La Fumée Alexandrie

Mostly rose and incense on my skin but there's a lot else going on in the scent and I really like it. For me it definitely is evocative of the Arab Middle East. Has a little of the powdery (amber?) punch of Davidoff's Leather Blend but only a little. This is a far more restrained fragrance, though I really like both. I'm not an expert on rose notes in perfume--I mostly shied away from them for years--but I find the rose in this quite full, sweet and somehow deep. It definitely seems more like a ripe pink or red rose than a watery, lemony cream or white one but I think that it does have some of that fresh green underlying focus or whatever. It reminds me of (pink) Turkish delight. As I don't have a whole lot of experience with rose notes in other fragrances, my frame of reference for comparison is limited, but this rose note reminds me of that in Diptyque's L'Ombre dans l'Eau and of the much less obvious, probably leaner, pink rose that I find in Clinique Aromatics Elixir.

Rose and smoke. The rose is fresh and light on a bed of smoke (birch and agarwood). Freshness on the top from litchi. There is a liveliness, lightness about it making it wearable even in warmer weather. Very naturalistic, easy on the nose, calming, easy to be in, comfort to wear. Very lovely indeed if you like these notes. I am really enjoying wearing this even on this beautiful early summer day. EDIT: I didn’t sing its praises enough. When I first got it, weather was cooler and the rough birch and smoke dominated the composition. But now, early summer, I got totally addicted to this scent. Wore it three days in a row (unheard of!! ) and to bed. It improves in warmer weather. Addictive. So wonderful. A private secret. A scent that makes me feel like the star of my own film.

This might just be my favorite of the rose oud genre due to the addition of litchi, incense, cinnamon, and various woody notes, but, I think, mostly due to the exclusion of patchouli. This is such a sweet jammy rose, completely supported with this cast of notes. It’s slightly spicy and slightly woody and nothing turns it too earthy, even the cumin note. I particularly enjoy the incense note Miller Harris uses here. This is such a gorgeous rose for late fall and winter months or evenings out on the town. Really stunning and lasts around 7 hours with sillage that definitely gets noticed but doesn’t choke people out either.

Wow!! A perfume with cumin that I actually love! Granted it's only a small amount, but takes nothing away from this rose/oud/incense delight. The rose in quite fresh and green, not my usual preference when it comes to rose in perfume, but it works her by cutting through the richness of the oud, amber, and spices. I'm testing it for the first time, so I will need more time to reach a final verdict. There is a plasticky note that emerges after the top notes settle down and I'm not sure how it will effect my overall opinion, but for now, I love it.

I agree with other reviews - rose and smoke, with a background of spices and leather. Like a darker, smokier version of Scherzo but with a similar rose note (dense and jammy with soft edges). Longevity and projection both very respectable - more suited to cooler weather due to the intensity and smoke. While I tend to approach gendering of perfumes with some suspicion, this could very easily be worn by either gender on the right occasion and would work very nicely on a man.