Akowa

There's just something so mysterious about this fragrance that leaves me polarized and in awe. I decided to reach for my sample to give it another go today, and I must admit it is such an interesting fragrance. Very difficult to describe what I'm actually smelling but I can't get enough. The wafts I get from head turns and body movements are astonishing yet enigmatic. As someone stated below, this is a "spray and go" kind of fragrance. I agree. It's also very potent, two sprays is all that is necessary. Definitely a unique one, no doubt about it. Most might find this fragrance, off-putting and unappealing but I simply can't help but appreciate this work of art. UPDATE My nose has developed a bit more since my review, and now I've grown to love this scent even more. I see a similarity with MFK's APOM as well, with its woody, amber and orange blossom combination. What sets this apart is the wonderful and unique Thiouraye incense. The whole thing is simply exceptional and beautifully constructed -- best suited for the winter.

The scent is pleasant and arouses your attention because it is contradictory as both familiar and alien to your senses in the same moment. There is something in the melange that I am not familiar with, and it does get the attention of your nose. It is new and interesting, but not so much that you want a whole shelf of scents using the mystery ingredient. One is enough. I highly recommend Akowa. The presentation is very good. The sprayer is great. The bottle is beautiful and looks great on your shelf or dresser. The scent is superior. Sample it. I bought it blind and it worked out for me. It is over my usual budget and I enjoy it, but it will not please everyone. I suggest many people try a sample. It is unique and you will be glad to try something unlike any other scent. It will make you nod your head and your mind will work and try to place everything where it should go and find something has no place. That makes it interesting. And, it also, simply smells good. The cocoa note really works here.

I think I might eat a man like a cocoa nib if he were wearing this. I went into this expecting odd, and possibly bad, things. I got the odd. Whatever root was used, it absolutely isn't something I'm familiar with or can describe. If you're into Niche scents, and what they can be when boundaries are brushed aside, you should give this a test run. Ambered lime is just the tip of a truly bizarre iceberg of scent contradictions that keep me coming back for more, off balance and somehow mesmerised. This is animalic, certainly, but not in a way that's easy to place and utterly in a fashion that will be off putting to some. The vetiver leans towards the dry kind I've found in New Orleans, almost closet sachet like, very M/. It's spice-dry while simultaneously seeming marine. NOT aquatic, marine, with all the salt and body connotations that evokes. Honestly, this wears me more than I wear it, but I am fascinated by it, and the man who could pull this off . . . well, I'd be impressed.

I think this is a unique scent. I have worn it 3 times...and each time....I get something different. But...most importantly, I want to smell it again and again.....!! Hard to describe scent...but yet...."familiar". I tried so hard to think of what other scents it reminds me of. I think finally that it "reminds me" of other scents that have been combined...??? Thus, the getting something different each time I've worn this...??? I get a very different "type" of orange blossom in this....probably because of the other notes blended in...not really sweety floral orange blossom. The vetiver is here also,for sure....as is a earthy musk & slight amber. I was surprised to see cacao is listed....again....not the "typical" cacao smell. And the bergamot is only pronounced, IMO, at the first spritz. I am very intrigued by this scent...and it is a LIKE....but I think it could become a LOVE. Sillage/projection /performance is decent....so far.

Unfortunately, I’m describing Akowa from a memory from 3–4 years ago, but the impression this perfume left on me is still incredibly vivid. I received it as a complimentary sample when exchanging another fragrance—and what a compliment it was! Dark, dense, like freshly laid black asphalt, yet at the same time cold, clean, like the best-smelling laundry detergent. I’ve never encountered this combination of thick asphalt and crystal clarity anywhere else; it really struck me. That evening we were at a garden wedding, and I asked my husband to spray himself a few times with the tiny sample—you can imagine how little that is, three or four small spritzes. My God, I sensed the trail of that perfume all night long—so exciting and magnetic! My husband said it felt strange to him, but I was absolutely mesmerized!

Wore this for the first time today and I love it. I quite like the opening, it's very different. I will see how it develops throughout the day but to me it's a winner. I can't really describe what I am smelling but it's sweet yet earthy and musky but light, not overbearing and loud, kind of wish it were stronger but I am not a master perfumer so maybe it's perfect the way it is. It seems to waft around and I get whiffs of it constantly. Lasted all day long, I could smell it after 12 hours. Women like it as well. I would like to thank Micallef for this one, it truly is different and wonderful.

this is probably my #2 favourite. it's unlike anything you've smelled before; an amazing blind buy for me. it's very rich, warm, reminds me of and amber/oud sort of smell, but i'm not doing it justice. if you like warm, sophisticated, conversation starters, this is one for you. but beware, it's polarizing. people seems to absolutely love it or hate it.

