As Sawira

Penhaligon's does oud. Yes, I rolled my eyes and groaned too. I was wrong to do so. Not only did As Sawira turn out to be better than I could ever have imagined, it is also one of the better westernised oud fragrances I’ve come across. A couple of things to note. Levantium, another offering from the Trades Routes collection, shares many of the same notes but is fresher and more floral in outlook. It’s pretty good in its own right but with ylang-ylang and peach replaced by carnation and labdanum, As Sawira is the superior fragrance: better blended, more rounded and, for want of a better word, meatier. Second, As Sawira is played with a straight bat. You’re not getting an inventive take on oud; balance and refinement are key instead. The oud note itself is very good, with depth and dimension that is hard to credit, especially for what almost certainly is a synthetic variant. It’s at once medicinal, sour, bitter, smoky and almost oily (in addition to being woody, of course) and even imparts a touch of rot. The lead attraction still needs able backup, however, and the rest of As Sawira’s composition isn't found wanting. Saffron and myrrh bookend the fragrance, a recognition of fine spice and resin bartered off as luxurious commoditites in seaports of yore. Davana and wormwood represent the swirling fumes of rum, whiskey and absinthe (and the salty sailor). The florals don’t interfere much but their presence is a pacifying nod in the direction of decorum. Labdanum is nicely rendered, adding hints of incense and leather. The fragrance’s transitions are modest. You’re getting pretty much the same aromas albeit in adjusted proportions. Only right at the end does the oud lose its potency, joined by sandalwood, cedar (a little ho-hum) and barely sweet amber. Longevity is at least 8 hours on my skin, but projection is below average for an EDP. Don't expect a powerhouse. With As Sawira, Penhaligon’s have struck it rich. Edited: for brevity and also because my enthusiasm has waned a little in the interim. I still find it to be a fine fragrance, nonethless.

1:45 - Morning perfume died, giving this one a try. Opens with a heavy saffron in a woodsy note (not the oud yet) and myrrh. Amusingly, before I looked at the notes, the floral brought to mind carnations but now that I think about it, I can't be sure I know what carnations even smell like. Five minutes later and it's getting more oud-y and myrrh-y, which I'm totally down for. I can smell the bergamot but I'm pretending I can't on the hope that it'll feel ignored and fade into the background. It has a bad habit of going aggressively masculine on me. Smells better on my clothes than on my skin, which is kinda awesome because it smells pretty wonderful on my skin. On my clothes it has that strangely addictive, want to bury my nose in it but it also smells like gasoline, thing that some scents have. On my skin, the amber is quickly establishing dominance. 4 - I've never had something smell so completely differently on my skin than on my clothes. Honestly, the dry down on my skin is now boring. It rapidly went through several delightful phases on the way to a pleasantly light amber with a tinge of not-oud wood. Nothing offensive or bad, and a step above "meh", but nothing to write home about. On my clothes it's a robust oud-rose and still gorgeous. I want this in some sort of sachet to make all my clothes smell like this all the time. It's much cleaner smelling than most of the oud-rose perfumes I come across, almost herbal. some point later - it's now my third day straight wearing this. I think it might be addictive. Also, getting compliments so guess it isn't just me? Sometimes it comes across as an amber and patchouli combo, sometimes an oud and rose. Super comforting in cold weather.

I’m so glad that this is still easy to find, but also see why it was discontinued. To me this scent is almost pure saffron which is something I had been looking for for ages, but if you’re not obsessed with saffron this probably won’t be too exciting. It’s a really creamy comforting saffron, and to me I find that all the other notes blend together really nicely to form a base for the saffron without standing out themselves. When I look at the notes I can get a bit of rose and oud which stay in the background. I love these notes but I am wary about them as I have so many fragrances where rose and oud overpower everything else, but that’s not the case with this one. The myrrh gives it an incensey smell but not smokey at all, so I think that’s where I get the smooth, slightly sweet creaminess from along with the amber. The floral notes make this a bit lighter and more like something you’d want to smell of, rather than just a spice cupboard. I always get compliments on this and it seems to project really far and lasts a long time too. Overall, pure saffron made smooth, warm, incensey and slightly sweet. A great performer, unisex and would smell amazing on anyone. 10/10 and an instant favourite.

