Amber Oud Aqua Dubai

Just sexually incredible. This is the raw definition of a safe blind buy, regardless of if you give a fuck about Imagination or not. Everything in this fragrance is done to near perfection. I was actually a fan of the Al Haramain Amber Oud line before it really blew up with some of their bangers (Gold, Carbon, Dubai Night, etc.) online. Now, let’s get the comparison out of the way: this is 90% similar to Imagination with its own twist that genuinely makes me enjoy it even more than the original. Also, let’s get another thing out of the way: why are you wet sock-wearing giraffes concerned with how you could pick up a 2-3% difference between an OG and inspiration? Do you truly believe that the grandmas you’re trying to impress in the Meijer deli line or your girlfriend’s mom is going to know the difference? No, bro. They’re going to love it regardless. And to 99.99% of people around you, they’re going to believe this is what Imagination smells like. Because it’s damn close, and its projection/performance is beyond an extrait. So, with my peace said, let’s break it down a bit more. I think the main twist Aqua Dubai provides is in its opening and first hour or so, with a slightly bigger focus on its mandarin orange note. And it does it BEAUTIFULLY. The orange is so damn realistic that it genuinely is on par with the realism found in Afternoon Swim. It truly smells like a freshly squeezed, tart mandarin orange, melon, and pineapple on a bed of green notes, tea leaves, and shavings of cinnamon, all on by poolside of the most luxurious resort you could find in Dubai. It dries down and tones that fruit back to really bring out the staying power of tea, melon, cinnamon, and vanilla. Yea, this is definitely “soapy”, just like Imagination. So if you don’t like soapy scents, this isn’t for you. But I love it, and it is soapy done to perfection. You will continue to smell like a luxurious man by that infinity pool that has everything in his life in control, his money working for him, and that is absolutely ripping a $10k blackjack table later that night with the boys. Like I said, projection is easily 3-4 hours, with this fragrance lasting for an EASY 9-10 hours, 36+ on clothes. All that is encapsulated in a gorgeous, heavy metal and glass bottle with a tropical hue in the back, and the most pressurized-pressurized atomizer I’ve ever seen. If you were to ever only buy a single “dupe” or “cheapie”, this is it. Nothing beats this as of right now for the value. Beware of fakes, though. Buy on Amazon from Al Haramain only.

I've tried LV Imagination and these dupes: • Al Haramain Amber Oud Aqua Dubai - Close after maceration. Requires a bit of patience at first. • Alexandria Fragrances Visionary - Closest after maceration, but still close enough brand new. Longevity improves substantially after maceration. • Jo Milano Game of Spades Full House - Close even out of a fresh bottle but brighter and more fun. Longevity will not be good until it macerates. Aqua Dubai is really good, but not at first. You absolutely need to let this one sit and macerate/oxidize for at least a few weeks, ideally a month or so or longer. Initial spray (pre-maceration) smelled like straight bug spray, it was overwhelming and borderline nauseating and it lingered in the air all day. It almost made me return it. I read up on it and listened to the advice, it just needed to sit and mature a bit. Even after a few days to a week I could already tell a massive difference. After a month it's much much better. It's really close to LV Imagination and it's very potent. This one is up there but it just requires a bit of initial patience because you'll be concerned if you're going off of the initial few days/weeks. Let it sit in a drawer with the cap removed after about 10 or so sprays then come back in a month. Thank me later. That being said, if you're looking for the easiest reach I would still choose Full House over this since it's a better value and much easier to wear regardless of scent maturity. The best overall in my opinion is still Alexandria Fragrances Visionary. It is not the best value compared to Full House but it's probably the closest for the money to the original LV Imagination, even more so after macerating, and way closer than Aqua Dubai.

