Al Waseem

Man, voters really got the seasons wrong on this one big time, lol. Guys, Al Waseem is a warm weather scent. Even Swiss Arabian's marketing campaign specifies this. AW opens with a summer time barrage of feminine white floral and rose, creating a one-two punch that later amazingly somehow takes a complete 180 turn, moving into an uber masculine, old school green barbershop dry-down. This Swiss Arabian offering was a dificult sell for me at first. The opening is almost too floral to my nose....almost. I love rose, but I love a good challange even more. All this said, if you can hold out for a little bit, the scent eventually proves it's proper "Men's" labeling. I remember on my first day of wearing it to work. I woke up and kept trying to decide on whether I should wear it or not considering it's opening. I pondered in the shower and said, "screw it!". Threw it on and headed out. Later on at work, I kept asking the other guys I work with, "who's wearing Brut?". About an hour later I came to the realization that it was me, lol. I smilled and thought, "Wow, how'd they do that??". How did they make something so feminine smelling in the beginning, and dry it down to something that would make Ashley Judd snarl in disgust? Somehow the UAE figured it out. Guys, if you hate it at first, I can't blame you. You gotta be open minded and give this one a chance. It's a grower. Probabably the best roller coaster ride I've tried in quite awhile. Yes, this one is synthetic, but I'm not a fragrance snob like others on Fragranitica, and synthetic honestly has never bothered me. I’m just looking to smell good. I work in a hospital. Ever walked past a room with a patient who has a GI bleed? Trust me, you'd be making a bee line towards the closest synthetic air freshener in record time like Carl Lewis on flakka. High marks for transition by Swiss Arabian. An interesting edt to say the least, and a neat Spring/Summer find.

As mentioned below, this is a strange one. Do I hate it? No, I actually quite like it. It's one that can grown on you (or not, for some) Does remind me of some of the 80's powerhouse type scents in it's complexity. I'm not sure about some one saying they couldn't smell it after an hour. This lasts a good 8-10hrs easy. Hard to place the season or time to wear. It's such an unusual scent. Like it a lot but not sure if I will ever call it a love (unlike Swiss Arabian's Attar al Ghutra which is)

This is listed towards males, but this could be unisex if you ask me. In my opinion, this is a fresh/green fragrance. It takes a bit to notice the notes given. I mainly just get the lily of the valley, some white flowers, a good bit of oud, and a pinch of vetiver in the beginning. As it dries down, the fresh rose comes through more and more though. And in the very dry down, it gets very peppery/musky. This is supprisingly mild for being a middle eastern fragrance. It's a big soft, and airy,and actually quite light. It's not funky, or packing a punch in anyway. Compared to fragrances like shaghaf oud, midnight oud, etc. The fragrance doesn't change much throughout the entirety of it. This is perfect for spring and fall weather, for sure. It doesn't have enough going on to stand up to the colder temperatures, or blazing temperatures. This has pretty average protection, but the lasting power is pretty good. I sprayed it on before bed, and I still had a scent cloud around me by the morning.

I think this would be way more interesting with a stronger base. The florals are beautiful and the spices are soft, but it lacks of depth. Too airy. Perhaps this fragrance can be saved with a good layering of woods or by enhancing the amber or musk, however by its own it's just a bouquet of flowers on my skin. It's good but insufficient.

This is heavy on the florals with rose being the most prominent for me. There's some spiciness in the beginning which is nice, but it fades away pretty quick. I'm not getting much oud or amber, and this stays pretty uniform over time. If you want to smell like a walking bouquet of flowers and roses, this is the fragrance for you~