Abu Dhabi

I now have several fragrances from Memo and I believe this is my favorite. I’ve long wanted to find something that fills the hole in my heart left by Plum Japonais by TF. This is making a good effort. Not as cinnamon forward as other like fragrances as the plum and date are the show horses here. Longevity is good and sillage fair to good. I don’t know about the name and have no association with Abu Dhabi but if this is a reasonable representation of the region I might need to go! Beautiful fragrance, well executed. Not a safe blind buy. Great thing about Memo is they are good about sending samples and extras. Get to know your local Memo fragrance sales person and they will always think of you!

On my skin, this opens really smooth, lightly spicy, and sweet. A lite smoke maybe coming from the leather here, but it fades (smoke) in about 3-5 minutes, and I get a sweet, buttery, and elegant scent. This would be perfect for a date or a wedding; it's unisex, as a woman can rock it. It's all about your skin chemistry. Lasts about 6-7 hrs and has great projection; afterwards, you will get whiffs of it in the air. It's a love for me. Resembles BTV the King minus the tobacco and smoke.

I don't understand a negative comments about this people don't know what they talking about ,this is really good one from memo its gourmand, sweet smooth spicy last all day such a nice cozy gourmand fragrance

This is complement magnet, i usaly don't get complements but this gets me 6 complements far in last two months and every day i m liking this more and more its very addictive fragrance

Best gourmand release from the house of Memo

This is my first impression of Abu Dhabi. I am a big fan of Memo Paris as a brand and own most of their fragrances. Their fragrances tend to suit my skin chemistry and my perfume preferences rather well and scent-wise Abu Dhabi is no exception. It opens with sweet and strong spicy aromatic burst of saffron, dates, and plum. If patchouli would be listed, I would have said that it has patchouli in there as well, since I can also smell something bright and chocolaty (I guess it’s dates with saffron). After few minutes the scent becomes less sweet and more aromatic and airy (Vetiver). I also get the plum, which to my nose is dark and somewhat sour. As the fragrance continues to develop the slight sourness disappears and what remains is saffron with dates for the duration of the scent. I do not get distinct cardamom or amber. This fragrance reminds me more of Palmyra in Syria or Petra in Jordan rather than Abu Dhabi, but it is purely my subjective memories and experience. The fragrance itself is a like for me, although it’s certainly not my favorite Memo release. The disappointing part for me is the performance. I have very cool skin and most fragrances do not perform well on me, but a lot of Memo fragrances happen to have a pretty good performance on me. However, Abu Dhabi leaves me wishing for a much better performance. Within minutes of spraying, the fragrance looses its strength and becomes pretty much a skin scent with a projection of maybe 1-2 inches and weak sillage. The longevity was also less than 4 hours. I am hoping that this is due to Abu Dhabi being a new release and the need to macerate in the bottle and am hoping that the performance will improve over time (fingers crossed). I think that Abu Dhabi is unisex suited best for fall and spring, but will also do well during winter and summer. In the deep dry-down, Abu Dhabi shares some similarity with Cappadocia. I think it’s the similar mineral tone of saffron. It’s very slight and in the deep dry-down, otherwise Abu Dhabi and Cappadocia are totally different.

A nice gourmand but nothing spectacular. Abu Dhabi is a nice gourmand, to my nose it's mostly an ambery plum scent. Dates are one of the stand out notes that Memo pushes with this fragrance but to me the plum stands out way more, the dates being easier to mistake for the strong and very present ambers from the scent profile. There's several notes that aren't listed in the note breakdown here, and frankincense specifically is pretty noticeable up close on skin, this has a smokey, almost charred frankincense along with something here that smells like corn. Since I'm mexican I'm no stranger to corn street vendors and for the first two hours or so the scent up close on skin smells like roasted corn. Not entirely sure what's giving off the corn note but it's not a dealbreaker since you can only smell it up close, in the air this is still a syrupy, ambery plum scent. Gotta give props to this for not being cloying or getting tiring to smell after a while despite how syrupy the scent is. Performance is decent overall. Moderate projection with a moderate to dense sillage you'll smell for hours. Longevity is a good 8+ hours.