I've tried Aqua Dubai, Hawas Kobra, Marwa, and Essence de Blanc and this ended up being my favorite version of this DNA. There's 2 ends to the spectrum blanc and aqua Dubai. Blanc is extremely spicy and green while aqua Dubai is clean and sweetest of all. Kobra is spice forward but doesn't get super clean and can sorta get a little dirty in the dry down. Marwa is the most clean but not nearly as sweet as aqua Dubai and also lacking a lot of the spice. The reason I prefer aqua Dubai is it just smells the cleanest to me without feeling as delicate as Marwa and performing vastly better. Essence de blanc was spicy to the point it almost felt peppered which detracted from the overall enjoyment. So it came to Aqua Dubai vs Kobra and while I thought I preferred the spice to be heavier what I realized was Kobra and Aqua Dubai still smelled very similar side by side despite aqua Dubai feeling like it has very little tea or spice and while kobra has an amazing spicy opening the dry down deteriorated a lot over time into something less attractive while aqua Dubai was stupidly easy to wear the entire time. The sweetness is slightly jarring when you first try this out if this isn't your first experience with the DNA and is a little distracting but it's actually still got a lot of that overall feel so as long as sweetness isn't a complete deal breaker this feels the best overall fragrance of those 4 but not necessarily the closest to the inspiration. I believe it's better to judge inspirations for what they are rather than how close they are to the original and this is a great example of that.

I am about to be on my third bottle so I can say this much :D . Basically this smells like soft citrus for around 10 minutes but then it becomes more floral and soapy. It is unisex. It is very linear past the opening and just basically smells like some white dove soap. Performance is actually insane for about an hour or two and lasts about 7ish hours total. Bottle and atomizer are epic as well :D. It is just damn good honestly for everyday use for $40. Below will be more specific details or questions answered but yea basically this is good is the gist ;) Maceration?: Yes, this will have to macerate, my second bottle smelled off compared to my used one at first. Floor cleaner/Bug spray?: If you don't like citrus you will hate the opening, to me it was never pungent but it does fade in the dry down. Remember, citrus in the air is much lighter than up close so it really should be fine in the air. Performance issues?: People mention performance problems. Its an extrait de parfum, it will need a good amount of heat to activate the oil. Don't spray on clothes as it will not really project from it as it needs heat. Peers thoughts?: Everyone seems to like this scent in the air. I mean its just a clean smell. How can you not like clean? Women like it as its also unisex so it smells less like what other guys wear by default. Oud note?: No, there is no oud in this. The bottle line up is called Amber Oud but they dont just put oud in this. Number of sprays?: 5 is the right amount. 3 on neck and 1 on each side of the forearm. It is strong so don't overspray.

I have zero doubts that the vast majority of people who are critical of this fragrance are those who blew almost four hundred bills on Imagination and can’t abide having done so if there’s another frag out there that achieves basically the same scent for 1/5th of the price. I sprayed a bunch of Aqua Dubai on my forearm before going to the LV boutique to exchange another frag for Imagination. I told myself that if Imagination was considerably better, I’d make the exchange and get Imagination. If it wasn’t, I’d simply return the frag I had bought for a refund. And after smelling them back and forth on either forearm for almost ten minutes in the boutique, I decided that Imagination was NOT considerably better, and I couldn’t justify walking out with a bottle of it. It would maybe be one thing if AD had piss poor performance, but it doesn’t, it has great performance on me. And if you’re wondering why I was considering Imagination if I was already quite pleased with AD, it’s because I often buy good dupes of expensive frags that I own and use them up so that I don’t have to use the OG. I do the same with Armaf Milestone for Millésime Impérial, Armaf Sillage for Silver Mountain water, Mugler Cologne for Original Vetiver, and several others. In this case I did the reverse, I had the dupe first. In summary, if money isn’t at all a concern for you, by all means buy Imagination. But if you want something affordable that gets you very, very nearly there, buy Aqua Dubai. It’s a terrific fragrance with excellent performance.

I delayed writing this review because i wanted to test aqua dubai for several days and have a solid opinion before i post so here it goes: Presentation:10/10 Luxurious teal case with velvety foam, gold brand inscription and a striking glass and metal bottle with a laminated metal front in electric blue Scent:9/10 Clean,fresh and soapy, with a depth that is hard to find in 'fresh' perfumes. Definitely not very sharp, and i don't really get the citrus notes some people say but there was an underlying note i could not put my finger on. I was strolling on the balcony smelling my flowered plants and behold! its arabic jasmine (jasminum sambac!) Sillage:7/10 The sillage is actually pretty good,you can get nose blindness after a bit but trust me, the other people can smell it!! I actually tested this first hand as i also bought a bottle for my boss and the t-shirt he sprayed days ago left a noticeable trail behind him while walking with it on. Longevity:7/10 At least 3 hours of good projection on skin, a full day or two as a skin scent, days to a week on clothes Extra factor: ++ for the price, a great bargain if you find this under 40-45€! total:4.5/5 In my opinion this is blind buy safe as a summer fragrance for men 30+ and some women. Not 100% unisex by any stretch but some women can definitely pull this off (think of a well off confident woman wearing a shirt strolling on the streets of a coastal Mediterranean town) A great buy imo!

