Meharées

A "méharée" is a journey through the desert where travellers travel on "méhari" dromedary camels and participants in this type of trek are called méharists. The "méhari" camel is a noble animal par excellence. It is white, slender, large, haughty and very resistant. It is a saddle animal adapted to raids and races on the sands of the Maghreb. Its place of origin is the Algerian strip north of the Sahara. The typical image of a Bedouin caravan that we keep in our memory, whether the most genuine one from National Geographic or the most Hollywoodized, is certainly based on a méharée journey. Now that it has been revealed what the name might suggest, I would like to clarify whether Méharées can match its semantic heritage. I believe that intrepidity, adventurousness and charm should be called upon. Do these attributes strike our noses? The perfume scent qualifies the fragrance as an amber-spicy one, and waves flags with musky, (warm) spicy, woody, ambery and powdery notes, along with a slight sweetness. Hostilities open with an orange cinnamon accord that really surprises and helps the development of a woody, half-creamy, half-sober heart mood. When the base notes settle down, the main facets are revealed. While cinnamon stays alive through development, musky, amber and vanilla accords take over and define the dryness rules as well. It is certainly a captivating, warm and enveloping fragrance. Perhaps with a denser amber tone, maybe with some resins added, a stronger and animalistic musk and hotter and dirtier spices, I would consider it a devastating perfume along the lines of Musc Ravageur or L'Air du Désert Marocain or even Isra & Miraj. Perhaps then it would become difficult to use, lose its balance and versatility, its price would increase tenfold and perhaps no one would buy it... and perhaps L'Herbolário would discontinue it. So, I thank L'Herbolario to keep this fragrance just the way it is now, in its state of bringing me "enough happiness". I also enjoyed my camel ride in the Lisbon Zoo. Last but not the least, I would like to comment on the perfume ingredients. There is no trace of synthetic accords because L'Herbolario has a policy of using almost only natural ingredients. Unfortunately, that also justifies the so-so performance. My opinion about this magnificent perfume: It has a discrete presentation. Although with an EdP concentration the performance is just average due to L'Herbolario policy of using only natural ingredients (And I am happy about it). The price is beautiful and can be even lower during a seasonal sale! Is it a perfume I recommend? Yes, I do recommend it due to its ingredient quality, magnific musky/ambary/spicy scent and low price. Did I mention that smells like Musc Ravageur (but without cloves note)? Music: Camel - "Stationary Traveller"

To my nose: the strongest note is opoponax, although not listed, I believe this imparts the myrrh aspect of it’s ‘myrrh and dates’ description. If you are unfamiliar with this note, resinous opoponax smells of incense, amber and mustiness. It’s extraordinarily beautiful in the same way that old second hand book shops smell when they are overheated by winter radiators, in short, cosy and ancient. Les Nereides released ‘Imperial Opoponax’ of which I have a small decant. This fragrance combines the musty old book shop with a hint of cherry sweetness, again, another wondrous creation. Alongside this note, an air of dirty musk resides, giving Meharees an animalic feel. This is not the clean whiff of laundry so evident in contemporary musks, but a big old whiff of the unwashed, ultimately rendering it a rather sexy fragrance. For those fearsome of ‘dirty musks’ such as Musc Koublai Khan and Musc Tonkin, you will find L’ Erbolario’s interpretation somewhat easier on the nose, yes, sexy, but not ‘inside out second day knickers’. A third olfactory sensation comprises of a vaguely dried fruit scent. I feel this is the least obvious of it’s components. Is it the date provided in it’s description? I’m not sure. There is a noticable sweet ‘mulled wine-like’ smell that could be constituted of date, raisin, even a slightly plummy jam. Although the fruit appears, it appears shyly, lurking in the background. Atmospherically, I can recall the dusty watercolour illustrations of my Children’s Illustrated Bible, vividly depicting the exodus through the desert or the Three Kings bearing fragrant gifts at the Nativity. As an adult I have shed any latent belief in biblical stories or indeed organised religion, however, I find the fragrant link to this childhood memory both beguiling and consoling. Overall, this is a scent of comfort, the warming hug of a lover on a cold night, languorous and appeasing. There is no exuberant stimulation here, it’s a soft edged, muzzy headed, fragrant Valium. Check out my fume writing at "Odiferess" on blogspot.

