Al Shams Special Edition

Dahn Oudh Al Shams Special Edition is my first introduction into Ajmal's famed repute that has garnered secretive, noteworthy fame among fragrance enthusiasts. Our Middle Eastern and Indian friends speak of the house's offerings–excellent attars, a few poorly formulated alcohol-based fragrances, some entirely economic clones, a select number of potent, Arabic-styled perfumery gems. The perfume I'm reviewing falls into the latter category. Purchased on Ebay from an Omani seller for a hefty sum of 140 dollars for 30ml, Dahn Oudh Al Shams Special Edition is an oud affair of the petrol, oak barrel variety. While reviews on other sites either exult or shrink from its supposed barnyard quality, I don't get much funk. It's neither fecal nor cheesy nor fermented. Brand new tires and alcohol fill the nose upon first spray and hang in the air with a kind of density only equaled by rich, resinous, amber-y orientals. To my delight, instead of vanilla's pedestrianism or sandalwood's familiarity, a primordial concoction of wood rot, fossil fuels, and marshland give the sensation that I've just atomized an attar.

Lovers of Hindi oud, rejoice!! This is LEGIT. Perfectly formulated and beast mode performance. I opened my bottle and applied one spray to a test strip, which was of course stunning. I left the room for about half an hour and when I came back, the fragrance of a regal Hindi oud had filled the room. This is no joke, worth every penny and though it is most likely synthetic it is masterfully blended, basically identical to the real thing. I have this as well as the standard edition, and both are excellent and smell basically the same-- this one is noticeably stronger, but the notes are almost identical. This is very similar also to Rania J Oud Assam, which is actually maybe even more barnyard than this one. How I wish Western sensibilities would catch up with authentic oud fragrances, because though I love all of these, I am not sure I should risk wearing them in public. Some will love it, many will hate it, but if you know, you know.

Heaven in a Barn. This is my first review, reserved for my favorite fragrance. This potency of Oud is not for everyone - not strait out of the bottle anyway (which is lovely btw, and matches the personality of the perfume). Personally, I love that potent, fecal, inside-the-folds-of-skin in a forest scent. But the dry down alleviates the potency that repels those not initiated and becomes something so natural that after 2 or 3 hours, I can't even smell it without ramming my nose into the folds of my elbow or wrist. Other's can, and they either compliment me for 'smelling exotic' or avoid me altogether. A day later, I'll get a whiff of it here and there - even after a shower. I've lived in the Middle East and smelled my share of real ouds that I can't afford. This, I must say, though synthetic, is close second.

This is extraordinary astonishing jaguar cat pisse.. sorry there is no other word here , but it is really that wild! You think you are in the jungle and suddenly one of that big gorgeous cats would spring in sight and leaves in the same eyeblink, and all it has left was a waft of.. .hmm aoud and in its purest purest form. It is for sure a great oriental, but be cautious! ONe spritz is everlasting!! The top note is nearly unbearable for me but if you first put on a little oriental rose oil on your skin and then a tiny tiny bit of that special perfume I guarantee you that nobody smells like you! It s undiscribable.. speechless. Do I love it? Finally after 2 hours or so:YES.. If you give it the time and you LOVE AOUD then you must simply try this one!!

At first, I disliked the smell of real oud, I was accustomed to designer "oud" fragrances only. It has been quite the journey but now I can finally appreciate a beauty like this. This is a strong classic Hindi Oud fragrance, opens with a classic real oud smell, very potent. It starts to dry down quickly, which the scent profile is linear, within minutes you can get your nose right into it and start to detect the nuances. It is animalic, barnyardy, faecal, animalistic or as my son said, "it smells like a farm!". In the dry down it smells smoky, dirty, and dark. I enjoy it on its own, but this would not be out of place to add some sweetness by layering it with something like Arabian Oud Al Fareed or Montale Arabians Tonka. For oud lovers.

I love this. I have several fragrances that contain oud, but this is unapologetic oud. I understand why people pick up a blue cheese smell in the opening, but I smell hot, humid forest - a winey, woody scent full of the simultaneous fertility and decay of a rainforest. It is also beautiful layered with lighter fragrances to add depth. Unlike some other reviewers, I appreciate oud in the heat of summer: oud is a warm counterpoint to snow, but it's home is the summer heat. Lighter fragrances may give a cool, breezy feel in the heat, but oud embraces the warmth of summer, celebrates it.

