Abu Dhabi

On my skin this evokes dry sand. I was curious to how a perfume could smell like a dry desert and well yes it does. It's more of a subtle scent so it's office safe. It's winter in London and I can't wait to try it again when it's warmer as I have a feeling this will evolve differently in warmer temps and prob be even more deserty.

Gorgeous orris and saffron, with a dry-spicy backbone that’s shared with others from this brand, and I’m a sucker for it (I’ll also need Bukhara, Accra, Istanbul ...). The geranium gives it a soapy tilt, suggesting the amenities at an ultra-luxury hotel. Wonderful stuff, and the 30ml bottle makes it a must have.

Abu Dhabi is an aromatic leather scent with a foresty green undertone and a nice spicy accord. Despite its Middle Eastern location, Abu Dhabi seems like it would suit a mineralic, sterile scent, evocative of the steel skyscrapers amongst its desert sands. Either way, this is a pleasant, good-quality scent in its own right, featuring a smooth, clean leather accord. AD opens with aromatic, green notes, with some savoury herbal notes and a pine-like edge. Pink pepper gets the spicy accord off to a great start, melding well with the herbs and leather. The leather accord slowly develops throughout, smooth, dry and clean somehow, forming the backbone of this scent. Saffron contributes to the amber-leather accord, its rich spice the perfect addition here. Geranium follows, its peppery greenness the perfect addition to the herbs and spices. It becomes earthy as it dries down, but remains clean and smooth. Patchouli is particularly prominent here, but powdery, rooty orris enhances the earthiness while keeping things smooth and refined. Some dry woods creep in, but it remains primarily leathery here. Some soft musk emerges as it fades. There is a slight mineralic edge here, but it doesn't take from this scent. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. It is masculine-leaning in my opinion, and is a year-round scent. A versatile, good-quality aromatic leather for everyday use, AD is a lovely addition to this house, but not the definitive leather for me. I prefer Accra, but that is down to opinion. 3.5/5.

Finally sampling the latest release from Gallivant Perfumes, Abu Dhabi, from late 2022. To my nose, it’s a spicy, dry blend, as described, centered around saffron but with notable touches of pink pepper and orris, with a background of cypress and leather, to me. It’s a great blend that I think is vaguely in the vicinity of Istanbul but without the reliance on rose, a similar commentary I offered on Gdansk, but while Gdansk is a bit boozier and sweeter (albeit also with leather), Abu Dhabi is dryer with orris. A fascinating blend, quite unique, wearable, and artistic. I don’t think I quite love it as much as Gdansk but I’ll continue to wear it some more. Like the rest of the line, Abu Dhabi is priced at $200/$95 for 100/30ml (sold at great boutiques like Perfumology), great pricing and with great performance, in this case, like most of the line. The house continues to put out great fragrances so I cannot recommend them enough. 7 out of 10

The name of this scent is meant to evoke dusty desert heat and eastern spices and I find the scent does just that. There are no florals here and no sweetness. Nor is there any freshness. This is dry, expensive spice with almost a bitter flavour. For this reason probably more on the masculine side for most people. But I like to wear it (I’m female) because I love more woody earthy scents than floral ones and on my skin it quickly looses the bitterness and becomes softer. As with all designer scents what works for one may not work for everyone so try testers before you commit to a full size bottle.

Abu Dhabi opens with a fine, abstract "masculine cologne" scent. Transparent and classical, like a dry martini. As it dries, it gets a little more herbal, but still firmly in that "abstract masculine scent" zone, not very strongly like any particular herb. It smells like Gentleman. I'm sure there are a lot of scents similar to Abu Dhabi -- it's a very standard genre -- I'm just not personally familiar with them, so I can't tell how it stacks up relative to close comparators. I think it smells good (though too overtly masc to feel natural on me). Mr. Abu Dhabi is cultured, dressed up, and very Correct. He's strong-willed, but not brash. Authoritative, not aggressive. He's wearing a tuxedo in a restaurant at the top of a skyscraper. He will select an excellent wine with your dinner.

Aromatic fragrance with a spicy drydown. Not as adventurous like others from Gallivant, but it's not a bad fragrance. It's ok perfume for not ok price.

Tested this yesterday and today. It’s dry and aromatic. And somehow I understand the “smelling like sand” thing. On my skin, I’m getting the a lot of the pink pepper propped up by geranium. It’s really quite beautiful and unique. Today the tech at my twice weekly doctor’s appointment said “This is going to sound weird, but you smell really good. Are you wearing a new perfume today?” I gave her some of my sample to try on her own skin, and when she came back to check on me she said that everyone in the office agreed it’s amazing and she’s probably going to have to buy it. I’m kinda wowed based on that interaction alone. It was only the second time something like that has ever happened to me. (The first time was getting into a Lyft wearing Laurel Canyon, 1966.)

Very spot on Middle Eastern man (who is also rich) which I find impressive. If I was one I would totally rock this but I am not. Too heavy for a woman, imo.

I'm sitting in a 10 degree room and expected to smell sand and hot sun. Nah, this more fresh, dryish and herbally. Lots of pink pepper! I see the sandy oil fields of Arabia in my minds eye and get the faintest whiff of petrol. Weird I know. Its probably just my imagination going a bit wild. It's a very nice, unisex scent on me. I can easily imagine an elegant, stylish, modern attired person in the city wearing this. Armani or Yohji Yamamoto etc Average sillage and longevity. Not a heavy scent. Not intrusive. Please do test this. I eat fusion, vegetarian fare so it could smell quite different on you.

What I smell: wood, something green, cypress, oris Association: a hygienic, divorced, balding man in finance goes on a weekend getaway to a wood cabin, and spends his time foraging and making soap. Overall opinion: generic clean scent for unoriginal men. Not bad at all, just nothing interesting, or good. 5/10

An amazing, long-lasting fresh spicy leather. Great summer fragrance. I have a sample of Accra from Galivant and at least to me, with one on each arm, they smell exactly the same. So - amazing scent, but you only need one of the two!