Kelantan

Great great great stuff. Taha manages to retain all the beauty of pure oud chips simmering over a burner, while adding a little extra on top to make the experience even better. In most of the oud-based perfumes I have tried, the oud tends to get washed out by the accessory notes, and it stays mostly hidden until the later stages of the perfume’s development, after many of its captivating top notes have long since faded. While I still enjoy many of these perfumes for what they are, they don’t satisfy my craving for a perfume that is truly about OUD. Often times, I end up wishing I had saved the money and just worn a pure oud oil instead. Kelantan is not one of those perfumes. It is amazing from start to finish, and the oud is front and center the entire time. The other notes are there, but they are merely helping hands, never smothering ones. I feel lucky to have grabbed a bottle of this, and I highly suggest you do the same if you can find one.

A nice woody aromatic scent showcasing the beauty of Vietnamese and Malaysian agarwood. The Vietnamese Oud in particular has a beautiful mentholated type of aura to it which is quite special. It’s Makaysian counterpart has delicate peppery citrus nuances. Together they make a great team. The central Oud in this scent is surrounded by addition of delicate hints of vanilla, tea, honey and cinnamon. The masculine leaning scent has moderate projection and good longevity. Primarily recommended only to Oud lovers because of its price, this may appeal to lovers of natural woody aromatic scents as well. Enjoy!

I see it compared to Oud Zen here. Allow me to be that guy, but Zen, or even Zhen, is better, but in the first place, I don't seem to find much similarity between the two. I suppose you can compare them with the logic that, at least to my nose, Zen has a less rigid quality to it compared to the other Areej le Dores, and, in general, Agar Aura as a house in its entirety offers that more smooth, less-funky oud. However, I find Oud Zen to be very woody, cedar-like, and rosey, while this is far more sweet. It reminds me more of Ambre de Coco albeit putting aside their obvious differences, it's almost as if they don't quite share a DNA but a facet.

A distinctly turpenic oud is calmed by the smoothness of the cinnamon -- pleasant enough, if that's what you're into, but for me, this needed just the slightest amount of sweetness to balance it out entirely. A rose, or something fruity, and it would've been exactly what I'm looking for. As it stands, it's basey and stanky enough, but it's too heavily loaded in that area. Oud lovers will definitely like this one...