Scarlet Sands

First Impressions: This isn’t the fresh, fruity floral I was expecting! This is akigalawood with zero rough edges. The opening is sweet and fruity. Orange blossom is the dominant floral; but it’s not overbearing. I don’t even notice the freesia or jasmine. On my skin (which tends to amplify patchouli) the Akigalawood is the star of the show. It’s very warm and sweet with a modern, fuzzy, synthetic texture that I often enjoy. It really does evoke the feelings of a city sunset. I’m very intrigued and immediately got a larger decant. After wearing this several times: A loud, sweet and fruity opening that settles down within about 30 minutes. I imagine I go noseblind around the 1-2 hour mark. After that I can’t smell it on myself anymore, but I get random compliments (from strangers) up to 5 hours after application. Originally I had not planned on sampling this. Raspberry, jasmine, freesia, and akigalawood are all problematic notes for me. But, I was kindly sent a decant by a fragrance friend. I think this is worth trying even if you might not typically enjoy all the notes. Everything is extremely well blended and nothing is too prominent: a warm, sweet ambery floral that’s perfect for spring.

Firstly Scarlet Sands is an absolute powerhouse with incredible projection and presence - now that I wasn’t expecting. From the reviews I was expecting a very light airy raspberry forward perfume but it’s much more dense and heavy. It opens with a burst of fruity pebbles/candy like sweetness and juicy raspberry, but at its heart, this is very much an akigalawood, freesia(!!!) and orange blossom-centred composition, and these three notes remain the most dominant throughout the wear. I’ve genuinely never smelt anything quite like it. It’s distinctive, unique, and beautifully textured and the vanilla in the dry down adds a creamy sweetness.While I’d say it leans feminine, men could still rock this easily. The akigalawood brings an earthy, slightly peppery dark edge, while the sweet fruity notes and luminous white florals provide contrast an indolic thickness but also brightness. That interplay between light and dark is what makes it so captivating. This should not be blind bought - I can imagine many people not enjoying the akigalawood or indolic floral notes. Edit - Layer with Cedar Chic!!

This is the #1 Ex Nihilo for me. I had mixed reactions to this one due to the fact that it was an expensive blindbuy. The opening smells feminine, bubblegummy and reminds me a bit of Cosmic from Kylie. But when it dries down it gets so beautiful. Delicious raspberry with soft white florals which give it such a clean and light, airy composition and the vanilla and amber in the drydown gives it its warmth. The Jordi Fernandez signature Akigalawood gives a lift in the sillage and makes it a bit less feminine. This stays for 20h+ on my skin- no joke! And for several weeks on fabric. It's fruity but not too fruity, sweet but never too sweet. Everything is in perfect doses which makes it perfect for me. My favorite part is when it becomes a skin scent, it literally becomes one with the skin and smells so light and beautiful with no rough edges at all. 10/10!

Scarlet Sands by Ex Nihilo is a delightful perfume that would be a valuable addition to any Ex Nihilo collector. The opening is gorgeous, with a juicy hit of raspberry that blends beautifully into a creamy mix of sandalwood and amber. Throughout the wear, I keep getting this surprisingly addictive bubblegum vibe, which makes it very unique. Performance is around 7+ hours on my skin, and the sillage is great. It's a Dubai exclusive, so it's very hard to get hold of, but I managed to grab one from Harrods, who had a very limited number of bottles available. I paid £350, and while I'm glad to have it in my collection, I don't think it's worth that price. That said, it's still a fantastic perfume which I rate 9/10.

I am one of those people who just bought it a little over retail price. I will be giving my full authentic review once it gets here however I’m a little hesitant to take anyone’s advice that did not buy it. Did you even try it? People who haven’t even bought it question the review from people who actually spent the money. How about this leave it to the people that can afford it and give an authentic review. Stay out of it:) I’ll be giving an update shortly when it arrives. Not a sample... an actual purchase.