I usually don’t like the Imagination DNA. There’s always been something about it that smells kind of candle-like to me. At first I thought it was the tea note, but I’ve realized that’s not it because I enjoy tea notes in plenty of other fragrances. When I heard Aqua Dubai got rid of that part and went in a cleaner, soapier direction, I had to try it. I’m honestly really impressed. This is what I wanted Imagination to smell like. It doesn’t smell like lemon cleaner at all, which I was worried about after reading some reviews. To me, it smells like expensive soap. The kind you’d use at a luxury hotel or a rich person’s house. It’s clean, fresh, and just smells expensive. The performance is crazy too. I sprayed 12 times the first day I got it and got a compliment almost immediately. I could smell it on myself for around 6 hours, and the projection was really strong. To my nose, this leans unisex and maybe even a little feminine compared to the original, but I actually prefer that. It just comes across as clean and effortless. I think this is an easy everyday fragrance. You can wear it to work, going out, in the heat, or in the cold. If you’re someone who never really liked the original Imagination, I’d definitely recommend giving this a chance. It completely changed my opinion of this style of scent.

I've gone through various stages in my fragrance journey, and buying clones was just a phase for me. At this point I'm pretty much buying OG's as a general rule. That being said, though the LV fragrances are very well blended, very pleasant with very good materials, I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, they're just not worth the price! $350? U.S? I smelled Imagination countless times at the LV stores, and I have a 10 ml decant just to remind me what I'm dealing with here. Do you know what kind of serious DNAs you can get for that kind of money? I'm not afraid to spend money if it's worth it, and my collection is open for all to see if you're interested. Again, the OG is very nice, but it's just not worth the money to me. I'm not faulting anybody if they want to buy it. It's your money, and there's no point in being the richest guy in the graveyard. But when you start getting around $400 or $500 or above, in spite of their marketing and their high-end reputation and their snob appeal, as far as the price goes, this is a fishbowl where Louis Vuitton does not belong, and I don't care if they engrave the bottle or not! Lol! I'm generally buying the OGs, but this is an exception to that rule and I'm going to stick with this very nice clone. Great job Al Haramain!

10/10 I am normally not into middle eastern fragrances at all but this is phenomenal. I haven't smelled imagination by Louis Vuitton yet (although I love Jacques Cavalier's work) but I "imagine" this what it smells like ;) This fragrance is in the same lane as Prada L'eau to me. They do NOT smell alike, but they both have that very fresh high octave type of vibe. I was looking for some freshies for summer and this is IT. It smells just so beautiful. It takes you places. My bottle isn't even macerated yet. I just got it fresh out off the mail truck and I can only imagine how it'll turn out in the next few weeks. This is actually a fragrance I have fomo for. Like I just want to buy backup bottles galore and turn it into a signature scent. This, is literally a fresh out the shower without smelling like body wash fragrance. It's soft, unisex, beautiful, harmonious and perfect What I love most about it though is I can spray some on and still smell the deep deep dry down 24 hours later. This is a huge W. I can't even see myself getting tired of wearing it because it really just smells like very high end soap. You can't get tired of smelling like soap. I mean... It's soap. Edit: btw the pressurized atomizer is top tier

