for those really just goes towards advertising. but I also cringe that often times cheap cologne smells overpowering and cheap. I remember the proprietor of an African-themed store once tried to sell me some scented oils, some formulated after popular $$$ perfumes such as Armani Code. I am not a fan of them. Everyone has them and all the samples they stuff in magazines seem to smell the same to me. I wanted something more exotic, so I learned about these perfumes. They are made in a variety of Arab countries. Three of the ones I ordered were made in United Arab Emirates and one was made in Saudi Arabia. The ones I ordered are Sultan, Dalal, White Musk, and Musk Al Madinah. I got a 6ml roll-on bottle for $2.95 each. You can also get a 6 pack box of roll-ons for $10.50. Needless to say, they are very economical. Take into account that these are concentrated oils and last longer than alcohol spray perfumes. They met my expectations in that they where exotic. Definitely very eastern. DO NOT judge them by how they smell in the roll on bottle. The Sultan smells quite strong in the bottle but it is not so on the skin. Also, I initially disliked the Dalal and thought it smelled very feminine. Out of them my favourite are the Sultan and Dalal. The Sultan is the most masculine. I am not very good at describing scents. All I can say is that it is a very unique and complex blend, very eastern and evocative of an Arabian Nights motif. The Dalal may remind one of Cuba Royale or Paco Rabanne One Million. It has been said that Cuba Royale is a good cheap alternative to 1 million but IMO Dalal is by far better due to its oil format; you don't get any of the initial burning scent in the nose because of the alcohol. It may be said that that Al Rehab is even more economical than Cuba Royale. The White Musk is nice but it smells a bit one-dimensional. The Musk Al Madinah is a nice floral musk type scent but isn't really my thing, and it seems a little more suited for women in my opinion. Keep in mind that the sandalwood description given by the vendor, is reminiscent of the Proraso red scent, not the artificial sandalwood used by Stirling or most sandalwoods. Here are the descriptions from the vendor: SULTAN: Description by Al-Rashad Books: "Sultan has a Powdery Woody musk fragrance with white musk, oudh and very soft rose. A DEEP mystifying aroma. Popular among men." WHITE MUSK: This is a unisex perfume oil with musky fragrance. Musk Al Madinah: unisex fragrance featuring sandalwood and white musk. Dalal: has a lighter fruity sweet floral with Jasmine and Vanilla loved by men and women. With all these positive things there has to be something negative. The only complaint I have is that the staying power is short-- 4-5 hours. Yes it does last longer than that, but you have to get up real close. Still, the containers they come in are very handy-sized and are easily applied if needed. No mess due to the roll-on design. I am definitely looking forward to trying more Al Rehab scents.
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Post by IschiaPP on May 23, 2015 11:29:19 GMT -6
Thanks fram773 ... Sultan seems just my kind of frag. Interesting the Male scents ... Al Fares: Woody Floral. Aseel: Woody musk fragrance with Oudh Mubakhar(smoked), musk and hints of caramel and Vanilla. A Classic. Champion Black: Heavy musk aroma with woody overtones. Has potent blend of amber, citrus, rose, jasmin and musk. Dakar: Exotic Woody fragrance with Arabic & French ingredients. Cool, Spicy, Aquatic and refreshingly Arabian. Dehn Al-Oud: Woody Arabian fragrance with scent of sweet butter, smoked wood and Honey. Of Pristine quality. Khaliji: Spicy sweet citrus floral aroma with Golden flower. Has fresh