Attar/عطار

pjgh

pjgh

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Halifax, Republic of Yorkshire
Intriguing ...

... a subject I know absolutely nothing about, I've made a tentative first order of some single scent oils and a couple of blended scents. Having done a lot of reading, there is a certain tone on certain fragrance sites that might indicate these are cheapo copies of western fragrances and that's where comparisons seem to go ... my interest is in them as alcohol-free scents in their own right and hope not to be making such comparisons myself.

Walking through the woods at the weekend, there is a real raw, natural, deep, woody, mossy, muggy, musty, musky smell at the moment which I find very nice indeed! I am hoping that the deep, mossy, woody oils will bring some of that, along with exotic counterpoint florals.

Here's hoping ...

So, houses? I've found Al-Rehab and Hamarain. First tentative purchases are Lord, Dakar & Champion Black; Firdous, Naeem, Khaltath & Hajar; White Musk, Musk al Khastoori (sadly, not castoreum, but Kashmiri bull deer will do fine) and Madina Rose.

What else should I be looking at?
 
I did think that this seemingly cheap and fun rabbit hole could lead to quite simple brilliance, but costly simple brilliance. I've found Amourage ... I'll keep a note of this fellow, though; to use a simile, it's like I'm tasting wine for the first time and so really classy items would be lost of me, if not misunderstood. It'll come ...

From my flurry through aromatic fougeres, I know what I like ... and I know that I can't simply look at the top, middle and base notes to come up with an understanding of what they will conspire to smell like. Simple example, Jacques Bogart Pour Homme is pure cherry tobacco, yet has no cherry or tobacco in any of the notes.

I'm going to enjoy getting a few of these in every now and again, and as the warrens reveal themselves go with it ...

Oh, you've done it now Vinny. I actually got palpitations (and not in a girly way): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ame-Sombre-Artisanal-Attar-Created-By-Sultan-Pasha-/151827710503 ... which there is "a more precious and expensive variant of this composition is available, made using much rarer ingredients such as Persian rose Otto, Bulgarian Rose absolute, white ambergris, 30yr old patchouli, Hindi Oud ,Cambodian Oud smoke infusion and is 100% natural "

Cheers! I think :D
 
Bechet said:
Have you found oud.co.uk?
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No, but I have now. Thanks ... he says, having loaded that up in a new window while typing to find that the domain is available, as in no content. Is that the right address? Perhaps it's gone now.

Nishy said:
Amjal produces some fine oud oil based fragrances. Situated in Dubai but has a facebook page where you can order i have the tuscan leather which is quite nice.
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Thanks also, Nishy. I do remember a recent post about those perfumes, but could recall any of the details for a search.

Shemen Zait said:
Is it only me or the woods in the English North West smell at this time of the year like unwashed pits? a bit similar to Boots Fresh Wood ASL imho.
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There is something quite musty going on in our woods over this side of the country. It is muggy, musty, not yet dank, mature mossy, still green, lightly vegetal, a hanging atmosphere.
 
Well, my first tentative purchases have arrived ...

Al-Rehab Black Champion - a woody floral musk (to use the western categorisation) with oakmoss, tobacco leaf, ylang ylang, cedar and musk notes, it's a scent which I certainly like and would be very happy indeed with if it had come out of a bottle of, say, Jacques Bogart. It's not a MASSIVE scent, but it is definite; the oakmoss is there, sweetened by the tobacco, while the musk is heady and the ylang ylang makes it feel alive, somehow.

For my first go with an attar, I can see that these are going to be a lot of fun ... and I am sure, expensive once I pluck up the courage to buy into something a little purer and a little more custom. I am intrigued how the "top notes" and "opening overture" has some real legs, where an alcohol based spray might give a mere tingle of ylang ylang before the heavier stuff dominates. This feels more alive. I must say, I was rather expecting a scent bomb but boy, does the scent build. I am glad I only applied a little. I suppose a spritz from a spray perfume does give the sensation of being bigger; the oil on the skin does not have that opening advantage.

True, it's a mass-producted and really quite low-brow attar, but it's my first step and ... yeah, enjoyable.

I also got some tiny vials of: Musk al Khastoor (black musk), White Mushk & Madina Rose. Gosh! The black musk is fun! I can only imagine what a more pure extraction would be like.

Good fun so far ...

Right! Time for a walk in this glorious sun and a damn good sniff in the fresh air once the nostrils have cleared.
 
Well, I'll be muddling around at the peasant end for a good while, I think, really to get a feel for what these scents are really about without preconceptions from what I know of western perfumes, although that is a useful starting point of reference. Once I've got a feel for the quality and figured out who the right people are, I'm sure I'll want to commission a quality blend or dive into something more rewarding with some confidence.

While out on my walk, with fresh air and my nostrils cleared, the floral notes really sing out in this one I've got on. I hope that longevity is characterful of this medium.
 
Right! I've dropped a reasonable wedge on what I think are various good denh al oudh, musk al khasturi, rooh al misk and hajar al aswad vials, and a number of cheapo rollers, really just to get a good sense of what is popular as well as a broader feel for the stronger, more animalic end of the spectrum which is really where my interest lies.

Today, I'm being all fusion: Jacques Bogart Pour Homme, all cherry tobacco, with Musk al Khasturi behind the ears. What a great double act that is! The Musk al Khasturi initially smells quite sweet, hints of chocolate and vanilla, perfect for giving a slightly different edge to the cherry tobacco of the western EDT ... but then the musk bomb opens once warmed on the skin. Slight panic I might have overdone it when that started, but it's worked out well.

I just hope I don't wind up setting my olfactory senses out of kilter too much with everyone else around me - '80s Powerhouse is one thing, but pure whale sick and deer piss might be a stretch too far.

Oh, and Amouage ... :cool: ... yeah, I could happily have some of that.
 
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