Creme de la Creme

This is a fascinating blend of two genres, the fougere and gourmand, and because of this shares a lot in common with Roja's exquisite Kingdom of Bahrain, which also has clary sage, jasmine, rose, generous Ambergris and oud. Imagine Kingdom of Bahrain without the citruses, and amped up ambergris and real oud, and you get a glimpse of what Creme de la Creme is like. The oud at the top has a fresh minty quality, and that at the base is Indonesian and very similar if not identical to that in History of Indonesian Oud. The ambergris is salty and very clean-smelling. The fragrance opened with a salty blast of mint and clary sage, which becomes ever so slightly spicy and creamy as time passes, with a distinct barber shop feel emerging from the creamy sandalwood, orris, and sage. A coca cola and cherry vibe also becomes apparent as the fragrance progresses, no doubt from the Indonesian oud, but nothing seems to dominate except for a salty cloud-like feel that follows you around all day, shape-shifting as you catch glimpses and wafts of one note after another in a delicious kaleidoscope, that is at once gourmand, and barber shop. At times it seems like ocean foam, others like shaving cream, still others like a subtle tobacco, cherry cola fragrance. It is hard to label distinct phases because once you think a note has faded it comes back like a tidal wave an hour later. I wore this on a day it was 10 C and cloudy with considerable wind and was surprised that with every gust the scent become stronger, rather than less detectable, which is what usually happens with a cold wind. But it is not heavy or sweet, and not too floral or spicy, with creaminess and saltiness always at the forefront. So you could easily pull it off in warmer weather, although I would avoid the warmest days. It also lasts forever and seems to get more complex and intoxicating as it develops. It is the most modern fragrance in this collection, with nothing overly vintage about it except for a slight barber shop vibe that comes out here and there like shaving cream. This also makes it masculine leaning although I would not say it was a 'masculine' fragrance, so a woman can still pull it off. Another banger in this collection, which only seems composed of strengths with no apparent weakness.

First impressions: I received a 5 or 7 ml from Musk fragrances. They are good, glass spray decants. It was about $100. I like it and is the only Musk series from Areej that I had not tried or have. Except Forbidden Flower, not interested. The fresh, green medicinal opening is mostly the ambergris I believe. Or maybe it is a green oud. This does remind me of Areej Chinese Oud. It also reminds me of Baikal Gris which doesn't have the oud, but they both have prominent ambergris. The spices here are clove and nutmeg, as my guesses. In the dry-down the florals are more noticeable, the jasmine is strongest. I'm glad I have a 7 ml and won't look for a bottle. As I already have Baikal Gris, and Agar de Noir, both of which have just as nice ambergris, and are better all-around fragrances. PS: Now that I'm well into the dry-down, it's truly the best part. I can't think of a fragrance that has become so much better in the dry-down. Bumping up my rating... The ambergris, florals and oud come into perfect harmony. Rating: 9/10 God bless. John 3:16

My first impression review for the full set. I may add the full post impressions later, after a week. This is my favorite so far. Not a single note is prominent, and this is least animalic scent. It is actually very pleasant. You feel spices, orris dancing with sandalwood creating smoothness, a bit of sour flowers as rose, jasmine and Y-Y. There is absolute little oud just to support the composition, and there is a feel of ambergris. If there is a lot of Ambergris, then it is defo a white entity with a very refined non-animalic backbone. This is absolutely not creamy, when in the same collection the Forbidden Flower exists. P.S. Post review ranking of animalicness for the collection from most animalic to least animalic, for you, my animalic-lover perverts: 1. Royal Barn (1 and 2 are interchangeable) 2. Forbidden Flower 3. Cuirtis 4. Creme De La Creme 5. Paradise Soil P.S.2. I hope that Ramsey will get his hands on all these perfumes to do a review.

This is a difficult perfume for me to describe. It opens with a fizzy/buzzy texture, kind of minty, it's like a seafoam green camphorous oud, sort of. There's almost a cola/Dr Pepper type of spicy effervescence As it moves from the top, it generally reminds me of Alexandria II from Xerjoff. The oud/sandalwood/spice interplay, some overlapping qualities. In CdlC I get more depth from the oud than in AII, AII is almost a straight woman's hairspray type of aroma. CdlC flirts with that territory to my nose, it's kind of sticky, but definitely giving "grooming product" (shaving cream, hair spray, baby wipes) association to me. Barring the similarities to AII, this still feels like a unique offering from ALD. I love the way Russian Adam works with ambergris, and this doesn't feel redundant for the other work he's offered with either oud or ambergris. Tons for the nose to explore with this one

WOW! Stunning scent, salty ambergris with a creamy oriental feel. I love how smooth CDLC feels on my skin. The powderyness in this reminds me of the texture of A2 by Xerjoff ( don't believe I'm saying they are similar), I am just describing the texture I feel. Creme de La Creme is hard to describe in my opinion. Ambergris is forsure the main player in the composition, I also get this christmas spice feeling, cloves perhaps? Addiciting smell, not too challenging for me.