musk-like aroma. Classic blend. Lord: Lighter Oriental musk with spices and sweet citrus earth tones. Has a golden aroma. Mokhalat Dubai: Spicy sweet and woody aroma. Similar to Khalta a Saudi Arabian attar with wood/Herbal essences. Prince: Sweet woody frgrance with light musk overtones from the wood. Secret Man: Sweet and woody fragrance with hints of citrus. A very oriental cool fresh scent. Sondos: Golden sandlewood mixed with Damascus Rose. Sophisticated Arabian sweet and sour musk smell. Sultan: A Powdery Woody musk fragrance with white musk, oudh and very soft rose. A DEEP mystifying aroma. Superman: Very pleasant DEEP musk fragrance with mystery Arabian spices and woody tones! ... and Unisex too. Africana: Has floral notes of Gulala flower, a very intense sweet aroma and Jasmin. Wood notes of Oudh. Al Sharquiah: Heavy Woody-Oudh and amber smoky sweet smell with florals. Spicy-musk tones. Great for Men/Women. Aroosah: Woody Floral. Well liked and popular among women and also appreciated by men. Bakhour: Lovely sweet musk and floral blend with white musk, amber rose and Jasmine. Balkis: Oriental feminine fragrance enriched with vanilla. Classic: Floral and Musk combined with expertise to create a sweet and wood like aroma. A Classic. Crystal: Sweet warm and fruity floral blend with a spicy and soft woodsy effect. Excellent for Men/Woman. Dakar: Cool, Spicy, Aquatic and refreshingly Arabian. Preferred by men. Dalal: Lighter fruity sweet floral with Jasmine and Vanilla. Original: Sweet spicy Oriental floral bouquet. Has slight pleasant musk feel. Randa: Lovely woody sweet fragrenace enriched with Jasmin, amber, oudh and saffron. Saat Safa: Sophisticated Woody Fragrance with Oudh, Jasmine,musk,citrus,moss,Amber and Moss. Sweet & smokey. Shadha: Sweet Exotic oriental blend of spicy floral and sweet notes. Nice and mysterious fragrance. Shaikhah: Spectaculor Woody fragrance with warm oudh, amber and rose blended to a spicy-musk Perfection. Silver: Woody Floral Oriental Musk fragrance with light and refreshing tones. A cool citrus aqua musk scent.
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Post by fram773 on May 23, 2015 12:15:46 GMT -6
Thanks for the helpful list. I look forward to hearing your opinion if you get a chance to try these.
I forgot to add that Al Rehab makes many of these scents as an alcohol spray too. Not so keen to try the alcohol based ones though...
I wondered about the Lord scent... It seems to have the same font as the razor company...
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Post by drumzalot on May 23, 2015 16:54:48 GMT -6
From your description the Sultan sounds interesting to me. I prefer the more "rugged" colognes, there is nothing wrong with the sweet powdery type scents either.
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Post by Petrvs on Oct 22, 2015 12:17:04 GMT -6
Since I saw this topic, and read also about Paul's passion for these oil perfumes, I was eager to try them.
Today I accidentally found a middle-eastern bazar selling all sort of things which also has a small bunch of these Alrehab fragrances, in 3ml format, and for a small price.
So this topic immediately came to mind, and amongst all I bought the Dalal, which Fram had mentioned, and the Superman, which I had read to be similar to an 80's powerhouse fragrance, which I usually like.
From the roll on bottle, they smell like I was expecting them to smell: the Dalal is very floral and sweet, and the Superman is a dark, smoky powerhouse, reminiscent of Jacomo de Jacomo and the like.
But, as Fram warned, I know these frags aren't to be judged by how they smell out of the bottle, so I'm looking forward to try one tomorrow.
I will keep you posted.....
