Al Rayhan

Had to delete and rewrite my review as my thoughts have taken a180° turn. When I first purchased this, it had a strong alcohol opening and the fragrance was very weak. Now that I've let it sit for a few months, I'm finding this my most reached for summer fragrance. It's so beautifully balanced between the citrus, florals and sweet fruits. It's just divine. I don't smell any of that original alcohol blast that I did when I first received it. It's now a fresh, citrusy, creamy floral waft of perfection with some nice vetiver in the drydown that keeps the fragrance zingy throughout. It also layers really well with lots of other fragrances. Right now I'm enjoying layering this with Reminiscence Heliotrope. It's soooooo good. Performance could be better as it becomes a skin scent by about the 3 hour mark on me but I don't mind reapplying. It really is a divine, holiday summer scent.

Al Rayhan attar is composed entirely of the sweet, tangy freshness of citrus, warmed and rendered sensuous by white flowers, loukhoum, and sweets. This is too lovely; it brings to mind romantic notions of strolling through groves of tangerines in the summer. White Flowers, Tangerine, Praline, Jasmine, Violet, and Lemon Zest serve as the fragrance's top notes. The base notes include Exotic Fruits, Loukhoum, Powdery Notes, and White Musk. Citrusy at first, but quickly turns sweet and vibrant. A very sensual combination of praline, honey-candy, and lemon zest. Excellent for any situation, but particularly on a date. Enduring durability and gentle, mild sillage. Love, love, love it!

Discovering the perfect fragrance can be a game-changer, and that's precisely how one might feel upon finding Al Rayhan. For those who adore the scent of Byredo's Bal d'Afrique but were hesitant to splurge on the full-size bottle due to its poor longevity, Al Rayhan offers a viable alternative. This perfume is a fantastic dupe that offers superior projection and staying power, making it an even more compelling option. Its intoxicating aroma is sure to turn heads and keep you feeling fabulous all day long. It's a win-win situation that you'll be glad to have stumbled upon.

Graf’s review describes this so well, there’s no point in my repeating how this sublime scent smells but I can’t resist. If I didn’t know the ingredients I would say, pineapple & loukhoum, pineapple sweets, pineapple pudding perhaps & tangerines & a posy of flowers etc. What I love so much from the first scent of this is the sweet freshness of the citrus which is warmed & made voluptuous by the white flowers, loukhoum, sweets etc. This is too beautiful, it conjures so many romantic images, wandering through summer tangerine groves etc etc. Love, love, love.

Signature worthy! I've burned through a couple of bottles of Bal D'Afrique and just can't justify the expense anymore so I thought I'd give Al Rayhan go. It's amazing! Very close to Bal D'Afrique and lasts well on my dry arsed skin. The fragrance, longevity and price are all winners for me. I wear it every second day or so. There's no occasion where it's not appropriate.

The reviews baffle me. This is NOTHING like Hanuman and Bal D'Afrique (I mean it is good, but it is not THAT good), and its also not feminine leaning. Its almost perfectly unisex, and this fragrance- as opposed to Azora, is this house's flagship fragrance, in my opinion. Al Rayhan is misunderstood and shamefully underrated.

Opens citrusy but shortly after becomes sweet and bright. a mix of praline, honey-candy and lemon zest VERY SENSUAL. I wish I could own all their fragrances lol for some reason my husband LOVE this fragrances on me. Great for any occasion, especially on a date! long lasting longevity and moderate-soft sillage.

I love it with all my heart! Sweet & clean

I tried this before I tried Bal d'Afrique, simply because the notes sounded promising to me. I liked it, but wasn't blown away, so I stashed my decant away over the winter. In the meantime I tried Bal d'Afrique and absolutely loved it, so I was very excited to revisit Al-Rayhan, as it's often considered a dupe for BdA. It's true that these two have a lot in common. They both don't have pineapple in the notes list, but smell like it. Woodsy, creamy, exotic pineapple with a splash of citrus. But Al-Rayhan is the sweeter out of these two. Due to the praliné, lokum and other sweet notes, it feels quite gourmand in the heart. I actually don't smell classic rose lokum in this, but it has that chewy lokum texture, like a pineapple-mango flavored lokum. It all feels very summery and mouthwatering. Unfortunately the drydown doesn't work on my skin. Where Bal d'Afrique becomes a fresh and woodsy vetiver scent, this turns a little sharp and sweaty close to the skin. Not terribly so, but just enough to stop me from really loving it. Maybe I'm biased because I know that one meaning of the word "rayhan" in Arabic is "basil", but I really think I smell a touch of basil here... Even if I'm wrong and it's not basil, this definitely has some unlisted green notes, that's for sure. Though it's ultimately not for me, I'd recommend this to fans of Bal d'Afrique and other tropical, sweet fragrances with a touch of greenery.

