Al Sharquiah

As I live in Dubai, UAE, I have had more of a chance than most to see the Al Rehab fragrances in their local cultural setting. I am altogether aware that the vast majority of people who buy Al Rehab perfumes in the West will have had them supplied from online retailers, but I would like to share with you something about purchasing these fragrances here before I give my short review. For a start, buying an Al Rehab fragrance in Dubai will mean in all likelihood that you will need to visit the Perfume Souk area in the city near to the famous Gold Souk of Dubai. This is because Al Rehab is not stocked in any of the major or minor retail outlets and - unlike Rasasi, Arabian Oud, Swiss Arabian or the other local brands - does not have an outlet based in a mall. This also means that you will have to take a route through one of the older parts of the city, by the side of the Creek, along past the shops selling all sorts of knick-knacks, past the Asian cyclists carrying stacks of cardboard on the backs of bikes, past the East Africans trading with Afghans, past the shwarma and juice stalls, until you come to the Perfume Souk area. Here you find the Al Rehab shop at the end of a busy, crowded, furiously neon-lit street.... Now when you enter this shop, you will truly wonder how it is that some of these fragrances are so well recognised as being very credible dupes of some of the fragrances from the most admired houses internationally. Creed? Montale?.....Surely not. The Al Rehab shop is staffed by some very friendly elderly local Arab gentlemen. Very nice, and a Salaam Aleikum and a few words of Arabic goes a long way. But yet, the shop. My, my, my....More like a hardware store than a fragrance shop, it is not unusual for your total to be worked out on the back of an envelope and change to be plucked out of wooden drawer. Last time I went there I wondered if I could pick up a hammer and a box of masonry nails while I was at it!...Suffice to say that this is nothing like the image of sparkling, shiny Dubai portrayed around the world. Yet, there is charm in this as well - and most definitely value for money if this is a consideration at all. (As an aside, buying these 6 ml CPO vials costs me 4 UAE dirhams each, about $1.10, ie they are practically giving the stuff away.) So what are their fragrances actually like..... Al Sharquiah is a truly wonderful fragrance and definitely one of Al Rehab's finest offerings. Just like with Saat Safa - though a significantly different fragrance - it gets the classic oud-rose balance just right, making it very comfortable for unisex or masculine use. For any one expecting the sweeter and more distinctive taif rose of Al Kaaba or the other attars and mukhallats, this may not be to your liking. Indeed, as others have noted, the fragrance becomes heavier - and more masculine - as the dates and incense become more pronounced later in the dry-down (though this to me is really lovely). But here Al Sharquiah seems to have the feel of an 'Amouage Lite' type of fragrance. Not specifically like any of the Amouage's I know, but definitely if you have an interest in trying out one the Franco-Arabian contemporaries of Amouage, Montale, Mancera, etc. but felt too self-conscious wearing them, this might be a good fragrance to try to start to experiment with your fragrance identity a little. It is distinctive - the dates make a lovely addition to the fragrance - and its performance is very good (being mindful that it is best to spread it as an oil on a reasonably large area of skin). All said, Al Sharquiah is a Highly Recommended Buy from me again from the Al Rehab house. It costs pennies and offers a lot of experiment, enjoyment and allure.... How could you not love this?

after almost a couple of years, i decided that Al Sharquiah is my coup de grâce in the fragrance game, the finish line. The scent represents the quintessential middle eastern rose-oud fragrance, but with added honey, dried fruits, smoke notes, and a toned down rose scent. Sounds so typical but as far as my knowledge goes, there is no other fragrance out there that goes along the line of this exact aroma, and i'm happy for that. As an outstanding scent from a niche house, normally there will be 1 or 2 other fragrance that duped it, but not with this one. Speaking of the price, this is the epitome of bang-for-the-buck, i got this for around $1.50 USD for a single 6ml roll-on vial in my country. as for the performance, longevity is long-lasting on fragrantica scale, projection is moderate-to-strong. just right for my nose. I mean i've owned some absolutely atomic fragrances like Montale's Intense Black Aoud, that absolutely nuked my nose and upper respiratory system onto oblivion. For like 15 days i had symptoms like sneezing, runny, nose, and red eyes, due to that absolute miscreant from Pierre Montale. I've got rid of it ever since. Now back to the masterpiece that is Al Sharquiah, it smells like a finely tuned fragrance. Not too hard on the nose, yet the presence is still VERY noticable in the air due to the unique and strong aroma profile which stands out. Just bought 7 of these 6ml vials because i liked it that much. i know that there's an antique 20ml version of this attar, the gold one, displayed on the top of this page. but for some non-apparent reason that one costs around $16 USD, i find that is a waste of money as i've asked Al-Rehab themselves about the difference between the 6ml roll-on bottle and the 20ml antique bottle, and they themselves said there's no difference in the CPO composition between the two. Plus, the 6ml bottle much MUCH more practical as you can store it in your pocket with a hardly noticable bulge in your pants' pocket.

