Al Qiam Gold

Nose Note #816 Man oh man, this is beautiful. The first 2-3 minutes are not very nice at all, but the scent changes drastically into this beautiful leathery oud. It's like Ombre Leather and Oud Ispahan combined, but without the rose note, although here this raspberry is sort of rosey. Anyway, I think rose would fit perfectly in here, the OG mentions rose too. It's hard to describe if you've never come across strong leather and oud notes, because here you have the two together. Poopy, medicinal, rubbery all such words apply to this and similar scents to a degree. I have so long passed this opinion that I almost cannot understand how this can be considered not pleasant. This is very dark, very thick, kind of oily, reminding of something middle eastern. The raspberry or something berry-like is definately there, but I wish it was slightly more pronounced, which would make it more unisex. Otherwise I cannot really see a woman wearing this. It fits a man really well. It's a very mature fragrance, but not as mature as Interlude Man for example. You really have to like oud and middle eastern fragrances to enjoy it. I just crave stuff like Opulent Oud, Oud Mood, Rouat Al Oud, but my all time favourite is the Cuir InfraRouge DNA - Armaf Desert Night, King of Arabia, and especially Carnal Desire by French Avenue (the last one is my TOP 10). And the great thing is it's strong and performs like a $400 fragrance. 8.6/10, really good

beautiful, to my nose this is VERY similar to jean lowe noir but to me this is more rose forward and slightly less animalic. the scent is musky rose water like and a bit fruity with dry smoky woods and leather undertones and as it sits, it gets more woody. lasts 12 hours with nice projection in the first 5-6 hours on my skin. heavy high quality matte bottle and nice presentation, much better than some 600$ niche out there. this, jean lowe noir and l'oudh by alhamra are the endgame rose oud combo in my book period, regardless of your budget. l'oudh is more on the fecal barn like woody oud "accord" and al qiam/jean lowe noir are like musky feral and smoky dry woody oud "accord". Edit: lattafa did not respond to my email asking them the differences between this and jean lowe noir, and if the juice is the same or not; so I will "assume" the subtle differences are caused by batch variation and aging. I asked them if there is any real oud in them or not, guess what? no answers again. Pretty horrendous and atrocious costumer support if I'm being honest.

This is a very bold oud fragrance. The opening immediately delivers raspberry, geranium, and saffron, but there is a clear contrast between the opening and the dry-down. The start can be harsh and intense, leaning toward an animalic oud impression. For that reason, it is best applied at least an hour before going out to allow it to settle. The dry-down, however, is excellent—smooth, rich, and far more refined than the opening suggests. Once it reaches that stage, the fragrance truly shines. Best use: an open-air winter event, where its strength and character can breathe properly and leave a confident impression.

This is a twist on the Ombre Nomade DNA that I actually really like. Compared to The Woods Collection Royal Night, which is considered among the best Ombre Nomade clones, I find Al Qiam Gold to be more smokey and leathery with a more beginner-friendly oud base. It's perhaps not as expensive-smelling, but considering Royal Night is €45+ while this can be found for under €25, this is the better-value choice in my opinion. I've had no issues with longevity/projection like others have reported, this is a scent that makes a statement and lasts.

Super great clone of Ombre Nomade. Even one of my mates I'm in college with complimented it saying it smells a lot like Ombre Nomade before I even told him. It lasted a solid 8-10 hours. The projection at the 6-7 hour mark was still fabulous. Thats why my mate complimented it, because it was still projecting at that time. If you don't want to pay the mad price for Ombre Nomade, don't care about a brand name, and love the smell of Ombre Nomade, then you'd be silly not to get this...