I believe this should be considered a gourmand perfume. It is a sweet, fruity, condensed and woody perfume. It's pretty unique, does feel like taking a sticky bite out of a dessert from the Middle East. The saffron adds a much needed dusty/woody layer of luxury. I like it a lot. I think Musk Ravageur also has dates in it (as well as the original L'Erbolario perfume that came first). After a while it starts to resemble Feminité du Bois. I do however find it funny that Western companies create "Middle Eastern" perfumes that smell like they came from that region, have names like Abu Dhabi and are targeted towards Middle Eastern customers. It's kind of like the West wants to be inspired by the East (and earn money there) and the East wants to buy Western goods and enjoy the European taste and appeal. Buy on the way the authenticity is kind of hurt.

I am always a big fan of Memo Paris and just got a sample when I blind bought Kotor on the official website. When they were first sprayed, I definitely prefer Abu Dhabi more. The dates give it sweetness and it's less woody and masculine than the other one. I agree with @Olgita that there is something bright and chocolaty in it. It's particularly obvious in the beginning though I am not sure where does it come from. The plum note also stands out in the beginning and cardamom adds spiciness to the scent. I am not sure how it will develop and will give it some time to settle before I comment on the dry down. Generally speaking, a nice and interesting release.

If you got Le Male Elixir Absolute and were hoping for something more spicy, less sweet and not as loud, this would be a great candidate. I actually put half a spray on one forearm and half spray of LMEA on the other and it is totally overpowering this with the ethyl maltol. This Abu Dhabi is a little woodier, pretty heavy dose of vetiver, which I normally don't like, but it's rounded out nicely with the spices and subtle sweetness. This in no way smells of a juvenile. I'll have to do some more wears, but this is an 8.1/10 (4.2/5) like. I would have a hard time thinking someone would not like this.

Wonderful A very good attempt at breaking down the middle eastern vibe with dates and spices the opening is the spicy part of the scent with sweetness that overtakes the rest of the journey but in a bearable way no overload of sweetness just the good amount It performs admirably I enjoyed it very much But for the price they are asking for I will sadly pass The only letdown is that it’s not an original creation I’ve smelled something similar before nonetheless a very good scent to try

It's definitely one of the nicer creations from Memo. It's all about saffron and dates and because of that it goes into the same directions as Initio's Side Effect. By comparison, this is more sweet and less boozy. I really like it, but I am more than convinced that Side Effect is better (for me at least) and if you already have that, there is no need for this one.

Slightly disappointed by the lack of spices after the dry down. After dry down it becomes a jammy but light fragrance. Strong date and plum notes with little spices. Makes it surprisingly wearable in warm weather but very linear. Nice fragrance but needs improvement, as it has potential to be a great fragrance

Plum in chocolate. Very addictive and beautiful. The most gourmand from Memo from my point of view

I like what they tried doing here, but perhaps needs reformulation as it doesn't quite work. They didn't go for the obvious Arabian spice and oud bazar for Abu Dhabi, but a more refined, gentle fragrance like a refreshing break in an oasis away from the buzzing streets. I love Plum, Saffron and Amber in fragrances but none really come through strong. The dates were a nice touch, but they could have really made it a deeper scent. Having used a few Memo perfumes, I find them to be on the lighter side, and if that's your thing you'll like this. But it is overpriced for it's performance, longevity and uniqueness.

As the name suggests, it burdens the fruits and exotics of the middle east style of fragrances. Delicately sweet with an oriental touch. Personally good, but not good enough.

Opens with a fruity spicy accord than quickly becomes spicy and metallic. Oriental perfume for those who are seeking that vibe. However, It’s not something new or that I haven’t smelled before. Unisex leaning masculine in my opinion. Not something I’d personally wear because too strong for me. __________ Projection, sillage, longevity : 7,5/10 Originality, presentation : 3,5/10 Quality, value : 6/10 5,5/10

My first from the house.. tricky pick, but I liked it at first. As someone from the Middle East, I felt it really captured the region. Smooth, rich, layered... I got the date syrup comparison, but it was more complex than that. Thought it’d be perfect for cooler nights. But then I wore it. Didn’t sit right on me or in the weather. Beautiful scent, just not for me. Sold it. 3/10.

Yuck. Ok. Somehow a perfume like this released from a house like Memo is like Nolan directing a Steven Seagall movie.

I barely remember what this smells like, but it's a synthetic leathery masculine smell. Not my cup of tea.

