Zidan

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 Rehab Zidan is a great masculine fragrance oriented towards freshness in the warmth of Spring and Summer. Applying this oil to the skin the first thing that comes to mind is the similarity to that beautiful Italian fragrance, Fendi Life Essence (now sadly discontinued). This is due mostly to the two notes they share - mandarin orange and coriander - at the top of the fragrance. Yet, this similarity seems to continue well into the dry-down, making Zidan a reasonably good dupe for those who miss Fendi Life Essence. However, further into the life of the fragrance, other interesting notes come out to play - rhubarb, licorice and star anise (all favourites of mine) - making it a very interesting trip.....But I just wish these notes were a bit more pronounced and well-blended. Al Rehab Zidan is a very good fragrance which deserves a lot more recognition. It is well worth a try and may serve as a worthy addition to your Spring/Summer wardrobe....and as with the other Al Rehab fragrances, it is sold for pennies but smells so much more.

Yet again, Al Rehab hasn't failed to wow or impress. Zidan is a spicy, freshly green, amber powerhouse that quickly comes to life once on your skin. At first it is citrus with deep, dark spices. It evolves quickly after that into a peppery, refreshing citrus, tea and rhubarb concoction that is perfect in this warm weather. The Amber note came into play around 30 minutes after application and it holds the other notes together beautifully. I am also getting a rather faint, shy waft of Licorice now...nothing overpowering about that particular note though, which I am happy about. Zidan is refreshing, sophisticated and smells a lot more expensive than it is! Yes, it's intended for men and it does have a masculine quality to it...however, I feel women can easily wear this too if they have the right chemistry, which I feel very blessed to :) As usual with this perfume house, a little goes a long way as projection is huge! Longevity is fantastic too. Highly recommend this one to anybody curious about it. The price tag warrants a blind buy!

This is a burst of freshness. It is not any one note that jumps out at me, but the combination. There's fruit, but I wouldn't call this fruity. There's definitely citrus, but to my nose, it's not a citrus scent. There are spices, but it's not overly spicy. What it is, is young and energetic and fresh. The anise gives a bit of a rubbery note that I quite enjoy in perfume. Woody, musky base notes settle this one to the side of class even when it remains young, fresh, and edgy. This fragrance leans towards love, and I think on my guy it will be incredibly sexy and a true love. I think that people might not understand what fresh-cut rhubarb smells, because this is absolutely it! Not sweet, but tart, and a bit green, and oh so refreshing! This note should be at the top of the notes by votes!

#1467 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Another underrated scent from Al Rehab that has great quality for an inexpensive scent. A dupe of Emmanuel Ungaro "Apparition Homme Intense", a scent Ungaro unfortunately discontinued, though it occasionally still shows up on eBay. Rhubarb, licorice and tea the primary notes here. I liked "Apparition" better than anything Ungaro puts out today, even though I am not usually a fan of star anise and licorice in the same scent. I think bad bottle design hurt Apparition more than the scent. But fortunately Al Rehab brought it back. "Zidan" is Arabic for "abundance", and this potency kinda fits the name. Solid longevity and sillage for a mere $9.99. Unbeatable bargain. Safe blind buy. A versatile scent, but probably best for date night.

I've been trying a few of Al Rehab's fragrances of late, they are generally good quality, this is my favourite of them. A really nice, warm, comforting, good fragrance. I get a good blend of Amber and tea. Star Anise is generally something that I dislike quite a lot, I don't actually detect any of it here, this is such an inoffensive fragrance. It has a bit of a 1980's vibe to it, which is good, I'm more then partial to an 80's powerhouse fragrance. Sillage is good, but longevity is excellent. Spray with caution as too much will become headache enducing.

In the initial days of using Al-Rehab Zidan, I wasn't very blown away by this fragrance tbh.. It felt a little soapy to me.. I considered other Al-Rehab perfumes like Silver, Blanc, Al Fares to be much bette than this one... however this one started to grow on me... One day my brother wore this one, and it smelled so great in the air, that is when I realised that some fragrances smell good in the air.. I highly recommend this one to all.. just make sure that you wear it in the winters and at night times.

