Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
02/17/2014
Dolby
68 Reviews
Dolby
4
One pebble, two pebbles...
A few months ago, and equipped with an aroused forewarning of wild episodes of swooning awaiting us, my friend A. and I set about climbing the four floors of thickly carpeted Harrod’s stairs in order to reach Nirvana, aka Roja Dove’s Haute Parfumerie.
A sanctuary of uber luxury tucked away, it is all glass and glittering and packed with bottles, one more expensive than the other.
Nose at the ready, we jumped into the task of sniffing everything in sight, only to be left with a slight sense of jaded antipathy.
How could it be?
Here I was in a perfumista’s dream, and yet, pretty much everything was déjà vu.
It was, you must remember, the big Oud period and Oud being Oud, it doesn’t go unrecognised.
Result, one house after the other would smell samey.
This is, until I spotted a group of odd looking bottles, nestled in a corner.
Each sporting a wooden inaugural donut, they cut a different silhouette to the rest and drew me like a magnet.
Majda Bekkali.
J’ai fait un reve obscur (I had an obscure dream) starts out very lemony with a distinct and hovering blast of pepper.
A wake up spritz for sure.
Unfortunately, a weird cumin note emerges and stays there for a little while.
Can’t stand that curry note because it makes me think of stale sweat.
Nuh hu.
Me no like.
Thank goodness though, it has the intelligence to depart and the perfume starts on its journey of smoothness.
I feel this is the Bekkali signature.
Beautiful.
Starts sharp and almost unpleasant but then quickly takes a surprising turn, that leaves you with softness… and wood.
Another group of notes I often have issues with because they tend to be harsh, the wood here is slightly gourmand, rounded, with a smidgen of spices sprinkles on top.
Definitely a skin scent that would smell lush on both genders, it is certainly a big departure from the huge macho masculines, and instead would appeal to the understated chic.
It gets my vote.
A sanctuary of uber luxury tucked away, it is all glass and glittering and packed with bottles, one more expensive than the other.
Nose at the ready, we jumped into the task of sniffing everything in sight, only to be left with a slight sense of jaded antipathy.
How could it be?
Here I was in a perfumista’s dream, and yet, pretty much everything was déjà vu.
It was, you must remember, the big Oud period and Oud being Oud, it doesn’t go unrecognised.
Result, one house after the other would smell samey.
This is, until I spotted a group of odd looking bottles, nestled in a corner.
Each sporting a wooden inaugural donut, they cut a different silhouette to the rest and drew me like a magnet.
Majda Bekkali.
J’ai fait un reve obscur (I had an obscure dream) starts out very lemony with a distinct and hovering blast of pepper.
A wake up spritz for sure.
Unfortunately, a weird cumin note emerges and stays there for a little while.
Can’t stand that curry note because it makes me think of stale sweat.
Nuh hu.
Me no like.
Thank goodness though, it has the intelligence to depart and the perfume starts on its journey of smoothness.
I feel this is the Bekkali signature.
Beautiful.
Starts sharp and almost unpleasant but then quickly takes a surprising turn, that leaves you with softness… and wood.
Another group of notes I often have issues with because they tend to be harsh, the wood here is slightly gourmand, rounded, with a smidgen of spices sprinkles on top.
Definitely a skin scent that would smell lush on both genders, it is certainly a big departure from the huge macho masculines, and instead would appeal to the understated chic.
It gets my vote.
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