Hawas Black

#79 of My Fragrance Journey - Rasasi Hawas Black: It Doesn’t Enter. It’s Already There. The first time I wore it, I didn’t clock the exact moment it started working. There was no clear beginning. No announcement. Just... at some point, the air around me wasn’t neutral anymore. It felt occupied. Claimed. It opens brighter than you expect. Bergamot right away - clean, sharp, almost optimistic. Pineapple too. Juicy. Familiar. For a second, it leans friendly. Approachable, even. That Aventus / Hacivat silhouette flashes in your mind. You think you understand the direction. You don’t. Because within minutes, something underneath starts pulling it down. The sweetness tightens. Smoke seeps in - not loud, not bonfire. More like charred wood somewhere out of view. Birch, maybe. The fruit is still there, but it stops feeling playful. It stops performing. It gets serious. Then the woods come forward. Cedar first. Dry. Structured. Almost architectural. Patchouli underneath, darker, slightly damp, earthy in a real way. Not sweet patchouli. Not cosmetic. Soil. Weight. And then jasmine. That part surprised me. It shouldn’t work inside something this dense, but it does. It adds something human. Something alive inside all that wood and smoke. Not soft. Just... present. But the real turning point is the oakmoss. That’s when it stops smelling like a fragrance and starts smelling like a place. Oakmoss, thick and green and unapologetic. Not fresh. Not clean. Not modern in the usual sense. This smells like forest floor. Wet bark. Cold air under trees where sunlight barely gets through. Slightly bitter. Slightly ancient. Some people won’t like that. Honestly, I get it. This isn’t designed to charm everyone. But on the right skin... It’s magnetic. It projects, but not in a loud, synthetic way. It moves with you. Leaves a trail. I caught it on my jacket the next morning and just stood there for a second, trying to understand it again. It doesn’t fade in the traditional sense. It settles. Deepens. Becomes quieter but more itself. By the drydown, the citrus and pineapple are gone. Completely. What’s left is moss, wood, and this faint ghost of smoke. Dark. Grounded. Calm in its own authority. It smells confident. Not loud confidence. Not attention-seeking. Certain confidence. The kind that doesn’t need to check if it’s being noticed. And people do notice. But not in the obvious way. It’s more subtle than that. They lean in. Pause. Ask questions carefully. Curiosity, more than anything. Performance is excellent. Easily 8–10 hours on skin. Longer on clothes. It becomes part of whatever you’re wearing. Part of your space. This isn’t a blind buy I’d recommend casually. The oakmoss will decide for you. It’s polarising. But if it aligns with you, it feels intentional. Expensive in character, even if it isn’t in price. Not playful. Not easy. But very, very present. Vibe: dark green stillness, smoke in cold air, quiet authority Longevity: excellent - lasts all day, longer on fabric Best for: autumn, winter, evenings, when you want presence without noise The truth: It doesn’t try to be liked. It just exists. And somehow, that’s more powerful. More scent stories and visuals on Instagram - @lavendercloudsjd

Aventus (CDNIM) = Bruce Wayne Hawas Black = Batman That’s my conclusion after a month of testing. I’ve had Aventus and all the clones — SNOI, CDNIM PP, Rayyaan Imperia, and a bunch of flankers. I love the Aventus DNA, so I blind bought Hawas Black. **First impressions?** Hawas Black was the first one I *instantly* didn’t like. The opening is **harsh** — the potent oak moss gives it a very **sharp, green scent**, like a mix of Cool Water and Green Irish Tweed. It lacks the class, smoothness, and balance of Aventus. The oak moss completely drowns out the citrus. It smells **hard** and **strong**. Instant buyer’s remorse. **What was Rasasi thinking?** Aventus clones are usually easy wins — how do you mess that up? It’s like they tried to be "different" in the worst possible way. **But then...** After wearing it more, I realized something: **Hawas Black is actually *fresher*** than Aventus, CDNIM, or SNOI. It’s thicker, denser, but somehow *fresher*. That makes it easier and more versatile to wear. Aventus and its clones feel *fancier*, a bit "uppity," like you're dressing up just by spraying it. Hawas Black, by contrast, is **simple**, **straightforward**, **sharp** — it’s *everyday wearable*, but with an edge. **Funny thing:** Even though I liked it the least at first, I started **wearing it the most**. It’s like CDNIM vs. SNOI for me — I like SNOI more, but I reach for CDNIM more because it’s more casual. Same deal here. **Why "Black"?** The name fits. Hawas Black has a *dark* vibe. The oak moss, the lack of citrus, the no-nonsense attitude — it’s business, no foreplay. It’s hardcore, but with the Aventus DNA still alive underneath. Fresh, but dangerous. I realized... that's actually more my style. Side-by-side, I still "prefer" CDNIM or SNOI technically — but **Hawas Black matches my mood**. It’s got that “screw you” energy, like Rasasi Shuhrah’s daring spirit. It’s Aventus' **alter ego**: darker, bolder, more dangerous. Aventus is Bruce Wayne’s Lamborghini. Hawas Black is the Batmobile... *while Catwoman’s getting doggied in it*. **Performance?** At first, I thought it was weak — but it’s just **nose blindness**. SNOI gets the most compliments, no question. But the third time I wore Hawas Black, *two* different people commented. One woman said, “I can smell you from a mile away.” Another said, laughing, “I can smell you all the way over here, and we’re all wondering who’s wearing that crazy-strong cologne.” They weren’t exactly *compliments* — just *acknowledgments* — but that’s huge in a culture where people rarely comment on fragrances. Trust me: if you think it’s weak, you're just going nose-blind. **This stuff is wild.** Update: Still no compliments but more people have literally stated "I can smell you a block away" I love it but this is more like a fragrance you wear for "You", like a interlude man lol. If you want a Aventus clone that pulls compliments SNOI! Hands down! #1

