Jewels of Scent Salim - The Arabian Fragrance Powerhouse of The North!

Dirty, rotten cow dung.  But it smells good – too good!  Yes, here I am again talking about oud – and the one type of oud that would fit within this olfactory description, is the oud of the Indian variety – the jewelled earth of Assam. 

This is by Scent Salim, a UK based Fine Arabian fragrance boutique.  Scent Salim has been the first port of call for celebrities and northerners (the north of the UK) for many years, building a unique heritage of Yorkshire based Arabian Fine Fragrances! 

Going back to this gem of an Assam oud, this is precious, it is a sharp ambery scent and is very heavily punctuated by barnyad cow dung, or even cow dung that is burning… is that even possible?  I am reminded of ancient tales from the Middle East and beyond where rural people would burn dry animal feces for fuel and this is what I get on opening and this, my friends, is the signature element of Indian oud!  It is this olfactory description of a scent within fragrances and perfumery that Arabian consumers crave for in their oud concoctions, much more popular than the oud Cambodi variety.  The heart notes of this wonderful oud is the pronouncement of the honey-like ambery notes coming through, but very very slowly… the climax of the burning cow dung is coming to an end to make way for the royalty, which amber is.  This isn’t like other Assam ouds that I have smelled, which usually have olfactory descriptions of church due to the perceived notes of frankincense and myrrh.  No, none of that.  Not yet, anyway.  The strong amber note is here for good, but maybe with a tad of salt?  I think I detect some salt!  Scent Salim’s signature Oud is a strong performer with excellent sillage, bringing me ever so slight notes of saffron dancing in the air towards me, and was that cardamom too?  This oud, I would say is a perfumers prayers answered – it is dying for more attention, dying to be seen and God damnit, it will be seen!  And smelled! This, by far is one of the best Oud’s that I have come across! 

Scent Salim’s collection of Attars and oud’s have turned heads and got people talking, those who appreciate good Arabian fragrances and attars.  Their collection not only consists of signature scents, but a niche line as well as bakhoor – so important in the Arabian tradition of hospitality.  They even carry an 80 year old Kalakassi oud, By the esteemed Middle Eastern based brand, Abdul Samad al Qureshi!  Scent Salim’s Leeds store is a celebration of Arabian traditions and heritage, with a vast collection to suit all budgets and tastes… leading me onto talk about my next favourite from their wonderful collection.  

And I am in heaven.  Rose Des Reves opens up with a sparkling clean white musk and rose.  The rose is subtle but enough to be noticed.  Like the shy bride on her wedding night, she makes the occasional appearance pulling away the musk laden fabric of her pure white laced veil, covering her face.  On my skin, I detect no oud, but I am secretly thankful for it.  This does not need oud.  The wonderfully fresh and occasional lemony citrus notes of the Taif rose comes through, reminding me of a wonderful summers morning of bright sunlight piercing into my eyes, but as soon as it hits the innocent bride of the white veil, the musk makes an appearance to protect her.     This scent sparkles, almost like the sparkling of the remnants of rain water which caress the thick grass of the meadow and the unrepentant sun that glows above it.  Even at dry down, this continues to deliver with excellent longevity and sillage – a perfect pick for the coming summer!  An exquisite blend, created by Salim himself!    

Scent Salim’s artisan blends are treasures for those who love Arabian and oud based perfumery alike… a powerhouse of oud for the north of England, it is not surprising, that their unique scents are so popular with leading celebrities!  And their heritage collection is nothing short of unique gems – another one of them being Royal Blend – what can I say?  This scent takes me to Asia!  The wonderful sandalwood opening heavy punctuated with the beautiful Indian incense – possibly camphor incense, perhaps?  I also get the oud in the background and a powerhouse of a sweet note – mind bogglingly powerful, with the monstrous sillage!  If this does not turn heads, then honestly I do not know what will!  Salim has really hit it with this one – to me a perfectly Indian Attar, of excellent quality.  The longevity of the scent was such, that even the next day, the sandalwood and rose sweetness was not looking to slow down at all!  I am a complete sucker for sandalwood and rose and with this scent, I can imagine sitting in the middle of a Mysore sandalwood forest retreat! Ha!  That’s how good it is!  This is the scent for the hippies… I get an olfactory description of Goa hippies, who have travelled from western Europe, seeking refuge and solace at one of the many hare rama sanctuaries or something!?! 

