Afia

Afia. Sexy! Woody! Smoky! Clean cedar and guaiac wood burning, smoked out like Replica By the Fireplace which is not similar. Just using it as an example of how prominent the smoke is; this does not have any of that vanilla, nuttiness, or etc. In Afia, before the woods are lit, imagine they are stained with fruit juices, so the smoke carries their scent. I’m getting pineapple, pear, maybe orange in the opening smothered heavily by smoke, which there is more of than spice. Everything is balanced out with a similar sugared oakmoss and saffron found in Bond no 9 Greenwich Village which I love. This sweet touch makes this unisex imo. I luckily do not get lavender but that may be hiding behind the subtle fresh spiciness in the opening, adding to the aromatics. I’m not sure. After 2 hours, the strong smokiness subsides and what’s left is that sugared oakmoss and saffron but grounded by woods so it’s not left in the air. Maybe a little amber and dash of cinnamon spice are in there. I mostly wanted this for the bottle since it’s named Afia, but it so happened to be a well blended beauty with its own twist. This also acts as such a good base and has worked magically layered with strong rose, fresh aquatic, or sweet scents. It transforms.