Akowa is orange blossom and vetiver rounded off by cocoa and amber. At first spray you get a blast of orange blossom. Then the dry down is vetiver, cocoa and amber. That is all I get from Akowa. It is very pleasant and lasts a very long time on me.

My first impression from a sample, smells like some purple scented erasers that I used to have in school. I'm not impressed but it is pleasant. I'll try it again. Edit I tried it from a sample with deep stick. It feels safe though nothing weird about it. I get a soft-sweet woody note, very delicate. I can't comment on the performance with this method but it doesn't feel strong at least sillage and projection were subtle. Edit I tried it properly. It feels like a sub-sweet, dusty, woody-earthy vetiver with an aroma very close to some purple erasers that I used to have in school. The dustiness is a little piercing but pleasant. Dominant notes are strong vetiver, mild cacao, strong purple erasers (lol!), mild musk, dry & mild amber, mild orange blossom, faint bergamot. Akowa is a strong like for me. Above the average longevity, moderate sillage, moderate to soft projection.

Gorgeous vetiver musk based fragrance from the woefully underrated house of Micallef. This evocative beauty (reminiscent of my African travels) mixes in gorgeous Tchouraï and vetiver root extracts with musk and a bunch of other notes including orange blossom, bergamot, cocoa, and amber. The result is a masculine fresh cologne that radiates off my skin. Moderate in sillage/projection and long lasting, this is eclectic modern perfumery of the highest order. This one is for the adventurous explorer types. Must have an open mind to appreciate. Enjoy!

I found Akowa quite disappointing. I guess I was expecting something a little more challenging but this is a grassy vetiver with orange blossom and a thin, toasted aroma that i guess is cocoa. It instantly reminded me of Parfumerie Generale's thematically similar Djhenné, but with vetiver swapped for the lavender. I don't like the PG and I don't like this, the orange blossom and vetiver (ironically 2 of my favorite notes) come across grating and somewhat cheap while the cocoa clashes and never really sits right in the mix. 4/10

I should state that if you believe that you prefer mainstream scents or you are new to smelling fragrances.......go away this is not for you Smells challenging and such a synthetic opening which I can see it easily putting people off But wait a couple of minutes and the cocoa comes lurking slowly getting closer to the skin after every passing hour until the 5th then it starts disappearing

I don't know how to describe Akowa I hate first two hours of it Probably because I don't like orange blossom which is very dominant for the first two hours But after that I just love it Love the vetiver and the patchouli amber dry down It is wired one to my nose BTW the secret ingredient is TCHOURAI

I don’t know why nobody said it yet but to me this has a detergent vibe; very synthetic but not screechingly so that it hurts the nose just by sniffing it like most detergents are. This is a soft musky scent that invoked a sense of cleanliness just by smelling it. I liked it.

Not your usual niche, not your usual designer frag, somewhere in between. It has the ingredients: like L'Instant Homme, or Kokoriko with an exotic twist, greener, more natural, coming from a very hot place, you can feel the heat. Dry plants, trees with thick leaves. The vetiver/cocoa combination is a spot on. Orange blossom/cocoa - also great. Yet, from a different angle, a vetiver/orange blossom combo easily creates a shaving foam facet, on the verge of generic masculine. Although I like it in theory, I rarely find the right occasion to spray it on. Maybe it's just too vivid, too colorful; a story for tourists, a beautiful picture from a travel agency, but without the real flesh, no real humans in sight. A magic plant, an exotic sight, a story that most of the time isn't me. And I'm thinking that if I reserve this fragrance for my vacations only, and not try to implement it into my not-so-colorful everyday surrounding, I might change my opinion. A site-specific scent, for sure.

Nice orange opening. Lovely, if unoriginal powdery soft Vetiver drydown. Would need to experience the cocoa note to see if worth it. Just didn’t get that note on three wears with my sample. With my nose and on my skin, moderate projection and 5-6 hour length. Understand it is discontinued.