It brings me back to those college days, when hippy Surrey guys and gals were planning their trips to Goa at the end of the semester and those hare rama Krishma devotees would love this!! And so they should.  For me, this is India in a bottle.  Can it get any better than that?  Scent Salim created this fragrance himself… and what a scent it is!

Check out Scent Salim Here, and get your hands on some fragrant gems!   

Esxense Milano 2017: My Fragrant Picks

Esxense Fragrance Exhibition, Milano

Where do I start?!?!  I am still suffering from the aftermath of the wonderful Esxence exhibition, which took place in Milano, Italy between 23rd - 26th March 2017.  And what a wonderful place it is!  The exhibition was framed within the beautiful backdrop of a wonderful city – beautiful people, beautiful minds, beautiful souls… all these essences were brought together in this fantastic event, bringing together fragrance aficionados and fanatics like myself!   And what a wonderful get together it was.  My mission was to find the latest and the most intriguing oud scents on the market… or about to come onto the market, should I say!  I wasn’t disappointed!  In fact, I was so mesmerised by the offerings of the various niche brands and their scents, that I almost forgot about the oud!  Blasphemy, I hear you scream!!  Hahaha!  Well, what can one say, when surrounded by such wonderful creations under one roof – paying homage to not only oud based fragrances, but other kind of fragrances too…the utter choice of sophisticated blends and excitement was quite overwhelming, to say the least!  My only regret was not having much sleep before and during the trip!  Ha!  Well, I had an array of scents to allow me to daydream at least 😉

Myself with Paolo Terenzi 

Myself with Tiziana Terenzi

Now there are many scents that I picked up from the show, which I wish I could talk about.  The airport security staff at Milan Airport were bemused with the amount of liquids I had in my hand luggage on return, all measuring below 100ml, as per their requirements.  But although there was a

Myself with Asim Al Qassim, of Anfas Perfumes, UAE

limit to how many of these I was allowed to carry, I think it would be safe to say that my pleading eyes, and to their minds, a seemingly bizzare passion for fragrance had allowed them to overlook the billion and one perfume samples in my hand luggage!  God forbid that I check them in, and they got lost!  I had to have them with me, for Gods sakes!  Hahaha!

12 Parfumeurs Francais, a Paris based fragrance house, kindly gave me the opportunity to sample one of their scents, Chambord. It’s a typically citrusy and very fresh spicy scent – with a wonderfully musky dry down… a perfect light summery day scent! Along with this, I received their other fragrance, Fontainebleau which more woody and a tad heavier, but with a wonderful citrus opening which is perfect for the spring and summer too. Their fragrances are packed in beautifully velvet lined boxes… a beautiful representation of the history of the house. They are called ’12 Parfumeurs’, because of the coming together of 12 perfumers, to create their magic in the form of scent and I must say, their scents really do reflect of French heritage and culture – and of course naturally, their boutique is located in the epi-centre of Paris, Avenue Des Champs-Elysees. My next fragrance I spotted at Esxense, which I have to talk about

about, was Blend Oud – a local Milano based boutique  and niche brand.  What can I say?  I was stunned.  The quality of the fragrances were literally out of this world – and one I tried there, Eclipse, has had me smelling the sample card, a good week after the event!  The dry down is absolutely phenomenal, and I can certainly see myself with this sample card firmly attached to my nose for the long term, if I do not grab myself a bottle soon!!  The base notes consist of oud, birch, cinnamon, oakmoss, patchouli, saffron, sandalwood, ambergris, civet, musk and orris root.  Wow!!  Just wow!  All my favourite notes in a bottle, but that’s just the base notes!!  We have also got the beautiful ylang-ylang, bergamot, lemons and lime… jasmines and rose.  This fragrance literally has my name on it!!  If heaven smelled like anything, it would be near enough to this 😉 So next time your in Milano and fancy yourself an oud treat… pop along to their boutique!

The next fragrance, which I had the complete pleasure of sampling, also, was Embers, by Rouge Bunny Rouge, a UK based brand… It’s a wonderful woody scent, but very light, with a smattering of incense I think thrown in there. This could work as a good beginner’s fragrance into heavy woodsy scents and although this isn’t heavy at all, it’s good as an intro for those intro florals and citrus fragrances. The Jasmine and labdanum are discreet and quite playful and overall, this scent gives me the olfactory sense of camping!!! A beautiful scent worth trying!