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Post by PJGH on Oct 22, 2015 15:35:15 GMT -6
From Al Rehab, I have Lord, Dakar, Rayan Black & Champion Black and a couple of single attars: Dehnal Oud & Musk al Ghazal. Lord - Between YSL Kouros & Ted Lapidus Pour Homme Dakar - Between Azzaro Pour Homme & Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir Champion Black - a lovely woody floral musk with a ylang-ylang top note Rayan Black - something akin to Old Spice, but settles out to Werther's sweets! Yuk! To be absolutely frank, it's that last one that has rather put me off a whole swathe of these oils. I really don't like sweet vanilla. That said, when there is a sweet, vanilla note in a pure black musk, especially if it's in and amongst strong cacao, I absolutely love it! I think the Al Rehab and Al Haramain rollers are a lot of fun but nowhere near quality blends. Simply, you get what you pay for ... I'm going to be an attar snob now, but I have accumulated a good array of black musks and oudhs. I have both while run at £5 or more per ml, one which is a AAA grade and a VERY fine thing indeed! I also have a number of other woods, namely vetiver, one a Sumatran vetiver which is just staggeringly good. Blend these with amber and choice, good quality floral notes and you have a VERY fine thing indeed ... a world away from these fun, cheap rollers. Now, you're up to Amouage, Adbul Samad al Qureshi and the like. Once you're into the AA grade oils and beyond, you're in for a lot of cash per ml and a substantially better oil. I have taken that tentative first step with a bespoke blender up in Newcastle who has a dazzling array of seriously expensive stuff, musk, castoreum, civet, ambergris, all those lovely animalic notes I adore, woods running into hundreds of pounds per tola, florals from all over the globe. He's putting together a perfect Dark Rose for me. Back to mere mortals I'm going to pick up a few more Al Rehabs. Their sprays are nice, too, backed up by the rollers for some serious longevity. I'm after Al Fares, Guapo & Superman. I am a big fan of '80s powerhouse frags and aromatic fougeres & chypres, particularly. There are a couple from Al Haramain that I like: Firdous & Naeem. Firdous is an animalic oriental fougere, green and with a strong black musk layered under it becomes something quite dangerous! Naeem, soapy, green and pure powdery chypre. Again, with a black musk under it, it's practically Ralph Lauren Polo. Lovely! Just today, I've been wearing a really fly concoction of my own blending ... Surrati Black Musk - a deep, dark, powdery, leathery musk; fruity almost, but not the usual raspberry, it's blackberry. Al Aneeq White Oud - a mukhallat (blend) of all manner of aromatic fougere ingredients: geranium, lavender, juniper, rosemary; cashmere, cedar, sandalwood; leather, musk, moss, amber, balsamic and spice Pure attars of Somalian Rose & Jasmine, the rose a real green, unfloral note, stems mostly; the jasmine, a real masculine white floral, quite dirty really. Together, it's sublime. All day I've been getting wafts as the notes do not dissipate like western fragrances, wave upon wave coming back again and again. It's alive! All day, I've been getting wafts of something familiar ... and tonight it struck me: I've made my own Ralph Lauren Polo meets Lowe Escencia with a touch of Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme, three of my five top five perfumes (Trumper's Eucris and YSL Kouros being the other two). In fact that touch of fruit and spice picks up Trumper's Eucris. It's not my perfect Dark Rose, but it's a damn good aromatic fougere. My perfect Dark Rose will be far dirtier! Huge fun, these! Now, how about making them into sprays? I presume it's just a case of getting in some perfumer's alcohol and mixing 1/10. Thoughts?
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Post by Petrvs on Oct 24, 2015 5:47:54 GMT -6
Hey guys, one quick question, how do you apply these oil perfumes? Wrists and neck as usual? Do you need to rub the oil until it's absorbed?
Paul, unfortunately no clue on how to make them into sprays...:/
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Post by PJGH on Oct 24, 2015 6:12:57 GMT -6
Apply to wrist, wipe other wrist over, wipe up sides of neck ...only need to rub in if wearing a white shirt.
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Post by Petrvs on Oct 24, 2015 8:44:17 GMT -6
Ok I tried the Aseel, which I had bought together with the other two, mistaking it for a female one which I wanted get for the wife.....these Middle Eastern names are confusing!!! It's totally a synthetic mess just applied, but after 10/20 minutes it settles down to a quite pleasant woody/floral/white musk. I don't know whether I applied less than needed but it seems to have no projection at all...almost a skin scent.
Looking forward to try the Superman, which seems more potent and more in my powerhouse vibe.
