Thanaya

Pungent linens at a garage sale from a bakhoor-burning maniac household might dupe Elixir Attar’s Thanaya whose carrot seed and lavender do a ton of work to create a dusty, earthy, slightly herbal facade to what to my nose registers as a rose-oud. Only a few wears in did I abandon my own conceptual misgivings about what leather at its core might or should smell like—it's still nothing like Elixir’s take—and by then I'd also forgotten about its "eleven rose essences" and captive ingredients. Whether this is an ingenious leather fragrance or just one of the fanciest, most exquisite artisan "ghaliyas," Thanaya would also go well with a pearl necklace. Thanaya's a "bold composition and has a legendary performance," you read in its ad-copy, and I don't disagree. In any other context this statement could just as well describe a Pedro Almodovar movie, any one that seems so great at turning generic conventions on their head not by innovation but by heartfelt earnestness, which by doubling down on style, also makes camp tasteful.

This is the scent that introduced me to elixir attar. Such a surreal composition. The top notes are gorgeous, the use of lavender, along with the castor, amber, honey and Oud make a lovely unique leather feel, without any harshness you might find in designer leather fragrances. Ahmed and his team create lovely fragrances, and at a 15 ml size, it can be much more approachable and affordable than other artisan perfumers who only do 30ml and above.

Thanaya is not your typical crowd-pleaser. It’s for those who appreciate leather scents with an animalic twist (castorium)softened by a touch of rose. It’s sophisticated, moody, and slightly mysterious. Elegant!

A powerhouse leather scent, this is fantastic stuff. Might not be for everyone as this is a very animalic type of leather.

Thanaya embodies elegance, strength, and class. Opulence of roses (11 different types) with leather accord and with a small touch of animalic built on five different types of high-quality oud. Oud like; Bengali oud, Cambodian oud, Indian oud, Thai oud, and Assam oud, Papua oud. Then, everything is wrapped beautifully, and neither one is taking the position. The lavender, musk, ambergris, dense honey, and all other elements enhanced the composition, which gives the blend an olfactory finish. I mean, looking at the notes, what else can one ask for in a Rose-Oud fragrance ? An attar that embodies elegance, strength, and class. It's unbelievably beautiful. This is one of those fragrances that makes one feel bigger than everyone else on earth

Smoky Rose-Oud thanks the castoreum. Its very well done. It reminds me of War & Peace III but Thanaya is less smoky and less animalic. I'd even go as far to say its smother than W&P3 but for many the civet & heavier castoreum adds a bite that many enjoy. W&P III when it originally released was a better bang for the buck since Thanaya goes for the double the price. However, unless you can snag someone reselling W&P III ; Thanaya might be your only option. Thanaya is unisex which I usually find isn't for me but I feel perfectly comfortable wearing Thanaya as a man.