Fellas listen to me....i have absolutely nothing to gain by lying or misleading anyone about this fragrance. But when I tell you this shit is a fkn compliment magnet!!! Believe it! I bullshit you not, I’ve worn this 7 times and every single time I’ve been told I smell soooo good!!! By multiple people in a days time both male and female...No exaggeration! Now keep In mind I’m a heavy sprayer like 15 times with this fragrance but it’s safe to do that with this one becuz it’s not heavy or offensive. It’s a super freshy. The opening does smell like soap and will put you in the mind of a person that just hopped out the shower. I would have to agree on that but when them juices start merging together this is Godly. Don’t let anyone tell you this shit don’t get the job done becuz they’re a fkn lie. I’m 41 years old and been wearing cologne since I was 5 years old so I definitely know what works and doesn’t and this is absolutely fkn Gas!! Take my word for it...go get this shit asap!! 🔥🔥🔥 Smell: 8.5/10 Longevity: 8.7/10 Projection:10/10 (mfs will smell you across the room) Sillage:10/10 (your smell will linger well after you’ve walked away) Compliment Factor: A+ (the ladies absolutely love this shit!)

I'll start by saying that I've only tried 2-3 sprays of imagination at an airport promotion two years ago. So I wouldn't exactly recall details of the fragrance stages. But I remember the scent. In its dry down this is 80-85% of the OG. If someone smells it in the air and asks, you can say that this is Imagination without any doubts. Of course I bought this for 37 euros, for the price the quality is unbelievable but it's not LV quality. Therefore, the opening is very sharp, very loud citrus, not disturbing but you'll have to wait for 5-10 minutes. I'll just say this. I got the viber text to collect the package on my way for a trek on a mountain. So I collected it and sprayed once on my wrist to just get a first impression. One spray on my wrist and went to the mountain. On the mountain everybody was asking what is that amazing smell coming from me. It became the quote of the day. "I can still smell it", 6 hours later, after intense trekking in nature. ONE spray. And it was getting better and better, clean soap, green until it became Imagination. Nothing more to say, blind buy it. It's a 9/10.

Let this one macerate. Upon first sniff after unboxing the scent was enjoyable. Light citrus/clean opening and soapy/lightly floral mid and drydown. The fragrance did seem a little jumbled and not put together at first. Longevity wasn't the best either. After letting the fragrance sit and macerate for a month it got so much better. It seems so much smoother and has more projection and longevity. The citruses popped more on the opening and the soaping/floral nature in the mid and drydown got so much cleaner and more put together. I love this scent now. Definitely smelled like a high end, luxurious bar of soap. Keep in mind this is a simple, clean fragrance which I believe everyone needs one of those in their collection. Great for an everyday scent. If you are into complex blue or darker fragrances, then you will probably hate this scent but if you like simple and easy-going scents you should give this one a try. If you don't like it at first, let the fragrance sit for a while, you may change your mind. Scent 8/10 Longevity 10/10 Sillage 9/10

%90 percent similar Imagination dupe with better performance and 1/5 the price what else do people want? I’ve bought this couple weeks ago and my hand is reaching this more than any other fragrance that I have in the summer heat. Perfect for every occasion imaginable. Going out with friends, gym, shopping etc. I’ve bought small samples of this one, Imagination and Marwa before buying and tested for some time and compared. For those wondering I think Imagination sits between them based on the smell like if you sprayed both Aqua Dubai and Marwa the mixture is much more similar to Imagination than the fragrances itself. I think Marwa smells a tiny bit more mature and natural than this but performance was awful. All things considered I don’t think this is synthetic garbage at all like other people thinks. It gets you what you want out of Imagination exactly and I’ve been getting compliments a lot since I’ve started wearing this. Even a friend of mine that owns and gatekeeps Imagination was surprised both with the smell and performance.

DUDE, last time i review this perfume it was the most traumatic blind buy experience i've ever had, because it's the first time i got sick because of perfume, my thoart is sore and swollen very badly causing me hard to breath like asthma (i don't have asthma). Something about the harsh, synthetic, not blended alcohol i think? But by far this is the best perfume i've ever tried. Beautifull scent, project like frikin crazy, sillage crazy, and of course last forever. After that i decided to put it online to sell, but no one is buying.... So, after 2 month of not intentional maceration i decided to try this perfume again because of curiosity and test my sensitivity/allergy. And guess what....my throat suddenly doesn't react anything. No sick throat, swell, or breathing problem. And im falling in love again. So after all of this painstaking journey and trauma, i got the most beautifull smelling perfume, with crazy SPL, and of course a core memory to remember every time i use this perfume.