Although Sawira looks like Laventium a lot, it is more intensive and the quality is more. Sawira lasts more than Laventium and projects more. I suppose that Sawira is a richer version of Laventium. Sawira is limited and is a better choice in comparison with Laventium.Sawira has a rich scent of Oud and Saffron which have made it a luxury and nice perfume for all seasons. اس ساویرا بسیار مشابه لاونتیوم است منتها غنی تر و کیفیت پرفیوم بالاتری داره انگار تمام اون شدت عوودی لاونتیوم تا حدودی بالانس شده پخش و ماندگاری ساویرا از لاونتیوم بیشتره و میشه یه نسخه بسیار غنی از لاونتیوم دانست در حال حاظر فروش و تعداد تولید (لمیتد)ساویرا آین شاهکار پنهالیگن محدوده ولی قطعا انتخاب بهتری است در مقایسه با لاونتیوم .. ساویرا عوود و زعفرانش بسیار بالاس خوبی داره و میتونه یه کار بسیار شیک و بیآزار برا تمام فصول استفاده بشه میتونم لاونتیوم رو ای دی پی و در مقابلش اس ساویرا رو پرفیوم خالص درنظر گرفت ساویرا تولیدش مجدوده وبسختی پیدا میشه سمپل ارجینال جهت تست موجود است

First impression here, As Sawira open strong and amazing, the Oud is very balanced and smells like the good Oud we use in Arabia. I smelled Levantium before, but it didn't catch my heart as As Sawira. Now it does smell really good, but I can't be sure about longevity and projection as of now. My past experience with Levantium was not so great in terms of projection quality and lasting. So I am hoping I get more from As Sawira. Being in Penhaligon's is always amazing, the sale staff are always generous when you are curious and they are well knowledged (Kudos Edinburgh branch). I got my sample and I will be smelling it for the coming days and might come back to update my review if i see it necessary. Would i buy it as of now? No, i got many other Oud based fragrances and I don't feel like getting As Sawira. But i highly recommend taking a trip to the nearest branch to give it a try.

To be honest, As Sawira does smell similar to Levantium but more balsamic, floral and the notes are more balanced and much rounder. Maybe because of the higher fragrance concentration, as an EDP instead EDT, I found it took a much longer time for the scent to fully develop comparing to Levantium and that actually worked better on my cooler than average skin. For some unknown reasons, both As Sawira and Levantium are selling at the same price (HK$1,700) in Hong Kong although As Sawira is selling for £150/100ml at Penhaligon's site, which is £30 more expensive than Levantium. Although these two fragrances are similar and I already have Levantium, as it was such a rare deal, I could not resist but got myself a bottle of this gorgeous scent. Besides, the box of this fragrance is made of real wood and more beautifully made comparing to any other Penhaligon's fragrances.

It's tragic that this oud-for-oud-skeptics scent did not take off. Powdery and deep, As Sawira blends oud with a variety of spices and florals while never diminishing that central ingredient. The saffron opener is jaw-dropping and the dry down to myrrh, amber, and labdanum makes it feel decadent. So many fragrances belabor oud, positioning it as the stand-out – often only – recognizable note. As Sawira, however, makes oud the soloist of an outstanding ensemble. With all of these moving parts, it does strike me as an "older" perfume, and I understand why people find it a generic, dated fragrance. I, however, read it as a welcome return to a by-gone era of fragrance when we embraced complexity in our scents. Unfortunately, since it's discontinued, it looks like I will have to make my bottle last.

Cold weather is starting to build up and I always reach out to my warm oriental fragrances to keep me warm and As Sawira is one of them. As Sawira for me is pure Oriental. Some reviews are too critical with As Sawira, I myself find it comforting and warm. This fragrance is something you have to wait to evolve, the first spray is strong but it simply mellows down to deep floral and woodsy notes. Great longevity and mellow silage. Sometimes you just need people to get close enough to notice your perfume, it makes the scent more intriguing. ....but one must consider never to over indulge in spraying oriental fragrances like this.

Why oh why must this beauty be discontinued? What a lovely scent of oud rose saffron myrrh that left me wanting more. Everything seemed so perfect. Penhaligon doesn’t have anything as wonderful as this in its current line so why not bring this beauty back?

