Farah

Haram is a fanastic sweet oriental perfume. I believe that cold wintertime is the best to test this, but this might suit hotter days as well, as it all is about how much and where you apply. Haram (or "sin" like someone mentioned before) on my skin opens with sweet date fruit and soon is followed by powdery notes of tonka bean and leather which is not my cup of tea MOSTLY, but here I have no complaints with this powdery combo. The honey is lingering around together with cinnamon which I find to be very lovely as honey usually has the way to overpower every other note, but here, at least on me, it works as a background. I also get loads of cedar which makes this to be even darker. All in all a beautiful and powdery piece, yes - made for woman, but I think that a daring man might pull this off as well as it is heavy on leather and cedar. Even though this might not be ultra unique, I think it is a good perfume, worth the price tag, very pleasing for those who love orientals. Even though I have found something similar I will add to my collection (Aziyade by Parfums d'Empire) this as well will go to my wishlist as it pleases my nose greatly.

Someone gave me a little decant and I had no idea what to expect. I saw "Paris" and thought it would be powdery or fresh or feminine. I had no idea it was a gourmand fragrance and I hated it immediately! So I yelled at my friend, lol. She explained what the notes were, and the lightbulb went on. Okay, NOW I get it! It reminds me a bit of Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Vanille Cannelle (Vanilla Cinnamon) but much spicier, earthier and less creamy. More like a hot cup of Vanilla Chai Tea with a ton of cinnamon. While I agree with a previous poster, that, sometimes, it smells a bit more figgy than datey—for me, the dates come through more often. Figs are sweeter, lighter and more prominent (and therefore should always be a top note) and dates are deeper, earthier and more mellow and belong in the heart. So bottom line, I hated it at first and grew to love it. Immensely. It's funny how that works. The moral of the story is, never give a person who loves perfume a sample decant without telling him/her what it's all about! :)

Haram is a sexy little potion, sweet, resinous and spicy with a generous dollop of patchouli and a brushing of dried citrus peel, like the love child of Hermes' Elixir des Merveilles and Chanel's Coromandel. Seriously. If there's leather and dates, honey and cedar, they are so very well blended that they don't stand out as distinct notes in my nose. They just add to the exoticism of the composition. I confess to adoring this spicy/resinous style, and Haram was a must-have after the very first sniff. Haram is a rarity for being spicy and resinous yet not smelling like candle shop potpourri. Its definitely winter appropriate and perfect for those whose personalities project as strongly as their perfume's generous sillage. If you are fond of Hermes' Elixir des Merveilles, the *original* YSL Opium, Chanel's Coromandel or Coco - the original, *not* "Coco Mademoiselle" - you will probably enjoy Haram, too. PS: The usual caveat applies - sniff a sample first, Indiescents.com (not affiliated) has them.

Oh, delicious! Yes, I see some parallels with Ambre Narguile and Back to Black, somewhat halfway between both with AN's scent and B2B's style: Initially I am met with a powdered, ambrosial honey like a thick dusting of pollen, struck with some ambery highlights of labdanum. On warming cinnamon spice makes it presence known, balanced and soft, but rich at the same time with the smoothing quality of benzoin. More warmth, and then an unusual acerbic chord. Tannic dried fruit skins? Sulfur? Medicinal styrax? Camphorous cedar? Kind of like the toxic cynanide compounds inside a bitter cherry pit. It's discordance doesn't bother me but rather makes me stand to attention and appreciate the dried fruit aspect even more. Like dates that have dried to coumarin/hay-like dessication, delivering a boozy ferment. The finish is warm, dark, fruity, still with that poisoned-cherry vein, a little powdery, slightly sweet, softly boozy and woody. Farah is a very well blended composition from an expert hand.

Cinnamon, dates, ameretto and dough for cookies made of almond flour, all on a deep, resinous oriental base. Extremely warm, delicious and comforting. While this is a sweet scent, it doesn‘t smell sugary or candy-like, it has a very natural sweetness of dried fruits, dark honey and almond-like tonka. It‘s not vanillic and has a dry texture, so all in all, I think Farah could be worth a try even for those who usually don‘t love gourmands. The only downside is that it lacks versatility. I personally would only wear this on the coldest days of winter and in the holiday season. It reminds me of Christmas time so much, likely because the most dominant note in this is cinnamon. To someone who doesn‘t make that automatic connection from cinnamon and almonds to Christmas, this could be more versatile than it is to me. It‘s definitely an exotic, sensual perfume that has a good longevity without being too intrusive.