I've also got a sample coming of a Mukhallat Maliki from Swiss Arabian...are their fragrances better than Al-Rehab's, or in the same league?
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Post by PJGH on Oct 24, 2015 11:53:34 GMT -6
I'd put Al Rehab right down at the cheapo end ... Al Haramain next, then you're up to the likes of Swiss Arabian and Surrati. Swiss Arabian do a good number of fine fragrances. I've got something like 30 little vials now, largely single note attars, but I'm finding Surrati to be a favourite to my nose with Swiss Arabian a close second. I do like Al Rehab and Al Haramain, but they're the most definitely the cheapo end. Think established perfume house like Ralph Lauren or YSL vs a department store perfume. Al Rehab are the Milton Lloyd of perfume oils.
Mukhallat Malaki is good scent - from Swiss Arabian, there's no cloying vanilla or caramel,it's actually quite mossy with the amber giving a good bite behind the florals, almost bitter in places. I also have Al Haramain's, which is more bitter in one respect and sadly has that coffee caramel thing going on underneath with a real green stem rose on top - like two scents, really. No, Swiss Arabian nailed this one. Consider it the "Royal Blend", which is a rough translation of the words.
Hajr e Aswad is another classic Arabian blend. "Black Stone", as in the black stone at Mecca. It's rose and bitter amber with an earthiness of oudh and vetiver underneath. As a scent, it's related to Mukhallat Malaki as the notes are much the same. Consider Mukhallat Malaki to be the smoother version. I have two Hajr e Aswads, one from Al Haramain and one from Surrati. The Haramain is really bitter, almost herbal, the Surrati more mossy and more rose, although not sweet rose.
They're a couple of Al Haramain's that I would say are a cut above their regular oils. They do a pretty fine Musk al Ghazal, too, rich deep black musk and oudh giving a cacao opening with licquorice and vanilla following, carraway breaking through after that. Al Rehab's Musk al Ghazal is deeper and dirtier, almost fecal.
Another couple which I have rather fallen for are Jannatul Firdous and Jannatul Naeem.
I have Swiss Arabian/Givaudan's, and they are just a step beyond my nose. I'm keeping hold of them because I know I will get there, but they are pure Arabian and something I'm not quite there with. Al Haramain's are very nice indeed! They're big scents. Firdous, an animalic, green citrus opening with more greens, clove and orris with sandalwood, musk, moss and lily of the valley all in there. Naeem, a powdery chypre with fougere, aldehyde, orange and bergamot top notes with geranium, cedar wood, clove, sandalwood, musk and patchouli filling in the rest. Musk heads, like me, put a stronger black musk underneath. Actually, the two together produces something not a million miles away from Ralph Lauren Polo.
While we're on Swiss Arabian and Surrati, both houses do a Black Afgano which is a new experience. It's tobacco, oakmoss, smoke, slighly woody and something quite green ... cannabis. Both very similar, yet quite different.
Oh, and Majmua. If you want something you've literally never smelled before get a vial of Majmua. I'll leave it at that ...
When I got into these, I was looking for the real middle-eastern experience. I think I'm understanding it, but you do have to take your western nose off to appreciate these. Yes, there are some comparisons that can be made with western perfumes, particularly now many are emulating these Arabian perfumes, some of the cheaper houses do good copies which are a lot of fun in their own right, but in the main, it's musk, oudh, cedar, patchouli, saffron, amber, rose and jasmine with a few others included here and there. The key is the geographical differences that produce such different scents, the aging ... and then the blending.
As I said above, once you've smelled a real aged oudh or a relaxed musk, you're into a different realm ... and yes, you will then smell the synthetics in much of the cheaper end ... and yes, you will then see value in the likes of Abdul Samad al Qureshi. Spend more and you really go get better, quite exponentially, but it's a waste if you've no idea what you like.
What a journey!
