Habdan

HOLY SHIT one of my best blind-buys ever...This basically all the best PDMs in one It has the juicy apple from Carlisle and Layton, the creamy facets of carlisle, the dark powdery tobacco of herod (WITH the slight pooey vibe), and the warm resinous spices of Oajan. From the moment I smell it I directly associated it to Herod the most, it really feels like an elevated, sultry Herod flanker (with better performance) more than anything else, Its a more denser/ambery/warm spicey version of herod basically. But you can readily smell all the other PDMs in here. Literally my dream come true omfg. If you love the PDM dna and love all the men's PDMs, this is gonna be extremely hard to dislike. On the density/freshness scale it goes like Layton, Carlisle, Herod, Habdan, Oajan for me (this also reflects the spectrum of masculine to feminine with oajan being on the feminine end). As u can see Habdan falls into the more cold-season end bc of the ambery resins and spiciness, but the apple and saffron adds some freshness back and honestly id wear it anytime of the year Its attractive to smell on anyone bc its unisex leaning masculine but not too much. It has the perfect texture and consistency, and has the addictive qualities of all the other pdms thrown into one. I thought of getting this over a year ago but never got to it, I blind bought after all this time yesterday and it actually sickens me to know what I was missing hahaha. If you see my other reviews you'll know I wear carlisle with grand soir- a straight up warm spicey amber scent. Habdan is almost that in one bottle, a dark tobacco with warm spicey amber. I was literally wearing those two this whole time to recreate HABDAN??? (ofc theres no patchouli here which is the star in Carlisle but still ur nose really focuses all the similarities). I'm delighted this exists and I love the whole PDM range and each creation being similar with little tweaks to tend to every individual's preferences/vibe. Pdm and initio both are definitely my fav houses ever. And I hope we can continue to keep habdan the underrated secret. This is gonna end up being one of my signature scents i wear all year, and along with carlisle the only one I keep repurchasing

Another banger from Pdm!! I love Pdms, i own 5 of them, i tried almost every offering and i have to say that this brand delivers! They are getting some hate from the nichesnobs in the community that they are not inspired enough and smell like designers but i have to say that most of Roja, Xerjoff etc i own or tried (and i smelled a lot of them) are not challenging fragrances and a lot of them are "inspired" by designers. Habdan is a really beautiful and unique fragrance. It starts with a blast of fresh green caramel apple with spices and after a while the amber becomes the main player. It's an ambery, smokey scent with olibanum but this apple note difference this from anything i smelled before. It keeps it fresh and makes it more versatile, it's gourmand but not a full gourmand like many pdms. In the base there is a light woody base. I find similarities with other Pdm fragrances like the cinnamon-caramel in Oajan, the amber in Carlisle, the incense in Herod, the fresh spicy apple of Layton but it doesn't smell like any of them. Reviews say that it's close to Oajan but i don't aggre, there are similarities but it's differend and it has not this gourmand baklava scent of Oajan. Performance is good, not the best performing pdm but it's there. I get about 8-9 hours longevity and moderate projection. It's better suited for fall or winter but the freshness here makes it really versatile. I can imagine me wearing it in a cool summer night and be amazing! You can wear it day or night, everywhere, in the office if you control your sprays and it could be a signature scent. It's very unique but at the same time very easy to like, so it will get positive attention and compliments. Overall, i really love Habdan and enjoy wearing it. It has the complexity, the quality and the unique factor i look in a niche luxury fragrance. I love most of the fall and winter Pdm offerings and this is one of the best. A semi-gourmand, fruity, spicy, ambery, smokey, woody oriental that deserves more attention! Give this a try!

