Attar AT

As soon as I slid open the metal box, I caught a whiff of a smell that I knew that I was immediately going to fall in love with and hoped that it would deliver since it wasn’t possible to sample it...it DELIVERED alright...it smells of a dirty, dark, leathery, rubbery, oily [sensation] smell...testing on the skin here as this has no alcohol (this is an attar, no carrier oils, 100% pure essences), it starts off as a drop, an in your face tire rubber with a slight dirty bias, but then it transitions to an animalic castoreum facet (it has some sort of leather bias), but then it recedes into the dark, dirty, oily leather in which you can somehow connotate with the birch tar. I’ve heard medicinal as a facet here, I can see the connotation here as well, but it’s not really prominent—you have to look for it as it’s rather faint. So far, it comes off as a very dark, castoreum-bias leather. Fortunately, the vetiver and jasmine here are rather tame/muted--in fact, they are rather supportive notes of the profile. This profile is here to stay. In a way, this comes off EXTREMELY tarry...is this really a surprise? It literally has birch tar, but it has so much depth, yet it also has an irresistible leather facet... Tar + 1 * -> [100/100] Maybe not like quite like a raw coal tar if you were to inhale it fresh (please don’t do this), and definitely not a disgusting cocaine tar, but a smell almost reminiscent of hot, melting asphalt, but cleaner and after it’s cooled down a bit with a coal tar bias (trying to draw a similarity to birch tar by itself). It manages to draw a dark, tarry, animalic leather in a presentable manner. The cistus here makes the profile more addicting IMO in the drydown (though it’s not prominent). I’m personally considering a perfume plate and a dilution agent just to be able to smell this on a larger surface area, because it’s not a lot to work with, despite being so potent. After trying a few pieces from Tauer, this one has made my obligatory purchase of the attar bottle pay off for itself. Truly the best leather/tar product from Andy Tauer, and the best dirty, tarry leather I’ve ever smelled yet—a commendable work of art. If I wanted the addicting smell that came straight from the box, this goes straight on garment, which is probably better for me because this is simply not going to project. Just breathtaking. Average dollar value compared to Boxer by HUNQ.

Used about two drops for my first test - REALLY potent kerosene off the top, lasts about 10 mins. Turns to charred wood, warm, very dry, like a recently extinguished campfire; this lasts about 4 hours for me, then a very plush, fat, buttery sandalwood smell creeps in. Notes of caramel, mint, oakmoss dance in and out for a few hours, then just the very smooth, round, fatty smell. It's not particularly sweet or salty, but a very pleasant middle ground. I don't get the warm red woody notes some have; just black campfire site straight to plush, non-gourmand buttery. The dry down reminds me of aspects of Sex and the Sea by Francesca Bianchi; that one also has an artificial plasticine note for some people, and a pastoral representation of skin. Overall - absolute wake-up to try for the first time, shockingly potent, very pleasant after initial blast. Use an oil based moisturizer before application to extend the life of it! Apply sparingly. Skin scent for the entire duration; I get about 12 hours out of 1 drop spread across the inner wrists and neck, and double that for two drops. Initial heavy fuel stench increases in power with more drops, so start small and increase from there,imo.

This fragrance takes its cues from Arabic olfactory cultures, but it reminds me of Manila. If I had to construct an imaginary tableau around AT Attar, it would be a jeepney shrine with worn leather seats, thickly garlanded with sampaguitas (some wilting, but not decayed) and sandalwood rosaries against the brutal rush hour traffic, filled with folks, some of whom are dabbing on orange blossom cologne as they enter or exit. The birch tar smoke dissipates after a few minutes, as if the traffic has let up. I can't say I *enjoy* this perfume-- it's a bit challenging despite also smelling familiar to me --but it does seem an immersive sculpture as Tauer likes to call his compositions. It's more unisex to me, because jeepney shrines have no gender, but my cishet male partner thinks it is very masculine. The sillage is like an exhaust plume in a good way. No more than a few touches are needed from the 5 ml vial, unless you intend to choke out the entire lane. Longevity--- it's definitely an extended jeepney ride, but the drydown is a comfortable and airy sandalwood with a warm human tone. I'm glad to have this scent for when I'm jonesing to travel.

I love and own this beauty. It smells like rubber, like tire tracks. Masculine to an extreme, many would say. I wonder what people would think about smelling it on women such as myself! But I could bathe in it. It's less like leather or castoreum (Andy doesn't use real animalics, thank goodness), and more like tires. It's rather musky on my skin, a synthetic musk like you might have in the base of a Narciso Rodriguez fragrance, but made super dark. So if you like musk and birch tar, you are in for a treat. I detect jasmine as well, but a layperson would never smell this fragrance and think "floral!" I have a decant of his L'Oudh, and I like that one even more. Less floral and dives deeper into the burnt rubber and even motor oil territory, while the Attar is just a bit more balanced. I almost feel like L'Oudh could be the night-time version or an intense flanker of the Attar. As if the Attar isn't night-time or intense enough. It's a 5ml bottle with a screw-on cap. It's an attar, so you are only meant to use a couple drops. I find that's all I need, and it lasts at least a few hours and projects softly.

I got this one lightly sprayed on the tester strip signed by Mr. Tauer himself in a package together with Incense Flash that I ordered from his on-line shop. I have never smelled something so beautiful, rich, opulent and regal. It has been 3 months and the paper strip still projects across the bedroom and is easily detectable from 1 meter afar. It’s nuclear. When I saw it on the site sporting 5 ml for 90 Swiss francs, I just giggled, but man, this tester strip taught me a lesson. Frankly, I would probably not know how to apply it, but rest assured it will easily outlast 50ml bottle of regular EdT. I’m big fan of LADDM and every single encounter with Tauer’s creations just makes me love his philosophy, craftsmanship and perfume genius even more. Bravo!