If anyone has this fragrance and is willing to sell it, please message me

As Sawira was a greatly anticipated fragrance for me but has failed to deliver slightly just based on the note breakdown I was expecting. I should've known really with Penhaligon's scents it's all about the blend and they are seldom heavy with one note. I was hoping for tons of saffron, myrrh, oud, amber etc... and although it contains these rich ingredients they are blended into obscurity. Don't get me wrong this is a great smelling fragrance, really, really excellent and I would be lavishing praise on it had I not smelled and subsequently bought Levanthium at the back end of last year. They are just different enough, but still extremely similar I get a mixture of florals and rose with oud and woods. Very elegant and delicately put together and vaguely reminiscent of Tom Ford Noir de noir. The main difference here is that the woodiness and oud has been amped up slightly and the whole thing just comes over slightly more masculine and oud focused that Levantium. If they were the same price I might have been kicking myself that I didn't wait for this one (had I known they would be quite similiar.) however I feel slightly vindicated as this is considerably more expensive at £150 for 100ml's. For this reason I don't think you are getting quite the value compared to other oud/rose and high end luxury scents that are out there for the same price. I can't fault Penhaligon's on the fragrances themselves because they smell great and are inventively blended (especially the men's) but this one has let me down slightly just because I was expecting something magical and the results were just okay. Lasting power is good but so is Levantium I'm happy with that and it's slightly more herbal, sourness.

Opens HARD and really disjointed. Over the top saffron dominates and the bergamot comes up almost sour. It takes about an hour to settle in but when it does the florals come through and it’s gorgeous. The dry down is even better: good quality Oud and incesce that’s more spicy than sweet. Very nicely done. After wearing it a few times I can say that the key to this fragrance is to apply it moderately to lightly... no more than two or three sprays. Over application will take it from beautiful to sickening really quick. On my fragrance sucking skin I get a good 8 hours and sillage is a decent arms length. Reading the reviews makes me think folks might be over applying before it has a chance to air out and open up. While it isn’t my FAVORITE fragrance it totally deserves a slot in the cooler weather rotation as one of the nicest orientals out there. And if you like a mellow Oud in a spicy incense fragrance that smells manly without making you smell like a church, a headshop, or a Greek bakery you will love this one.

Very floral. Notes of rose; geranium, it's green and powdery with lemon citrus aromas. Smells "Oriental," has incense and something a little narcotic, I thought poppy but the note breakdown would suggest labdanum. Spices, musk, more citrus, some bitter vanilla. Rose note intensifies and is quite spiky, scent becomes very powdery. Lemon is still present, maybe lime and grapefruit too? Notes of lemonade detectable before something herbaceous develops (sage?) On the skin it's surprisingly zesty with prominent citrus notes. Performance is good, projection about 2 feet and lasts on skin for around 10+hrs. Unisex, possibly leaning feminine, but not too much. Fine all year night or day. Too much for the office though. Has a touch of maturity, best for someone 28+. At times it reminded me of vintage "YSL Opium for women," (but that was unisex in IMO.) Overall a complex Middle Eastern style fragrance that's both refined and memorable.

This is the first oud, I liked. Honestly, oud is just not my thing. My husband is also suspicious to this note, especially after trying Bond's "New York Oud" on his skin:) Oud is like boring classic literature for me. I know, that this is praised, full-bodied, a must try, trendy, etc, etc, I agree, I nod my head and go back to my beloved florals. But I suddenly liked As Sawira. Immediately. It is so earthy, dry, balmy, woody...ahhh. I guess I can even love oud, made like this. It is quite intense and it stays with me for at least 4 hours, even though I use a miniature splash bottle. I don't think I would get a big bottle with a sprayer, this could be too much for me. But I love Penhaligon's mini-bottles, the cap allows to apply a just right amount of perfume onto the skin. So it's a big like for me personally, but still, as most of the oud-perfumes, not a safe blind buy.

Having limited experience with oud, I feel that I want to smell more of this type. As Sawira seems to scream. There is no way that people around you won't smell this. That oud scent is so strong that it could be nauseating. I squirt the tiniest amount and still smell it a bit the next day. Also, this scent makes me sneeze. If its a chemical oud, I must be allergic. I haven't decided if it smells good...but it's definitely bold.

Oud and saffron opening are not that charming and gives you eastern vibes. I wish the carnation is more prominent than oud. After 2-3 hours, myrrh with a dash of rose and jasmine is lush and goes for another 3 hours. Performance is OK. Acts just like an EDT. 1-2 hours of projection and 6 plus hours longevity. No idea about sillage. If it was without oud, I'd consider purchasing it.

Oud, rose, and myrrh in the main, the dry down has some labdanum but the oud and rose remain constantly the most obvious scents on my skin. It's nice, and I do like wearing the sample I have, but it's not a love from me worthy of buying a full bottle. Moderate sillage (arm's length) and lasts around 6h.

Una rosa fumosa interessante ma molto sottile. Profumo senza sillage nè proiezione. Permane un leggero skinscent smoky, bello ma impalpabile. Una rosa sommessa, avvolta in volute di fumo lievissime. Un velo di oud, zafferano e labdano non pervenuti. Nebbioso, crepuscolare, evanescentissimo.

