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Post by Petrvs on Nov 26, 2015 5:25:34 GMT -6
Is there any specific version/producer of Majmua you can recommend? By searching "majmua" on ebay I get a lot of different ones, Egyptian Majmua, Indian Majmua, Ahsan's Majmua and so on.
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Post by PJGH on Nov 26, 2015 8:14:07 GMT -6
Ahsan is a bit too light for me. I have an Indian Majmua from Nemat, which is very nice, and an Egyptian Majmua from Paradise Perfumes & Gems, although I think "Egyptian" is more a description of style than a guarantee of source. If pressed, of those two I'd say the PPG one is stronger, the Nemat one fresher.
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Post by mjclark on Nov 26, 2015 9:52:11 GMT -6
On the "how do other people react to these fragrances" theme, I'm getting a lot of compliments from women on the Al Aneeq Ahlaam and Salsabel (which I wore to work!) oils and even my paramour finally relented and admitted she liked the Al Rehab Secret Man...
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Post by Petrvs on Dec 8, 2015 8:15:29 GMT -6
Still journeying into this fascinating world of attars, and wanting to finally order some Majmua from Paradise Perfumes & Gems (which Paul had mentioned), I was looking for some advice on which other attars may be worth buying from them...some black musk maybe?
Another thing: I am a very big fan of vetiver...more the earthy one rather than the fresher. Is there any attar that you know of, being either single note or blend, which makes a prominent use of this?
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Post by PJGH on Dec 8, 2015 16:51:56 GMT -6
The best black must I have is Surrati's. After that, I have a trio from bouk2509 off eBay: Black Musk, Black Musk II (darker) and Fancy Black (lighter).
Get a Darbar. Get a Bakhoor. Others I really like are K2, Himalayan Musk, Wild Forest Musk, you'll find them (eBay). Vetiver? I have a couple from Al Afdal but they're not all that. I'm still looking for a good vetiver other than Sumatran Vetiver from Mellifluence (eBay) which is phenomenally good! Dark, rich, woody, rooty. Quite amazing!
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Dec 8, 2015 20:30:01 GMT -6
I feel I am very far outside this conversation as I know very little about most of the scents/colognes you guys are talking about. I'm very impressed though with the level of knowledge and exposure to such things that some of you have. It is truly very intriguing.
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Post by PJGH on Dec 9, 2015 3:27:19 GMT -6
With vials of these perfume oils costing a mere few pounds, it's not difficult to amass quite an array - I, erm, have about 80 now! Within that, there are a couple marked as AA Grade, XX and so on ... these are substantially better. I also have a couple of ouds that cost about four times as normal and they are phenomenally better. You do get better, the more you pay; conversely, the regular stuff is very good from the off.
From a starting point a couple of months ago, knowing absolutely nothing ... it's a case of jumping in and trying.
My presumptions so far are:
Cheap 10ml rollers from the likes of Al Rehab are good fun! They smell good and they're cheap enough to use as and when. Longevity is better that most high street spray perfumes. With that in mind, I think these are along the same likes - popular, good smell yet not particularly classy.
Beyond that, there is an abundance of loose oils from the likes of Swiss Arabian, Haramain, Surrati, et al, which are more akin to the better perfume houses: YSL, D&G, etc. Ajmal (Arabian rather than the Indian Ajmal) is more up there with the Chanel kind of quality and class.
What it has made me appreciate is there is absolutely NO value in the likes of Tom Ford. Actually, those frags are quite horrible; synthetic and headache producing. The so-called "inspired by" from the likes of Swiss Arabian are abundantly better. What it has made me appreciate is ... Amouage really do make the worlds best perfumes, and again, the "inspired by" that you can find (particularly Epic & Interlude) are very good indeed if the price of Amouage makes you suck your teeth in.
I am very happy indeed with my French style perfumes, all really quite close to each other: aromatic fougeres, chypres and the odd one or two woody aromatics and just the one oriental. On of those with a complimentary oil on the wrists, superb!
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Post by mjclark on Dec 9, 2015 3:49:02 GMT -6
Why do they make some in Switzerland?
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Post by PJGH on Dec 9, 2015 17:25:52 GMT -6
Givaudan is a world leader in the manufacture of scents for fragrances. Givaudan is Swiss. They have bases the world over, including the middle east. I guess Swiss Arabian was formulated by Givaudan - their earliest scent is the Firdous, which bears the name Givaudan on the packaging.
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Post by fram773 on Dec 16, 2015 16:08:10 GMT -6
I had a blind buy of Al Haramain Oudi and Firdous. The Oudi makes one smell like a walking sex toy... Mixed with Al Rehab Sultan it smells better but smells just like a substitute teacher I once had in primary school. I think she was Turkish and about 70 years old. The Firdous smelled like Irish Spring initially but settles down to a soapy fougere. It smells nice enough but not really my thing. I will see if it grows on me.
I plan on attending a middle eastern indoor bazaar in a week. Chances are good I will have some finds.
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Post by PJGH on Dec 16, 2015 16:22:34 GMT -6
Firdous is most definitely green and soapy. Surrati's version is far classier, almost a deadringer for Ralph Lauren Polo. Back to Haramain, Naeem is along similar lines to Firdous but more powdery and most definitely a chypre.
I had Oudi, but didn't really get anything from it. Funnily enough, I don't think there's any oud in it, hence "oudy"?
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Post by fram773 on Dec 16, 2015 16:31:59 GMT -6
Firdous is most definitely green and soapy. Surrati's version is far classier, almost a deadringer for Ralph Lauren Polo. Back to Haramain, Naeem is along similar lines to Firdous but more powdery and most definitely a chypre. I had Oudi, but didn't really get anything from it. Funnily enough, I don't think there's any oud in it, hence "oudy"? www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Al-Haramain-Perfumes/Oudi-19939.html People say roses are the strongest note.I don't get that... Just a weird rubber smell.
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Post by PJGH on Dec 16, 2015 16:49:15 GMT -6
I think that rubber scent (I almost smell sick in there!) is the saffron. I've got another one from Nemat called Al Kauser which is strongly saffron (from the official notes) and that is like Oudi, only more so. Nah! Not for me. Good to have tried it, though.
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Post by mjclark on Dec 17, 2015 0:12:26 GMT -6
Frankincense has a strong rubbery smell. There are definitely some smells in here that are not popular in European fragrances!
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