Arabian Nights

As a goal, I believe that Bogart's house intended to bring the arabian nights warmth and grandeur from the caliphates and emirates, or at least, a scent to match our imagination about that theme. I don't think Bogart has been successful in that attempt. You clearly perceive two distinct phases in the perfume evolution: A smelly Arabian evening followed by a scented Arabian night. This fragrance deserves a more detailed note analysis for us to understand the "why" of its evolution in two separated phases: the smelly and the scented stages. HEAD and HEART ==> In the powerful opening, the blending is based on strong accords of cumin (probably caraway variety), petitgrain (bitter essential oil extracted from the orange tree green leaves) and cardamom. The strong and persistent petitgrain is the main responsible for the noted similarity mainly with Amouage Reflection Man and with Le Male in a lesser extent. However, when combined, the cumin and cardamom notes may develop a strong animalic scent. Cumin is a pungent bitter-sour spice note that sometimes (namely combined with cardamom) may be associated to the sweat scent or to the pee scent. Used with care, It can highlight the fragrance creation like no other. Nowadays is often used to render an intimate, animalic note in absence of a recognised animalic ingredient like civet or castoreum. Cardamom can be intensely sweet, resinous and aromatic. Combining this intense aromatic resinous note with an animalic one, amplifies the effect. It's like singing from a distance or close to the ear. You will certainly enjoy the melodious song sung from afar, but you may reject the song that has been screamed in your ear. I do belive that Bogart's aim has been to ensure this loud animalic accord would endure the entire evolution, but it resulted in a strong punch in your nose, all the way through the head and heart developpment, and only eased up during the sweeter bottom and drydown. This pungent scent effect makes Arabian Nights to be the most polarizing fragrance of the fragrance community. You do encounter fierce haters cursing this perfume, or people madly in love with it. More than half of the haters claim this perfume to smell like pee in the top and middle stages. More than half of the lovers are quite enthusiastic about the strong animalic accord. HEART ==> In the heart, one also perceives incense (yes, more incense amplifying the animalic effect), woods, floral accords and patchouli. BOTTOM ==> At the base we get white musk, oak moss, cedar and vetiver. At this stage, and during the dry down, there is a slight added sweetness that some people attribute to existing tonka or vanilla. When reaching the bottom stage, the fragrance twists from an aggressive scent into an almost alluring, enchanting and persistent aroma. The general feeling you get from the animalic side of this fragrance is a synthetic and unatural one, instead of a medicinal scent as it is usual in so many oriental fragrances with oud. The output is intense and full of incense and, when applied on your skin, the fragrance doesn't change much during its evolution. Mostly it revolves around the cumin/cardamom combo and added musk later on in the bottom phase. This perfume is not an easy one to please and a large voter base may be prodigal in "tens" and "zeros". If you seek an arabian dark oud note in Arabian Nights, you are just wasting your time. No oud is listed and there isn't any in the fragrance composition. The bottle is very pretty, and although bears the same Bogart visual identity, it looks and feels nicer and with better quality than the other Bogarts. Both projection and longevity are huge. In my opinion, Bogart has been able to launch a fragrance close to the niche segment, but let's respect the proper proportions. There are similarity allusions between Bogart's Arabian Nights and Amouage Reflection Man. That similarity exists, but Reflection Man is sweeter and less animalic. An Amouage lover will never admit such similarity, but the resemblance is obvious. No comparison is possible with "Arabian Nights" from Jesus del Pozo (an heavenly fragrance, that I will review shortly). Let's check the math for Bogart's Arabian Nights: - Scent opening: 5.0 (I like animalic notes as loud as in this fragrance) - Scent drydown: 8.5 (the drydown is actually quite nice) - Longevity: 9.5 (up to 12 hours - 3 sprays) - Sillage: 8.5 (up to 6~8 feet with almost 3 hours of projection - 3 sprays) - Uniqueness: 9.5 (It's almost unique. I took 0.5 due to the similarity with Amouage Reflection Man.) - Versatility: 4.0 (be very careful when choosing the places where you are going to wear this perfume; on your own at home it's a very good choice) - Wearability: 7.0 (adequate for cold weather, so during Winter and Fall; Use it in a warm day only when visiting your mother in law). - Compliments: 3.0 (actually some people like it all the way, and many enjoy the drydown) - Quality: 8.0 (a bit synthetic; good quality flask and sprayer) - Presentation: 9.0 (quite nice and better looking than the other Bogarts) - Price: 9.0 (100 ml non tester for 19 Euros) Average: 7.36 / 10.00 - between 7 and 8 = above average; Allways test it before buying. - between 8 and 9 = recomended; - bigger than 9 = don't miss it; Advice: DO NOT blind buy it! Actually have your eyes wide open (I mean nostrils) when testing it. Whenever you want to ride alone in a bus or train, apply 10 sprays of Bogart's Arabian Nights on a hot summer day. I only review the fragrances I like. With Bogart's Arabian Nights I am expressing an opinion about a fragrance that I still don't realize if I love or hate it. This duality makes me feel uncomfortable with this fragrance, or even disappointed.Two things I know for sure, is that Arabian Nights will never provoke any compliments and that my wife will never use it. Music: Rita Lee - "Lança Perfume" - either the portuguese version or the english version.

