Ashaar Pour Homme

AN ALLURING DARK SECRET MAGIC POTION MADE BY ALADDIN'S GENIE [note: "Ashaar" means poetry] This exquisite scent redefines Eastern style and elegance in a perfume flask. It adds a touch of mystery and gentleness to it... and it does not pretend to clone any Western perfume. When you stare at the dark bottle for the first time you imagine a burst of potent and dominant woody notes, projecting an insinuating oud scent surrounded by an intensely fragrant damascene rose and colourful saffron dust. But what you get is a softer and subtler fragrance offering an earthy yet ethereal feel that almost turns in upon itself. It's kind of magical but it’s real. It is a scent that celebrates life as in poetry. For me, Ashaar is an unconventional and daring oriental fragrance that can easily engage the veiled and sweet magic of the East coping with the Western realist concepts of freshness, softness, style, discretion and elegance. And then it adds a touch of mystery to it. Ashaar starts with spicy citrusy top notes of Cardamom, Cinnamon plus a Bergamot whiff. Then it cascades down with the austere woody notes of cedarwood melting into a dark ambience. It closes its evolution with a green earthy smoothness of sandalwood, a delicate damp and creamy inflexion of oakmoss, a balsamic resinous sweet styrax and a soft smoky sultry oud (Dehn Al Oud natural oil), spreading a lingering smoky and dark trail enhanced close to perfection. The uniqueness of this fragrance resides in the fact that it has a big sillage and longevity but never loses its very subtle way, meaning that it does not bother barbershop, aquatic and airy scent lovers. The aroma lingers in the air very smoothly. It's not cloying or harsh like Rasasi Faqat Lil Rijal (that I also love) or Montale's Black Aoud (another love of mine). It's as if Rasasi has produced an elegant, polite, gentle oud fragrance for Versace, Dior or Chanel. The fragrance comes in an EDP concentration and has the same performance as a scathing strong oud perfume. It has a respectable longevity of more than 9 hours with three sprays, more than 6 feet of sillage and projects for more than 2.5 hours. The oud note is really natural and agreeably wearable. The subtleness associated with the fragrance's strength makes you enjoy and love the fragrance for being very well-behaved, without any hint of "barnyard scent" or "pee smell". The original flask is made of heavy glass, lacquered with opaque black and showing Arabic writings. It has a good cap and sprayer. From the product point of view, it seems to be a quality "stand-alone" launch, but its quality and behaviour fit entirely in the Rasasi Qasamat series. Let's check the scores I attribute to Rasasi Ashaar: ______ _ ______ - Opening: 9.0 (my judgement; nice sweet, spicy and almost fresh opening) - DryDown: 9.5 (my judgement; great velvety woody drydown) - Longevity: 9.0 (2 good sprays may last 9+ hours) - Sillage: 8.25 (6+ feet at its peak with just 2 sprays; projects for 2.5 hours) - Uniqueness: 9.5 (Quite unique as a fresh, alluring and smooth oud fragrance; I felt a faint resemblance with a less sweet Shaghaf Oud from Swiss Arabian) - Wearability: 8.5 (A three seasons scent for both outdoor or indoor, day or night; just avoid the summer hot days; a lot better than any average good oud fragrance) - Versatility: 8.5 (A very easy-to-wear unisex oud fragrance) - Compliments: 8.5 (This fragrance is very close to a compliment magnet; it's an above-average alluring pleaser, almost unique for an oud scent. I never had so many compliments wearing an oud perfume) - Quality: 9.0 (Above average quality ingredients, nice flask, nice sprayer) - Presentation: 7.5 (no faults, not offensive strong glass black flask and a good metal cap, but with a very tacky box.) - Price: 7.5 (100 ml non-tester for € 30.00 on sale + shipping) ______ _ ______ Overall rating: 8.61/10.00 - between 7 and 8 =above average; - between 8 and 9 = recommended; - bigger than 9 = don't miss it; Advice: This hidden gem is very recommendable if you are looking for an alluring, versatile, and not expensive oriental smooth oud perfume. It is one of the most seductive and romantic oriental perfumes I have ever tried. On the other hand, it is one of the darkest and smokiest as well but in a very soft way. So probably you'd better try it before you buy it. With a Lalique flask, Morillas or Polge as perfumers, and the names of Creed, Chanel or Dior on the label, this perfume wouldn't be a hidden gem any longer. It would probably be a well-known and expensive gem. Music: Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing In the Dark"

Very interesting blend of cedar with mix cardamon and bergamot,especialy in the dray down. I can see "idea" of National Costume Home EDP. I like it.

A very beautiful, warm, romantic, attractive fragrance, suitable for winter weather

Unless my bottle had gone bad, this is the singularly worst smelling chemical concoction being passed off as a fragrance on the planet. It smells of tar blended in with bug spray and a touch of turpentine. The bottle presentation is nice. Too bad it’s wasted on this putrid potion.

Rasasi's clone of Tom Ford Oud Wood Intense. Oudy, woody, & harsh. The black pepperiness is dialed up plenty, making the opening too strong and, well, harsh. As it dries down, it becomes closer to TF OWI with a slight sweet green zest. Ashaar softer, oudier, smokier, and more incensy. Woody, oudy, incensy, peppery, slightly-smoky, with a light touch of green citrus. Given the harsh opening, this fragrance will deter many but if you can tolerate that opening you will be served with a better smell at the dry down. As for its similarity to OWI, it is around ~70%. You can smell the similarity clearly but you can also tell the 2 apart easily. This was the first impression. I will need to re-test it. I believe Rasasi has something nice here but they need to fine-tune Ashaar's formula. "Ashaar" means "poems", by the way. Mature, cool weather fragrance. Leans masculine with its spicy woodiness. "Like"