Eau No. (On me, anyway.) I can forgive it being too punchy-male-aftershavelike for my tastes, because it's a punchy male scent and I'm a female user. But there's no forgiving the catastrophic and deeply uneasy mix of cacao with bergamot/lime. More a collision than a mix really. These are two things that just shouldn't go together ever IMHO. For once, the vetiver - an ambivalent note at best for me - is not the major problem here. My major problem is really harsh scrubby overtones of bathroom scourer cream mixed with something dirtier and even sourer. A shame because the cacao seems much deeper and well done - could be lovely if set off by spice and wood instead of being soured by that Terminator-strength citrus and dirtied up with the vetiver. Might work well on the right man. But for me? Just repellent I'm afraid.

Unfortunately, this smells like dry erase markers on my skin. Seek joy elsewhere.

Not my cup of tea you get the vetiver for sure and the citus! 5/10

Impact Hindi incense, unfortunately two dimensional rather than an aura of sweet spicy smoke. Some will claim the candy fireballs, maybe fireball whiskey shots. Wearability? It’s confusing, I think I want to compliment it as balanced, because this is a bit of a choose your own adventure. Musk, purple, or dark green aged vetiver, with a bit of soap. I’m going to say it’s complex and well constructed, however with the notes chosen, I’d prefer this to be more solid, strong, more exacting. In other words, this scent kicks up my anxiety rather than comforts it. Egyptian barley beer, Turkish figs, pomegranate, sweet opium smoke, dusty clay enclosed walls, mummified. If you’re dressed as a mummy, this is your role play scent. This scent conjures what ancient musky tombs must have smelled like. As much as I like that scent thought, I think others wouldn’t appreciate it and instead might think of a grotesque purple medicinal drink. Almost grape flavored powdered candy, the kind you scooped with the white dipstick. I can see this as a party scent. It’s unisex but I don’t find it sexual, it’s more heady. It’s distinct, not unique, but will create immediate love or hate reactions from anyone that comes close to you because the projection is good. As is the silliage and longevity. Bottom line You’ve probably smelled this at some point, whether in a head shop, or from grape candy, maybe sweet incense. Unfortunately it’s such a scent that if smelled, others might not take the time to appreciate this particular vision. I’d recommend layering this, something with booze and chocolate or an herbal and woody oil.

Initially I thought this was a very high quality variation of Quorum. That dated barbershop vibe, as in, the barbershop ambient smell in the 90's, not the aftershave scent but everything included in a barbershop, the hot hair scent mixed into shaving foams and aftershaves, floor cleaner, aromatic teas being served, everything...A reviewer mentioned something interesting below, the scent of purple erasers, which I can only relate to "grape scented erasers", which makes sense because a major orange blossom ingredient in perfumery happens to smell like grape/grape soda (See: Methyl antranilate) I could swear this has tons of oakmoss and pine along with vintage, animalic, slightly phenolic/dirty/barnyard funk. I was quite surprised that oakmoss and pine weren't listed in the notes, and ofc it doesn't mean they are not there. The peculiar combo of orange blossom, cacao and vetiver giving this an interesting, nostalgic edge. It's captivating in a strange way, I can't think myself wearing this often though I also can't stop smelling my arm. A fragrance evoking emotions. There's something sharp and bitter going on in the background, could be the lime or some terpenic note reminiscent of urinal cakes, also found in nature in many flowers incl. orange blossom. Very unique creation to say the least and I do appreciate such blends.

Desertmirage hit the nail on the head - this fragrance is strange as hell. The fragrance is so masterfully blended that it's hard to pick out what's all going on here - I would put this in the category of a lime-feeling fragrance, but that's about all you get of the lime: the feeling. Aside from that, you get a cocoa dusted vetiver, and some warm amber. It could be the advertisements, but this truly feels like the first African oriented fragrance I have tried - it's the odd combination of the sourness of the lime, the sharp, dirty smell of the vetiver which is curbed by the dry and bitter semi-sweet smell of the cocoa makes it smell like a high-class exotic fragrance that specifically suggests a continent whose climate ranges from desert and arid to savanna plains or dense jungle. I might be temped to call this the Terre D'hermes of the high-class African, concocted by a true Griot: thank you for the beautiful experience to both Geoffrey Nejman and Jean Claude Astier. 7/10. YT: Jess AndWesH