Just as Riviera Nights, Arabian Nights was also released in 2010 by Jacques Bogart and is part of the line called "nights", which aims to bottle the feeling of the nights from some particular place in the globe, transporting its user to a place of seduction and sensuality. In this creation, the aim was to bring the warmth and opulence of the Arabian nights, through a composition built by output notes of cardamom, caraway (from the family of cumin) and petitgrain (which is the essential oil extracted from orange green leaves). In the heart of the fragrance, incense, hardwoods, floral accord, and patchouli; at the base, white musk, moss, cedar, and vetiver. Some say that there is vanilla or tonka bean on the bottom too. As with Bogart Story Red, Arabian Nights has a more pungent scent, those who scare right off the bat. In the first one, the tone is medicinal, whereas, in this one, the nuance is more like something synthetic and plastic. The output is intense and full of incense and the fragrance doesn't change much during its evolution on the skin. Mostly revolves around the heart notes and, after a few hours, the musk begins to appear. Unlike Riviera Nights, this one isn't so easy to please. In addition, there are numerous comparisons between Arabian Nights and Reflection (niche scent from Amouage). They say that Reflection is even sweeter, but they are very similar. But the truth is that the elitists will never admit such similarity (if it is real), which is silly. And another note that I do is about the criticisms I've read regarding the name of the fragrance, because there's no OUD in the composition, so there's nothing of Arabic. Pure stupidity! The Arab perfumes became famous worldwide because of its exotic notes of spices and, mainly, high quality incense such as frankincense. The agarwood is not so old in perfumery and became a trend a few years back. So, in my opinion, the name was very well chosen for the proposal of the fragrance. The bottle of Arabian Nights keeps the same visual identity of the line and both projection and longevity are fantastic. Within the limited freedom of creativity of designer perfumes, Bogart was able to launch something very close to the niches, saved the proper proportions.

Ah, the house of Bogart did it again, didn’t they? This fragrance is the exact opposite and antithesis of what haute parfumerie is supposed to be. It is crude, in your face, synthetic to the core and loud as hell. Rest 100 % assured, you will leave NO ONE indifferent to what you are wearing with this little monster. People will either recoil in horror or be attracted to you and giving you compliments, it’s that polarizing. Today, I sprayed myself at noon, and at 7 pm, as I am writing, I still smell like the zoo. Think animal hides, feathers, musk secretions, you name it. This fragrance has the exact same character as the infamous Joop! Homme (which I happened to love), except the latter’s spicy-floral axis is here substituted by an animalic-spicy one, which makes it even more scandalous. Everything else, like the aggressive projection and dumbing longevity, is the same. Think Kouros, Lapidus pour Homme and Dali pour Homme. There you have it, a total eighties scent, which is strange to appear in our times, the trend being for bland scents with no character, AND virtually all potent ingredients being banned. With time, this scent may grow on you and you may stop caring about what anyone else thinks. However, maybe this isn’t an office-friendly scent, hence versatility is abysmal. About the only suitable occasion is a wild night at the club. Arabian Nights is indeed a nocturnal animal.