Love at first wear for me. When I first receive bottles one of the first things I like to do is sniff the atomizer to get a idea of the fragrance. My initial thought was that I had made a bad blind buy. Off the atomizer it smells like a heavy “dated” scent (no pun intended). I don’t like those types. I had sprayed my pillow before sniffing it and though “Hmm this ain’t so bad. But I still don’t love it. About a half hour in I began to get this really soft and warm vanilla/cinnamon combo that was so comforting. I kept smelling my pillow over and over and I liked it more and more. Now on my first wear during a cold day is when the magic happened for me. I sprayed it on the inside of my jacket when mixed with the cold air gave off the most delicious smell I had ever sniffed. This will sound weird but for me it gave off this deliciously fresh bubblegum type of smell. It had a fresh, minty but warm, soft, creamy vanilla scent that just makes my legs weak. Oh man so damn good! I haven’t gotten any compliments on it thus far but I don’t even care. I love the heck out of it and it is now my signature winter scent. It’s a hidden gem no doubt. Scent: 10/10. In the right weather (cool weather) it’s heavenly. Think bubblegum with a gourmandish twist. Projection: Soft, as it should be for a scent like this. I don’t like loud fragrances anyway so this is perfect for me. Longevity: On skin, 10-12hrs with about 3-4hrs projection. On clothes it lasts for days & smells even better the longer it stays. Versatility: Can be worn day or night in cool spring, fall or winter weather. Definitely Unisex and can be worn on most occasions (besides maybe work because it’s a bit too “elegant”.) And I just Iove the name “Meharees”. It sounds like the name of a young middle eastern girl that has unique gifts and heals the sick. She’s worshipped in a small city somewhere & the townspeople adore her. Hell, If I had a daughter I’d consider name her After this fragrance.

It's strange that on Fragrantica it is listed as "for men." I am Italian and remember when this fragrance was released. It was always presented and promoted as a feminine fragrance and only later as unisex. In fact, on L'Erbolario's website, the brand describes it as: "An explosion of spicy, woody, and amber notes. Fresh accords, enriched by warmer and velvety tones, with a sweet and delicate base: here is a fragrance that every woman likes. And it also enchants men." The last sentence, "And it also enchants men," was added later. This morning, I went to a L'Erbolario store and mentioned to the sales assistant that here it is listed as for men. She was utterly astonished and said it was incredibly surprising; according to her experience and the sales statistics of the fragrance from its launch to today, it has always been a product sold 99,9% to women. She even mentioned that she had never sold one to a man. Therefore, to be accurate according to the actual positioning, which is also the brand's chosen one, it should be moved to the women’s fragrances or at most unisex, certainly not among the men's. That said, it is a fragrance that truly evokes a desert journey—warm, spicy, and embracing. I love it very much, and not just for the cold season; because it evokes dunes and oases, for me it is a scent that conceptually evokes the warmth of the desert and, with a light spritz, is quite wearable even in the height of summer. I don’t know Musc Ravageur, so I can’t make comparisons. If you’re looking for a warm, spicy, vanilla-sweet fragrance that’s not cloying, I recommend trying it. If you like Opium and are looking for something more enveloping, powdery, and gourmand, it could be a good option, but always worth testing. It’s not a safe blind buy, IMHO.

Liking the heart and base of Musc Ravageur but hating the overkill of cloves in the top and also really liking L de Lolita lempicka i had to check out Meharees, especially for the price(30€ for the 50ml here in germany). to get it out of the way first: yes, it's very very similar to MR with way less cloves and it's also a less feminine and a little less sweet L Given the "official" more detailed note breakdown this kinda what i get out of it: Top notes: orange, rose, cinnamon, dates, a hint of clove Middle notes: cedarwood, guaiaco wood, patchouli, sandalwood, myrhh Base notes: vanilla, amber, musks Pretty fruity right after spraying it on but not like tropical fruit, more like dried sugared fruits with rose and a pinch of clove in the top. Gets more woody, incensey and sweeter in the heart, though the cinnamon stays very long for me while cloves and rose fade away. In the base the vanilla really outshines the rest but is kept in check by the musk. it never gets cloying but has a rather dry spicey feel to it. Overall this is either a vanilla-gourmand or oriental spicey depending on how it turns out on your skin. Either way it's a very well blended fragrance. Definitely a Unisex since neither the feminine nor masculine side overshadows the other. Last about 12 hours(excellent) on me while projecting about arm's length. Great compliment factor from all the people that noticed it on me. In the end this is imo a better version of MR at a fifth of the price. If you liken the theme of vanilla/cinnamon/spices/musk you have to check it out if can get ahold of it