Resala

What an absolute monster from Arabian Oud. even with a traditional somewhat simplistic scent profile such as this one, I still feel not everyone could wear this. its a type of scent to be tamed and owned before presenting it out to public, especially when talking about powerhouses like Resala. I usually dont start my review with performance because scent>>>performance, but here i needed to point out the elephant in the room The scent itself is masterfully blended, none of the notes wrestle with one another but work together to create a scent no cheap clone middle eastern house could even imagine cloning, let alone creating. Rose and chocolate are the main players here, at least on my skin. The rose isnt your classical grandma oily house mist rose and the chocolate isnt screechy, but rather smooth, creamy and edible as i like it most. Vanilla and saffron are present throughout, they contribute to the sweetness and depth but are less detectable. As this fragrance slowly starts to fade the woodyness emerges, every bit as smooth as everything else. Now onto the performance once again. My skin sadly has a bad tendency of eating and absorbing every fragrance i apply super fast. No showering and lotion can help it, but I've come to terms with it long ago. This is one of the rare fragrances i actually get constant whiffs of, and they are STRONG. I can put this on my wrist and it'll feel like i have it on my neck type of strong. 14 long long hours with diabolic projection. I have never experienced a fragrance being able to linger and overpower a room for an hour just by removing the cap and waving the bottle around with zero (0) sprays. This one can do that. I either got a good batch or a sensitive nose. My backup bottle is on the way because i fear this being watered down or, God forbid, discontinued. This is NOT to be oversprayed. Do i need to say it? keep this one under the rug from designer snobs. Successful blind buy. Smell: 9.5/10 Projection: 10.5/10 Longevity: 10/10 Bottle: 9.5/10 Packaging: 9/10

Haha....sometimes my blind-buys go so wrong. 🙂🙂🙂🙂 I only started taking an interest in fragrances about a year ago. I dabbled in a few beautiful middle-eastern attars and then, from there, one of the first few fragrances I bought was Lattafa Oud Mood. Soon enough, I discovered Swiss Arabian and their Shaghaf Oud (original). I purchased multiple "back ups" and tucked them away for future gifts. Somehow when I blind bought Resala I thought it would be different enough to justify the purchase and despite the "reminds-me" section here - I just assumed everyone's noses were broke 😊 and went ahead with the purchase. But, Resala is actually just a much better blended, better quality, less brash/loud and less sweet version of the two fragrances I just mentioned. And while I appreciate it for what it is - it is very redundant to what I already own. It arrived beautifully packaged and sealed - but when I opened it, there was the "infamous" feather lying (broken) behind the bottle. Apparently, this is a common occurance. I'll be getting some Gorilla Glue and will attempt a repair- and I'll update later on how that works out. Arts&Crafts time. :D Aaaaah but I really hate when I mistakenly buy the same DNA again and again. 😣😐 That $200 plus could have gone towards something else - something new and more exciting. As usual, I'll keep the bottle and use it with abandon....fragrances are meant to be enjoyed. I really wish someone would come up with an APP where we could enter our favourite fragrances and cross reference with potential buys so that we don't accidentally repurchase the same basic DNA. I tried to use Google's AI Mode to do this - but as we all know ...the capacity is limited...it can't retain information for longer than a few days and it makes "mucho" mistakes. 😊

Ok so day 2 of finding a frag that’s unique to my collection. Yesterday I tried Guerlain Tobacco Honey and today is Resala by Arabian Oud. Saffron and Oud are definitely the main players upon the initial spray. Went to the Arabian Oud store and sprayed 3 neck and back of each hand. When I test frags I try not to over spray to give frags a chance to truly shine. I wouldn't call this beast mode but first hr or so it’s pretty strong. By hr 3-4 it mellows out into consistent projection not room feeling but I’d say elbows length. I sprayed on at 11 and at 430 it’s still pushing. This is similar to scents like Oud satin mood but does its own thing with the chocolate. I see they have it for $120-180 on discounters and I think it’s worth that but not the $280 in store. I will give a more in depth update on full performance once day is over. Update. So my wife just said it strong so I guess it is pretty beast mode. So I just got back from playing basketball and showering and it’s still a pretty strong skin scent. I’d say performance is above average to borderline beast mode. It’s a pretty easy frag to wear and smells amazing. That saffron, rose, Oud, and chocolate is a nice combo. You will definitely standout from the crowd as most people only wear designers. Final Verdict This is beast mode in longevity. Literally smelled it on me after 20hrs. Beast mode projection from 3-4 sprays. Beautiful rose and oud combo

When I got it fresh from the mail it was repulsive and extremely harsh for the first 2-3 months. All I got was an enormous blast of saffron that gave a strong balsamic and metallic vibe, what smelled like a very sharp and synthetic musk, no rose at all, and only the slightest hint of something vaguely chocolate or vanilla in the drydown. After it matured it became significantly better. It's been like a year now and I'm just starting to pick up a slight red wine accord as the balsamic saffron dies down. Maybe it's still maturing? The chocolate is very smooth, like a dark chocolate powder that isn't too powdery. The rose is now definitely perceivable. The oud is blending extremely well into the chocolate and rose to where I barely recognize it except for a darkness added to the composition. Nuclear and headache inducing. Beast mode. ONE spray MAX. Any more sprays is headache-inducing, even if sprayed on legs. I used to spray on leg once, but then I decided to spray on my chest underneath shirt and this smells WAY BETTER on skin than on clothes. On skin the saffron and sharpness doesn't come out as much, and I get a lot more of the rose and sweetness. Easily one of the best rose/ouds out there.

This is mentioned 2018 but it came out at least a year before that if not more. I bought it before 2018 just a few weeks or couple of months after their shop opened in Times Square. It’s a beautiful oud base with very warm saffron, powdery rose but still dry, vanilla and cream. Persistent like a comfortable and elegant cloud. Not something you see around easily and not the usual and everywhere oud. I remembered about it immediately when I smelled today Oud Bouquet from Lancome, only that one seems even sweeter and more powdery than Resala. But they have the same DNA to the point of confusion. I smelled Oud Bouquet in Selfriges in London and if I had more time today I would have run across the street to Arabian Oud to compare on spot with Resala. But did not have the time. Resala has a more pronounced oud than Oud Bouquet but nothing that should worry those afraid of oud. The mix is the most intriguing of the oud compositions and not harsh by any means. Although the bottle is nice I wish it was smaller and simpler and lighter and easier to handle. But this is Arabian Oud, it would not have been them if this was just a simple bottle.