Maahir

Maahir by Lattafa is my first middle-eastern cheapie. well, my first middle eastern cheapie that isn't a direct clone of something. it seems like, for the price you pay, the middle east has a lot of fragrances that would smell very unique to a western nose like mine for a chip-cheap price, which is why the buzz around some of the offerings from Lattafa and Rasasi interested me a lot. first heard about this one in a youtube video from Smelly Cat, who really sold this one as a very high-quality scent with an amazing presentation for a low price. the notes listing looked very much up my street, but multiple reviewers have said it smells nothing like the notes listed. which is true and it isn't, in a weird twist. every note it says is in here (and some it DOESN'T say are in here are as well) but it doesn't smell like exactly what you'd expect. Maahir starts out with a big-bang of oud and saffron, notes that are nowhere to be seen in the listing. the oud is a lot of things; medicinal, boozy, rich, a bit smoky, HELLA STRONG. this isn't a beginner-friendly oud and i am a beginner. this completely threw me, as i wasn't expecting it. the review below saying this is a "nuclear projection smoky oud" isn't the whole story but yeah, i can see that being a part of it. it does NOT smell bad but it does NOT smell like what my north american brain thinks when the word "perfume" comes up. my mom hated it when i gave her a spritz, and said it reminded her of being in the hospital during my grandfather's last moments. fragrance is tied to memory for a lot of people and is highly subjective. you may react like my mom and instantly hate it. needless to say, this makes Maahir a highly unsafe blind buy for those that don't know they love hog-wild powerful ouds. (addendum to this paragraph because i don't know how to fit it in more holistically: the opening smells a bit nicer in the air than when your face is close to it.) this gigantic blast of middle eastern KRAFT dies after about 15 or 20 minutes, and immediately turns into the boozyness in the "peach bellini" accord. it does not smell much like dry white wine, but it does smell like alcohol and peaches. perhaps more like the liquor in a peach daiquiri. i guess the bergamot was supposed to give it that dry prosecco tang but that got lost somewhere in the beginning Oud Storm. some of the medicinal funk hangs out at this point as well but not a ton, by now Maahir is beautiful, soft and sweet fruits and flowers over a very oriental base of sandalwood and vanilla, with the oud/saffron taking a backseat. a Fruity Floriental, if you will. the fruits aren't fresh or incredibly distinct, but i do get "peach" and general "red berries" in this cornucopia. Maahir's florals, on the other hand, are sweet and fresh like they would be in a women's fragrance, which i think is why they chose to call the peony note in here a... well, a peony note. it's rosy but in a fresh way, not in a spicy (geranium-y) way or in a more refined powdery way, and that's kind of refreshing for a fragrance in this style i think, comparing that to my only true rose-oud. (review coming soon) for a unisex fragrance it doesn't go too far into the Femme Zone for most dudes, but is certaily not a Masculine Fragrance. does a good job of striking a balance between masculine and feminine energies. this is a very sweet and alluring concoction, and i'm sure it'd work well as a date night or even a clubbing fragrance due to its deafening loudness. the base is sandalwood and vanilla. and it's gorgeous, smoldering, sensual. definitely the easiest to love/least controversial part of Maahir. you get the vanilla from the mid onward, but it shines here. it smells opulent and warm. i don't have much to say about it. (weird, i know) if this is the fabled "Lattafa Vanilla Drydown,' i'm a big fan. Boring Review Stuff: Middle Eastern Hidden Gem Edition -if you think florals are feminine, this leans feminine. if you don't, it's unisex. the peony note is very prominent but i personally think this would smell very luxurious and sexy on a guy. -the value on this is INSANE. i got it for 29 dollars on fragrancebuy and it smells very very high quality. i didn't mention this in a review, but this comes in great packaging and the bottle has an inch-thick glass base and a full metal cap with great detail on top of smelling expensive and exotic. the value may be poor, however, if you buy it and hate it. if you have a way to try this first i'd recommend it. -fall and winter, and no more than 3 sprays unless it's bitter cold out. this is a loud, loud fragrance -speaking of loud, projection/sillage is nuts. beyond arm's length for sure. perhaps a champ for the coronavirus pandemic era, def a ""mask dropper"" (jesus why is fragcom like this) -no idea about longevity yet as this is my first time wearing it but i'm imagining a strong 8-10 hours. i'll update this later with better numbers, maybe. The Point of All This is that Maahir by Lattafa has a heavy bottle, a heavy oud opening and a heavy value-for-money proposition. it's Unisexy. It's Floriental. it's many portmanteau'd adjectives, and it's a fragrance that deserves more love. if you're interested in the style or just want to try something new, this is a cheap and wonderful entrance point. 8.5 Joy Amin List Videos out of 10