Have had Zidan for many years now, the oil variant of it. I would say its been 2 or 3 years since i last used it. When i initially got it, i wasnt that blown away by it. It was nice, soapy type fragrance, with good performance. Recently i pulled it out, and i have to say, im super loving it now. Whatever happened to it over these 2 or 3 years of non use, thanks, appreciate it :D On a cool evening, where there is a breeze, man this stuff is lovely.

Old school arabian fresh aroma. Somehow i get lots of rose initially, which is not listed in the notes breakdown. Cozy, floral soapy, gets skanky when blended with body odor. Opposite gender should find it very seductive. As it's very cheap, definitely a must have. Goes well if you smoke cigarettes or cigars. It gets mysterious and performs best into the night air 🌃 Feels like there's maybe an exotic flower tree 🌺 nearby.

Despite some describe it as an average perfume, Zidan is one of my favorite ones - simply because it's so universal. I can wear it for both casual and formal occasions - maybe it's a bit more agressive and biting then I'd like, but hey - it's an attar after all. Use it carefully and all will be well.

Unquestionably masculine, Zidan works really well in the Spring months. It's fresh and spicy and has a sporty feel in the top notes. To bring out the sportiness even more I layer just a little lavender oil on top. This is a winner and has a contemporary feel for a great price.

@Sam ldh Keep 'em reviews coming brother! It takes guts to speak truth, regardless of negative reactions. The fact that your writing evoked so much reaction, even negative, speak something!

I doesn't smell any of the notes mentioned above. To me, it smells like Thierry Mugler Cologne.

It's very fresh when applied. The opening reminds me of fresh, citrus, aquatic fragrances in zipcode of Acqua di Gio and Polo Sport. It's nice. Over the next few minutes I detect a bit of sweetness and spiciness developing. At this point, I honestly cannot pull-out any notes--which is very odd since my nose has sniffed thousands of fragrances--it kinds of smells like of a blend of Perry Ellis 360 Red, Polo Sport and some bits of fresh and dark spices. Okay, I just looked at the notes pyramid and was surprised to see star anise and licorice. I'm usually not a fan of fragrances that have anise (unless they are very subtle and deep in the background) and I cannot stand licorice in fragrance, so the two must be very, very faint and smell like something else because I would never guess they were present in Zidan. This fragrance lasts 7-8 hours on my skin and projects moderately. To me, this is a Spring/Summer fragrance that has a bit more zest, which I like. Although I did detect an amber accord in the drydown, I would not classify it as an amber fragrance (it's very faint) nor did I detect any vanilla. As for rhubarb, I have no idea what it smells like but I'll to sniff again. I really like this inexpensive fragrance and look forward to spending more time with it over the coming weeks. One of Al-Rehab's better fragrances that is worth checking-out. Update: (May 2017) Two years later and I've this one up from the basement now that the warm weather is here. Well, I basically got that "old lady" cheap perfume spray from top to bottom; an amalgam of every cheap fragrance my grandmother and her friends would be wearing when they came over to play bridge (cards): Jean Nate, Avon, etc. I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I said this one reminded me of Acqua di Gio when I first tried it.

My second review for this Gem. Pulled this one off again as I was missing Zidan after emptying the spray bottle last year. But this time around, I got myself both oil and spray bottle as Al-Rehab is very cheap in our region (less than $3 for both) and have been experimenting in using both simultaneously. The best way I found of using is spraying on skin after the shower and putting the oil on cloths as oil tends to last longer on cloths. Now longevity and projection are through the roof. It is still too sweet for my taste but it is growing steadily on me. Mostly I get very sweet Amber & Licorice, Star Anise and coriander to spice things up with Vanilla, Tea and Rhubarb in the background. Amazing blend, I have not come across with anything like this one before. For me, Zidan is now moving up from LIKE and getting into the territory of LOVE. Two thumbs up. By the way, ladies have complimented it and my wife uses this happily as it does offer some scope of a unisex perfume.