TLDR: perhaps one of the greatest ME clones ever made. Easily top 3 in my opinion. It opens with a good dose of fruitiness with some citrus. Not overwhelming or unpleasant at all to me. The middle notes are brief, to my nose. I mostly notice the cedar in the middle, which blends well with the woody base notes as it transitions into the drydown. At that point -and even throughout- the moss becomes the star of the show. It is a very prominent part of the fragrance. The two dominant accords in this end up being the fruitiness and the mossiness. With the former being much more noticeable in the first 2 hours of wearing, and the moss taking over for the latter 8-10 hours. The woody accord sort of sits underneath and ties everything together until it's faded down to just the moss in the last 4-6 hours of wearing it. I really enjoy this fragrance. It truly stands out amongst many of the ME clones. The scent profile is so close to Hacivat that the differences are irrelevant. It's >95% of the way there. If I had to try and identify a difference, I would say Hacivat is ever-so-slightly spicier in the opening. Neither Hawas Black nor Hacivat are particularly spicy anyway, so this difference is very minimal. Hacivat is super strong in terms of sillage and longevity, whereas Hawas Black is just strong. I actually prefer Hawas for this reason. It's more wearable in this regard to me. Super strong fragrances are cool, but there's just so few situations where I could get away with wearing one so I tend to avoid them. Anyway, Hawas Black is an absolute banger release. If you like Hacivat it's a no-brainer. If you like Aventus or any of its clones/twists, you might enjoy this one too.

Rasasi Hawas Black is a well-balanced, versatile fragrance built around a strong woody backbone, enriched by a clearly present oakmoss accord and a subtle layer of amber that adds depth and smoothness. The oakmoss is noticeable and well-defined, giving the scent a refined, slightly earthy character, but it never takes over completely. Instead, it works in harmony with the woody notes, which remain the main structural element of the composition. The opening introduces a fresh touch through bergamot and a light hint of jasmine, adding brightness and making it wearable across multiple seasons, including summer. However, it performs best in moderate temperatures rather than extreme heat, where its richness can feel a bit heavy. As it develops, the fragrance settles into its woody-ambery base. The amber brings a smooth warmth and a refined sweetness, blending seamlessly with the woods and oakmoss to create a cohesive and well-rounded drydown. Performance is a strong point: 10+ hours longevity with a moderate sillage that stays noticeable without becoming overpowering. The formula is quite oily, so care should be taken when applying near light-colored clothing, as it can stain. In terms of wearability, it’s relatively safe as a blind buy if you enjoy fragrances like Dior Sauvage, Lattafa Asad, or Club de Nuit Intense—falling into that same modern woody-fresh category. Overall, Hawas Black delivers a smooth, woody-amber composition with a fresh opening and a solid, grounded base. It stands as one of the most successful grounded characters in the Rasasi Hawas line.

This is OG Hacivat; I tried to pay extra attention to the notes as I was preparing my full wear of this extremely oily powerhouse that cannot possibly only be an EDP (this is extrait level oil on my skin). The fruity chypre kicks off with tart citrus and syrupy fruit, which is where I understand the Aventus Absolu comparisons. The pineapple is juicy and the grapefruit/bergamot does have a kick. Then it becomes all about Hacivat though. This bad boy likes to get dirty, as the patchouli and cedar come forward in the heart, going from bright fruits to chargrilled smoky pineapple with some airy jasmine. The base is where it's undeniably Hacivat; the oakmoss is so inky it could pen all the works of Shakespeare and have some juice left, with more mineralic wood notes planting root. At this point in the base all the fruit is gone, leaving me with a deep earthy amber resins. Hawas Black smells expensive and rugged, like the CEO of a massive construction company that worked his way up from the bottom. Go easy on the sprays because this is really strong, projects like a loud drunk, and it lasts 10-12 hours. The older batch Hacivats were known for their moss bombing, which Hawas Black absolutely does, and it also never really takes on the cinnamon leather accord Absolu contains. Some people get a massive dose of vetiver and some get none (I get some, but not overwhelming); it's not a listed note. This seems to suggest the rumors of significant batch variation are probably true.