A woody spicy chypre that evokes the Middle Eastern Trade Routes. A bit too sweet and overdone in my humble opinion but it has good projection and sillage.

The opening is too much and I initially wrote it off, but the dry down is lovely and smells just like some perfumed oud chips I have.

Mmmm. My husband. Like Maroma's amber but more sophisticated. Warm, spicy- you can lose yourself in it! Lovely insence die down.

the thing I like about this scent is the packaking, further down the road it is definitely less interesting; frankly, I have no idea at all why this is listed as spicy and oud-y, and in which universe it is spicy oud, because it is approximately as oriental as a white traditional mainstream bar of soap; I think it might be liked by someone looking for daily scent that is inoffensive, delicate, clean, with tiny wisp of floral warmth, very proper, calm and traditional; but named As-Sawira and with those notes listed I expected much stronger excitement and got the equivalent of smelling soap; it is by no means an ugly scent, just a tad boring, I use it for situations when I need some fragrance equivalent of polite white noise, but for lovers of oud or spices it is an attempt at westernised oriental that is so sterilised it becomes obsolete; for such forgettable fragrance it is way overpriced

On my skin, As Sawira is all about a delicate rose, envelopped in a spice and myrrh cloud. Honestly, I struggle to spot any oud in that one (I guess people are confused with myrrh here), except maybe a hint in the drydown. But who cares... This is a nice one, imo designed for women. This would also fit the bill of an oud-containing fragrance for whom doesn't like oud. I may be in the minority here, but this one falls pretty flat for me. Performance is unfortunately questionably low, unacceptable at that price point. Should you be interested in a great rose with subtle round oud fragrance, I'd strongly suggest Halfeti over this one. For a realistic strong oud note supported by rose, Sohan is a no-brainer. Hard pass for me on this one.

I really don’t like this! A very, very mature rose! Like 50+ mature. Probably better on men too. It’s also very, very strong! Which typically is good, but when you don’t like a scent, it’s migraine-inducing. Not for me!

Sweet, sickly and really does flip my stomach over. It's the same with Levantium which is in fact the same scent in a different bottle. Don't be fooled.

The rose in this goes old lady rose quickly on my skin and dominates over everything else for me. Swing and a miss.

I tried this in the interest of trying to find an Oudh I'd like and feel able to wear in public. Takes a while to develop, and all the while, all I can think is Oudh. It tends to dominate. Everything its in. Even miniscule amounts. Oudh, saffron, and a bit of rose. Maybe a bit of musk and amber. And thats about it. Much like Levantium. It might've smelled interesting about seven or eight years ago, but not today... Now everthing is either boisee-sec or features Oudh. And if you're uber "lucky," you get both... And that's what bothers me. I wanted Penhaligon's. I got just "another Oudh." The craze is so pervasive that even people who don't take any (let a lone a passionate) interest in fragrances, take an interest in anything touted to contain Oudh. In a similar way to which boisee-sec reminds me of industrial fumes, solvents, and nail polish, Oudh reminds me of bandaids, Dettol disinfectant, parched desert air, petroleum byproducts, pine cones, and for some inexplicable reason, bitter old women.

I purchased the Trade Routes mini collection a couple of years ago and have had a chance to wear As Sawira many times in different weather conditions. Try as I might to talk myself into liking this scent, I just can't. So many notes that I love and adore, but in this particularly busy brew, all I smell is a very harsh, skreechy, commercial detergent aroma (the labdanum adds a camphorous bite), the oud is noticible, then the whole thing turns into a loud, nauseating rosey talcum powder. As Sawira, to my nose, is laundry detergent on steroids, unrelenting soapiness. I read that there is "maltol" in this stuff. I think this would be great as a commercial fragrance to add to laundry dryer sheets, or as an additive to a fabric softener. I'm not liking As Sawira as a personal fragrance, but I'll keep trying...My mini bottle is still 1/2 full.

I like it! It's in the same territory as your rose oud type of fragrances but not as samey as lots of those can be. It's a lot heavier on the saffron with the oud more in the background. I don't get as much of the rose as other people are seeming to - it's certainly present but it definitely isn't a rose bomb or anything on me. This lasts faaaar longer than my other Penhaligon's, too - projection still isn't great, you'll only really get wafts for a couple hours, but it's still a very detectable skin scent for me 10+ hours later. Edit: I'll upgrade this to a full blown love. Most everything I originally said about it still stands but there's just something about it, probably just the quality of the blend, that really puts it over the top for me.