أنا أحب هذا This is pronounced "ana uhibu hadha" and it means "I love this" in Arabic. I don't have any other gourmands in my collection as I just am not really a gourmand kind of chap, but this is lovely. It isn't sickly sweet, it is almost lactonic with the date essence, it is more date milk and cardamom than sweet, sticky dates. The saffron works so well. It isn't floral but it anchors the gourmand notes in the way floral notes would. The base is amber not woody and it plays so nicely with the saffron and the dates. I can see why they called in Abu Dhabi; it certainly is very evocative of karak chai, dates, richness, languid and understated class. This captures that Emirati joie de vivre in a French way, encapsulating Emirati life. I really love that. I can really see what Mylene Alran was going for here. It really is a very appealing thing. I also think it is wonderfully refreshing to find a niche perfume trying to evoke the UAE's capital that doesn't have oud as its central accord. Oud is such a central thing to Emirati culture and is the main building block to Arabian perfumery, but not putting it in here feels like a deliberate move to do something really original with the brief and it is to be applauded. There are thousands of wonderful oud perfumes out there, and this didnt need to be one of them. The amber in here is a little smokier than you might normally find and this is quite deliberate as well I feel. Aromatic amber smokey, not acrid oud smoke but the bitterness plays a really key role in this fragrance and it becomes more pronounced as it dries down. One of the reasons there is no oud in this is that a lot of folks wearing this will have done the bakhoor ritual before leaving the house wearing it and often use oud extract oils as well as their fragrances so it doesnt need it, maybe? This is a huge performance juice as we have come to expect from MEMO and sillage is curious as only some of the notes stay in the air. You don't get much of the smoke and amber unless you get in close but the cardamom and date sweetness leap off you like a startled oryx. Sample done in three wears, there is a full bottle of this in my future. Lovely, lovely stuff. Scent - 8/10 Sillage - 7/10 Drydown - 9/10 Bottle / packaging - 8/10 Performance - 8/10 40/50

Ugh I may or may not have no one to blame but myself on this one!! Fresh im the mail! This isn’t bad But was an expensive blind buy for sure! I have African Leather & African Rose from this brand & starting to wonder if African Leather is how they survive and are able to make all of these other fragrances & will assume they sell some of the others here & there!! I tried to research this, & there wasn’t much to go on anywhere!! I knew two major YouTubers hyped it & Know better than to take them serious & wasn’t a lot of love on here & Now I know why!! I own Tom Ford Plum Japonais & don’t ever wear it, Being it’s supposedly such a holy grail discontinued fragrance & starting to think that’s stupid & will prob break it out & wear it as much as I want...This fragrance, To me is centered around cardamom first & read on here about the Vetiver & Yes it’s there!! I see the makings of African Leather + way more cardamom! & My African Rose is almost the same fragrance & Here we go again with a little exception of some plum & some amber. This cardamom is blasting this fizzyness with this flat amber, and is practically giving me Xerjoff Starlight vibes which I own & absolutely have to be in the mood for in the winter time only!! I bought it blind!! It doesn’t suck, But unfortunately isn’t a star!! I just knew it would be, But know now to stick with African Leather from this house beacuse it’s down hill from that one

The opening was interesting. Spicy, dry green, dimensional. I was going to get Fables d'Orient by L'Artisan Parfumeur and that unique opening almost changed my mind. But agree with another reviewer that the complexity of Abu Dhabi disappeared after a couple of hours. The initial dry down was linear, sweet dates that closed with vanilla. People who can appreciate Abu Dhabi’s opening won’t be happy with its close.

Mature sweet and resinous blend of dates, plums, and subtle saffron, eventually picks up a contrasting fresh and effervescent vetiver. Quite a unique blend, I like the contrasting notes, but the fruity opening is too dry for my taste. Much prefer their date accord in "Odeon", as it has a juicy patchouli rose to freshen it up. Source: 1.5ml Official Sample Date of Purchase: 26/12/2024

reminds me of narcotic delight from intio. pretty nice but it has that smell that you find in alot gourmand fragrances that has that weird ballsack+gooch combo smell after a long day of playing football.

Tested it on skin. The opening is unique and very nice. Five minutes later it turns into date syrup that was left under the sun for a couple days. It's really bad. Trust me, I'm from Abu Dhabi.

Reviews say it’s masculine but I think it can work on women as well. It’s very sweet and heavy on the saffron and dates. Not my favorite but would be very nice for a night out.

Dates that have been fermenting a bit...some cardamom, tons of saffron, leather that is still somewhat new. It smells chemical, leathery and sweet. I don't like this.

@Aero.Tale3 because the ME market brings the dollars mate ! but i understand Memo , they already have scents inspired by cities like Corfu , Cappadocia etc...

the scent of milk with dates or baby formula.

Love it, one of the most underrated memo

Cardamom and saffron leather. Masculine