Akkad

BY THE POWER OF ISHTAR [short review] Akkad or Akkadia was the capital of the Akkadian Empire. It was the dominant ruling power in ancient Mesopotamia for a century and a half. It all started more than 4200 years ago when the Akkadians took over the Sumerians. Its exact location is not known, although the location by the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, is the most likely. Its existence is known both from cuneiform writings and from the Bible's ancient Old Testament texts. This empire prospered under the leadership of King Sargon and his successors. Stories of the power of Sargon may have influenced the body of local folklore texts and certainly, some episodes were later incorporated into the Bible. The main deity of Akkad was Ishtar, also called "Astarte" and "Aštar-annunîtum" meaning "warrior Ishtar". Ishtar was the "luminously blinding" goddess, the tutelary deity of the morning and evening stars, goddess of war and love. Her strength certainly inspires this "Akkad" perfume by Lubin because it envelops us, comforts us and fills us with self-confidence. According to the marketing information imagined by the House of Lubin, King Sargon would describe this perfume as: "The essence of Akkad is a gift from the beautiful Ishtar, who loves and protects me. It contains all the most precious ointments from Punt, and also those from the islands of the great sea, and others from still further afield. This amber is the light that shines on my kingdom. It is my empire's most precious treasure." "Akkad" is a velvety oriental scent with a resinous and spicy profile. In the opening, I remark a peppery cloud of sage, with the tiniest hint of sweet orange. Then the dominant note is amber. Resins are prominent but without ever losing elegance, and in which the final picture is adorned with mysterious spices. In the heart, warm bitter cardamom and fresh balsamic frankincense notes are easily perceptible. At the base, I notice other soft contributions that have origin from a lightly animalistic leather accord, some smoke, labdanum resin, and hints of vanilla and patchouli. The overall quality of the perfume is very high, easily realising that the House of Lubin has not cut costs with the raw materials. The responsible nose has been Delphine Thierry, who created another Amber masterpiece 20 years ago, the memorable "Ambre / Amber" by L'Occitane en Provence". In Akkad, I find familiar traces of Tauer's "Au Coeur du Désert" , of Annick Goutal's "Ambre Fétiche", and of Annette Neufler's "Per Fumum: Ambra Luminosa". The Bottle Design was commissioned by Serge Mansau, a true perfumery sculptor who has designed some of the most beautiful flasks of this industry. From his creations, I highlight the Mesopotamian inspiration of the beautiful "Montana Parfum d'Homme", "Parfum de Peau" and "Montana Parfum d'Elle (2002)", as well as the flowing lines of "Organza" by Givenchy. For Lubin, he designed a bottle with a somewhat cubist flow, and extremely appealing. As is traditional with amber perfumes, this fragrance stands out best in cool or even very cold temperatures. Its projection is moderate for an amber-quality fragrance. However, longevity is appreciable. Three sprays last more than ten hours, though only as skin scent from the fifth hour onwards. The fragrance delivers a distinctive and sophisticated aura to those who wear it. Lovers of oriental perfumes quickly elect it as a very seductive one. Closing our eyes we can travel in time through Sumerian, Acadian, Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms, through warm deserts and evergreen oases, floating in sacred oils and precious spices scents. On our skin, we can feel the voluptuousness of amber that mingles with golden sunsets, to finally end the dream voyage entering triumphantly through the eighth door of the city of Babylon, the door of Ishtar. Music: Sting & Cheb Mami - "Desert Rose"

