Imperial Valley

Wow...Where do i start?. I heard about this fragrance on Tiktok and through a friend who uses Arabian perfumes a lot. I asked him which one to get and he told me to get this. I started searching about it and I found one shop which sold this in my country. I got this a while back but this perfume was so majestic that it persuaded me to write my first ever review here on Fragantica. I got a 200ml bottle for about 280Qr which is roughly $77 for those living in the States. My first impressions: The bottle is really nice and the packaging is amazing. It looks so Royal and gives me the vibe of some King owning this bottle in the 19th century. The atomizer is really huge and I'm pretty sure that it resembles a body mist. The smell is definitely not what I expected. According to this website, it says it has leather as well as oud. I did NOT smell any of that yet, although I did get some smell of oud mixed with the musk and pink pepper. To me, it smelt quite feminine in the opening but as time passes, it sure gets masculine. To western noses, I'm not sure if they would like it but I am in love with it. The DNA is pretty common here in the Middle East and almost every perfume here has Oud. The projection in the start is not that much and it probably can be smelled from 2-3 feet but as time passes and it macerates, the projection increases a lot more. The longevity is insane I was hesitant to buy this because I thought that this perfume definitely could not surpass my other fragrances(Purple Oud-Christian Dior, Jpg LMLP, Kayali Elixir II) in terms of strength but fortunately for me, it does!. So if you're looking for a strong yet sweet fragrance with a mix of a masculine vibe and Arabian royalty, this is the one. It's better you don't import this if you're living outside the Middle East because then you would have to pay $200-$290 for something that costs lesser than the half but rather get it from a friend or someone who is reselling it. (Make sure it's the original which has their Instagram handle below the bottle as well as "Made in Kuwait") I'd say the only drawback is that your nose starts to itch if you spray too much and 4+ sprays= HEADACHE and it's pretty impossible to spray lesser of it because of it's humungous atomizer. 'Edit' for those asking me where to get it, you can find the official shop in Al Hazm or get it online from Boutiqaat.com

Beautiful, unique, long-lasting scent. I've been curious about this fragrance (and the brand in general) for a while, as it's been getting a lot of hype in the Middle East lately and lots of influencers have been speaking on it as well (which made me question it a little, honestly). I finally got the opportunity to smell their fragrances recently, and I asked to specifically get sampling strips of Imperial Valley (as it is their most-selling fragrance) along with another perfume. I thought it was okay at first sniff, and I kept the strip with me all night to smell every now and then throughout the night. I later left it on a table in my room, and I would randomly catch a whiff of it at random times for the next few days. I also noticed I would recognize the scent on other people while walking around at different places in the country. Makes sense as it is their local brand and has grown extremely popular there. I knew then that I had to go back and purchase a bottle. It's definitely a winter/spring scent, so I've been wearing it every day since I got it, as I'll miss wearing it when summer hits. I have gotten numerous compliments on this, even from those who don't usually prefer Arabic scents. I'd just do two or three sprays and they can smell it on me hours later if I just walk into a room. I don't usually wear a lot of Arabic scents either, but I can definitely handle this one and I absolutely love it on my skin.

I was immediately hooked when I smelled Imperial Valley for the first time a couple of years ago. Here in Western Europe I can easily rock this 9 months a year and it's incredible how many times people have complimented me or even asked what I was wearing, probably due to the fact that it's (still) a relatively uncommon smell here and no doubt because it smells of very very high quality in the air. Performance off the charts as well. I recently bought a second bottle (125 Euros for 200ml) and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if I am still wearing this in 5 years time! The only scent that I'm aware of in this fresh, aromatic and slightly sweet leathery oud category that comes close to IV in terms of quality of the blend, performance, compliment factor and overall excellence is Laathani by Ahmed Al Maghribi. There are some decent clones out there, but in the end IV absolutely destroys most of them when you compare them side by side!

im not sure what notes combine to create this pseudo apple note (bergamot is definitely one of them), or if anyone else gets this, but its very enjoyable and reminds me of the brandy-apple note in overture woman by amouage. The fact this is one of if not the most popular perfume in the whole middle east just shows they have good taste 😂 ive dismissed alot of middle eastern brands because of the constant hype from mostly bought-out obnoxious tiktokers, and the fact that unfortunately despite the creativity and unique style of middle eastern perfumery, they're mostly known for making clones of western dna's, but from now on im definitely keeping my eye on them more. not only that but its a common theme that they generally smell on par with the very expensive western niche brands but for fractions of the price, this isn't just exclusive to their clone houses. Ajmal is probably the best example of this because they actually use real oud

I just got this recently and I can’t believe how strong this is! This is even more nuclear than the likes of red tobacco and arabians tonka! The davana note is heavenly in this, I haven’t smelled anything like it. Contrary to what people say, I don’t really find this challenging to wear. The oud and leather are mild. My girlfriend absolutely despises these notes (oud maracuja makes her gag), but she really loves this on me! It doesn’t bother her at all. I live in europe and this is completely unknown in my country so it’s rather unique here. GO EASY ON THE SPRAYS!!! With red tobacco I can get away with 5 sprays, NOT THIS! This is a 1-2 spray fragrance. Any more and everyone including you will get a headache! This easily fills up a room with just 1 spray. On my skin it just projects like crazy all day and leaves a huge scent trail. It lasts 24 hours on my skin easily surviving a shower in between.