Sehr Al Sheila

I have both Santal Royal and Calligraphy Rose, but neither of them are "identical" to this one. Santal Royal is less sweet, smoother and drier. The fragrance also has prominent sandalwood notes besides the oud. I can definitely see the similarity, but the oud in Sehr Al Sheila is strong and the oud itself, which is more medicinal, is not exactly the same to the one in Santal Royal. Sehr Al Sheila is a bit sweeter than Santal Royal because of the amber and vanilla (and maybe patchoulli), and the specific sweetness is quite similar to the one Calligraphy Rose has. However, Calligraphy Rose has stronger wood notes and the woodsy aspects of the fragrance isn’t similar. Sehr Al Sheila has a lot of sweetness, and the sweetness can be a bit sugary, thicker and denser than the other ones I mentioned. If you have dry skin like myself, however, it can be more bitter than Santal Royal. The Rose in Sehr Al Sheila is also more wet than both of these while Calligraphy Rose could project much more of sweetness depending on the weather. In my opinion these three deserve to be treated as three distinctively beautiful fragrances. It’s in short the certain aspects of Santal Royal and the sweetness of Calligraphy Rose combined. Not exactly the same to my nose, especially the drydown. If you’re looking for the exact dupe of either those two you might be a bit disappointed. BUT. If you’re looking for “something similar” to these, especially Santal Royal, I think you can even blind-buy Sehr Al Sheila. Wouldn't be way off. The projection and longevity are just as good as the other two.

Spicy & Jammy OUD-ROSE-PATCHOULI Perfection. Opens with a warm-spicy floral burst that deepens into a rose-oud heart with powdery, velvety, honeyed, near-plum, warm-spicy, soapy & thick near-bubblegum facets, all resting on a patchouli-oud base with earthy, vanillic & resinous touches. This isn't a sticky sweet oud-rose, and for me, this type of spicy-oud-rose scent took some getting used to, but once I was, there was no going back - it's a paradigm shifter. Well above average performance. Contrast to Armani Prive Rose d'Arabie: These are different, but there are similarities with a MiddleEastern leaning rose. Sehr Al Sheila is more spice forward. Roughly equivalent performance. Contrast to L'Extase Rose Absolue Nina Ricci: These are different, but again similarities with a MiddleEastern leaning rose. LERA is more amber forward, and more similar to Oud Satin Mood Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Roughly equivalent performance. Contrast to Portrait of a Lady Frederic Malle: These are different, but again similarities with a MiddleEastern leaning rose. Portrait of a Lady is more fruit & amber forward. Roughly equivalent performance. Overall: Stunningly beautiful spicy-woody rose scent with well above average performance. This is the perfect scent to wear while shifting your point of view. It's a love for me. 10/10. Enjoy!

>>The bad news: this is not a dupe or clone of Rose d' Arabie (which I also have). I'd say maybe 70% similarity but that is more due to the fact that they both reside within the oriental rose category, and having similarities in terms of notes. Not smelled Jo Malone Rose oud for a while now but I remember I was unimpressed by it at the time. >>The good news: this is a solid fragrance and those who enjoy oriental rose fragrances will not be disappointed. Mind you, Swiss Arabian is somewhat tailored to European tastes, meaning that the oud is quite tame, and the same goes for the patchouli. A bit of fruity upbeat, very slight powderiness (iris?). Now this is a middle-weight/mid-level complexity frag. Sheila is very pleasant and as I see it would not bother people around too much (unless they disliked roses entirely). Quite agreeable and chic. Can be worn during the day I think. To me, Rose d'Arabie is Monica Bellucci in the movie 'Malena', red-head in a slick black-dress, hot and cold at the same time, approachable and distant. Rose d' Arabie is so dense and complicated, defo not a crowd-pleaser (and easily offensive imho), better for occasions. So Sheila could be the younger sister in her 20s who's more on the chic side but does not mean to slay. Hope this makes sense :)

Handstand down, my all time favorite oud+rose combination fragrance. This is SO luxurious, I can't get enough of it. I smell the rose, oud and jam...just wow ... this has skyrocketed to my favorite perfumes that I own. And this was a blind buy. I also really love Shaghaf Oud by Swiss Arabian, *but* Sehr Al Sheila comes out on top for me. No other oud perfumes compare to this, IMO. They always end up smelling too pungent and just flat out overbearing. Tom Ford who? Kayali who? Swiss Arabian nailed it with this one. And this packaging!? If the Kardashians make headline news, this perfume alone should be on every magazine, wiping the floor with them. The box it comes it, as well as the bottle. And the scent of course..All get 5 stars from me. This has to be one of the fanciest, most beautiful perfume bottles I've ever seen. The color combination (black and turquoise, with gold). Even the cap design alone is exquisite. This is top shelf LUXURY. Decadent, expensive (while not being expensive!), feels like royalty. I will always have a bottle of this in my collection.

Edit edit: I just got Shaghaf oud Aswad and Areej Al Sheila. These 2 and Sehr Al Sheila combined will make potrait of a lady. Edit: just got a decant of potrait of a lady and this smells so incredibly similar on the dry down. The difference is that potrait of a lady is a little sweeter, rosier, a little soapier. Sehr Al Sheila starts with loud rose and spices and on the dry down smells similar potrait of a lady. I do prefer sehr Al Sheila though. I love the jammy rose. Smells nothing like shaghaf oud. At all! It's a super jammy rose with spices. It's quite linear. You can smell the rose and spices all the way throughout. If you love roses, you will love this. The rose is bright but deep. My son accidentally sprayed this on himself thinking it was the perfume I told him to try. Half a day later I asked him why he sprayed it on himself again, he said he didn't. It was from the morning. It smelled like he just sprayed it. On me, I think I go nose blind. But yes it lasts all day.