Amber of Yemen

This is something seriously special. I’m used to the cheap Al Rehab roll-on oils, which are fun but often a little tinny, synthetic but never the luxurious alternative that you hope for. I’m also used to the high-end Arabian attars, where one expensive drop is all you need, but it’s often a smokey swirl of faecal oud which I can’t appreciate. I’d almost given-up, until I found this. I ordered directly from El Nabil which didn’t take too long to arrive from overseas. The tiny 5ml bottle seems like a sample, so I rolled it generously on my wrist which was a huge mistake. Only a few delicate dots of this rich, brown-honey nectar is all you need. Tomorrow I will be wearing only a few dots on my pulse points and I’ll update then. But the scent! It’s divine! It immediately struck me, that it smells very close to ‘Amour De Palazzo’ by Jul Et Mad (which I love) and shares 80% of its chewy, woody, amber, smooth gourmand DNA. There is a similar Grand Soir sweet amber vibes but Grand Soir is just too vanilla for me. 10% of it reminds me of Arabian Oud’s ‘Kalemat’ as there is a similar warm vanilla amber which increasingly warms against my skin with time. The final 10% reminds me of the honey-trap that is Spirit of Dubai’s ‘Baz’ as it shares a similar rich golden honey, smooth leather with soft vanilla and is also a honeycomb of golden resins and balsamic amber caramel. But Baz is ultra high-end perfumery and costs thousands. But this costs under £10. I expect (well, more like, I always HOPE) that an affordable oil will perform like an ultra high-end fragrance, and this is the ONLY one that’s ever done this. The quality and performance is outstanding. This is the gem in affordable Arabian attars that I’ve been looking for. Forget your rubbery, medicinal, screechy synthetic (often with oud) junky roll-on oil. This is the smoothest, balsamic amber-caramel, golden honeycombed, amber-leather in the world. And as sweet as it is, luckily for me, I actually don’t think there’s vanilla in this.

I have just tried this on paper - it is a very creamy, kind of Rosey amber. Seems really high quality too and I only paid £5. I will use it in a few weeks or when it gets a bit cooler. It feels quite warm. I can't rate it fairly yet but I know I like it. I've tried it on my skin and this is lovely. Very creamy and alluring, like a warm dessert. I think it's unisex but slightly more leaning masculine. This is amongst the best £5 you can spend on a fragrance surely. Latest: This transforms overnight, by hour 8, you will smell a different, slightly musky sandalwood dominant scent. This is a sweet scent but far from immature, just sweet enough to be interesting. It's the best fiver you can spend in perfumery. This is a work of art and should be in everyone's collection. Any season but weather dependent. Wouldn't wear this in 20 plus degrees but would be amazing in a warmer night. Fine for winter too. This really is outstanding. If it had Tom Ford or Bodacia on it, would cost £300 plus. I adore this. The patchouli really takes over by the dry down too. It's magnificent. I can't wait to try more from El Nabil.

This is a pretty straightforward fragrance. I don't get much bergamot, rose, geranium or ylang-ylang. What I do get is the amber, patchouli and sandalwood forming an accord that smells smooth and warming with chocolaty nuances. It smells fantastic. The longevity is excellent. On me it lasts for over 12 hours. The only minor criticism that I can think of is that the oil is pretty thick and dark in colour. For a while you can clearly notice it on your skin. You should also be careful not to get it on your clothes because it will stain them.

This is one of the best oils from El Nabil (Black Afghan is very good too). Long lasting, wonderful smell of amber and there is a very distinctive resemblance with Amouage - The Library Collection Opus VI (The Amber of Yemen smells like the 6-hour into the drydown of the Opus VI - and if you know how extremely opulent the Opus VI is, you would know what I am talking about). Recommended blind buy - for its price.

This is nice for pennies! I'm not sure how to add notes but I'm getting a strong beeswax note from it which is delicious. I'm also picking up frankincense and a very creamy sandalwood. Every note in this has been put together thoughtfully and although it projects well it doesn't scream in people's faces. I don't pick up much of the rose or bergamot but the ylang ylang is to die for.

Amazing stuff and i don't get rose or bergamot, I get amber and sandalwood on the drydown.Got a compliment of a lady who i didn't know,its such a seductive smell and i cannot stop smelling my wrist.

super musky with a heavy warm sticky powdery amber and a soapy geranium accord. masculine, almost lactonic sandalwood base. really lovely i like it a lot. simple and good.

This is incredibly good. It is delicious. Chocolate and honey on amber/olibanum. One of my all time favorites.

I love geranium and I love this.

I love the top notes of rose and geranium in this. It smells like musk sticks, then the amber and patchouli come in with a huge kick. I find patchouli in general to be quite a sharp, acrid note and once the top notes of this perfume have worn off its very screechy.

A warm, sweet amber with great longevity and great value! I would have sworn it has a vanilla note in the drydown. I've worn it all year round, in summer it really shines (opulent, oriental, elegant and exquisite) but needs to be applied with a lighter hand.

I think the first rolling smelled a bit more cedery and spicey for some reason. When that rolling had put some air in the bottle, i shook it, took a shower and reapplied although im not sure about if maceration people talk about is real. The first smell is of ceder, spicey, unisex but during 20 minutes or so it slowly converts to a nice sweet sandalwood. i think maybe another reviewer said it does well in the heat, possibly because the unisex start fades away more quickly. i bought it because it has some of the the same notes as estee amber ylang ylang. the ceder fades into the background and then it smells good but still misses some of the incense, cinnamon and vanilla of AYY. i tried dismantling the roll on and mixing in incense (nag champa) vanilla and cinammon notes to recreate AYY and it was a tragic failure because the resulting combined liquid smelled terrible. it smells good by itself by the way so im going to wear it by itself. tbh i was kind of hoping for an AYY replica but it is obviously different although still similar and good. I put 3 rollings all the way up each arm from hand to elbow and then rubbed my arms on each other because i wanted to smell strong. could smell wafts all day from my arm at work. i was wearing long sleeves. i would say sillage is medium/ moderate, and it lasts long. i dont know if other people could smell me because nobody commented but it definitely projects at least 25cm from arm to face. surprising for something so cheap that it could be so strong. i would recommend buying this one. Update: There is another one from el nabil which i think is more similar to ayy but less sillage called elixir of dubai which they just released and is not on the database. it has some kind of spicy note but most of that that goes away within 10 minutes leaving you with something similar but not the same as to AYY but with less sillage. the remaining spicyness smells like nag champa, and there is no cinnamon (and no ceder) notes. that one is not as strong as amber of yemen and lasted about 7 hours before becoming a faint skin scent even though i used lots of rolls on my arm and neck. I think elixir of dubai needs to be reapplied after that time.

I ordered some of the El Nabil perfume oils last week and after about 8-10 days or so, my order came from France. My gosh, I am so glad I purchased this one! It is like of the best ambers I have ever smelled and I cannot quit putting my nose to my wrist to get yet another sniff. A tiny dot on each wrist, you don't need very much so I hope the tiny bottle lasts a long time. I would definitely purchase this again, especially at the price of around $3.99!

A heady, thick dark brown amber with a salty and a vanillic hint. The type of amber that's also in Grand Soir (which of course smells more expensive). Performance is phenomenal. Smells more expensive than it is. One of the best of the line together with Royal Gold.

An amber fragrance that lasts a really long time on your skin, projects well and leaves people wondering what you’re wearing. Smells gorgeous on me, but even better on my husband.