I am a massive fan of fragrances that last and produce a scent bubble that continues to remind you that you are actually wearing a fragrance. It is perhaps for this reason that I am attracted to many fragrances that are either from the 80's/90's or that hark back to these 'apparently' old-school scent profiles that are unapologetically bombastic to the point of (again apparently) being offensive. The house of Bogart is a specialist in this type of release and are amongst my favourite cheapies. Arabian Nights is perhaps the best example of an aggressively loud, in your face fragrance, dense, dark and deeply unsubtle. It smells like curried fruit, thick and spicy, sweet, sweaty and woodsy and I LOVE it! Described earlier as a 'stinky' fragrance, Bogart aren't in the least bothered about smelling like bubble-gum or shower gel, Arabian Nights is not for fragrance snowflakes who are 'offended' by olfactory creativity, it is for seasoned fragrance collectors who have the confidence, experience and are brave enough to explore fragrance profiles that expand beyond the bland, dull and generic world of mass appeal. Arabian Nights is an oasis in a desert of fragrance mediocrity, smells far more expensive than it is and will turn heads wherever you wear it - possibly for the wrong reasons, which is all the more reason to buy it!

I've enjoyed reading the reviews here. I feel some sympathy for a new reader who is reading these reviews to get a feeling about Arabian Nights before purchasing. There are good reviews and bad reviews - and it is confusing. I will try to summarize in order to assist the new reader, as this fragrance is worth it : For the record, I also did not like this very much on my first try, but there was something in the various stages of the dry down that I found complex and sweet and I really liked it so I persevered. In fact the more I wear it, the more I like it. **Edit : This is now my favourite fragrance of all *** BUT.... for those reading the reviews below that (over)state the underwhelming scent when first sprayed, they are telling the truth. This is the one surprising factor of this fragrance. Not sure what the initial effect was meant to portray. For me, the initial smell can sometimes be a bit pungent and bitter : woody (leaves & bark) petitgrain and cardimon. These notes are listed as being in the mix, and I assume they are to tone down what is to follow. Because, just wait momentarily for the dry down, it is a wonderful scent indeed, really very beautiful. I get tonka bean sweetness with it's intensive balmy, warm, gourmand and intoxicating character of heavenly vanilla. If you enjoy vanilla, this is your juice !

This is not the fragrance for the impatient, the compliment-seeker, or the populist. It needs to macerate for at least 6 months, and you need to wear it at least 3 times before you pass judgment on it, because it is virtually guaranteed to taste different from everything you have tried, certainly different from what you could expect. Remember the first time you tried bourbon, or blue cheese, or an olive? Chances are, you were appalled. But with subsequent attempts you knew what to expect and were able to appreciate the flavors and textures and grew to love them. Arabian Nights is the Blanton's bourbon of the cologne world, at a Jack Daniels price. Does it have animalic "barnyard" notes? Yes, but those are beautifully blended with rich and pungent spices, leather, vanilla, incense woods and musks, all of which drydown into a warm, comforting outdoorsy accord that recalls the scents of a camping weekend spent in the autumn wilderness on horseback. Try it again, then thank me!

So bored with the last reviews which are highly subjective, so I wanna stress again that it definitely does not smell like piss or shit (sorry), it's a beautiful dark oriental with defined animalistic notes which can be almost unbearable for those who are used to safe and fresh masculine scents. This one is not safe. But even the name does not mean safe office style fragrance. It's not for the first date or theater as well - too strong. It lasts almost forever, don't trust those who say it's weak or lacks longevity. Sillage is enormous. So use it first in the shop or where you can try it - just for yourself - to understand if you like it or not. It's 100% love-hate fragrance, but this quality makes it interesting and unique. And what I like about it is that it might be weird, but it's not sugary sweet like many middle east fragrances or those pseudo-orientals from Paco Rabanne, etc. It's very sexy, in the most natural way, if you know what I mean.

I might begin by saying I wouldn’t be without this in my collection. It’s curious and challenging in every conceivable way: performance, the ‘manure’ note, and its strangely synthetic approach to such an apparently earthy aspiration. As Carlitos recognises below, one gets the sense it’s hopelessly over-reaching—aspiring to an oud-like woody richness and tragically failing due to the budget. But there’s something glorious (and more than a little humorous) about its chemically-charged ambition, and I feel really defensive about it when people tell me to step away—because I smell awful. In brief: a fantastic, plucky, failure. And a necessary novelty for your fragrance cabinet. 9/10

Epic Journey Into the Bottled Yonder, 115 ------------------------------------------------------- Purchased August 2019 Has that stinky hobo thing at the beginning, but no worries. It goes away. It's a modern Kouros, Antaeus deal. It's a strange beast thing, literally is that. It's so musky and full of leather I have no idea where to start. At the end of the day it's CityTower Extreme. I also have most of Jacques Bogart's stuff, and they're all fucking sick, some to the point of awe-inspiration. You'll hate it. But I love it.