On the initial spray, i get the whiff of a juicy indian masaala paan, especially Banarasi paan with the kattha and tobacco. Which then starts the transition very soon in minutes, from some pleasant fruity rosy fragrance towards vanilla, powdery, woody accords. Then it settles down to powdery woody somewhat like sandal along with vanilla. Very good like gourmand perfume to some extent. Which all together imitates the smell of dark chocolate with vanilla flavor and it also gives smooth Tobacco note in the drydown and considering that, it probably leans towards a masculine fragrance, but could be used by both without any trouble. Not cloying or overwhelming at all. Unless you smell it upclose which you shouldn't.. Never smell non-linear perfumes upclose unless you are upto some chemical research, as it will make you nose blind for a while and you won't be able to smell the sillage bubble it creates around... Let the sillage do the work. Performance - Good 7 to 10 hrs. 8/10 Sillage - Around 3 to 4 feet. 8/10 Overall scent - Worth trying if you like dark fragrances. 8/10 Price - Great for the price. 10/10. Overall perfume IMO - 9/10

I blind bought a full bottle of this beauty and I’m glad to have it in my middle eastern frag collection. Apart from designer and niche, I have a nice collection from Rasasi, Lataffa, Armaf, Swiss Arabian and Afnan. I have so much respect to the quality and strength of middle eastern fragrances. This is so elegant and powerful, a fragrance fit for royalties. Don't talk about potency coz this one isn't foolin around. That bold looking bottle with the imposing golden horse cap means serious business to say the least. Obviously there’s Oud in here but not listed and I dunno why, but this is a magnificent creation at a reasonable price. The scent profile kind of reminds me of Louis Vuitton Ombre Nomade which is so expensive and the very affordable Franck Olivier’s Oud Vanille, so I can't be any happier to have this in my collection. The strongest I have before this are Attar Al Guthra and Oud Maknoon. 10/10 to my nose 👃 “Let's spread the scents of peace and kindness. The two most beautiful fragrance in the world that will cost you nothing and will get you a totally different kind of compliments” 🙏

I’ve been wearing Lattafa Maahir for quite some time now and OH BOY! I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off it. Lattafa Maahir is a wonderful vanilla fragrance mixed with a powdery sandalwood note and a subtle peach note. The performance is amazing! Two sprays and it projects like a beast during the first 4-5 hours. It tones down a bit over time, but it’s still noticeable during the next 6 hours. 10+ hours longevity! Additionally, Lattafa Maahir is perfect for autumn and winter, it can be worn any time of the day, and it comes at an unbelievably affordable price for a 100ml bottle. Although Lattafa Maahir is a unisex fragrance, the drydown is different on women and men. On women it smell more sweet, musky, and fruity. On men it smells more smokey, woody, powdery, and a bit ambery. I suggest you test this fragrance before you buy if you aren't familiar with Middle Eastern fragrances. Even if you decide to buy it, keep in mind that Lattafa Maahir might not be an crowd-pleaser. Some will find the scent too overpowering.

At first I thought this was a typical Middle Eastern woody floral(rose) fragrance(think half of all Al Rehab oils), but I've changed my mind a bit on it. It does have some familiar notes that we are used to, but it has some new tricks(or at least new to me). So it does have a beautiful woody florals(smells similar to rose to me), but the rose smell is very sweet and fruity. I don't know if people eat or drink the flowers in this, but this makes me want to try it, because it smells so edible. The powder, vanilla, and creamy sandalwood back it all up making a fantastic smell. So it's basically a hybrid Middle Eastern and western style gourmand. Excellent performance all around too. I'm glad these Middle Eastern companies still make fragrances like this instead of just clones of well known mass appeal fragrances. I don't think this one is all that divisive, and is pretty easy to wear I think.