Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
09/22/2022
Kurai
375 Reviews
Kurai
2
Somewhat positive
Like a fellow Parfumo wrote earlier: this brand has kind of a "bro line" image. I guess that is due to its huge fanboy base and the numerous reviews on social media that only seem to ventilate a hype rather than giving a nuanced opinion. That also made me reluctant to consider any of their perfumes so far. But their samples kept piling up in my drawer, so today I decided "what the heck, just give them a try".
Since the market is so saturated, it is easy to qualify all rose/oud scents as generic. After all, they are all somewhat alike. This one does not really stand out in any way. Being obnoxiously loud is not a unique selling point either in this genre. But, admittedly, I can see there are some nuances to Akaster, which kept today's tryout interesting the least.
The note breakdown is relatively straightforward. Rose plus oud obviously, with some freshness to begin with and some warm spice and musk to round it off. The opening is not so much a big bang, but a smooth fade in. Slowly the volume increases to 120%. Little to no development after that.
I am no oud specialist in any way, so no comments on the quality or the species. I can only say it is relatively mild compared to some other ouds I have experienced; nothing medicinal or fecal here.
The rose is prominent. Instead of those deep-red, so called 'jammy' roses, this rose is on the dry potpourri side. It does give off a very floral feel to the composition, without going typically feminine.
There is some mustiness to the scent, which may well be from the combination with musks and cardemom. It is strong and a bit dirty in the first half hour and slowly wears off. This mustiness was actually one of the nicer aspects of the scent. It darkened the mood somehow, without getting itself into overly smoky or greasy territories. Interesting.
In conclusion, it is always good to keep an open mind and try something outside of your comfort zone. Akaster did not convince me to try more rose/ouds nor did it excite me to try the rest of the PdM line. But it was also not as bad as anticipated. I expected a generic alpha male mess and I got a somewhat positive feeling out of today's wear instead.
Since the market is so saturated, it is easy to qualify all rose/oud scents as generic. After all, they are all somewhat alike. This one does not really stand out in any way. Being obnoxiously loud is not a unique selling point either in this genre. But, admittedly, I can see there are some nuances to Akaster, which kept today's tryout interesting the least.
The note breakdown is relatively straightforward. Rose plus oud obviously, with some freshness to begin with and some warm spice and musk to round it off. The opening is not so much a big bang, but a smooth fade in. Slowly the volume increases to 120%. Little to no development after that.
I am no oud specialist in any way, so no comments on the quality or the species. I can only say it is relatively mild compared to some other ouds I have experienced; nothing medicinal or fecal here.
The rose is prominent. Instead of those deep-red, so called 'jammy' roses, this rose is on the dry potpourri side. It does give off a very floral feel to the composition, without going typically feminine.
There is some mustiness to the scent, which may well be from the combination with musks and cardemom. It is strong and a bit dirty in the first half hour and slowly wears off. This mustiness was actually one of the nicer aspects of the scent. It darkened the mood somehow, without getting itself into overly smoky or greasy territories. Interesting.
In conclusion, it is always good to keep an open mind and try something outside of your comfort zone. Akaster did not convince me to try more rose/ouds nor did it excite me to try the rest of the PdM line. But it was also not as bad as anticipated. I expected a generic alpha male mess and I got a somewhat positive feeling out of today's wear instead.
Odysseus
VanAllan