Beautiful. Opens up with a divisive, polarizing assault of funky spices before drying down to a sweet lingering musk. It's not for pretty much any work environment, but on weekends, it has become my guilty pleasure. You'll get musky whiffs for 10 + hours, even when you've been outside playing in the sun. Neither my wife nor my sons seem to like it, but they don't complain, either. And I love it. Risky blind buy, but if you appreciate unusual scents, try seeking it out. Worth several times the price.

My fiends,you are a bit crazy to think it has a stinky vibe,this scent blows of quality and secrets that only magic places can treasures!Arabian nights is one of the most prominent JB scent,a true travel in lands long forgotten by new oud standards!We get the frenzy of a spice market,exotic wood logs drying,burned incense all around the streets and the sweat of a traveler that washed himself with a patchouli gel!The best way to reach such sensations is to spray it,so don't miss it,guys!

... good presentation and general feeling , the trigger delivers perhaps too much liquid at each pressing ... ... intense from the start , lasts all day even if I have only applied one third of the usual doses , and didn ́t spray on clothes ... ... all day , all night , and the other day , and .... my wife didn ́t enjoy it very much two hours after shower , said the car was filled with a chemic cheap smell ...

i have it ! it is realy beautifuk and arabian romantic scent, but unfortunatly it is really weak, i think it is too weak maybe to suit occidental norms, nowadays western people dosnt like strong oriental perfumes, but it is reaally long lasting, a romantic arabian nights perfume really afordable and good quality !! only 45 euros for 100 ml, you must try it !

Extraordinary alien in a men's perfume universe: opulent, dark, luxurious. Sexy but not sugary sweet like modern creations by Paco Rabanne etc. Sillage and lasting power are amazing. The perfect enveloping evening fragrance for a night out, can be also worn with a business suit by confident men who know how to wear Egoïste, Yatagan, and Joop! Homme.

Arabian Nights (12C78) - Somewhat a kind of Kouros "Lite" type feel with some sweetness. Many of the reviews really made this scent out to be far more weird/challenging than it is, this will be a great all year versatile fragrance. It is a bit unique but in a very wearable way. I really like Arabian Nights and think it is well worth checking out.

I wonder how some people like @Rerik blind buy three (!) bottles of a perfume bearing the name "Arabian Nights" (!!) and then blame it of being strong and spicy (!!!). There's nothing wrong with this beautiful scent, but definitely something wrong with some shopping habits.

I sometimes dream of meeting a woman that is part Charlize Theron, part Famke Janssen, part Bridget Moynahan, part Meg Ryan and smells like Bogart's ARABIAN NIGHTS. Well, I already have Arabian Nights :-) and my wife is better looking than any of those movie stars :-))

@ mshilov I agree with mshilov. This a very good true Oriental and if it smells like dog pee or sheet (I have seen this written elsewhere) that dog is worth a fortune. Yes it's love or hate! I love it!

Very classy and mature. Soft and elegant. Doesn't smell cheap and young! I (36 years of age) personally like it.

The first time was a shock. To my nose it was a flash between an oriental axilla, and spick & span (Powder detergent for floors) I still not sure about to how classify this fragrance. The reason must be that this creature is not complete. If there was a story about a fragrance launched on the market by mistake because not totally finished yet: I would say "must be Arabian Night!" As perfume it's a bit Naked, experimental, or a parfum deprived of some elements, some arms. In fact it reminds me Silver Scent, but distorted, cutted, and stretched somehow. But someway (as I bought it by mistake, I saw it on ebay and I made confusion with Arabian Nghts by Jesus del Pozo ones, that I wanted because of the listed notes!), I was courious to wear it in public even to see the reaction of the others and to give it more chances. So now I get used to it, and, well, I have to say that seems to have beside you an oriental friend, and the name should be "indian days" cause of that smell of those seeds that you are offered after a lunch into an indian restaurant, or the smell of indians fornitures. can't say exactly. but those impressions you know?! I admit i don't wear it often, but (as uncomplete) I found a mix with another fragrance that works a lot.. Now I like. And I have compliments. I suppose you have to get used a bit to this fragrance. Like the eyes in the dark after a lighted place. It is weird but intriguing. I have found a proper name for it: Sinister Spices.