Anatolia Anatolia

O, Anatolia Anatolia! You deserve all the A's: absolutely amazing, astonishing, adorable ambered ambrosia ambiance that you are. As someone who loved Turkish Leather, the OG, and admired Anatolia, the daddy, this Mk 3 retooling of the central idea from Prin has effectively perfected the formula. Not just because of the super-duper strength of the doubled oud and insanely robust performance of its extra-extrait concentration, but because - despite that whhhomp of heavy business when first sprayed - it is paradoxically goes a little more restrained on the icing-sugar-dusted sweetness, and so develops a little (just a very little) more discreetly as a wear. Despite lasting nearly forever (it will last for WEEKS on organic-fibre clothes, trust me), this one doesn't give me the occasional headache that Anatolia 1 can induce. The oud is solidly, robustly present but not half as sourly reeky or nearly-cheesy as it can be in other Prin concoctions; here, it's bizarrely almost ... mellow? Same goes for the suede, which seems a little more tamed and less raw. Possibly the cinnamon and honey are smoothing things out a bit compared to the other edits. Best of all, the slight tang of apple brings something more rounded and even (whisper it) like a tiny wisp of light and fresh air into the generally overwhelmingly charismatic smellscape fug - evoking a great almost-memory of Manle's Suleymane le Magnifique, never a bad association to bring. It's still redolent of Turkish delight and rich, dark cocoa, yet in a magical rather than sickly way. (Whenever I catch a drift of it, no matter how adult and almost X-rated it is, I CANNOT ESCAPE the sense associations, laid down by reading in childhood, with CS Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). Goes without saying that you should spray lightly, and to me its bludgeoning force means it is only really appropriate as scented armour for cold, cold days; this is gaudy, tinselly, sequined, gilded, over-the-top magic for dark winters when something baroquely indulgent is needed, and could very easily tip over into the land of Far Too Much in other conditions. Worth every penny, but its absolutely agonising RRP means I wavered for a long, long time before pressing the 'overpriced' button on here (and still with some guilt, because if you have the means, the artistry and the ingredients here probably do absolutely justify the cost). It is the house's biggest hit for a reason, because it smells like nothing else, and walks the tightrope between gourmand extravagance and hardcore oud funk with impeccable balance. An utterly extraordinary pleasure.

After revisting 'Onekh' by Bvlgari again, I recalled that this one had a very similar leather/oud that went in a gourmand direction. Trying out my sample of Prin's 'Anatolia Anatolia' once more, I am kicking myself already for not grabbing this from Bloom perfumery whilst it was still in stock. I forgot how mind-bendingly amazing this one was and what a trip it sends you on. I NEED to get a full bottle of this ASAP. It opens with a super charged blast of strong Oud from both the Indian and Cambodian oud used in the compositon. All rubber tyres screeching, marking an asphalt road in the blazing, hot summer sun. There is brand new leather interiors in a shiny obsidian car (complete with a candy flip paint job that resembles oil on water, or an iridescent insects shell, in the shifting light). This is like black gold... like its been freshly pumped straight out of the ground to create a fountain of crude oil and honey, showering down on a warm leathered upholstered table of sweet apples, dried sticky dates, spices acquired from a souk, and chewy, sugary lokum. The total effect and the sum of all these parts makes for the most decadent and intensely mesmerising fragrance. This perfume is intense in it's strength, like a fire one must not get too close to, despite the beauty of the glowing coals and roaring flames. Like the myth of icharus and the sun, you can't get too close...or everything burns your nose and comes falling down. However, from a distance this is majestically beautiful, with its scent soaring upwards to create that O so sweet huge sillage, which leaves a scent trail to get noticed by any nose around. I've had this sample stop so many people in their tracks to ask what is that amazing smell.... and even myself, catching a sniff off of my wrists moving, I am stunned still for a moment to pay attention only to it. Again, why O why didn't I buy this earlier? It is truly a master piece that makes me want to cry its so good. Just the most perfect harmonious interplay of two different ouds (leather and sweet) and something that's so unique and interesting with the sticky sweet gourmand parts along with those darker, drier, and more leather expressions. It all blends together in the best way and it lasts forever. On fabric, I recall when I first ever tried this, I had gotten some on a silk hair band. I could still detect 'Anatolia Anatolia' on this fabric for a whole month, until I washed it. This is straight to the top 5 in my wants list. Anyone selling in the UK please let me know x Edit - I've acquired a full Bottle now :)

Dammit. This is one of the fragrances that I recently sampled out of however many decants that I got of Prin, all of them are fantastic. I knew I was going to buy this one on the second sniff, and I bet that I did before I got to sniff number 20. I hate dickwads like Prin that make amazing perfumes that I need to own. Now I am going to buy all of his dumb shit too, just like that Dmitry Bortnikoff guy and all the amazing shit that he makes. That Bortnikoff asshole almost bankrupted me. This is the dumbest hobby I ever could have discovered. I am cursed until the day that I die. Fuck, why can't they just go and do something else for a little bit so my finances can catch up since I need to own every fragrance they put out? Maybe they could learn a new sport or something? I don't know, just throwing out suggestions. I will be homeless, but at least I will smell great under all of them newspapers I use to keep me warm. Fuck you, Prin. [edit] I just remembered there aren't many places to get newspapers anymore, so I guess I would just huddle in the various cardboard boxes that I find while I push my cart of fragrances around.

Sweet, "clean" oud and leather, one of the better iterations of that combo (of what I've smelled so far). Everything is seamlessly blended; you get oud, leather, suede, spices, dates, and honey in one sniff. Sweetness here is well-restrained, more like a drizzling of honey and a light dusting of powdered sugar. Lokum note is more apparent to me in the drydown. I'll say, if you already have an oud-leather fragrance, it might be redundant to get this one as well. But if you don't, I do suggest picking this one.

Another masterwork from Prin Lomros The original Turkish leather/Anatolia was always too sweet for my taste. This gem, from my nose, was the more balanced version with a super potent juice. Non-skanky, non barnyard-y oud is more prominent than the original, and the sweet-y Loukhom and dates relatively tone down. The spicy incense-cumin complex also makes every so round and very smooth. Despite the high price tag, FBW for sure!!