Hürrem Sultan

I knew I was likely to enjoy this, but I was not prepared for how much I would love it! The rose loukhoum note in the opening is delicious. I do wish that moment lasted a little longer, but what follows is equally good! The rose remains but is then paired with an incredibly realistic apple hookah scent. The date and honeyed baklava treats are laid out on the side, while myrrh and benzoin waft in the background. Oud and patchouli are there, but mellow and restrained. A perfect fragrance for cozy winter lounging. Excellent longevity and good projection. In my opinion this does pull feminine, but not by much.

Rose will never be my bag; I've seriously gone off rose-ouds in particular due to having smelled just way too many of them; and things as sweet and/or femme as this tend to put my teeth on edge. HOWEVER. It's Prin, so it's done amazingly, and has plenty of real interest, and is (amazingly given all the caveats above) - not unbearable. It's a rich, dark, mellowly spicy, honeyed treatment of rose: the grown-up deep-red, almost maroon, velvety kind - not screechy pink powderiness, or ingenue dewy-white. All that sweetness - dates AND loukoum AND baklava AND an added drizzle of honey? dangerously calorific territory here Mr Lomros - is VERY wisely and carefully balanced out with enough woodiness and near-darkness from the rest of the team. Somehow doesn't cloy, although by goodness it should given the recipe. Cleverer yet, the bass section of patchouli and oud are somehow also rather mellow and relaxed, rather than being raspy, sour or stinky - they're just calming things down, rather than shouting in opposition to the rose and sugariness (as they do in many other rose/ouds), which is skilful work indeed. I can't really detect the orris in there amid all the heavy hitters (a shame as it's a favourite note) but it's clearly doing some similarly smoothing, gentling work in the middle. And very best of all, the red apple somehow brings a glint of edge and freshness rather than stacking more pudding on the plate. Big presence, sweeping drama, epic progression, extraordinary longevity - royal-grade on every level. Reminded me somewhat of YSL's Majestic Rose, which makes sense, yet even the gilded opulence of that one seems less rich, and far less exciting, than this. Unlike others below I do smell its kinship to Anatolia (and even more so, Anatolia Anatolia) though with much less leather, and also evokes some aspects of Papillon's myrrh-tastic Bengale Rouge. That's all very classy company. So yes: absolutely computes: for a scent composed to evoke and named for Roxelana, beloved consort and wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. (Aha - the red apple's the tell, of course - being the Ottoman symbol first of Constantinople before they conquered it, then a symbol of every next big, desirable, enticing prospect for the empire to aim for.) That's a big brief and a lot of history to wrestle with and this is worthy of her. A beautiful ode to femininity, tremendously sophisticated, surprisingly intelligent, playing on classic but not cliche'd notions of Turkish glory. It really isn't me at all but absolutely delighted and charmed to have tried it. Petal worshippers will adore. Seems the essence of womanliness to me, but even men bold enough to really swashbuckle with their bouquet may dare to give it a go - and carry it off.

This really reminds me of a rose loukhoum and the smell of some Indian temple. The incense and rose mix beautifully. A shame that I am not a rose person or this would straight away be part of my rotation

One of the most loukhom smelling scents i have ever came across, is truly magical if you like that vibe. You can also feel later the Rose oil, Dates and the smoke coming from the Hookah wich i find funny, but yet is fitting in this context. I don't know how it will work on skin as i fear that you will smell like an entire shop of Turkish Delight. nonetheless, Beautiful work. This would do wonders on a warm delicate, and sensitive female.

Turkish delight, powder and all. Fruity, powdery, sweet. I was kind of hoping this would be a non leathery twist on Anatolia, but sadly this isn't it. If you want this for less money then Lataffa's Oud Salama has similar powdery fruity feel.