Well, that was a summary of some wonderful fragrances I sampled from Exsense… and if you are after more wonderful pictures, then worry not, because I have a dedicated Facebook album of all my favourites from the show. But until next time, happy sniffing!! 😊

Its National Fragrance Day! And Here Are Some Fragranced Words...And A Treat!

Happy National Fragrance Day!

Well!  I hope that you all took today as an opportunity to sniff out new scents, because I certainly did!  I wanted to check out some of the exclusives available in London, and there are many exclusives that have been released to Harrods and Selfridges.  Today, I am going to discuss my favourites!

Until last week, Penhaligon’s had a temporary pop up in Harrods, featuring many new exclusives that are not even advertised on their website yet!  Two of these were Sohan and Yasmine.  Both were utterly beautiful woody, dreamy, boozy scents.  My favourite out of the two and the one that stood out the most, was Yasmine.  What can I say?  Jasmine.  That wonderful Jasmine absolute really teases the notes of Bulgarian Rose, Oud, Coffee and Vanilla.  The oud, coffee and vanilla meld into this amazingly deep sweet but not too sweet dry down, kind of like the smell of a vanilla flavoured cake steaming hot out of an oven, but with much more depth and

booziness.  It is to die for!  This scent of course is full on gourmand, especially if you place the rose note into the gourmand category.  The coffee is not so apparent, but without it, the scent wouldn’t have had as much depth.  It performs to the strength required, like notes in a musical tune, whilst the others sing their song.  This is a perfume done well, created well, with the dry down being almost ambery-creamy like.  It can take so many angles!  Unfortunately, the Harrods pop-up has ended – so keep your eyes peeled on Penhaligon’s website for more details!

Now moving onto my recent find.  Found today, in fact.  In celebration of National Fragrance Day, I wanted to check out the Selfridges exclusives.  Quite a few niche houses have placed their exclusives, over the last few weeks into Selfridges, but one that stood out for me, was Prada’s latest oud scent.  Now, yes – it’s a typically western fashion house that has also jumped onto the oud bandwagon, but it’s an oud well done!    The barnyard bitterness opening of the oud and the clashes of it with the deep leathery notes are absolutely phenomenal!  I was literally taken a back, it was sour-bitter and sharp, barnyard oud with the deep leather really create a beautiful blend together, both literally fighting for the attention of your senses.  I felt like the leather wanted to out-do the oud and vice versa.  Well, I had to let them calm down a bit.  This is the fragrance that you smell on someone else, but when I say someone else, I do not mean anyone.  It’s that one unique person from whom you smell a scent that you have never smelled before, and you want it so bad but you cannot get it or don’t know what it is.  It is some obscure thing from another world.  It is that fragrance which creates memories and it is that fragrance which creates deep associations with the person wearing it.  It cries out for you to take it on and make it a part of your identity.  It wants to have that special place with you – and boy did it get it!  The heart notes of this fragrance, was the beautiful marriage of the now slightly weakening oud and leather notes, being married together with the rose, creating that boozy effect again, that lingering ambery depth that we see a lot, but the dry down is this almost smoky rose, tinted with the surrendered leather note, which has taken a back seat from the oud, and taking notice of the rose.  The oud is still there in the background, but it’s also weakened and has settled down within this 3-way marriage with the rose, blending into one.  Its indescribable.  When it comes to taming the loud oud and leather notes, it truly is a miracle if that happens and the rose certainly did its job well in taming them.  Not surprising, that it’s called The Miracle of The Rose...This is a must have in any oud collection! 

Now, before I sign off, here's a treat! To celebrate National Fragrance Day, The Scented Souq is giving YOU 10% off your next order, but you will have to hurry, because the offer ends this Friday 24^th March 2017!  So, pop over to the website now, to grab your spring scent for the season!!  My favourites for this spring are Chenille Lotus and Lail Al-Iskandriya!  Both are beautiful introductions to the summer season just around the corner!  To take advantage of the 10% off, be sure to enter promo code: NATIONALSCENT at the checkout!!

Until Next time, happy sniffing!  