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Post by Petrvs on Oct 24, 2015 12:27:10 GMT -6
Wow, thanks for the information, Paul! I've got an interesting journey ahead, to say the least. I started with the cheaper Al-Rehab oils, just to see if I really like it, and then I will switch to the more refined ones. Well, I'm glad that I ordered some Mukhallat Malaki, sounds definitely like my kind of thing: I love middle eastern perfumes as long as they're not "overcloyingly" sweet. The same uk seller on ebay has also some Surrati oils, guess I will try them also.
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Post by PJGH on Oct 24, 2015 13:18:03 GMT -6
... it is the better of that blend, the Mukhallat Malaki. One thing you'll notice is how thick it is - it really is a blend of some quality oils, the best of each (at the right price) sourced from the best regions. If you find you like it (as I do), there is a full sized retail bottle you can buy. It's the oil, rather than the oil in alcohol as so many are. It's the bottle in the bottom left. The rest is part of the gift set, including bahkoor and a burner. While we're on that last point, part of "scenting up" is incense and bahkoor bathing. Clothes pick up the smoke, oils on the skin. For a westerner, perhaps it's our scented shower gels that can bring a similar concept to the party. In my collection, GFT Eucris and Khiel's Musk are two which immediately spring to mind. While on eBay (I'm not sure if direct links are acceptable here), but look to Al Manar Books & Media Ltd who carry a superb range of Haramain's "Lipstick" scents as well as their small glass bottles. They also carry a LOT of these houses' boutique perfumes as alcohol sprays. Check out the Oud al Anfar & Ard al Zaafran ranges I think I've got about as far as I want to with single note scents - from here, for me, there's a load of seriously expensive aged and rare sourced oils as and when the fancy takes. There's a world of cheapo rollers to amuse me. There's also a good number of inexpensive sprays, which I think I'll run my way through ... Keep in touch with how you're getting along and what you're trying out. Any other folks interested (Marcus?), jump on in and tell us how you're getting along. Oh, sweetness? Cloying caramel? Tasting sugar? Get yourself a little vial of Swiss Arabian Red Amber. It's a particularly good example of a strong resinous scent and will pull back overly sweet oils; not especially nice on its own, but it does a great job as an extra facet to something you find too sweet. Personally, I can't abide vanilla, but if there's a vanilla note in musk I absolutely love it! I love the note, not the scent itself.
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Post by PJGH on Oct 26, 2015 15:09:08 GMT -6
Since enjoying that cough sweet opening of African Black Gold, I've discovered exactly the same opening in Haramain's Hajre Aswad (or, "Black Stone"). Reading between the lines, I think my vial is actually Haramain's Red African, re-branded. It is EXACTLY the same opening note. Addicted now! I notice Haramain do a western style alcohol spray of their Black Stone. It's £30 (100ml). The oil is £10 for 15ml.
I may have been overly down on Haramain above. Their lipstick rollers are a little cheap and their cig box bottles also quite synthetic, but their loose oil is really good stuff.
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Post by mjclark on Oct 27, 2015 2:01:03 GMT -6
Great thread! Following your recommendations, I picked up some of these when I visited my daughter in Cardiff. These perfume oils are available over the counter there in City Road. I picked up Al-Rehab Secret Man, Al-Sharquiah and Original, as well as some Bangladeshi Medina Attar Chandan (which is black musk) and Sonali (which is predominantly rose). Everybody loves these fragrances on me except my girlfriend, who thinks the Al-Sharquiah smells like "cheap deodorant applied over BO"! so for her I wear Western EDTs lol Out of interest, where on your body are you rolling on the oils? I've been applying them to my wrists, collarbone and temples. Anyway, thanks to Paul for getting the ball rolling with this one (good pun eh?). This is a great area to branch out into if your interested in men's fragrances,
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Post by PJGH on Oct 27, 2015 3:11:27 GMT -6
Apply/mix on wrists, rubbed together then up sides of neck.
Is your Somali Rose not especially rosy? Mine is very green, all stem and little by way of petals. Quite dark.
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