Karus Gold Absolu

All Khadlaj fragrances I've tried have all been quite close to their inspirations and can be found for bargain bin prices. I've kinda just never really loved the original's scent profiles or already owned them. Karus Gold Absolu is an exception due to how close it gets and how much I like the original. Bal D'afrique Absolu is a fragrance that blew me away from testing over a hundred samples over this past year. It is such a wonderful blend of full-bodied notes that somehow feel airy and fresh. It weirdly reminds me of BR540 while being it's own thing entirely and it's hard to explain in a way that makes sense. I'm not a trained nose and don't claim to be one. If you just like good smells like me and love the original, I think this is worth sampling or straight blind buying. Karus Gold Absolu comes across as more lemony and is missing a slight saltiness I think comes from ambergris in the first 5-15 minutes. Drying down it basically becomes indiscernible. It lasts as long, around 6-7 hours, and projects stronger while still being discreet and discoverable. Nitpicking, Bal D'afrique Absolu is better blended and sweeter. If you are ok with extra lemon like me since I love lemon, and don't want to pay 400 dollars, go for it.

The initial opening is a sweet citrus and fruity scent with a very light earthy undertone. 15 Min - The fruitiness from the initial opening has settled significantly and I am starting to pick up a gourmand sweet creamyness from the Praline note. 30 Min - The fragrance continues to get softer on my skin and I am now getting a sweet creaminess with undertones of white florals. 60 Min - This fragrance has become something beautiful. The creaminess fom the Praline and the white florals have blended with the Musk to provide another dimention of a soft and powdery scent. Dry Down - The dry down of this fragrance is a subtle semi-sweet musky scent with a very light undertone of dry woodiness. The subtle sweetness is what makes this DNA so amazing and easy to wear. Performance: Projection of this fragrance is OK with the frangrance creating a scent bubble of about 2 feet for about 2 hours. The sillage is also OK with a scent trail of about 2.5 feet for about 2 hours as well. Longevity on my skin is Good with the fragrance lasting on my skin about 5 to 6 hours, and becoming a skin scent at about 3 hours. My rating on this fragrance is a 8.5 out of 10.

WOW! I was able to snag this from Beauty House ( USA) although it didn’t appear to be available anywhere else. I haven’t ever smelled the OG this is apparently similar to, but right out the gate first impression is this is stunning! The opening is so smooth, with just the right amount of sweetness, I get the candied lemon, black currant and of course the musk, the citrus in the opening isn’t too much or sharp. The dry down gets a bit clean but not at all soapy, and retains a soft, creamy sweetness. This one is super versatile and tough to describe! I am curious to see how it changes over time since this bottle is brand new and all shaken and hot from travel. I hope it has good longevity and projection because the scent should be a crowd pleaser. I’m currently thrilled with this and will try to update once I have more time with it.

Just arrived. I was afraid it's going to be another blind buy fail (I've had a few recently), but gosh.... what a relief! It's gorgeous! The candied lemon with blackcurrant and fresh bergamot make the best opening I've smelt in a while. The praline sweetens it nicely and it's all wrapped in cosy musk. I don't get much violet or vetiver. It's fresh, but at the same time musky and pleasantly sweet at the same time. I guess it's an office friendly perfume, but not at all boring. It's absolutely Intoxicating. Completely unisex and I think it'll wear great in all seasons, perhaps least in winter. I can also imagine it will layer well with many other fragrances. Good performance like all my Khadlaj perfumes, I imagine it'll get even better with time. I would 100% recommend.

The first few days of owning this I was pretty disappointed, I didn’t get the fruitiness and there was very little projection. After a few days, it has gotten significantly better. It’s not 1:1 for the original, but it is pretty close. A bit more musky and woody, making it feel slightly masculine leaning as opposed to how perfectly unisex I feel the original is. I’m waiting to get some other dupes before making my final opinion, but I’m pretty happy with this purchase