I spent 40 minutes in a perfumery and this is the only scent that caught my nose out of all others. I would say because, for me, it is unique. The very popular vetiver is transformed by the cacao and amber in this scent, so don't expect a predominant woody/mossy impression. The vetiver is used as a casing in which all the other scents are combined. What's at the center of that cocktail is a bold and slightly sweet kind of 80s vibe. It comes off as masculine and for gentlemen in their middle years (or young people who have great taste :D ). I imagine John McCook as the character Eric Forrester in the Bold and the Beautiful 80s soap opera wearing this scent, but in the best way possible! Akowa is not old-timey. It's classic but adapted to our contemporary noses. It's bold, distinct and commands to be worn a strong character. Not for teenagers though. I love every second of it.

The top note of this one is amazingly mesmerizing as it bust in an essence i haven't smell before! something quite nutsy and a bit ambery with something i can't define unless i try it again! BUT when it calmed down on THE PLOTTER it turned into something quite disturbing! a metallic aquatic lemony with a dirty vetiver! as the white musk turned into dark in away that bursts my stomach & orders me to vomit each time I sniff it! that was on the PLOTTER. BUT today when i had this on a plotter, i remember that i might have had it as well on my hand which i am sniffing right now, it is completely different! it is exactly like the smell of Roja Dove Reckless which is my GEM but still not sure if it was akowa yet, so i need to test it again. So far the plotter said it's opinion and completely no for the plotter no more.

Excellent niche remake of a great classic masterpiece - Rochas Lui. Lime-amber combo is stunning, with orange-vetiver drydown and a base of dirty, sexy musk. The cocoa appears after around 4 hrs on my skin. Note - this fragrance is strong and cannot be enjoyed by sticking your nose right on it (skin or paper), you will hate it. Just spray and forget, it whafts around and smells divine. I can see why it might be complex, challenging and weird to some but for anyone who enjoyed Lui this should be sampled. I'm getting a bottle, soon. 5*.

Unique, without leaving me with the feeling it’s trying too hard. I’d describe this as a dusty citrus fragrance, and (as that might suggest) very classic and slightly conservative despite it being unusual: I can completely understand why a reviewer has called it ‘forgettable’ below. But I chiefly recognise another reviewer’s feeling that it’s ’unlike anything’. And the level of contrast—between old school and surprising—is the joy of this one. I’ve owned it a few years, so this rating is considered: a perfect ten.

It is very unique yet mysterious. At first it didn't caught my attention. Almost no smell, nothing to attract. but, after I sprayed on my skin,,, Oh My,,, it was just heavenly,,, it is been 8 hrs passed, still I can smell earthly, dry, spicy, and something that I can't describe but kind of fire or burning some kind of distinct scent. Trying to understand something not spelled out yet mystery.

This one seems to be more polarizing than I would ever expect. I found it pleasant for a while, but after an hour or two, quite forgettable. I can't imagine how people fall in love with it... or despise, for that matter. The notes I get most are the orange blossom and vetiver, cocoa too. The rest is an afterthought I believe. I probably will not finish my sample--likely to pass it on.

I like many perfumes that are marketed to men. And I’m not one to gender perfume but I need to state, Akowa is uber masculine. Intriguing... but I’m also repulsed by it. Too much earthy vetiver, overpowering all the other notes except for a synthetic citrus and a soapy orange blossom. I can’t imagine how someone could pull this off.

This Frag unlike Micallef fragrances doesn't have clear personality U can't even detect combination between notes Is it vetiver sure Orange yes but nothing done in a nice way Cane sugar who knows ? Tuberose also possible Soapy ???? Big disappointment this is not what I used With this house

Akowa,Micallef, created for those who are really immersed into the world of very quality fragances, high levels of niche standards, experienced on this world. NOT for smells mall fragances lovers peoples or cheap knowledge about a real fragances. AKOWA. 11/10 global.

First spray: nausea. Yes, this is different, but unfortunately not pleasant to me. I can't even describe what this remind me of. It's weird in a bad way for my olfactory senses to discern. Please try before commit because this will give you pleasure or repugnance.

Scent - amber lime, dark cocoa, rooted vetiver & musk. Season/Time of Day - I prefer to use this one in the colder months, at night. Projection - I did get noticed, it garners compliments. Longevity - I get 12hrs consistently

Hello! I'm from Romania, contact me if you want this perfume. Thanks!