Gulab Attar

I cannot get enough of this attar, and use my little bottle so sparingly; I want to be able to own this for life. Gulab, for me, opens almost lactonic and warm, like a mix of sweetened boiled milk and hot rose syrup; heady and intoxicating. The lactonic facet to my nose is what makes Gulab so comforting and familiar. Within the first few minutes, this creamy warmth gives way to a dewy, slightly bitter rose, much like very good quality, organic rose water, which develops into a brighter, cleaner, almost astringent note as the creaminess momentarily bows out. The transition from rose to sandalwood is seamless but clearly discernible. One moment you are smelling pure rose oil, and then you are surrounded by a cloud of soft, woody Mysore sandalwood. I feel that it is the sandalwood that must lend Gulab its creamy, milky note in the opening, so it essentially goes from sandalwood to rose and back to sandalwood. Gulab is a true treasure.

This is straight-up the most beautiful and transporting gulab attar I have had the fortune to inhale. I’m a fan of rose (the bud, bloom, and bush, even the thorns!) but rose is difficult in fragrance. I’ve admired the ways it gets pushed, twisted, desiccated, expanded, wrung out, dragged through the leaves and compost, but sometimes one just desires simple joyful rose. Since being given a wonderful rose attar brought fresh from India in the early 90’s, I’ve understood the joy it can elicit. Russian Adam’s exceptional quality is a stealthy love spell! It expands the mind and unlocks the heart. People seem to act differently in it’s presence without even realizing what is influencing their behavior. Gulab is spendy, but passion and perfectionism have created this beauty worthy of cult status. Now I just wish all the world leaders could get locked in a room together with this for four hours...