At first spray it opens very strong - a heady mix of myrrh and saffron alongside a overwhelming rush of floral. I can see why this would put some people off. But I have learnt not to judge a perfume from it’s first minutes. As it warms on my skin and calms down it develops very quickly to a deep, complex, spicy concoction of oriental oud, spicy rose, grounded by a earthiness. It is perfectly balanced and I feel that I am wafting in a warm floral cloud throughout the day. A little goes a long way as this unlike some other penhaligons fragrances has very good sillage. I enjoy it also on my husband, who doesn’t like it as much but has received compliments wearing it. This was one of the best blind buys I’ve made.

Despite the listed floral notes, the drydown is not especially floral, though a bit powdery, and I'd call this a "masculine floral" if I had to use traditional language to describe it. Where it shines is in the balance, which is just right, and it's not very strong (though the longevity is quite good), so it doesn't get sickening (which is sometimes the case with these kinds of oud scents). The only negative is that I might be able to get a very similar effect by spraying on less of another scent of this type that I already have. Far into the drydown, it's mostly an ambery oud scent. So, if you really dislike redundancy and have a couple or more of these kinds of scents, you might want to sample first.

This starts off with a heavy dosage of oud and saffron to the point where it smells like nail polish. Once the saffron fades into the background, a lemony rose emerges along side the oud. At this moment, the descending sillage is becoming more and more apparent thus venturing to skin scent territory. As I sniff my arm I ask myself, "What do I think"? Ehh...It's ok. Not something that makes me stash away a couple of pay checks. It's a been there, done that and still doing it kinda perfume. More Macy's and Dillards than it is Niche. Not as androgynous as advertised, suited more comfortably with the women crowd. Loaded with florals and a barely noticeable trace of balsams, sounds pretty feminine to me.

Not bad actually. But it may just be my skin giving this a weird slant. For me this is like a oud and saffron combo that almost feels a bit leathery and has quite a barnyard kick to it. Yes perhaps it is late to the oud trend but it's not a bad one. Just to note also, I sampled this at Penhaligons in Cambridge and the staff were fantastic, there was mulled wine and mince pies (in little dainty teacups!) and plenty of samples. The staff were both very knowledgeable and honest, certainly not pushy like some! Whilst I'm not thrilled by some of the new releases I cannot fault their approach or service!

absolutely; it has the same DNA as levantium. unforch, both tread water in a sea of derivative 'been-there-smelt-that' familiarity. penhaligon's was quite late to the 'oud' party, and as always, if you don't lead the pack, you play catch-up, which results in people 'having smelt' this somewhere before already. it's not bad (much more bearable than levantium), but with that said, neither are amazing. nothing new, and yet not amazing. the resins are front and centre, there's a balsamic 'fizzle' going on, but other than that, it's quite generic. nice. ish.

Penhaligon makes an attempt to woo the Middle Eastern market, like everybody else. This is their take on an attar. Having said that, it is not bad - more wearable, downscaled oud/saffron combo, plus a few other things in the background. Much more wearable than, say, Montale or Amouage creations which are more potent, with stronger projection. But those are also more interesting or authentic or original. Good lasting power, pleasant throughout, not over the top and a bit different from the run of the mill oud fragrances everybody does.

As Sawira has a similar drydown to John Varvatos Dark Rebel, although I appreciate that this is less sweet, but Dark Rebel is a lot more special. I'm well aware that this is more oud based and Dark Rebel is leather based, but to my nose, it's hard to distinguish. Sawaira fetches niche prices, and for me it would be a great fragrance for sub $50. Considering the price: ⭐⭐⭐

I blind bought this one in Penhaligon’s sales and it is definitely not my thing. It’s very sweet, powdery and a tiny bit oud. The rose here is very prominent. To me it’s a bit outdated and old. It smells like something my nan would wear.

It's like they took levantium and made it richer, and in stronger concentration (EDP instead of EDT). For me, I prefer As Sawira over Levantium as it's slightly richer and lasts longer, but they're nearly identical really.

رز، عود و زعفران معنوی معنوی حال و هوای کربلا ----------- Scent & Qualiy: 7/10 Longevity: 7/10 Sillage: 7/10 Creativity & Uniqueness: 6/10 Affordability: 4/10 ----------- Overall:6.2/10

an immaculate balance of this perfume's holy trio: saffron, carnation, and oud - supported by the other notes, of course. mildly soapy, moderately soft, and extremely captivating.

This is still a unique scent that I haven’t experienced before. It’s not dominant in an Oud sense’ but it has a mystery all of its own. One day it will be sought after.

with better sillage and duration it could have been a masterpiece, but it is just an overpriced skin scent!