Aqaba Classic

This is a lovely classic perfume. I say "classic" because it is neither "modern mall frag" in temperament, nor is it "indie/niche--2017" in feel. This give off a classic vibe like a vintage Shalimar, or Coco, or similar spicy fragrance. The one predominant note on me is a "trick" perhaps due to the cardamom, clove, cinnamon (the latter which I just do not recognize)--carnation. It has the lightly sweet, slightly floral and very spicy aspect of it which I think is different and quite like. The rose may also be contributing to that "trick element" in that these are spicy roses (think Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin or even his Vitriol). So it doesn't register entirely as rose per se. The cardamom and clove is lovely and well balanced, and the woods and peach add a warm non-gourmet sweetness that I adore, but, I also am a big fan of Coco Chanel and Kenzo Elephant, both of which have those predominant notes. It does have a powder note at the base. If you like spicy, sultry fragrances with a more formal, gentle low-key aspect (hint of powder) this may be up your alley. It's not as "roaring" as the Elephant (so fantastic) and not as peachy-sweet as Coco, and it's different in its own way. For those of you...eschewing "old lady" fragrances (as they are derisively called)-- please do. This is not for the candy-flossers, floral-aqautics, Febreze air-freshener, and the Tide Dryer Sheet lovers of white musks et al. It doesn't necessarily conjure up desert vistas for me with waving palms and galloping Arabian horses, but rather a vintage, interesting and mysterious but at the same time, elegant warm feel, a scent that yes indeed would last the ages--one you might find upon entering a lovely old house on the cape, one with warm woods from around the world, lovely old Persian rugs from Isfahan, oiled table tops, a vase of flowers (Roses? Chrysanthemums and Dianthus?) gleaming off the surface.

This stuff is fabulous. Beware that for some reason the cap on the bottle is very heavy and as the bottle ages the sprayer nozzle can stick to the inside of the cap when you pull it off. And the juice in the sprayer nozzle is sticky, so getting the nozzle off and back onto the bottle can be a problem. I just got mine loosened for the first time in maybe 10 years and I'm luxuriating in the magic of this fragrance. I bought Aqaba in around 2002 and there wasn't that much of it around at the time. So I feel badly reviewing something that could be really hard to find. But so worth trying to find it. I think at the time there may have been a website associated with this perfume house, maybe under the name Miriam Mirani, but I could be wrong about that. 18+- years later, who knows. (next day edit: I looked and Miriam Mirani does have a current website and has lots more perfumes than she had when I bought this one.) Aqaba is an upscale Middle Eastern scent. Rich and opulent, and full of roses and cloves. It's only similarity to YSL Opium is that both are rich heavy scents with some rose in them. They smell entirely different. Aqaba is spicier than Opium and has far more incense. Lasts 7+ hours on my skin and has sillage into the next county. Heady. Love it.

(This review is for Eau de Perfume) AQABA is a beautiful rich oriental scent with the lavish rose, mysterious frankincense, sultry spices and sweetness that add silky finish to the composition. This strong, spicy sweet and complex but smooth fragrance is simply gorgeous. I want to inhale it over and over and over! The opening is amazing with heady sweet spicy rose, peach aroma and tea leaves mixed with the heavy dose of spices. The mysterious incense scent wraps around the top notes making the composition complex and sultry. The heart notes are spicy sweet roses and jasmine. They express the beauty of oriental perfume amazingly well. The incense is quite noticeable in the heart notes. The base notes are more subtle with cedarwood, incense and peach sweetness. The scent evokes images of travelling through the desert to a lavish Arabian Palace centuries ago. It is like reading stories from 1001 nights and dreaming about the adventures and forbidden love that could never be. This Arabian beauty was definitely worthy to be added to my collection. I bought the full bottle after finishing my sample. The sillage is phenomenal. The longevity is 10 hours or more. The scent is powerful but not overpowering. I find it quite wearable even in the daytime.

Great perfumes and great customer service. I've never before experienced the level of customer service I have received from Miriam Mirani. Aqaba and its cousins are great perfumes, so I wanted to purchase a bottle for my sister's birthday. My sister has been going through some tough things lately, but I foolishly left the purchase to the last minute. I wrote customer service to request if they could possibly get the perfume out ASAP, and I received such kind emails back from the owner of the company, Miriam Mirani herself. She not only rushed the perfume out so it arrived in time, she included free gifts with the order, and a handwritten note to my sister expressing best wishes for her birthday and the coming year. This is a great company. I am a customer for life. Try the adorable sample set to experience all the fragrances if you don't already have a favorite, and don't hesitate to purchase a large bottle. These are perfumes made like perfumes used to be made: rich and well-blended, and made with a lot of love.

This is wonderful. My nose usually is not friendly with clove and clove is definetely a big part of Aqaba classic, but somehow it all together makes me all dreamy and in love. It's extremely feminine, sensual and warm. I can easily imagine this to be worn by Cleopatra or any other ancient time femme fatales. By this I don't want to say it's "old" or "dated", it just has this quality that makes me think of rich ancient times. I can feel wonderful cinnamon with powdery peach, sweetness of jasmin and marvelous rose and I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It has an amazing quality as any Aqaba fragrance and it's something every oriental rose lover should try, because this is....special.