I like Al Rayhan. The opening is fresh, zesty, green, and has an airy sweetness. It then settles into a more mellow, sweet, clean musk on clothes, but on skin, it just smells like ambroxan to me. The performance isn't the best and I am an oversprayer. After 30 min or so it becomes a skin sent and is gone within 2 hours. On clothes, it hangs around for the whole day, but you have to sniff closely. I bought Al Rayhan for a decent price (150AUD), but I see it is most often over 400AUD online. I would not recommend spending that kind of money on this fragrance -- it's not special enough, and you will have to reapply multiple times to make it last the day.

It smells like musk with citruses, a cool aroma like fabric softener with chemical lemon, after 10 mins you can smell a pink rose. But it’s still fabric conditioner, but already pleasant 😍 because of this cold musk I like it. In general, this is a musky perfume, with a little bit of pink rose scent. Really smells like freshly washed laundry with a rose, I love it 🙈

Al Rayhan is like Bal d’Afrique’s sweeter, louder cousin. It opens with citrus and mango, then shifts into creamy florals and powdery candy. Great if you love the vibe of Bal but want more sugar and fun.

Bal d'Afrique without Vetiver.

First it was promising but soon became a disappointment. The first time you spray it, it smelled like Bal D'afrique and then it became a lacking version of the perfume. Which was still OK since I'm aware of this. But then it fades too quickly. The consequent times you spray it, the shallow it gets, it lacks the depth and freshness of Bal D'afrique, so lacking Vertiver is a huge con, and now it fades much much quicker than the first time, lasts only around 30 minutes. And then you started noticing the alcohol opening that is harsh, before turning too light, too invisible. Judging it on its own, it gives a beautiful, transparent zesty citrus scent, and then it gets sweeter and fades. I'm disappoint I can't rely on a dupe. It might be half the price but only a fraction of satisfaction. I will have to purchase an expensive bottle of thee Bal D'afrique some day.

Al Rayhan has a beautiful unisex opening mainly with lemon zest, tangerine and white florals. It's not unique or rare, I've smelt this before but it is quite pleasant. The only thing I don't like about it is its development on the skin. After only 10 minutes transforms into 100% feminine scent. It's not bad, in fact it's beautiful and nothing reminds arabic rough fragrancies. The edible notes are very smooth and light. It feels like every note has beenn caramelized. It is suitable for spring/summer daytime. But again, it's quite generic. I've smelt this before many times in feminine fragrances. Dominant notes are mango, tangerine, loukhoum, sweet notes. Also has mild praline, powdery notes and musk. The citrusy notes are something that characterize this scent and they are here from the opening till the end so I can't say that it's a pure gourmand. Let's say, semi-gourmand. It has moderate sillage and it is long lasting which is rare for a summer scent. Very nice.

Something in this gives me a visceral reaction of disgust, I think it may be the powder note. I've never smelled Bal d'afrique so I can't compare. I'm going to let this one sit for a while and see if it mellows out because I'm not smelling what all the other reviewers are and I'm sad about it.

I really dislike the opening, its like a lemon cleaning detergent and extremely sharp. The drydown is more soft but still not my thing

All I feel is strong powder from the start till...wash off. No zesty fruits. Not my cup of tea.

Even though people in the comments compare it to *Bal d'Afrique*, in my opinion, there is absolutely no resemblance. The whole point of *Bal d'Afrique* is its virtually unknown scent profile (see: African marigold); it is a magnificent fragrance—like the offspring of a union between citrus and floral (violet) notes. You simply must smell it before you die. Anyway, getting back to *Attar*: the notes are absolutely extraordinary—the kind that make you fantasize, wondering, "Oh my God, what must this smell like?" It has everything from lemon zest to mango, violet, jasmine, praline, and—Turkish delight, for crying out loud, there’s Turkish delight in there. Yet the final result is something indefinable; it’s not quite a sweet scent, nor is it floral—and there is neither projection nor longevity. I just don't get it.

It smells exactly like Bal D’afrique at first but then morphs into a candied version of it. Lacks the beautiful way in which Bal D’afrique turns into that zesty, cold creamy luxury mango-pineapple lotion scent that I love. Bal D’afrique is perfect to me. Al Rayhan is still a very good clone though, but I feel like it’s missing something that makes BdA special.