Akkad or Akkadia was the capital of the Akkadian Empire. It was the dominant ruling power in ancient Mesopotamia for a century and a half. It was all started more than 4200 years ago when the Akkadians took over the Sumerians. Its exact location is not known, although the location by the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, is the most likely. Its existence is known both from cuneiform writings and from the Bible ancient old testament texts. This empire prospered under the leadership of King Sargon and his successors. Stories of the power of Sargon may have influenced the body of local folklore texts and certainly, some episodes were later incorporated into the Bible. The main deity of Akkad was Ishtar, also called "Astarte" and "Aštar-annunîtum" meaning "warrior Ishtar". Ishtar was the "luminously blinding" goddess, the tutelary deity of the morning and evening stars, goddess of war and love. Her strength certainly inspires this Lubin perfume because it envelops us, comforts us and fills us with self-confidence. According to the marketing information imagined by the House of Lubin, King Sargon would describe this perfume as: "The essence of Akkad is a gift from the beautiful Ishtar, who loves and protects me. It contains all the most precious ointments from Punt, and also those from the islands of the great sea, and others from still further afield. This amber is the light that shines on my kingdom. It is my empire's most precious treasure." Akkad by Lubin is a velvety oriental scent with a resinous and spicy profile. The dominant note is amber. Resins are prominent but without ever losing elegance, and in which the final picture is adorned with mysterious spices. Warm bitter cardamom and fresh balsamic frankincense notes are easily perceptible. Other softer contributions are originating from a lightly animalistic leather accord, some smoke, labdanum resin, and hints of vanilla and patchouli. The overall quality of the perfume is very high, easily realising that the House of Lubin has not cut costs with the raw materials. The responsible nose has been Delphine Thierry, who created another Amber masterpiece 20 years ago, the memorable Ambre / Amber by| L'Occitane en Provence. In Akkad, I find familiar traces of Tauer's Au Coeur du Désert, of Annick Goutal's Ambre Fétiche, and of Annette Neufler's Ambra Luminosa. The Bottle Design was commissioned to Serge Mansau, a true perfumery sculptor who has designed some of the most beautiful flasks of this industry. From his creations, I highlight the Mesopotamian inspiration of the beautiful Montana Parfum d'Homme, Montana Parfum de Peau and Montana Parfum d'Elle (2002), as well as the flowing lines of Organza by Givenchy". For Lubin he designed a bottle with a somewhat cubist flow, and extremely appealing. As is traditional with amber perfumes, this fragrance stands out best with cool or even very cold temperatures. Its projection is moderate for an amber quality fragrance. However, longevity is appreciable. Three sprays last more than ten hours, though only as skin scent from the fifth hour onwards. The fragrance delivers a distinctive and sophisticated aura to those who wear it. Lovers of oriental perfumes quickly elect it as a very seductive one. Closing our eyes we can travel in time through Sumerian, Acadian, Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms, through warm deserts and evergreen oasis, floating in sacred oils and precious spices scents. On our skin, we can feel the voluptuousness of amber that mingles with golden sunsets, to finally end the dream voyage entering triumphantly through the eighth door of the city of Babylon, the door of Ishtar. Music: Sting & Cheb Mami - "Desert Rose"

Best Amber I have tried. Before you spray Akkad for the first time, I urge you to follow these steps: 1- Read the story and inspiration behind it: "THE FIRST EMPEROR’S TREASURED AMBER. I am Sargon, powerful sovereign of Akkad, who was brought up by Aqqi, the gardener of the great marshes between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Essence of Akkad is a gift from the beautiful Ishtar, who loves and protects me. It contains all the most precious ointments from Punt, and also those from the islands of the great sea, and others from still further afield. This amber is the light that shines on my kingdom. It is my empire’s most precious treasure." 2- Place its ambery orange colored box in front of you and stare at it. 3- Spray. I don't know about you, but for me, it immediately transported me to ancient times to the city of Akkad, where I'm smelling all those ointments that were gifted to the emperor, while the sun sets its rays on the palace and the city, overlooking a sea full of commercial ships. Oh and why did I mention the box? Because the scent smells like the color of the box. Now to the review: Akkad starts with a luminous and extremely rich balsamic orange and resins accord. It hits you with richness from the start. There is no juice here. Nothing tropical about the orange if you're wondering. And no it doesn't smell like sunscreen. This is a serious amber that immediately smells "ancient" from the first spray. If you ask me what makes it smell ancient, I would probably tell you: Technically speaking, it's probably the clary sage mixing with those sublime resins. Baked within the resins lies a simmering, organic and beautifully executed cardamom accord. Oh my oh my, how perfect cardamom can be when it fits like a glove within a composition. The scent weaves with richness. It's dense, slightly spicy, a tiny bit smoky, dark yet full of light. It truly embodies the meaning of the word "resinous" with all its glory. You want to know what resinous smells like? There you go, this is it. It's so good, to the point where I started hunting for scents that have that similar "orange luminous amber" accord, only to be disappointed because nothing ever came close to this, period. In the late drydown, a creamy vanilla accord starts weaving between those ultra rich resins, signaling the end of you teleportation to the city of Akkad. Akkad is N'1 on my wish list for a reason. The word "Masterpiece" doesn't do justice for this amber. It's more than that.

