Shaghaf Oud Royale

#1059 in my "Tour de Fragrance" The three things I've found you can count on with Swiss Arabian's Shaghaf Oud line is first, you're gonna like it, second, the quality will be satisfying, and third, the only thing they have in common with each other is the name and the bottle shape. [I like the sharp rectangular bottles. Wish everyone did these as they make shelving easy and space efficient.] Anyway, the oud is very mild here. Very wearable. Not barnyard in the least. Most would call it for western tastes. Other than that, you mostly smell jasmine and nutmeg. Enough musk to give it a soft character. It's pleasant, inoffensive, long lasting and versatile. Not going to offend anyone. Smells more Initio "Oud for Greatness", Lattafa "Bade'e Oud for Glory" than anything else. More a fan of Initio "Side Effect" myself, but I like this a lot. No sweetness as with Afnan's "Supremacy in Oud" or Al Haramain's "Detour Eco." Car pool, elevator and small office safe. I think it's okay for business or pleasure, especially in cooler weather. It's a successful blind buy for me.

Swiss Arabian is one serious House and this is a good example of the quality that they can produce at a VERY reasonable price. I think the scent is wonderful, the longevity and sillage is much better than average, the blending is quite good all at a terrific price! The saffron, patchouli, nutmeg and musk are coming through loud and clear for me. Of course the oud is synthetic, but again, it's very well done. If you're expecting genuine oud in this price range, well, I'll just stop there... My money says that the haters here wouldn't be able to tell the difference in quality, blending, etc in a blind test. It may not be as subtle or "refined" as some lovers of Western fragrances would like, but there's no mistaking the quality of this fragrance. If you don't appreciate this one, you're probably well advised to stay away from ME frags altogether. Just own the fact that you don't have the chops for ME frags and be done with them. 7.8/10.0

I can’t stop smelling my arm every time I wear this perfume. I love it!! 😍😍 You have to like earthy green patchouli to like this one. To me It’s so fresh, kind of minty, “green”, aromatic, clean. Spicy but in a fresh way. Fresh green forest vibes. So good! It lifts my mood, makes me feel awake and fresh. Projects really well and lasts FOR EVER. For me it does not resemble Badee Al Oud at all. I have BAO and it’s darker, smokier than this one, not fresh at all. I’m a girl but I love these types of scents. It’s totally unisex to me. It’s actually one of my favorite “freshies with a strong personality” type of scent 💚

Honestly it's one of my favorite ME frags. From the first spray, it feels rich, dark and elegant, definitely more of a mature man’s fragrance in my opinion. The best part is the performance, the longevity is excellent and the sillage is strong. It projects very well and lasts all day on me and a week on clothes. I also received multiple compliments from women while wearing it which is always a great sign. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys strong Middle Eastern-style oud fragrances and wants something masculine with serious performance.

This is a really nice inexpensive alternative for Oud for Greatness Initio Parfums Prives. Comes in a really nice presentation and a lovely solid rectangular 75ml glass bottle. It's pretty close to ofg and really wearable. But you'll need to give it a minute to settle after initial sprays, well many ME frags are like that. This definitely meant to dupe ofg rather haltane as the smell is much closer to ofg. Good stuff

Update: Its still projects after 10 hours and can be felt from few feets easily. Go easy on the trigger. Tested it side by side with PDM Haltane. On the paper strip it felt less rounded and smooth in the drydown (after 6 hours) but still strong as compared to Haltane. But on the skin, Shaghaf Oud Royal developed amazingly, especially the dry down is really amazing.

I am really liking this fragrance more than I expected to. On my skin, all the notes balance out beautifully. When it arrived, it had a harsh opening as often happens due to shipping. I had sprayed it 2-3 times, and let it sit in a dark constant-temp drawer for a month. Now its wonderful. The patchouli in particular smells much better than is normal for its price.

Love this scent. Smells like Oud for Greatness, Oud for Glory, or Supremacy in Oud without the sweetness. Doesn’t smell like Haltane in my opinion. The only downside for me was the bottle. It’s a nice design but the atomizer on mine is faulty. Still works well enough to spray thankfully.