Incredible fragrance, truly unique. The opening features a distinctive sea-salty banana note reminiscent of Jesus Del Pozo - Quasar, complemented by dark green citrus and the essence of a sharpie marker (oud). As this complex fragrance evolves, the balsamic banana seamlessly transitions into a well-balanced, musky oriental amber, eventually fading into a spicy floral vanilla. If I were to paint a picture of this fragrance, envision a Jordanian oasis adorned with unripe green banana skins floating in the water, baking under the scorching sun in the midst of a sandy, intensely hot desert. In the distance, a Persian spice market, weathered but still holding its allure, and on the ground, sun-dried camel dung beneath a fruiting date palm—an alter near the ritual a few nights earlier, leaving scattered roses near the oasis. Beyond those date palms, you will find a dark cave. Go ahead, walk in there, relieve yourself from the sun. The ashes from burnt offerings left from many ages ago still stick to the stones, like graffiti written in permanent marker. On my skin, the fragrance initially radiates a bright, sunny, and sandy aura, accompanied by a peculiar medicinal banana sharpie note. Gradually, its underlying darkness and oriental spice take the spotlight, transporting you to the cave's edge at the oasis. This fragrance is not for everyone; the strong opening with the plastic banana note (oud) gives way to a middle eastern transition. If you're a fan of Jesus Del Pozo - Quasar, give this a try. While not identical, it's the only fragrance I've encountered that captures that enigmatic banana note. A true masterpiece, best appreciated by those with trained noses who savor complex scents with dark, rosy, gothic auras this fragrance to me is a bit more masculine andro then femme so ladys take note before blind buying -- for a man or woman who enjoys darker more carnal scents. 10/10.

Uufff! What a fragrance. I got the 6ml of this today and once again Al Rehab haven't let me down. They have this knack of offering top quality fragrances at super-low prices which are often capable of blowing many niche perfumes completely out of the game. The initial blast was a full-on oud experience: medicine, hospitals, bandages - BOOM! Then as quick as the medicinal note arrived, it took a back seat to allow the sweet vanilla-date aroma to seep through. It's rich and sweet and like reviewer Melodiarose82 mentioned below "Jammy and syrupy". But, not in a cloying, sickly way (like I often found Raghba to be). It means business and it is here for the duration. The rose is definitely there, alongside the incense - both lurking subtlely in the middle, 'steady-away' but not overpowering. Once again, Al Rehab has definitely got the balance right with this one - no surprise there. I am genuinely astonished at how something so beautiful and powerful (and long-lasting) can be available at such a low price. Seriously, if Tom Ford had bottled this, the price tag would be astronomical albeit weaker and with less 'oomph'. This is a beast. A beautiful beast. The dry-down mellows somewhat but all the notes are still there, melding beautifully and it shows no sign of disappearing just yet. I keep getting the odd waft of it as I walk through my home and I only put two tiny dabs on my wrists, six hours ago. Don't be expecting anything along the lines of Tom Ford's Oud Fleur or Oud Wood. This is not the same type of fragrance, This is quite unique to my nose and in a class of its own. Admittedly, it's probably not for everyone but it's definitely for me.

I've owned this oil for about two years now--it was my first introduction to perfume oils (I couldn't resist its description as a sexy rose-forward "gothic" oil perfume) and it's still held up as one of my favorites! So... first things first. I think your skin chemistry and climate will play a HUGE role in whether you like this one or not. For me, it goes on strongly medicinal, sharp, with some of the body of the dates coming through, but mostly oud and the sharpness of rose. Then as it dries down and melds with my skin within the hour, especially if it's hot outside, it develops a gorgeous rich sweetness and the depth really starts to come through. It remains oud-heavy in a slightly medicinal way (that doesn't fully go away, but to me is part of its charm), and those dates give it a complexity and a characteristic sweetness (but it's still very dry and absolutely not gourmand in any way) layered with spices and smoke. However, it feels flat in the winter; the complexity doesn't develop as well, and it just feels sharp, so I save it for the hottest days when I have my summer goth on. Final verdict: is this a goth attar? Honestly, I take my goth more "churchy;" this comes off more romantic, androgynous, and mysterious, but I do recommend giving it a try as long as you're willing to be patient with its initial sharpness and test how your skin chemistry handles it. It definitely stands out from my other perfume oils I've tried. For the headache prone--this one doesn't usually trigger headaches for me, but it IS very intense and the sweetness combined with the initial sharpness could possibly upset you.