Fakhama

Love Don’t Be Shy’s REDUCTIVE sister. There’s a “licorice note” in the opening that’s turning me off from this fragrance. I literally just opened the box to spray and smell this. I think I’ll sit on this for a bit, come back, and see if my opinion has changed. As of right now, I’m not impressed. The bottle is pretty and the juice look potent. I’m just not sold on this fragrance yet. My Second Take: Sooooo, I tried it again and I have to admit, in the dry down, I do smell similarities to Love Don’t Be Shy. I do smell that “licorice note” and I also get a big whiff of alcohol, at first spray. In this fragrance’s defense, I received this in the mail during a particularly cold day. As a matter of fact, my bottle was super cold (as if left in a refrigerator) when I first opened and unboxed it. Love dries down “syrupy” to my nose and Fakhama dries down more “powdery” (most likely due to MUSK being the sole bottom note). This a cute fragrance, I guess. I’ll reserve it as a “bed time scent”. My Third and Final Take: This fragrance has transformed from a "LIKE" to a "LOVE". While I admit, referring to this as "reductive' was a bit harsh. I don't nor shouldn't expect dupes to possess the same level of quality as the niche & designer fragrances that they are modelled after. The "licorice note", that I complained about in my first take, is now non-existent. As is the "the strong splash of alcohol in the beginning". This has transformed into a delicious and fluffy creamsicle of a fragrance. Although "marshmallow" is not actually listed (The official notes listed for this fragrance lists a "gourmand accord"), I still detect it despite the ambiguity of the official notes. I love By Kilian's Love Don't Be Shy, it's actually my signature scent. I am pleased to admit that, after all the dupes and imitators out there, this is a worthy contender. For those, like me, who own Love and don't like spraying frivolously because of the hefty price tag. This is a nice alternative.

Last update: Ok, I’m obsessed with this! It needed about a month to sit. I had ordered a sample of the OG LDBS and let me tell you!!! It is 1:1 exact!!! If you smell something different you have the nose of a dog that sniffs out drugs and dead bodies buried 13 feet deep because this.. is as close as it seems to get. (Unless someone knows of a better one then please do let me know because I’m obsessed with ldbs i may just splurge on the og)! I went ahead and also ordered the oakcha dupe of ldbs as well to layer them all for the most possible longevity and projection bc i cannot get enough to sniffing this around me all day! First request: yooooo sweet, almost like a medicinal sort of cough syrupy sweet. Kind of repulsed me. Thankfully my 13 year old daughter liked it. I guess it can also be described as a bit of an artificially flavored candy sweet. Update 3/27: i let it sit for a week. And today it is different. It’s slowly coming around, i don’t think it’s fully complete yet but it’s less cough syrup and more of a gourmand that doesn’t repulse me but i can tell it still needs more time. Maybe there is hope after all. It is true about the needing to sit thing. Update: 4/5 it’s coming around. It’s less cough syrup sickly sweet now but still sweet and very nice BUT it doesn’t last past 5 minutes so I’m going to continue to let it sit. I really wish i could try love don’t be shy but it is so expensive. I’m hoping this comes around to become something that lasts at least a few hours

Maison Asrar "Fakhama" is a beautiful perfume. I definitely get the By Kilian "Love Don't Be Shy" comparison much more so than I do with so many other LDBS clone perfumes. I own and LOVE Lattafa "Ansaam Gold," which I find more comparable to PDM "Oriana" versus LDBS. I do not find Fakhama similar to Ansaam Gold. Ansaam Gold is sweeter, fruitier and more intensely floral than Fakhama. Fakhama wears gourmand with lots of creamy vanilla upfront. Fakhama is a light 'n airy, ethereal, creamy, orange blossom fragrance. There are gentle, white florals buzzing in the background. Fakhama unfolds as a soft, creamy, heavy vanilla, mixed white floral, musky perfume. And there is NO marshmallow note (LDBS) in Fakhama. But Fakhama does have a gourmand accord, which adds a slightly edible characteristic. Having said this, I never found the marshmallow note in LDBS super-strong, or super-prominent, really. Fakhama is beautiful, it really is! I love it! Going to place this in time-out, see if the perfume's performance (longevity and projection) intensifies with time.

I LOVE this scent profile. That’s why I had to have it lol I tried LDBS and ended up purchasing Sintra by Memo Paris, it just smells better on my skin. Then I blind bought Melodie de Orientica which is almost identical to Sintra and similar to LDBS but costs 1/4 of the price. Great fragrance by the way. Fakhama also shares some similarities with 3 fragrances mentioned above. In my opinion it is lighter and less complex, but it doesn’t make it less enjoyable. It doesn’t smell synthetic nor cheap to me. Lasts longer on clothes ( a couple of days) than on my skin. It smells like berry-vanilla dessert to me. Not overly sweet. Don’t expect a beast mode from this, unless you spray a quarter of the bottle. The price is awesome. Just don’t expect it to be LDBS dupe if you love that fragrance. It is good on its own for this price.

This is a less powdery version of ansaam Gold. Its stronger and overall a better alternative than ansam Gold is. This does resembel oriana, but less fruity fresh. But it is identical to love dont be shy. I have this, riffs ciao and ansam Gold as i love this scent profile. Its much sweater than orianna, more dense and less airy. But it is still fluffy. The “gourmand Accord” comes of to me as sugary sweet caramel marshmellow with a little strawberry and maybe some whipped cream. Its probably the strengest dupe i have Tried for the oriana/ldbs Line and I Will be buying this as i like ldbs better than oriana. If you want oriana go for reyna, if you like love dont be shy opt for this or riffs ciao. Super impressed.