Shaikhah

Shaikhah was my first arabian scent. And my first oil perfume. And my first heavy-oud perfume. A lot of "firsts" attached to a tiny, 3ml, cute and quite stylish for the price roll-on bottle with silver cap. It was also a happy accident with reading and deciphering notes incorrectly - I wanted something heavy, spicy and oriental while also being a bargain price - Shaikhah checked those boxes having "warm spicy" as top. It was also an oil in roller, something new and exotic for me. What I missed from notes were oud and "earthy" notes - I had general idea about "green/moss/wood" notes and being a "vanilla/sweet" type of person at time they ringed more masculine for me or even worse - wet earth after rain - scent I genuinely don't like (like, "who in their right mind would want to smell like wet earth or musty cellar). But it was cheap, it was "warm spicy" - couldn't be that bad, right? Well, about that. I like to smell the cap/dispenser on new perfumes so I did the same here - won't say it was mistake but certainly it was an "experience." The smell was strange - it was nose-wrinkling, sharp menthol-like (reminded me of some really old nasal stick I've found at my grandparent's) but at the same time it smelled alluringly sweet. Ok, YOLO as teens would say - I rolled the ball on my wrist. First rule of oils: apply sparingly. I learned it the hard way. In an instant I was overwhelmed in the scent of new car tyres mixed with something sweet, medicinal? Alluring in their own strange way but far from being in-vogue. Reading reviews I've patiently let it sit on my skin and after a 30 minutes or something - the magic started. Tyres and rubber vanished giving place to a dark, sweet wood with something spicy - an old, heavy and ornated cabinet in grandaprents room that's always cold, because there are robust trees growing outside, blocking the sun. There is also rose. A Queen. She's slowly emerging from between her woody companions who are always one-step behind her, while carnation and cardamon - her young children - are mischieviously playing hide-and-seek, running among the suite. Rose is beautiful and she knows it, standing proud in front of her suite. She mixes well with wood but she knows she's queen here. Intoxicatingly sweet but in dark and opulent way. She's lush and captivating. Sweet and dark. You can almost smell rain on her petals. She's flirting unabashed with jut as opulent and dark, wet wood and resins. The sad thing with this perfume is fact that spice notes aren't as prominent as they could be as the time goes on. They are still there but are so blended in that are only sometimes noticeable (or when you bury you nose and take a good whiff). As the dry-down progress the scent is getting warmer and dryer and rose more pronounced and sweeter - I totally love this part and have troubles staying away from my wrist, the rose is a b s o l u t e l y amazing! I would risk saying it goes from sweet to sickly-overripe-rose scent with woodsy/musky background. The word on longevity and sillage: this thing is a monster. It stays on my skin for hours, I can still sniff the good amount of dry-down way into the next day after applying it (for comparison I have Dior Addict and can't smell it in the evening of the same day if applied in the morning) And as of sillage - yes, it does makes an aura around you and yes, it does fill the room. It's not a close skin scent at all for me - you will get wafts of it as you move around. Word of warning: I don't know if it's my skin that's so easily irritated or what but after 3-4 days of consecutive use my skin starts to get itchy and red. It's probably because of high concentrates or something. Not like it will stop m from using it anyway. It went from "what the hell did I bought myself into" to pure sniffing addiction. Went from "I don't want to smell like wet forest and moss" to actively looking for oud/rosy scents thanks to Shaikhah. My must-have from now for a bargain-price, will make sure to check more Al-Rehabs from now on.

This review is for the 6ml attar oil my favorite perfume in all the world (so far). The moment I first opened the bottle I knew this was not one of your modern eau de la cupcake fragrances. "No fruit salad or cool aid for me thank you. I am a Royal Woman!" True to her name Shaikhah is the scent of royalty with out the cost! This is not for every lady! I too was terrified by the intense and unfamiliar language bursting from the little unassuming roll-on but at 35yo I am a big girl now! I told my self this and bravely applied a scarce amount. What was to occur 1/2 hour later was beyond my wildest expectations! At first I was impaled with the sharpest agarwood (oud) and I suffered but with the days that followed I began to respect and even grow to adore this slap in the face. It was as if she was saying "wake up and hold on!" Eventually the oud still bitter softened a bit and was joined with a somber rose. Together they guided me through a head spinning whirlwind romance with precious spices, heady flowers and sacred woods! Each note appearing only long enough to seduce and than leave just as I was falling in love. Some notes lingered to dance together as if to different music. yet they were not incoherent or muddled and just added to the dark exotic sensuality of Shaikhah. These notes that would arrive kiss and disappear reminded me of the lurid trysts and romantic love affairs of my reckless youth. They would begin oh so beautiful, end all too soon usually (but not always) one at a time! However the affairs of those days always seemed to have sour or dirty dry down. This is not true of Shaikhah! This seductive middle eastern temptress makes love with out ever uncovering her mysterious veiled form. The last remnants of this Beauty is a soft clean white musk that actually left me feeling fresh from the dryer! Shaikhah reminds me of a middle eastern mystery woman. She is completely veiled with only heavily done up eyes visible. Like the scent itself she is untouchable and not understood by most westerners. When the romance ends and the day is over I realize I have not reapplied all day! the longevity is amazing but the oil stays quite close to the skin. Try mixing a bottle of attar oil with 30ml of Everclear in a spray bottle and let it sit for a week. It makes a good eau de parfum!

