Muscat

Muscat from the English House of High Luxury Perfumery Ormonde Jayne is part of the 'La Route De La Soie' collection, it is an Oriental Spicy Amber Smoky Balsamic perfume. Inspired by the city of Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman. The perfume already starts by rejecting the usual citrus and floral springboard and instead opting directly for main notes of amber persuasion; sensual and fiery. It opens warm and spicy with a striking saffron and a juicy sweet date setting the tone, and tempered by cinnamon and cardamom, all well blended. I already liked it right away! The delicious dessert halwa, an Arabic sweet with sesame permeated by a mist, with the arrival of incense of excellent quality, begin to smoke the ingredients wonderfully and brings me flashes with a slight bitterness of an oriental black tea. A semi-gourmand fragrance. A smoky woody oud is present but without difficulties that with moss adds more depth, a very discreet rose supporting that removes any possibility of the fragrance becoming just another 'Oud & Rose' combo. A beautiful and delightful Ambaresco, Spicy, Smoky, Balsamic perfume; flirting with the gourmet without actually becoming; Perfect balance between sweetness, spices, incense and green wood. Excellent Quality and Great Performance!

Muscat was a total blind buy during the Black Friday sales last year, during which I secured a brand new bottle for just £65 - an insatiable steal. I did not know what to expect, but I was very surprised by what I smelled, for it was instantly recognisable - Oud For Greatness by Initio. It’s got the exact same overwhelmingly sweet saffron note, so much saffron it fills a room with ease and hangs in your nostrils endlessly. However whilst OFG goes in a slightly spicy direction, Muscat leans into the dry, incense-y facet with more prominence, as well as the oud accord being more noticeable. Oud For Greatness was a scent I used to own and love, but eventually grew tired of the DNA and sold it on. It feels good to own this scent profile again, but one that feels improved and more refined whilst still retaining its impressive performance.

I love this! The guy underneath the guy underneath me speak facts. The drydown is better than Haltane. To me Haltane dries down to a basic masculine shower scent. Muscat stays woody, incensy and unique. It doesn’t have the lasting power of OfG but it is a better scent to my nose, thanks in part I think to the halva note. It has a more animalic opening than OfG, which I like, but that only lasts for 15 mins. I also don’t go nose blind to this like I do with OfG.

A flaky, buttery, syrupy pastry stuffed with sticky dates and enlivened with a light dusting of cinnamon. The slightly smokey oud and rose accord at its heart manages to avoid generic banalities. Saffron and cardamom are used with a deft touch. The fragrance draws us by the nose into the tangled ancient alleyways of the souk where reality and illusion are magically entwined. I love it!

Very beautiful fragrance, it does have a strong resemblance with Oud for Greatness in the opening, but as it dries down, you can smell more of the incense and the sweet notes/vanilla. It starts spicy with the cinnamon and saffron, but that dies down after the first 30 min, and it becomes a beautiful oud, rose, incense and vanilla fragrance. I think it's a must try.