New London Fragrance Boutique - The Spirit of Dubai, By the House of Nabeel

The 2^nd March 2017 marked a great development in the Arabian fragrance world!  Knightsbridge, London – arguably the retail and luxury heart and centre of Europe - had welcomed amongst its midst, a brand new fine fragrance boutique, ‘The Spirit of Dubai’.  This is a line created by the UAE based house of Nabeel perfumes, a house known for their excellent quality fragrances.

I have had a long love and association with this house, and their Spirit of Dubai collection is absolutely one that raises eyebrows!  On visiting their boutique, I of course spent lots of time trying their whole wonderful range.  I am not new to The Spirit of Dubai – I have been introduced to them in the past via their counter in the exclusive Salon de Parfum, located in Harrods and in Dubai itself.  The London boutique is located directly opposite the world-renowned Harrods.  One of their fragrances, which I had to get on my skin, today though, was Meydan.  The opening was actually very light and breezy, before drying down to the beautiful

concoction of a melody of spices with the sandalwood screaming for attention in the background! The cardamoms and Nutmegs, along with the cinnamons had performed beautifully and also what to me smelled like cloves, were really having a party on my wrist!  It’s a very unique scent… the sillage caught my attention every now and again, making me feel as special as I felt as if wrapped inside a spice infused pashmina, making it last longer and longer.  It had that effect on me.  It fits into the scene of cosmopolitan Dubai beautifully – with the freshness of it combined with the spicy mix, almost like the clash

of civilisations that politicians speak of – except that here, it is done beautifully and with acceptance.  The identity of Dubai really comes through with this wonderful fragrance…and really wants to make you jump onto the next Emirates flight – Dubai bound!

Enjoy, and Happy Sniffing!     

My Niche Attars: The Scented Souq

Back with a BANG!  Yes a HUGE bang. Been very busy with The Scented Souq’s new range of fragrances…. Which I must say are fantastic, but not only that, those who have tried them think so too!  We have had some fantastic reviews from those who have tried my own small range of selected fragrances, which I will discuss. 

My own blend of fragrances, which are exclusively only available at The Scented Souq, is a small line of niche Attars – geared towards different tastes.  There is the one that is very traditional and very Arabian and then there is the spicy fragrance, which is great for those who have a mid-range palette, when it comes to spicy scents and then we have rose.  Yes, the beloved Rose!  The Rose Garden has had some fantastic reviews, with people commenting on its potency and excellent longevity.  The idea behind The Rose Garden, was to simply create the feeling of nostalgia, going back to the roots of the dear rose, and bringing out its best qualities and what we all know to be the rose scent.  This scent has been described by some to be so potent, that the fragrance fills the room with roses… now there is no better compliment than that, is there?  Wink, wink!  And then we come to Paradise,

which was formally called The Scent of Heaven.  The reason for the change in the name, is because I am currently working on a different line of niche Arabian oils… and that name fits in with the theme of the new range.  But that’s all I can say for now!!!  So do expect to see The Scent of Heaven back again, but of course it will be a totally different fragrance.  More information on that exciting project will be released, when available! ;)  returning to Paradise, this scent, I admit will not be for everyone.  It is literally the scent that is reminiscent of ancient Arabia.  It is heavy, it is deep, it is nostalgic… if you let it be so.  This scent represents the real Attar… the wonderful blend of traditional Arabian Attar fragrance oils, to include musks, sandalwoods, ambers, dark musks, aged oud, saffrons and of course, Taif rose.  It is ancient, traditional Arabia in a bottle.  The heaviness and potency can be overwhelming for some…. But give it time!  The sweetness of it comes through and WOW!  What a wonderful sweetness it is, even if I do say so myself!

Coming to The Sahara, I have had some wonderful comments on it, appealing to those familiar with oud based scents and those who are not.  Every single time it was sampled it had nothing but rave reviews!  It’s a wonderful blend of spices, florals and earthy/woody notes… it truly is reminiscent of the Arabian desert!  Each note in this fragrance is pronounced and very potent, created to give excellent longevity, and certainly something unique.  Why not try one of these blends for yourself? Click here to see the range, available via The Scented Souq, and make sure you use promo code SCENTTEN to get 10% off, at the checkout!  International shipping is available!  But HURRY, because these offers will only be around for a limited amount of time!  But before I wind down, another piece of wonderful news that I would like to share with you all, is that not only is The Scented Souq’s new great range of fragrances listed on Fragrantica’s wonderfully resourceful database of fragrances, here, but so are my own niche blends!  Although the listings’ photography needs updating, you can find the listing for my blends here.  They are also listed on the renowned Basenotes fragrance database too!  Great news, right?!    