Beautiful ambery, sweet, skanky leather pantyhose filled with barnyard oud, a touch of spices and rose, getting some hints of sweaty skanky notes think vintage Balenciaga/Kouros dirtyness mixed with some Tom Ford style Leather . That's the first impression I get when this is on my skin. It smells much more niche and expensive than other Al-Rehab offerings—the quality of oil used in this blend is very high. Its Al-Rehab contemporaries fall in the same style as Musk Makkah, Saat Saffa, Al Sharquiah, and Musk Oud. A very punchy, animalic saffron oud leather. After a few hours, the middle and base start opening up. Hints of musky gothic florals appear while the leathery barnyard oud calms down a bit. Then the beauty of ambergris, rose, and amber becomes more pronounced, adding a sweet, gothic, smoldering rose note. Strangely, the balsamic twang from the saffron playing on the leathers gives me hints of dark imperial beers and ales hours into the fragrance—raisins, honey, spices, yeasty fermentation along the lines of Chimay Grande Réserve, La Chouffe, St. Bernardus Abt 12. Shaikah is some seriously impressive perfumery. This oil constantly reminds me of popular niche house offerings. The churchy gothic rose note in Dominique Ropion's Portrait of a Lady is found in Shaikah. There's a dark balsamic twang, as stated in previous reviews. I would assume it’s the saffron playing on the cardamom and resin along the lines of gothic old church/indian supermarket, dimly lit with camphorous torches, dusty walls, and leather-bound books. It’s absolutely beautiful. In my opinion, one of the best fragrances from the whole Al-Rehab line. It’s skanky barnyard S&M leather and bondage, filled with midnight nuances, yet just enough sweetness to be worn in any season other than maybe very hot summer days. Even then, this is a perfect summer night scent. If you love fragrances that are leather-forward middle eastern, gothic, and have an air of darkness to them, this must be in your collection. A true masterpiece...

Sometimes we meet a scent and say 'oh no!' only to have her steal our heart and leave us addicted. Happily, in the case of Shaikhah this is not a financially devastating experience. ;) I've often found perfumes grow on me. But my favorite fragrances are usually either Instant Love or THIS IS WEIRD, followed by the haunting need to smell it again. I have an absorbing, inexplicable urge to find it once more and figure out what on earth that crazy thing was! The following sniffing sessions (often over the space of years) create an unexpected attachment to that weirdness which comes as a bit of a shock, even to me. Attachment stemming from a growing awareness of the special qualities of the once despised fragrance, suddenly a Cinderella in full blown regalia. Transformed before my eyes (& nose!), while fundamentally the same.... Uniqueness is not merely weird, but we all know people mistaken as such by their unappreciative peers. What their detractors cannot see is their immensely attractive INDIVIDUALITY. Unique, in a sea of plastic doll beauty. :) This is Shaikhah for me. Yes, I know she likely has many siblings in the massive Eastern world of attars, and I look forward to meeting more! In the current Western market, however, she stands alone with a striking exoticism not gauged to please the average consumer. She is that ravishing model with the crooked teeth or roman nose who takes the world by storm and does it with such panache you are left breathless. Her aura is more appealing for that endearing 'imperfection', and her appeal far more than glowing outer beauty. All of which to say: I rate Shaikhah right up there with Youth Dew and Aromatics Elixir as among my most treasured finds. Initially unappreciated, now ADORED. And yes, they DO have something in common. They are all woody, complex, unsweetened sirens transcending time or era. In short, wildly successful, unexpected beauties who don't bore and never disappoint! If possible, 6 stars. <3

Review for 6 ml attar: The notes listed here are no doubt absolutely correct, but what I smell most of all in the dry down is: Regal, UNsweetened Rose and Persistent, POWDERY Sandalwood! The opening is somewhat tangy-gasoline-oud,and quite loud enough to scare a newcomer away. At this phrase many will run for the hand sani in panic! Happily Shaikhah quickly becomes warm and woody and almost therapeutic in nature. Not heavy or overbearing now (compared to Balkis this is quiet indeed), Shaikhah becomes restrained for a middle eastern scent. It lasts approx. 5 hours on my skin, and I am happy to re-apply at any point during the day. Very soothing and grounding. Interestingly, my initial review for Shaikhah three years ago labeled it a men's rose cologne.... possibly owing to the spray version I sampled? It was a fascinating scent to me even then, but not one I could envision wearing. Probably it's my nose that has altered, but I also suspect the spray to be a trifle less warm and powdery. Everything about this fragrance is unisex, but taste and chemistry differences being what they are, people will find Shaikhah (meaning 'female Sheikh') to be more pour homme or pour femme on them. I think some men are going to be happily surprised at finding a scent by this name smelling so muscular, while others will mostly notice Grandma's roses.... You decide. ;) Personally I would be happy smelling Shaikhah on ANY one. A little like Oak moss based Chypres in effect, it gives a calm and centered feeling to the wearer and those around them. Definitely a treat. If you love sweet, modern roses, look elsewhere. (Particularly, consider Al Rehab's Moroccan Rose.) But I don't see how a woody-rose lover could go wrong with Shaikhah's dignified and amazing take on roses and wood. A beauty! Highly Recommended Update - Layers gorgeously with Al Rehab Sultana Perfumed Cream....