I forgot that I had a new bottle of Hadban downstairs in the Scent Armory (purchased this past Summer) waiting to be opened this Fall. It's like an early Christmas! Well, I opened it yesterday and wore it last night...and again this morning. First take is that it's really nice but it didn't grab me by the short-hairs and scream, "Take me home, sailor!" LOL! Don't get me wrong...Habdan is very nice but, like some have mentioned, Habdan cannot make up its mind whether it is a gourmand or a balsamic/incense fragrance. I should immediately love this one since I am a huge incense fan and not-so-much the sweeter fragrances. However, if I'm going to do a gourmand then I would rather jump right in and wear something like Dior Feve Delicieuse or, better yet, Hermes Ambre Narguile for that Dutch Apple Pie vibe. And if I want incense (frankincense, myrrh, etc.) then I'm apt to go with something like Tom Ford Sahara Noir, Montale Kabul Oud, Rouge Bunny Rouge Embers, Comme des Garcons Avignon, etc. Regardless, Habdan appears to have struck a really nice balance between an apple-pie vibe covered with caramel and brown sugar, while wrapped in a resinous/incense background with a whisper of saffron. Again, super nice...but too early to tell if this hits the right spot---for me---but I'm sure it's going to be well-received by others because it is ultra pleasing, ultra smooth, and a quality fragrance. Performance is solid on my skin in that it lasts 7-8 hours, but not as good as others I have from Parfums de Marly. Likewise, projection is average to slightly above-average. To be honest, it makes a perfect date/intimate fragrance for the Fall/Winter seasons. Update: I had a little more time to spend with Haban and I'm loving it more and more. Offhand, I would say that it is my 2nd favorite Parfums de Marly scent right behind Herod. Of course, I just cracked-open my bottle of Darley early this morning and loved it immediately. So many great perfumes from this house.

Unlike many reviews on this site, this is one where almost everybody is totally right. This was the first "niche" fragrance I ever purchased, and it totally changed the game for me as someone that was interested since my youth in designer fragrances. It was brand new at the time, and a rather pushy salesperson roped me in to smelling some. My brain could not register how beautiful these fragrances were, one after another. I was broke at the time, and my thought was, well, no better time than to burn my last few bucks on something to cheer me up, it was so expensive and so illogical, just the thing to shake things up. This fragrance not only inspired an obsession, but many years later, is still one of the best of all time, amidst a growing collection and countless sniffing trips to the shops. It's so good, criminally un-talked-about, it doesn't last very long however, and apparently doesn't impress others. It's like the cinematic masterpiece Children Of Paradise, I can't believe people don't get it, but it gives me so much satisfaction that some group of artists somewhere made this for me to enjoy. One of a few perfumes that makes me actually feel quite special, not just smelling nice. A magical blend of sweet, spicy and animal. Incredible. Update 2022: I got my first bottle of this in 2014, wrote my review looks like in 2021. Still in my top 5. I have enough experience now to pick out notes. The body of this scent is a rich, authentic, luxurious saffron unlike any I have found in another fragrance. The base is a modern sandalwood, crisp and dry. The rose note is distant, and the gourmand aspect of caramel and apple, given a green boost by a touch of patchouli, yields a faint spearmint. The image I get very strongly in my mind is the smell of spearmint gum in the pocket of a black leather jacket worn by a chic woman that wears sandalwood perfume. Smells feminine to me but I wear it without reservation.

Habdan! One of my favorite fragrances! An absolutely classy and refined gentleman's fragrance of amazing quality, skill and sophistication. A Masterpiece. I would classify it as an amber, spicy and fruity fragrance. It has that PDM DNA (sweet, clean, smooth and long lasting) as well as being fresh, dry and soft. The opening treats you to beautiful apple acetates that give it it's freshness smoothed out by the dry sweet and elegant resinous sweetness complemented by the soft and cool metallic spiciness of saffron that blends seemlessly with the woody and resionus core. In terms of notes Habdan smells of myrhh, green apple, olibanum, saffron and soft unburnt caramel backed up by a smooth woody base. The resins elevate the fragrance and give it a ''spiritual dymension'' that make it quite ethereal and heavenly. It doesn't change too much but it radiates softly throughout it's duration of about 8 hours. Don't expect a beast mode fragrance because it isn't it. This is a signature fragrance for a man of exquisite taste, that knows what he wants and isn't trying to get other people's approval. It's a very unique fragrance that resonates with me deeply. The fragrance epitomises the ideal of masculine nobility. It's suitable for all season although it suits best to autumn and is too soft and delicate for winter. Nontheless I would wear it even in summer for a more formal and sophisticated occasion. It would be an amazing office fragrance for a more sophisticated man in a high position. I think it is absolutely worth the price. The amount of naturals and high quality of ingredients coupled with the skill of the perfumer as well as good performance make it worth the money.