Wtf... just how?... I don’t know if all these people that are saying this is not that close or that there’s a world of difference between this and Imagination are part of the X-Men and have super developed noses or if we’ve even had the same Imagination. What I do know is this, I’ve smelled hundreds of fragrances and I wore Imagination everyday for months before running out of it and it’s one of, if not my favorite fragrance of all time so I think I know it pretty well, that being said: This is basically identical with same if not, best performance. I’d be lying if I’d say there’s absolutely 0 differences, sure, the opening feels a little different but after that it’s pretty much the exact same fragrance that I love so much, I tried so hard to make out the differences to justify buying another Imagination but I couldn’t, they’re just THAT close. For all of those saying they’re completely different things just stop the cap already...

This is probably my favourite fragrance that I own, and by far the best Imagination dupe I've tried (Hectic and Sunrise on the Red Sand Dunes are the only ones that I haven't tried yet.) It's not the closest, but it is an amazing fragrance as its own thing - I don't know if I just like soapy fragrances, but the soapiness of Imagination being amplified in this just makes the fragrance better imo. Comparing this to Marwa, which is my 2nd favourite Imagination dupe, I don't know if it's just my skin, but this lasts WAY longer and projects further. And, yeah, it's synthetic, but I don’t think the syntheticness makes it smell bad at all. It gets me what I want out of Imagination and I’ve been getting a lot of compliments since I’ve started wearing this. So, overall, this is an amazing cheap fragrance for someone who likes the soapiness of Imagination.

This cologne is really good bro it smells so good like a slightly vanilla unisex bar of soap. It lasted over 24 hours on my skin even through a shower, and honestly it projects a little too much for my taste, around 3-6 feet for the first couple hours. I bought this for 55 bucks for 200ml on jomashop and thats lowkey a little expensive, but honestly if this was a designer or niche cologne I think it would be super hyped. The opening is honestly not great its just straight bug spray, but supposedly it gets better with maceration. Overall it gets a 9/10 on smell, 10/10 on longevity, and 8/10 on projection. If you like soapy colognes then this is perfect for you. i got 4 compliments in one day, also i sprayed it on my friends shirt and later he said it smelled really good. doesnt smell like imagination at all but as its own thing its great.

If you are looking for an Imagination dupe/interpretation in a sea of Imagination dupes... This and Mykonos Inception, and yes, even Marwa are the ones to reach for. I personally never judge a scent straight from the opening. Let the scent dry down for 10-20 minutes and that's what's going to be telling the story you're looking for. Everyone you'll be around is going to be smelling exactly that. Do not lie to yourself and think anyone except yourself will be smelling the opening. Aqua Dubai dries down so beautifully. You can pick up on that refined soapy profile with the citrus and tea notes. I have Louis Vuitton Imagination but wear it very selectively. Any other time that I want to wear Imagination but don't want to burn through my bottle, I typically reach for this or one of the others previously mentioned.

Wow! this is the ultimate out of the shower fresh, clean, uplifting scent. It literally smells like a luxury hotel bar soap, the ones included in fancy wrappers on the bathroom counter, like others have said. Its definitely unisex and inoffensive as its just a clean citrus scent. I really enjoy wearing this as it makes me feel like i am on a vacation, this is a great summer cologne. Also impressive quality as i can still get whiffs of it in the air with 3 sprays 6-7 hours later. A good blind buy if you like clean green/citrus fragrances. FYI ignore the amber and oud in the name as there is none of those notes in this. Update: been wearing this for a couple days now and just got a whiff of like pineapple candy in the mid and sure enough went to check notes and realized there's pineapple in it. So good

As a fragrance on its own, I think this is ok. I’m not too big on citrus, soapy fragrances. As a clone of LV Imagination, it’s maybe 80% close. It has a similar citrus, crisp, refreshing aspect but it lacks the depth and complexity. Not that I find Imagination particularly complex. I actually find it way overpriced for what it offers. What I can say is that this fragrance gets me more compliments than anything I have ever owned. Women love it on me and even quite a few men have asked what I’m wearing. I know Imagination is a hype beast as well. I don’t know if people love this fragrance because it shares notes with Imagination or because they believe it actually is Imagination that I’m wearing. I would rate this a 7/10, but as far as getting compliments 10/10.