This comes in 3 different concentrations. The lightest concentration is wonderful, but the strongest concentration has the drydown to DIE for.. This is a more realistic and natural oudh than other commercial/niche brands use. For those who aren't used to the drydown, you have to get acquainted. Several nose sessions will make all of the difference in the world. Apply at least 30 minutes before going out and you will see how wonderful the strongest concentration is. I have all of the concentrations for this and I'm working on completing the whole "Eastern" collection.

Opens up strong with that cheese I'd heard about but this subsides in about 20-30 minutes. It develops and smells wonderful but after two sprays on my skin (neck, each side), it fades to a more intimate fragrance after an hour with an average sillage as far as I can tell.Overall, it's a wonderful scent for any genuine lover of actual oud. Edit: Sprayed a third time and this stuff is barely detectable and it's been 3 hours at the most. I maintain that it still smells good while it's there but on my skin, the performance is pretty abysmal.

This is not for your average joe mr wants to smell good to get ladies, this is for the sophisticated enjoyer of scents, for one that wears perfumes when going to bed to awake in the smell of deep rich wood, 9/10

Wonderful wild exotic intoxicating perfume. I can't get enough of it. It's totally awesome. AWESOME!!! Fantastic. Superb. And a fabulous bottle too!!!!

It is for those who love Indian Agarwood. While it is not pure Indian Agarwood perfume oil but it is so great blended (parfum).

عطر شمس الخلطة الخاصه شي خيالي فواح وثابت اعطيه 1010 ثبات وفوحان 1010 رائحط روعه 1010 للسعر

i love it because it smells like indian oud

this is really wild scent, smells at first time like a horse or a farm, something wild and savage, after some hours it becomes more grave and serious dark scent, but the wild thing stays with it ! you smell like a dangerous animal, this is quite disturbing and install an atmosphere of danger around you, when you smell this you dont want to misrespect the wearer of this perfume, warning for those who dont like strong scents, this could kill you !

This is a very nice oud, one of my very first eastern fragrances. Intense but not too potent. It is sooooo different from any western oud frags I own, and I do quite a lot. I like it though. It needs some time to speak to your fragrant soul, but after a while it grows in you.

you will straight up smell like a barnyard and rotten cheese for two days straight if you wear this. please do not ever wear this in public, be a good citizen

لمن يبحث عن العود العود ولا شيء اخر هنا هندي اصيل من النوع الفاخر والمتوحش حضور شرس يحتاج للقليل من الترويض بخلطهِ مع احد عطور الورد .. الزجاجة تاتي بمقدار ٣٠ مللي التقييم مقابل السعر ٩/١٠

My first spray was the smallest amount of spray from the atomizer possible and I got a very strong blue cheese smell. It is overwhelming and confusing. This goes away in some time and smooths out into dark woody smell that will have you smelling like nobody else. It is so deep and captivating I felt like I was having a transcendental experience. My wife is from Kerala and I let her spray herself. She said "oh it smells like walking through the forest after rain" LOL Crazy how people interpret smells according to what they're accustomed to. She didn't associate blue cheese at all, she smelled wet jungle. I feel like I'm missing some of the beauty of this because I can't help but associate the blue cheese in the opening, but as I wear it more, I appreciate this more and more. Spray on your wrist to start, and only give it half spray. If you don't give it multiple wearings and time to dry down you will never have the chance to appreciate this beauty.

This is a huge improvement over the original. However, only those in to fermented Hindi oud oils would see and appreciate that fact. This Limited Edition version of Oudh Shams smells more refined, higher quality, soothing and more matured. It opens up with mouthwatering sweet blue cheese note along with the full on sweet and sunny smell of barnyard. Beneath there is that aged type of dark wood and resin aroma that really shows that slightly better quality oud has been used here comparing to the original. The scent just gets better and better with time. Like pure oud oil ageing in from of you becoming more soft and delicate revealing layers up on layers of delicious funkiness. It takes me back to nature. Wild and virgin countryside where each one of us belongs =)

Juan Cruz. I fear that you have totally misunderstood Mr Careless86. I assume from the nuances of language in your post that English isn’t your first language. I also detect that this is the case with Mr Careless86, but I can understand his sentiment which is similar to yours, but expressed slightly differently. Please understand that many people write on here in English, and do it very well, (or maybe they use Google Translate), but it isn’t their first language. It can sadly lead to the sort of misunderstanding that you have had. The comments on Fragrantica are to review scents, not to pick a fight with other reviewers. Mr Careless86 has a full set of balloons. You have none. Nuff said!