Morah

MORAH from Pryn Parfum. This one was one of the first perfumes I tried from Prin Lomros way back in the day. It was an instant love, and not much changed in that regard. I must admit that I prefer it to its successors, Mandodari and Mandodari-Mandodari. The latter doesn't sit well with me, as it feels too sharp and not as diffusively Opiated as the lesser concentrated versions. In contrast, Mandodari lacks the coffee note and the smokescreen accord I love so much in MORAH. The best word to describe this perfume is "Intoxicating". It plays in the Floral-Oriental genre, yet it boasts a vinous opium accord that defines this composition alongside prominent notes of coffee, sweet resins, creamy exotic white flowers, heaps of cumin and civet, and just that perfect dash of oakmoss in the base. Once it settles down, it reminds me of Diaghilev with that sweaty, chewy, leathery civet combination in the base. That is if Diaghilev would take a trip to far East Asia, drunken on Opium and coffee while sitting in a garden of exotic flowers reading Sanskrit at dusk. But that one is MORAH. His more beautiful and sultry sister. IG:@memory.of.scents

A gorgeous, spicy and animalic floral chypre (think of an Asian themed "Maai"), this astounding new creation by the immensely talented Prin Lomros has central notes of opium, Indian tuberose and civet (both synthetic and natural from coffee seeds). This dense base is surrounded by oakmoss, coffee, Asian florals like Champaca, manorangini, gardenia and cannonball flower, aldehyde, tobacco, black pepper, sandalwood, teak and cumin. The result is a scent unlike anything I have experienced before. A very animalic and spicy floral chypre. Taking its inspiration from a Thai folktale centered around an immoral protagonist, this is floral skanky perfection of the highest order. If you liked Maai, you will love Morah, I assure you. Not for the squeamish, this is for bold women and uncommon men to wear. Heavy duty sillage, projection and longevity, this is an unheralded treasure waiting to be discovered by adventurous perfume lovers. A masterpiece!

Very luxurious floral-chypre,as if a spell had been enclosed within this essence... it's a very special fragrance. The powerful and penetrating note of Opium is immediately felt, the presence of aldehydes and ylang is very bright. However,it remains an obscure and complex parfum. Morah is very beautiful, leaves an unforgettable trail. Sillage: 8.5/10 Longevity: 9./10 Scent: 8./10 Overall: 8.5/10

Truly perfume as art - and an object lesson in just how much of a scent's success or failure depends on the formulator's skill, not just the quality of the raw materials. This is a genre I often dislike (floral/chypre); it's in a vintage style which tends to disagrees with me; and absolutely loaded with notes I often really, really struggle to tolerate, never mind enjoy - aldehydes, tuberose, civet, coffee.... I felt a little nervous even looking at the note pyramid. But fear not! Because it's a work of near genius. There's a deeply complex interplay going between the fragrant and the funky - the sweeter, lighter floral notes and the grunting animalia and darker shades beneath - which somehow makes it all sing together in perfect harmony. This is certainly a shadowy, even slightly menacing tropical garden, with traces of all sorts of nighttime creatures and hints of real danger (coffee and teak I guess?) which stop the rampant flowers from ever getting too cute or bland. Yet while its overall aura is deep and dark and jungly, it also shimmers and camouflages itself, with flashes of gentler, sweeter tropical flowers letting rays and dapples of sunlight and some fresh air (or even soft breezes) into the gloom of the rampant undergrowth. It's a real adventure. Certainly there would be snakes in this landscape; maybe tigers too. Very bossy projection at first (agh, made mostly of those aldehydes, which I still find a bit hostile, but can at last see the point of, in this composition) and you'll never forget that you're wearing it, but its sillage softens to something much more manageable in the first hour, while overall longevity on me wasn't as gigantic as that first hour suggested; it had in fact died away to a faint, pressed-flower dry whiff by about 4h. It's a VERY grown-up, richly intelligent sort of fragrance; not for beginners. Hard to describe the dizzying, elaborate way the all notes interweave and take their turns centre stage, but this is the very opposite of a 'linear' perfume; it writhes and twists over time like something truly alive. Some may find the retro feel too much - it does tiptoe just up to the very edge of bitterness in some directions - but oh my. I was bowled over by it, absolutely - you can definitely smell every single note listed here in it, and more. So much more. It's just so, so impressive - and I was honestly expecting to HATE it , given what it is and what it's made of (for instance: I can't cope with Maai at all). It conquered me. Not an easy or likely-to-be-frequent wear, so I shan't go chasing it, but an amazing experience nonetheless. Be brave and try it.

Forget homerun, this is Barry Bonds! Let me see: How can I describe this? First and foremost, this is a quasi chypre. I'm about 46min into my utopia and I must say that I 100% agree with rbalkris. This entire fragrance is indeed centered around oakmoss and something ablaze in the background. Accord wise, this is mostly earthy even with frangipani, tobacco and coffee in the mix. An ongoing medley exists with street tire civet along with brutish florals. This was very interesting because the yellow florals are warm, rich, savory and somewhat sweet. It smells a lot better than it reads. My skin was served with an agricultural feel. Decked with more textures and flavors than most can handle, this is truly a great composition. Styled in the same vein of Eva Kant and Noun. In my opinion, more Bogue than O'driu. Real niche is back!

The modern contemporary vintage blend. The usual vintage blend of ylang, aldehydes, civet, oakmoss, and sandalwoodr but in here it is with a tiny twist of an additional black pepper, gardenia, & bits of smoke that makes it quite modern. I can't detect any cumin, teak wood (THANK GOD), or coffee. This fragrance by itself could stand for the whole line, it's just superbly amusing.

Zoologist's Civet with a load of cumin thrown at it. Not entirely unpleasant but would be better on a man.