Please do enjoy these scents, and until next time, happy sniffing!   

Fancy Some Hashish? The Scented Souq - A Brand New Affordable Luxury Arabian Attar Fragrance Line

Well, well!  It’s been a long and hard start to this new year!  I have been absent from my Blog since the New Year’s period… BUT!  All is good!  I have been very busy, working with The Scented Souq, and their brand new fragrance line and website – which I must say is VERY exciting indeed!  I helped to design the fragrances and of course, my own niche blended fragrances which include Paradise (formally known as The Scent of Heaven), The Sahara and The Rose Garden are all available under the Niche Attars section of The Scented Souq revamped website. 

But what about the rest of the line?  Well, first and foremost, the aim of this line was to create attars that are not only in line with Arabian tradition, but also on par with the many niche fragrances of the big designer houses.  The aim is to offer affordable luxury fragrances.  You can expect the same quality and type of composition that you would expect from a £500.00 bottle of perfume, for better value.  So far, the best sellers have been Kashgar Silk, Attar of Shahrazad and Khyber Hashish… these are all wonderfully unique blends that encapsulate eastern culture, myths and legends into a bottle.  They are fragrances that really will take you to those places where those stories are told.  Khyber Hashish Has so far got top comments and remarks from those who have sampled… the wonderful marriage of green and earthy notes with the sweetish oud, and the notes of cannabis of course make this one utterly addictive!!  No surprise, is it?!  

The Attar of Shahrazad refers back to the solid Arabian
legends of the 1001 Nights, with the fragrance capturing the essence of Shahrazad – the wife of the Sultan who tells him nightly stories in order to save her life and escape his sword to her head the following morning.   Claiming back the position at the helm from the likes of Disney, The Attar of Shahrazad’s stories and legends gives us an authentic interpretation of the kind of oudy-rose, which filled the Persian air.  Khyber Hashish and Kashgar Silk, bring to life the rugged terrains of central Asia and in particular the ancient silk road routes, where the historical oasis city thrived in the trade of silks and other high-value commodities, including fragrance.  Kashgar Silk takes you back to the time where the air of central Asia, the Middle East and the Levant were punctuated by notes of precious oriental spices and frankincense, after the arrival of a hump load of camel from other parts of the orient!  Its smells like what you would expect the ancient air of China to smell like.  Khyber Hashish brings you forward in time and into the tribal Pashtun areas of the Khyber frontier regions – lawless rugged mountains, where your only solace is a of a cup of freshly brewed Pashtun green tea, and maybe a sneaky joint.  Except there is nothing sneaky about the hashish in this fragrance, or in the lawless land.  

The fragrance demonstrates the warrior strength of the Pashtun men, a fierce temperament, but with a

heart of gold portrayed in the almost sweet like dry down towards the oud-ambery base.  This fragrance is addictive – and why wouldn’t it be with those dirty green cannabis notes to flirt with?  With this Attar, you’ll be standing on top of those rugged mountains whilst watching out for your enemy combatant, with rifle in hand.  This is war -  whenever you feel like it.

Want to give these fragrances a whirl?  Well, in conjunction with The Scented Souq, I have a limited amount of samples to give away for FREE.  The Samples will include Khyber Hashish, Attar of Shahrazad, Kashgar Silk and Chenille Lotus.  They only ask that you pay shipping, which is at £3.95 for UK deliveries and £8.50 for international deliveries – BUT, you’ll also get an exclusive £5.00 off your next order of a full bottle of ANY Attar, from their website.  Find out more about the New Fragrance line, at www.scentedsouq.co.uk

Payments towards shipping can be paid via paypal to:  sales@scentedsouq.co.uk

HURRY!  There is only a limited number of samples available, and once stock runs out, any payments received will be refunded immediately!  Please remember to add a note stating your preferred fragrance for sample and to leave a review on The Scented Souq’s Facebook Page!

Enjoy and Happy Sniffing!

