Shaari

Embodying a rich and animalistic unique quality, intertwined with natural, sweet oud notes — this fragrance captures the essence of a desert night. It strikes an intriguing balance, being smoky and earthy, yet simultaneously evoking the aroma of unknown Middle Eastern sweets. This fragrance flirts with the gourmand category, almost reaching it but not quite there. Sha'ari is characterized by its linearity and smooth transitions. It begins with a sweet-sour mix of saffron and cinnamon, intertwined with a slight animalistic note reminiscent of snake skin, hinting at both mystery and allure. This evolves into an extraordinarily sweet oudy leather scent, with hints of perhaps grilled caramel, although that remains uncertain. One of the most notable features of this fragrance is its extreme sillage, particularly potent during the first few hours. Accompanied by very impressive longevity, Lattafa Sha'ari stands out in the labyrinth of Middle Eastern perfumes. It's niche, yet if it were slightly more mainstream, it could rival the market presence of scents like Khamrah or Raghba. Regarding affordability, the value is undeniable. I purchased it for approximately €12, which speaks volumes about its accessibility and worth — a perfect score of 10/10 in this aspect, nothing to add. In response to a query about its similarity to 24 Carat Pure Gold — I found them to be distinctly different. I returned 24 Carat Pure Gold as it did not appeal to me, given I have better similar fragrances. Carat shares more in common with Oud Mood or Sheikh al Shuyukh Luxe Edition. The only parallel I could draw would be a blend of Qaa'ed al Shabaab's leathery oud with Asdaaf Majd al Sultan's sweetness, a narrative woven with threads of spice, smoke, and earth. Considering your reviews of both of them, I guarantee you will love it! Quite a spin-off. Lattafa Sha'ari is another hidden gem in the vast and wild world of random electric Middle Eastern Arab perfumes, a niche treasure for the seasoned fragrance enthusiast. It's a scent that many fragrance TikTok influencers might not reveal, possibly due to the lack of promotional incentives that accompany more heavily marketed fragrances. For those deeply immersed in the world of fragrances, this is a discovery not to be overlooked, a reminder that true beauty often lies in the unexplored corners of the world. Opening note: 8 Sillage/Projection: 9 Dry down: 8+ Longevity: 8+ Blend/Composition: 8- Versatility: 5 Uniqueness: 8+ Value for money: 10 Bottle design/Aesthetics: 8- Overall experience: 8 Blind-buy rating: 4-

* Very unique and complex hybrid spicy leather and woody fragrances * Unusual blend of sweet, spice, amber, leather, incense, woody, oud, powder and vanilla aromas * Soft leather note is blended well with other notes * Less polarizing than most leather fragrances * Very strong performer * Great for older male users * Great for leather and oud fragrance lovers * Original and unique; sure to stand out no matter your fragrance collection size * Beautiful bottle presentation * Niche quality * Fantastic price * Not unisex despite the marketing * Not good for younger users * Still polarizing despite the soft leather due to strong oud and incense notes * An absolute love it or hate it proposition Lattafa's Sha'ari is a highly unique fragrance, one I assure you will stand out in your collection no matter how large or small it is. It's a complex hybrid blend of the spice, leather and woody style fragrance DNAs, forging sweet, spice, amber, leather, incense, wood, oud, powder and vanilla aromas into a refined and cohesive whole. This is a superb fragrance but likely also a polarizing one as well. The leather is noticeably softer and sweeter than you would normally find in a leather fragrance which makes it more appealing. However, that softness is also reinforced by strong incense, wood and oud so so do note this can still be quite polarizing to some noses. This is very much an all or nothing, take it or leave it proposition. That is the cost of being so unique, this is so different that it will not be a mass pleaser that appeals to everyone. As such, this is great for older male users who can rock leather and oud fragrances. It's probably not suitable for younger users and women. This is great for outdoor activities, social occasions and formal occasions. Performance is very strong, presentation is beautiful, this is absolutely niche quality at an absolutely fantastic price from online discounters. Highly recommended if you can rock it.

I find Lattafa quite variable regarding quality and suiting my vegetarian skin chemistry. This is one of the better ones. They have a tendency to be quite strong on the chemicals. This one is much improved. It is potent yet warm and spicy. Well blended. It swirls around you. Warm and alluring. I'd love to smell this on a fella. I'd have to move in closer. It is quite strong on the leather but to my surprise, I think the spices are winning and I like that. Leather can be quite cold and severe. Its perfectly unisex as although there is a gentle resin/cinnamon sweetness it stays quite balanced. I think its pretty fab for a cheapy. Under £20 delivered for 100ml is very good. Ok, so the bottle design is cheesy. I'm more bothered about the juice. I will keep this to wear on chilly autumn days to help transport me to a more exotic place such as a Turkish market. Leather goods with loads of colourful spices a couple of stalls further on. This room is around 11 degrees and it's quite potent so heaven knows what's it like in heat. Not a bad buy for the fella in your life. Yes, oud is listed but I don't find it intrusive. You won't be able to stop nuzzling him! 😀

Warm, woody, and leathery with a bit of smokey sweetness. If there's a rose in there, it's waving from a distance when on my skin. Overall a very cosy scent. I bought this one for my husband and although it does lean masculine, I might steal this one from him on occasion. This is my second oud fragrance and I've got to confess, I have zero idea what oud is meant to smell like on its own beyond "wood". I've read descriptors like medicinal, chocolatey, powdery, resinous, barnyard, chicken coop... Very conflicting. I've lived on a farm with large livestock most of my life and have had chickens for years, but there's no coop smell coming from this bottle, nor any barnyard, thankfully. Just aged wood. I should note that my bottle arrived early July with a manufacture date of May '21, so the shop's storage room did a fair bit of the aging waiting game for me and perhaps that's why mine is smoother. In any case, I really like this one and don't regret blind buying (where I live, I have to blind buy) but I can definitely see why testing first is recommended here if any of the listed notes are ones you normally avoid.

"Spice is my jam.' -Paul Muad'dib Atreides The moment anything is remotely different from blue/citrus/vanilla perfumes, many people from the West on Fragrantica: Omg this is amazing, but challanging, in that it will plague your dreams like Freddie and choke you while you're asleep, also I absolutely love it because wow the 'orient', ah yes the land of spices, the far mystical East or the Middle East(both same for me anyway), desert power, ooo wee but please don't wear it anywhere public because literally everyone should smell alike and scent is objective and how dare you constrict me with these offensive and unsafe exotic spices that I secretly crave and violate my personal space with the pungent Oudh, the very same Oudh(actually inferior) that I'd sell my firstborn to Tom Ford or Dior for? Shame on you. Off you go to the BDC/Sauvage gulag. Don't forget to macerate because y'know it's magic, right, ok byeeeee fam.