Dubai Black Sapphire

#48 on my Fragrance Review Journey I'm back to one of my favorite houses, Bond No 9. Neiman Marcus is still selling this for $600 bucks. You can find it from reputable resellers for 1/3 of the price... sometimes cheaper. I got a great deal I couldn't pass up. I had never got a chance to place my nose on any of the Dubai line, so this was a blind buy. I am happy to say it was a successful one. Two sprays to back of my hands and the fragrance enveloped the room. At first sniff, I knew I had something special. The oud is exceptional. It's regal and opulent without being overpowering. No barnyard smells, no fecal smells. You initially smell oud/rose/saffron and a bit of the neroli. As it dries down, the rose becomes more authentic smelling, with a supporting cast of oud/saffron/sandalwood. It is elegant and pleasing in the air. I had a decant of Signature Scent and really enjoyed it. Black Sapphire compared to that one feels more mature and put together. There is a bit of a vintage feel that I really enjoy with Black Sapphire. It also reminds me in the early stages of Xerjoff Alexandria II. The dry down is also familiar to Kilian Rose Oud. If you have smelled any of these scents and liked them, you will probably like Dubai Black Sapphire. Performance 8- 9 hours on my skin (others may have much longer with their body chemistry). This is a solid outing. It is not worth $600 bucks (can't think of any fragrance that is); however, if you find a great deal, it may be totally worth it. If you are near a store that carries this, get your nose on it. This is a keeper for me. 10/10 Update 7/22/26 I have had five solid wears and love this fragrance. That said, I can see how some may find the opening barnyard smelling. I love oud, so my nose has grown accustomed to many variations of it. This is not a beginner oud fragrance. It starts out very strong. Even for someone who enjoys oud, I would highly recommend sampling first. The dry down is really similar to Kilian Rose Oud; however, we are talking late into the dry down. Beautiful fragrance.

This is one of the first niche frags I ever received several years ago and I hated it then. But I kept it for sentimental reasons. My nose and tastes have evolved so much since then and I decided to put it on after my shower tonight. I really think this is just lovely now. It’s rich and spicy and woodsy and animalic, yes, but in a beautiful day way. I’m so glad I hung on to this.

I have the oil from APO of this and I have to say - I love it. I was reading reviews last night and a number of people said some extremely negative things but this oil that I have is very, very pretty. In fact, I think it was my favorite of everything I ordered. Will repurchase from them -

Reminds me of Dubai amber but less amber and more oud. The oud is also a more animalic right from the get go. Nice fragrance and probably the most hardcore out of the Dubai line. If you can't handle some barnyard action, stay away. Scent 7/10 Performance 7/10

The opening is very nice...it has a very nice floral opening but the drydown smells like women's hair products 🤢 Smells like walking into a Paul Mitchell hair salon- The performance is also lacking & it surprised me.. This sits close to ur skin

Smells like fresh dried hamster caca

When i first put this one on, i thought to myself, "what did i STEP into?' Right away its pungent, like fecal, like killing a small insect or something. It just didn't grab me the right way. But i'm all about being different. I don't want to smell like anyone else so i wore it for a tad bit longer. When it dried down i started to smell the beeswax and honey, the turkish rose and the cedar. I advise you to try it on your skin first. This fragrance won't be for everyone. But then again.. why should it be??

A nicely done rose oud with deft animalic and aromatic touches. The scent opens with notes of saffron, honey and slight neroli leading to the heart of mostly rose but with supporting cedar and pepper. The perfume settles on woody notes (a skanky Laotian oud and sandalwood), balsamic resins, vetiver and benzoin. The unisex scent has moderate to strong sillage and very good longevity. Not for everyone and anyone afraid of a bit of skank please stay away. Fairly traditional and nicely done. Enjoy!