  

Perfumery from the Underworld: The Secrets of Ancient Egypt Unravelled!

The ancient Egyptians had enjoyed a variety of different types of fragrances.  They had exotic luxurious perfumes, that came in the form of oils, solid perfumes, fragrant unguent cones, incense and sacred unguents which were used in sacred/holy ceremonies.  In fact, ancient Egyptian perfumes were a known luxury throughout the ancient world and it was a centre perfume production, with many ingredients acquired either from the land of Egypt in the form of plants, or imported ingredients – but of course within ancient Egyptian society, access to these luxurious fragrances were confined within the noble elite classes of people.  Fragrance was not used primarily for scent, but people used to also use them on their skin as a shield from the scorching sun or harsh winds.  One very popular women's fragrance, was called ‘The Egyptian’ – no joke!!  In fact, it was common to name fragrances after places and regions, especially when they were produced to be exported.  ‘The Egyptian’ was a highly-concentrated fragrance oil, not much different to the more modern attars, and they were made using highly expensive ingredients, including cinnamon, myrrh and fragrant wine. 

The animal-derived fragrance ingredients, which are held in such high value and esteem by modern perfumers today, such as civet, musk and ambergris, were largely unknown in ancient Egypt and were not used in their perfumes.  In fact, their perfumes comprised mostly of animal fat bases and basis of Balanos oil.  Fragrance essences were taken from lilies, lotus (of various types), herbs and some fruit, including juniper berries and moringa tree seeds which are fruit and were grown for their use in perfumes, since they produced a fragrant oil.  Almond oil was also used.   

Ancient Egyptian Perfume Bottles

Another perfume, which was very popular, was called ‘The Mendesian’, which was named after the city of Mendes, located within the Delta region of Egypt.  There have been some discrepancies about the ingredients of this fragrance, however generally speaking, it consisted of notes of Balanos oil, myrrh and resins and some sources states that it also included cassia – a sweet cinnamon.

Apart from this, another complex ancient Egyptian fragrance oil, called ether ‘Metopion’ or ‘Galbanum’, had a list of notes, which again has a few discrepancies.  The first account of notes, included bitter almonds oil, green olive oil, cardamom, camel grass, Calamus (sweet flag), honey, wine, myrrh, balsamum seed, galbanum and resin.  Another account of the list of notes, which isn’t very different, consists of:  bitter almonds, omphacium (green olive oil) cardamom, rush (camel grass), flag (sweet flag), honey, wine, myrrh, terebinth resin (turpentine resin), galbanum and seed of balsam (balsamum seed).  Lovely! ;)

The Ancient Egyptians referred to perfumes as ‘fragrance of the gods’, and the many gods were actually associated with certain fragrance notes.  The fragrance note of marjoram was said to be sacred to the ancient Egyptian god, Sobek and the layman referred to the herb as ‘the herb of Sobek’.  The blue lotus fragrance note was said to be the fragrance of the sweat of the Egyptian god, Ra – and if you come across a deep and intense floral scent in the air, it meant that a god was present.  Whilst blue lotus perfume was seen as the sweat of Ra, the god Nefertem was regarded as the Lord of the perfumes and the god of the sacred lotus blossom - such was the value of blue lotus. 

In the Temple of Edfu, located in the city of Edfu on the west bank of the river Nile, of upper Egypt, there was a perfume laboratory, and perfume recipes can be seen engraved on the walls, portraying the use of natural resins in perfumery which was then used for anointing the goddess, Hathor.  She was regarded as the mistress of all the goddesses of ancient Egypt.  This laboratory was also where fragrant materials were stored, along with perfumes called the ‘Fragrance of Horus’  and a perfume called ‘The Tears of Horus ’ which consisted of fragrant myrrh.  The god Horus used this fragrance during sacred rituals.  It was the god Shezmu, who was the ‘lord of the perfume’, or the ‘lord of the precious oil’ – which in todays speak is perfumer!  It was within the perfume laboratories of the Temple of Edfu and other temples, where he worked on creating perfume oils for the respective gods of ancient Egypt and he was also charged with the perfuming the dead during the mummification process – imagine!  Ancient Egyptian perfume labs!!   

The ancient Egyptian world of perfumery is a complete maze of discovery!  One that I certainly enjoy going down!

Until next time, happy sniffing! ;)