Superb!! AKKAD LUBIN is of a concocted quality that reaches the likes of Clive Christian (Fruity Floral with Dark Plum) and Dove Roja (51). To the nose it has the balsam of an Amouage floral (Fate Woman) and the savoury-sweet undertone of a Nasomatto, minus the bread-like dark chocolate (Pardon). Having smelled real amber and some arabian perfumes (which you'll be glad to know this does Not have that fizzed, but too sharp aldehydeish-oud smell to what you'd find in common arabian offerings), I'd say with its combined ingredients its even better than pure amber itself and for the price, it ought to! I used to not trust this brand with my let down of its history-based fragrances (the Antoinette-adjacent Black Jade... like, compare that to Rance's Elise or L'Artisan's La Chasse Aux Papillons) but I'm glad I had this opportunity to learn, and truly the result of this perfume is superb and it speaks for itself. And about the price, this is the best quality-price ratio perfume I've ever tried. It truly smells like $299 bucks. Considering also the likes of Amouage, Nasomatto, and such charge way more for a quality like this... if you ask me, and if you really only want a select few in your collection do own yourself an AKKAD LUBIN. Heady, but quieted, zen-like ambered incense of notable build. If you realised you dont enjoy heavy, dark smoky incense and found CALLING OF ANGELS APRIL AROMATICS too sweet but liked its vibe, AKKAD LUBIN is it. [NOV. 2020 UPDATE] I brought MYRHH EGLANTINE and YUNNAN OSMANTHE HERMES home instead. [DEC. 2020 UPDATE] AND this week, I discovered L'EAU D'AMBRE EXTREME L'ARTISAN PARFUMEUR was exactly what I was looking for. Smelled like AKKAD for a much lower price without any extra fruit or flower like the HERMES I previously recommended. D'AMBRE is probably too same-same of a journey thab AKKAD but much more effervenscent in its lightness. A play-doh scent only comes after hour 3 or 4 for me. But on my skin it always smells great, so its a keeper for me. And for the price of one LUBIN AKKAD I got the D'AMBRE EXTREME and was also able to include a terracotta of MELOGRANO SANTA MARIA NOVELLA. An extra scent to improve the ambience of my house. Two great fragrances for the price of one!

THE PERFUME truely mesmarised me.. its what i have been looking for for so long.. it smells like luban or resins.. or mirth.. its so velvety.. so serene ..so rich.. so full.. of wonder.. mystery.. and royalty.. its an oriental.. with a twist ..its a musky.. ambery. patchouli.. fine.. beautiful.. mesmerising.. connotation of truth.. elegance.. and seduction.. it almost holly.. it transported me to the maharajahs in India ..or the Russian.. Persian.. emperors or Arabian nights ..its a royal perfume.. fit for a queen.. ..simply magnificent.. a master piece..a heavenly medley.. of complementing accords.. and notes.. the labdanum.. the vanilla.. the cardamon.. the frankincense.. the mandarin.. the bergamot.. all sing together in harmony.. its a powerful perfume.. for a powerful queen..who can mesmerise all her people with that enchanted scent.. its from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.. its from iraq..from madina .. its a gift from the beautiful Ishtar..and akad is a name of a civilized poet.. and writer.. and in many arabic and sub sahran cultures is used in wedding rituals ..and is used as good luck charm for the bride and groom for eternal happiness and prosperity .. i honestly couldn't believe my nose when i smelled them.. for i lost hope in finding a perfume made in the last couple of years that i would actually say wow to..they were on my wish list.. and i got them ..and i am so glad i did ..they are half the price of some of the other ones from the fifth floor they cost about 120 sterling pounds but they are worth every penny.. one whiff and you are on your way to an endless journey across time and civilizations and grace.. perfume ratting 4.8 out 5 bottle ratting 4.8 out 5 edp 100 ml spray