Grand Musk

Pana Dora is such a wonderful discovery for me. After the instant love of Imperial Wood, I figured I'd throw myself off the deep end, because that's just how I am! I'll be forward and honest: musk and I have a love/hate relationship. As much as I can enjoy some white musk or clean "laundry musk" (Initio's Musk Therapy or MFK's 724), whenever real musk or black musk is involved, I turn tail and run the opposite direction. So Grand Musk was a huge gamble for me, given how it features actual deer musk. But I do enjoy a good rose fragrance, so I put my trust in perfumer Ibrahim Al Zoabi and in what I had seen from the brand on the net and from my experience with Imperial Wood. To be frank, the first sprays were... quite challenging. You do get that musk and it doesn't hold back. However, I will say that I surprised myself at not finding it as challenging as some vintage animalic fragrances. This is no Kouros or Antaeus! In this case, I would say that the rose here helps me tremendously. I love rose and this is very rose-forward to my nose. This initial blast of animalic musk starts to calm down quickly, though. 15 minutes in and already all I get is a very floral musk+rose combo with a background of musk but not a dirty musk, a very floral musk. The guaiac wood probably contribute to that oud-like "funk". Although to be honest, as someone who didn't especially think Amouage's King Blue was that much challenging, I'm probably not the best compass when it comes to skanky oud. About the musk, in my exploration, I've gotten a sniff at Zoologist's Musk Deer and this is quite reminiscent of it, a very floral, fruity musk. The fruity I mean here is that there's a certain "tartness" which I pick up when I go in close. Blueberry...? Later on, I get spices as well in Grand Musk, giving it even more of a Middle-Eastern vibe. Anyhow, an hour in, this is incredible. Beautiful, masterfully blended musk+rose, very typical Middle-Eastern vibes which is right up my alley. If you like rosy fragrances in the lines of Frank Olivier's Oud Vanille (I somehow get reminded of that quite a bit, which despite the name is mostly rose) or to a lesser extent, MFK's Oud Satin Mood, you will be right at home here. I wouldn't necessarily say this is "niche". This is a just very well done, typical Middle-Eastern fragrance DNA. Those who do not like Middle-Eastern perfumes (or rose), stray far away, this will challenge you and you probably will not enjoy it. This also lasts forever! The next morning, I still had it on my skin. As expected from the rose/musk combo, this projects like a beast for at least the first 3-4 hours. So be wary, if you take the plunge, you commit to it. It's vain to even try to scrub this one off! So yes, this is most definitely not for everybody. This is challenging especially in the opening and those who don't like Middle-Eastern fragrances should beware. Personally, this is a second homerun for this brand as I'm all the more excited to explore the rest of the line!

Bought this blind and it didn’t disappoint. On me the musk sits close to the skin while the floral/sweetness lifts and creates a pleasant sillage. I sprayed it 3x and went to work, 30min after leaving home my wife texted me and asked which cologne I used with the drool 🤤 emoji. Performance is a solid 7hrs then the sweet floral notes sit closer to the skin with the unwavering musk. I’ve worn it a few times to work and receive consistent compliments. It’s a different kind of scent and I like different. Even though this blind buy worked for me, I wouldn’t suggest it unless you enjoy surprises. Quality materials and perfuming mastery went into this bottle, for the price this is definitely worth the cost.

Genuine Deer musk in the base (per the brand). Fairly complex and rich although floral elements soften it up without smelling like a floral perfum. Lavender and blue berries also soften it up. Rose is there, some animalics are there. The drydown of musk is the crowd jewl and smells amazing. I went through a 5ml and decided I needed a whole bottle. I can't comment on comparisons to Frederic Malle the night or Octavian, but it does remind me a bit of Roja Aoud. ××××××××××××××××××××××××××× Scent 92/100 Performance 85/100 ××××××××××××××××××××××××××× 🫎

My first from the house, oh lord the quality, the blending, the opulence and depth, yes the rumours about how obscenely delicious this perfumer is are true, I immediately purchased Orchestra and SKadi, which are on their way, I blind bought this, and it is a masterpiece, so I'm backing on the other 2 blind buys being the same. I will update this after ive had a week or two wear....

Extremely similar to Electimuss "Octavian". Not sure which came first but they're both rich, gorgeous, long-lasting, phenomenal. They open slightly different from each other but I wouldn't be able to tell you one from the other in the dry down. Worth purchasing as it has the Pana Dora quality, but if you happened to also own "Octavian", likely redundant to have both.