This one here smells phenomenal you can smell the saffron and a strong patchouli but the oud is not so strong the longevity 7-9 hours and a good sillage would definitely recomend if you like spiciness and saffron

1000x better than lattafa badee al oud imo. There is more sweatness which makes this so much more wearable. Lataff is too dry woody and it's really challenging

This reminds me of the discontinued Patchouli Absolu by Tom Ford, a bit sweeter and with an oriental vibe. Long lasting.

So five reviews from people that have never smelled this one yet. This community is hilarious.

Definitely more of a oud for greatness clone and it's a beast 💥

Once you truly discover Middle Eastern perfumery brands, you become aware of some specific fragrances that have a bit of an iconic following. I'd heard Oud Royale referenced a few times and so I bought a 25ml blind buy of this and Oud Elixir to see what the fuss was about. Now, theoretically, Oud Royale should be right up my sharie. Saffron and patchouli are two of my favourite accords alongside oud and there is musk in here too so I'm on relatively safe ground I think. I almost never blind buy these days but it is fun to do sometimes isn't it? Opening the sturdy, high quality box you are greeted with a really nice and pleasingly heavy Saudi-green bottle that is undeniably high end. It feels a lot more expensive than it is. The atomiser is very satisfying even at this small size. I've always enjoyed that on the full size bottle of Oud Tonka I have from SwissArabian and this is much the same. It has a premium, high end feel and I like it. So, the opening notes. It is dominated by the patchouli and saffron. The saffron is more apparent on the tester paper but the patchouli is more dominant on the skin. Both have a quite interesting and not-at-all-unpleasant bitterness to them; a stringent, soily quality that I often miss in the sweeter, more synthetic feeling fragrances that feature these two accords. I must say I like the effect of them together. They work very nicely in unison. The overall effect is reassuringly powerful as well. This is a strong fragrance, no doubt about that. They don't really do wishy-washy toilet water here in the Middle East and this is actually quite typical of the big, bold fragrances that rule the roost here. The oud is quite subtle. There are no animalic barnyard tinges here, no sour edges. It sits as a woody, very rich base to what is an extremely rich fragrance. It is there to allow the saffron and patchouli to work together in the dominating top and middle and the musk in the base is merely there to smooth things over. The patchouli and a slightly-over sweetened saffron are the dominant accords here and it somehow manages to make Oud Royale all at once earthy and super rich but also very, very sweet. You have to enjoy earthy, bitter patchouli to get this one and I do. It is not a fresh or effervescent patchouli at all. The saffron makes it super earthy and stops it going too bitter. Together they are spicy, textured and almost peppery. It ends up a bit chaotic with a bit too much going on at once, and maybe lacks a bit of refinement where the notes are more distinct, but at this price point you cannot expect top niche tier blending. I can see how some folks may find this a bit too thick and sticky to enjoy. I'm not sure how it would perform in the heat of the summer though. Performance is - for the price - very good. It isnt an Amouage, but I got a very solid 6-7 hours on this and it sits on the skin for many hours after that. It is quite linear. It opens as the saffron and patchouli show and this doesn't change. You could layer this one over the top of something really heavy, animalic oudy to add some sweetness notes across the top and it would work very well for that. Do I wish the oud was heavier here? Not really, I don't think that is what the fragrance is about. I understand now that SwissArabian are a high quality brand selling beautifully presented niche quality juice that is unapologetically heavy for prices that seem very low for what you are getting. It isnt subtle, it isn't especially nuanced, very artistic or the sort of thing that makes you think deep thoughts about your life, but it is nice. I think for those of us like me who didn't know them and lumped them in with the Amouages of this world as a super high end, unattainable Arabic brand for millionaires, or in with the dupe brand Lattafas and French Avenues of this world, SwissArabian is a nice discovery. They are very distinct from both these extremes, they do their own thing and have their own place that I'd encourage those of us who haven't looked into yet, to take a look at. For reference, I got two 25ml travel size bottles for less than AED120 delivered next day, with five free samples thown in, using a Ramadan offer. That is less than US$33. Pretty amazing value, I'm sure you'll agree. Three Word Summary: Rich Earthy Sweetness. Scent - 7/10 Sillage - 7/10 Drydown - 6/10 Bottle/packaging - 8/10 Performance - 7/10 35/50