This is their "it" oud fragrance; the note is listed on other official sites but not here somehow. Nice, strong, and on the fecal side, comparable to the one by Spirit of Dubai (Nabeel) although not as rich & complex as Kemi 'Ilm and Frederic Malle The Night, but cheaper than all of them online.

longevity 1 hour and no sillage

Sampling it now. The opening smells a little like pee or bird shit build up. It's very vague about it and I don't find it entirely off-putting. But it also reminds me of pickled olives, which I find more offensive. The longer you have it on, the more it fades and gives way to the rose and spicy smells. Regardless I think the opening is too icky to wear generally. I'm sure it pulls nicer on other people, and I'm sure there is a time and place for it, but the price tag is too much for such an unwearable scent

Powerful projection. Waxy and spicy. Lots of layers and it *should* be interesting but instead it's just way too much. It doesn't smell cheap as in synthetic; it smells cheap as in trying too hard and thirsty for attention. Opens with wax and spice, but they combine to feel like a candle. A male candle. Drydown is resins and floral. It leans more feminine, but this isn't anywhere close to a pretty or girly scent. Thinking on the name, they're announcing that this one smells like a middle eastern stereotype. Excessively styled men who read a bit effeminate by mainstream US norms. Projection is too much. I tried from a dabber in a travelling box and filled the room with the projection from one wrist. This may be the first scent I've had that will turn into a scrubber not because it's flat out bad but because it's way too much. It's a perfume, not a poorly trained puppy, and I don't want it to enter the room before I do and stay after I leave. I'm glad for the experience of trying it, and the bottle is gorgeous, but it's not for me. It achieves the niche goal of unique and often polarizing scents.

I have a fragrance subscription and I was bored with the standard low selling designer perfumes and decided to try something weird. Well Dubai Black Sapphire is definitely weird. I would describe it as dirty elephant cage at the zoo that someone sprayed extra strength "Poo-pouri." I've never smelled anything like it. Floral cedar over other woody notes with a strong whiff of Porta potty. I actually don't hate it; the "barnyard" which to me is remansent of pig manure is sort of nostalgic, the horrid, sickly, sharp floral overtones remind me of a wedding (or maybe a funeral) with too much flowers and too much perfume. It's just weird. Completely unwearable. I cannot think of anywhere this could be worn. Not at the club/bar smelling like pig poop and grandma, definitely not at work, not even relaxing at home. I'm not sure what to do with it, I can't even use it as room spray. But overall I'm glad I got out of my comfort zone. I'm excited to try other weird perfumes.

It costs 2900 riyals to smell like poo.

Liquid poop in a bottle! I received it as a sample, when I purchased Bond No. 9's Chinatown. I would not give this to my husband. It went straight in the bin.

One of, if not the worst fragrances I have ever smelled. This genuinely smells like Eau De Porta-Potty. Don't buy.

I've been bussing my brain trying to figure out why this smells so familiar and why I like it so much. Today I think figured it out, i think it reminds me of when I layer king of sandal by nabeel with ny oud, That mixture even got compliments from some with an inexperienced nose, causing me to sound like a jerk saying to them "what? you like this? & wow I'm shocked you like this" so I can truly say it has a real niche vibe as well but I think there is something so buttery cozy to this that everyone can enjoy it and it also smells so expensive when smelled on someone else, so much so that you'll regret what your wearing. Bond has become my new go to brand because of ny amber, NY oud, NY sandalwood and a few of the dubai collection. P.S. I hated this, NY oud, sandalwood and amber when I smelled it at Saks on a card but on skin it comes to life. For some reason NY oud, NY sandalwood, NY amber almost smell expired at each Saks location where I tried them out so be sure to ask for a skin spray just to be sure.

I really like this & is the one “Bond” I continue to get a sample of when they ask what I’d like to try. The ones that hate on here are entitled to their opinion, I’m thinking they just don’t know & If you’re not ready You’re just not ready. I will agree with the Wolf down below because it’s hard for me to describe, Where he says Dubai Amber with more oud & while having just enough sweetness in there for someone like myself to be able to pull it off nicely..Thanks to so many not liking it, I’m seeing the price dropping at a lot of discounters & I will so own this one here soon that I consider to be a gem! To me this exudes sophistication on another level from some & like the bottle, I’ll only wear it while having a black shirt on lol

When I first sampled this I loved it. I was just waiting for my tax return money to come in and then I was going to buy a bottle. But then I watched a few YouTube videos on it and all anyone could talk about was the fecal/dog shit/cow/pig/man-bear-pig smell of it and it completely ruined it for me. I knew there was something dark and animalic in it but for some reason my brain never connected that with the scent of feces until I saw those videos. When I went back to give it another try all I could smell was shit, right from the first spray. I'm not going to walk around anywhere smelling like literal feces, I just can't do it.

I think we should have a poll as to which is the most horrible fragrance ever tried. I’ll start off :Cacheral’s ‘Eden’. Kind of smell I get in the kitchen when the washing machine is emptying. Or the canal I used to live near.