I am reviewing the oil roll-on version of Zidan Classic. I like it, but it has a somewhat sickening sweetness as well as some bright sharpness. I am surprised that lemon isn't included in the notes. Lemon definitely seems to be there, although it's more of a powdery floral lemon (and/or a light floral scent that has a character reminiscent of lemon). There could be things in it like lemongrass and lemon verbena. That sweet, powdery, bright floral lemon is what overwhelmingly dominates this scent. It is strong and leans feminine in my view. It also produces a more pleasant scent bubble than a right-up-to-the-skin sniff would indicate. As such, it's best for people whose skin strongly radiates fragrances (which is true of my wife but not me). For all of those reasons, it's now part of my wife's collection. She enjoys it, and I think it smells pretty nice on her.

This reminds me of a handkerchief perfume of the 80's & 90's from an indian co. named Ossa and the name of this perfume was magnet. After putting on the oil i was trying to recollect this familiar smell which one of my teacher use to smell of. It seemed to be the freshest of perfumes of those times so once i happened to see a bottle in a ladies cosmetic shop by the street, i sprayed this on my hand and instantly recognised it. Zidan is a cent percent copy of magnet by ossa. I woudn't wear this anymore cos im weary of this fragrance. Its not bad but not my choice and taste now. Edit: After an hour of rubbing this oil, the magnet vanished and the place was taken up by one man show. One good thing about this is it is not linear and the bad thing is, i dont like magnet and one man show

I love this, it's probably the cheapest one I could find at around 5 bucks. Here's what I'm getting rose + jasmine white tea with green citrus, honey, spices, wood and tart rhubarb. This is fresh tart, powdery citrus for the most part, the licorice/star anise overtime peeks through (along with the vanilla) but it's inoffensive and light. What I perceive as the jasmine + rose remain but the indolic jasmine gets boosted by the anise and as someone who doesn't enjoy anise notes in fragrances it's not bad. The coriander seeds in this remain the background mingling with what I perceive as sandalwood. A safe blind buy if you're after a citrusy floral fresh fragrance, while its longevity might not be the best I cant complain, wearing this on an 83°F day is just so refreshing.

Gave it a full wearing last night and today. I could easily smell last night's wearing on cloths in the morning. It does last longer on cloths than on skin. The initial blast of citrus and spices is gorgeous, very sophisticated but then it turns sweet, too sweet for my taste, so much so that it starts falling in to unisex fragrance category. It's the sweet feel of Amber and Licorice and vanilla all together, which spices (try to) balance out. I guess there is something strange with the blending of notes as I get sweet whiffs and minutes later exquisite spicy smell. This zigzag keeps going on, making it even more interesting EDP. It's a gem at cheap price for those who love sweet spicy stuff. I like it but don't love it.

Ok, as usual, I'll describe what my nose thinks of this, rather than referring to the listed notes. On me, Zidan goes; bright citrus > oudh with a sweet and very slightly fruity edge > violet leaves and oily cumin. Sigh, yes some perfumes do tend to turn to curry on my skin - Estee Lauder's Knowing did the same. Still, things can smell different on different days and the wearing of this has been overall bright, sweet and not unpleasant, trail and catching a sniff-wise, so I will wear this again. Love the dinky little 3ml bottle my Zidan is in.

To throw my contradictory two cents in, for me Zidan is not at all spicy, but rather a blend of white musk, citrus, and floral that's not very interesting but completely inoffensive. I'm kind of surprised this was marketed for men--it seems more unisex or slightly feminine-leaning to me. I wouldn't think it was weird at all if a man was wearing this, although I would probably assume I was just smelling his soap rather than an actual fragrance.