Shisur

According to Juris Zarins who wrote the article Atlantis of the Sands, published by the Archaeological Institute of America, Shisur is: "...a ruined city some 90 miles northwest of Salalah on the edge of the desert. A permanent spring there had attracted people since the Neolithic (ca. 5000-2500 B.C.), and a fortress first built during the Bronze Age (2500-1300 B.C.) was in use until A.D. 1500. Bedouin still camp there year-round. [...] It was very possibly one of the cities that gave birth to the Ubar myth." Molton Brown advertise the scent thusly: "Take a journey into the origins of perfume, weaving through history, following the ancient spice trails, stopping to inhale the aromas at key co-ordinates along the path. A labyrinth of memories, sensations and the most precious of ingredients, bought into the here and now by Molton Brown. A thousand Arabian nights in a city beneath the sand; a legend bathed in golden slumber. The forgotten spectacle of trading glory, rediscovered in the heady oil of oudh, brooding and rich. Exquisitely refined orris laced with decadent notes of saffron; smoky wisps of precious frankincense aroma snaking from polished vessels." This perfume is perhaps one of my very best blind buys. An instant love. Love at first sniff. It is incredibly well executed and I believe it to contain high-quality ingredients (hence the seemingly ridiculous high price; I got mine for a very good price but I would gladly pay the full retail price, especially as the perfume now seems so difficult to acquire.) After reading the ad copy and after smelling this scent, I was instantly reminded of The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. “And all the names of the tribes, the nomads of faith who walked in the monotone of the desert and saw brightness and faith and colour. The way a stone or found metal box or bone can become loved and turn eternal in a prayer. Such glory of this country she enters now and becomes a part of. We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves. I wish for all of this to be marked on my body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography—to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience. All I desired was to walk upon such an earth that had no maps.” It is a small tragedy that this perfume is not more well known. A greater tragedy that it is now discontinued, (although I think that it was only ever meant to be a limited edition). I will savour the 50mls and once it has all gone, I will think of one of the advertising taglines to the screenplay of The English Patient: "In memory, love lives forever".

EOh snap!!! I'm in love big time with this fragrance. I always foolishly overlook Molton Brown as a 'serious' fragrance contender but this is incredible stuff. As soon as I smelled the stunning opening I was like "Wow! Oud!" Not what I was expecting at the price point, until I realised this one is more pricey than the others in this range and it makes sense too, the quality is evident immediately. Yeah anyway is a kind of spice bizarre of Oud, sandalwood, with saffron coming on stronger and stronger as it settles, heady almost plasticky, earthiness The saffron is almost too much even for me and it's one of my favourite ingredients. Seriously the balance in Shisur is just right making it potent and smooth at the same time. I've smelled a few fragrances similar to this before but nothing quite the same, I'm a total sucker for Oud and saffron, then sandalwood and spices, put them all together and basically I'm happy, certainly in this context the Oud & Saffron smells quite different to even one of my big favourites MFK Oud. Superb Molton Brown! Well done and no doubt I will have to get this fragrance it is immense!!! I don't even have to wait for it to drydown to know it will take me on a journey of hedonistic, woody pleasure. Take me now Shisur I'm all yours! Update: as predicted the saffron smooths out and gets silkier, the Oud and sandalwood create a warm, sweet, humming bed of loveliness. I think I'm going to get this. It isn't cheap £95 for 50mls but I'm enjoying it so much I don't think I can pass it up? Longevity is good but it's a very subtle skin scent, but I'm more than happy with the performance. The testers I tried had some really poor sprayers but the actual bottle is nice looking and the TDH style twisting lock sprayer is an innovative and nice touch (providing you get one that functions correctly!) from Molton Brown adding value to what is quality scent already but perhaps needs that perception of quality to achieve such a price. Although having said that the rest of the line are in these bottles and some are only £65...anyway nevermind.

If someone new to the unusual charms of aoud fragrances was to ask me for a suggestion then I'm pretty sure that Shisur would be pretty high on my list of recommendations. The agarwood note takes centre stage and is flanked, tamed, even by cedar and saffron, making it inoffensive, yet in no way uninteresting nor subdued. It's a perfectly modern oriental for European tastes - think of a weekend perusing the Medina of Morocco and staying in a boutique hotel, as opposed to an intrepid backpacking journey through say, Iran or Yemen. I'm sure more discerning aoud fans would overlook Shisur, though that's not to say it isn't a quality fragrance. In fact, it's beautiful, and could even, dare I say, rival the offerings by Tom Ford. Now, as far as sillage and longevity are concerned, I can't complain. I've been spritzing my sample of Shisur over the past couple of evenings and with a few sprays inside the elbows, it's woody-spicy scent lingers round me for a good 6(ish) hours. Surprisingly, the fragrance is rather suited to summer evenings here in the mild UK climate, and takes me away to a land of wind and sand. All in all, Shisur is a safe yet interesting, completely genderless fragrance. It's perfect for those new to or apprehensive about aoud as it straddles the line between modern, mainstream oriental and something more niche and extraordinary. A very appealing take on the aoud trend and one of my favourite characters in Molton Brown's Navigations Through Scent line. Ps, I also really like the hint of caraway in this fragrance. I rarely see it in fragrances with aoud notes, yet it really works!

Shisur is woody-smoky oriental with touch of dried fruits, devoted to Arabian night. It is like refined version of Sarah Parkers "Stash", - not everyone's piece of cake, but I love both, yet prefer more sophisticated Shisur. It is more relaxed and less herbal. Yet "Stash" is more long-lasting on me. The oud here does not have skanky animalic odour , but a bit like dark hot stones, hot sand, hot earth. Nicely done olibanum, it definitely has mysterious dark vibe, yet not overpowers the wearer.

gorgeous well balanced scent, just picked up in tk maxx as blind buy, got it for £30. what a bargain , hope it's not discontinued, is really class