When you first spray it and there’s this delightful rush of subtle oud, woods, citrus, leather and light spices but it rapidly turns into a bar of expensive gentleman’s soap that is very lacking in prominent florals or any sweetness whatsoever. No criticism, if this was in a Penhaligons bottle, it would be Lord George. For the 40+ man. I prefer a little more oud, sweetness and florals to be honest. This is a safe, an office-safe buy but not in the traditional airy or citrus sense as the right person needs to wear it so don’t purchase just yet! It’s lacking in proper earthy patchouli notes, there is no real damp earth, then ten minutes in I get a little tea, coffee and cocoa powder to a small degree I. Then it seems to disappear to a sociable level of projection and sillage but enough for people to smell it, it’s not in anyone’s face but still prominent. After an hour it’s developed a bit but is much the same, although well-blended. There is nothing harsh or synthetic smelling. At £40/$50/€50 it is appropriately priced. This is a pleasant bar of shaving soap from your lawyer grandads bathroom forty years ago, without being too cedary or floral, though there are very gentle white florals there. There is a buttery quality to it too, like smelling freshly melted butter mixed with dry Indian woods. This is for an educated person who is a little traditional and powerful, not flashy or arrogant, but intellectual. This is a scent for kings, emperors and royal family too - people who can just arrive and don’t have to say anything to be noticed because it speaks of a refined and restrained grandeur. Ah Shaghaf “Royal”, now it all makes sense. To enjoy wearing this you need to want to smell like an old dusty book with a leather cover in an old mansion or other unheated space that has got little use over the years but is sat near a dried up floral air freshener that only gives out a tiny amount of scent. Edit: One for layering for base notes, but acceptable on its own. Longevity is ok and sillage in the short term, it’s not the beast I thought it would be.

@phonepatato. Your comments made me laugh but also made me wonder why reviews , by those who don’t have the fragrance are allowed to post their opinions This house doesn’t disappoint and this is another that is in that vein. Patchouli and saffron. The oud is not strong or skanky. I’m not going to compare it to others as I see it as a stand alone fragrance. The comparisons lead people to maybe expect too much and at bargain basement prices. Very good sillage and projection and, no doubt , masculine. Well worth the price. One to wear both day and night. Not one to garner compliments if that is what you’re after but certainly gets noticed. Imo for men 40 plus, like me. Can’t see this being worn by younger guys. Enjoy it.

Beast mode performance. I could probably get away with 1 spray or 2. It’s very similar to Initio Oud for Greatness or Oud For Glory by Lattafa. It definitely outperforms either one of them. It’s not a Haltane clone. I have Haltane and I bought it thinking that it would be a good Haltane clone and nope. I don’t really get Oud. The Swiss Arabian is good quality and smells good. If you’re looking for something very similar to Haltane this is not it IMO. I like Haltane more than Oud For Greatness and the Swiss Arabian,etc. I would definitely take Oud for Greatness over the Swiss Arabian also. The other Swiss Arabian that I have Azraq smells great. That’s my favorite so far from them.

Overall I enjoy the scent of this fragrance but I would have liked a touch more sweetness. To my nose, the opening is quite dry with a prominent fresh spiciness that reminds me of rosemary. This does smell quite above it's price point and the longevity has been well above average. After one spray, I can still smell it on my wrist after about 12 hours. It projected about arms length for about 6 hours and then settled. This scent is definitely not for everyone's nose but all in all I would give it a 7/10.

On the first spray it’s very dry. But it definitely blooms once it warms up on your skin. I get a lot of lavender and leather. The packaging is also top notch, I was impressed! I rate it 7.5/10, I recommend this

I own many Swiss Arabian products and my daily is almost always Aswad, but this one is a beautiful switch up. I usually always layer with Oud Maktum with everything. They're all winners. ✌️🐲🔱🕊☄️✨️