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Notes07/24/2022
Carlitos01
367 Reviews
Carlitos01
Very helpful Review
13
The pyramidal dark scent
Strong scents almost always evoke vivid memories in me. Sometimes I like to tie in some peculiar time frames of my life with some unique fragrances that surprise and mark me as much as some of my more unusual life experiences.
As far as I can remember, I have always had an enthusiasm for ancient history, and Egyptology in particular. Thirty-two years ago, and having been married a year earlier, my wife and I took an adventurous second honeymoon trip through Egypt.
In Giza, I was astounded for the first time, standing before the Great Pyramid. This construction is still by far the largest man-made building in terms of mass and the tallest until a hundred and twenty years ago. After a few minutes of looking at the four and a half thousand-year-old landmark, I decided to enter, despite the huge number of noisy visitors. Of course, I thoroughly explored the inevitable King's Chamber, the Great Gallery and the Queen's Chamber. Due to the numerous visitors and poor ventilation, the interior gets quite damp and makes a high contrast to the dry environment outside.
Before leaving the pyramid, I noticed the tunnel entrance leading to the Underground Chamber, also known as the Chamber of Thieves. I knew it had less archaeological interest and probably had no tourists. The narrow, low tunnel leading down to it was steep and with a gradient of more than 35º. Every now and then, a rough wooden beam nailed to the floor helped to prevent slipping. A dim light positioned every ten meters helped prevent the acrobatic descent from turning into a huge tumble and made it possible to see that the tunnel made a continuous curve. I only encountered a single other visitor making the upward journey. When I reached the final catacomb, I just found an empty room, lit only by a weak lamp. Suddenly the electricity went out for a time that seemed interminable. The darkness was total. I felt buried alive for more than twenty minutes. My imagination tortured me with all the details of mummy horror movies. The silence was sepulchral. Going back up through that tunnel-like trap, and with no lighting at all was unthinkable. It was the darkest and most sinister twenty minutes of my life. When I finally managed to get back and leave the Pyramid, I found my wife in tears and whining to the police that her husband had been kidnapped.
Maahir Black Edition is pitch black! It resembles a smoky black dungeon filled with cobwebs and hiding our darkest yearnings. The darkness around us is renewed with swirls of tar, embers and ash. It looks like a ghostly gothic storm! A little light made by a slightly floral, earthy and sweetish chord does not dispel this gloomy atmosphere.
On the other hand, we cannot remain indifferent before the dark magnitude of this perfume nor fail to appreciate the coherence between the different notes and the distinct phases. At the opening, we are awakened to an intrusion of peppers while saffron prepares a leathery trail. The heart reveals a light earthy pine background concealed by the development of strong notes of leather, smoke, resins and bittersweet balsams. Finally, the base reveals in full a dark leather note made with birch tar and enhanced with tarry guaiac wood and animalistic musk. It is a fantastic, ghostly symphony that accommodates the shadows and curses of an unwary tourist trapped in the claustrophobic chamber under the Great Pyramid.
As some of you may now suspect, I love dark fragrances. The darker they get, the more I appreciate them.
Let me enlighten this perfume with my personal ratings:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
- Opening: 10.0 (Impressive spicy opening giving way to an explosion of smoke and balms).
- Dry Down: 9.5 (Just a little less pungent but an impressive dark dryness anyway).
- Longevity: 8.5 (3 sprays last up to 8~9 hours).
- Sillage: 8.5 (up to 6 feet and 2.5 hours of projection, with 3 sprays).
- Uniqueness: 9.5 (the magnitude and smooth continuity of the successive dark phases at the proposed price point, is unique; only a slight resemblance with the much more expensive Terroni may be noticed).
- Wearability: 6.0 (Winter nights outdoor fragrance).
- Versatility: 7.5 (It is quite proper for lively evening and night events. It is intrusive for the office, as well as a day scent, and almost dangerous for sporty events or to use at the seaside: You may use it at any time / any season, if you are alone at leisure and enjoy this fragrance for your own pleasure).
- Price: 7.0 (Only the dark fragrance lovers will deify you!).
- Quality: 9.0 (Well above average especially if you consider its low price. It smells quite expensive).
- Presentation: 9.0 (Surprisingly, a UAE fragrance house proposes us a very acceptable box and a very beautiful and sturdy flask with a good metal cap).
- Price: 10.0 (100ml flask for €23.0, on sale and including tax and shipping).
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Overall rating: 8.61 / 10.00
- between 7 and 8 = above average;
- between 8 and 9 = recommended;
- above 9 = definitely not to be missed;
My opinion: A niche-like fragrance proposed by Lattafa that deserves to be a shiny landmark in the universe of very dark fragrances. Surprisingly, the flask is very nice and well crafted. Performance is not huge, but it's above average anyway. The brand's detractors, who normally consider Lattafa a "house of clones", may be surprised by this superb and unique execution.
Do I recommend it? Yes indeed!
Is it worthy of a blind purchase? You cannot miss it if you love dark fragrances. If you are a fresh, aquatic, green or blue scents enthusiast and you don't care about gloomy dark fragrances, keep a safe distance from this dangerous perfume. It will be worse than medieval torture for your skin. My wife hates it. I happen to love it and soon enough, I will buy a backup just in case.
Music: Disturbed - "The Sound Of Silence" (Hello darkness, my old friend...)
As far as I can remember, I have always had an enthusiasm for ancient history, and Egyptology in particular. Thirty-two years ago, and having been married a year earlier, my wife and I took an adventurous second honeymoon trip through Egypt.
In Giza, I was astounded for the first time, standing before the Great Pyramid. This construction is still by far the largest man-made building in terms of mass and the tallest until a hundred and twenty years ago. After a few minutes of looking at the four and a half thousand-year-old landmark, I decided to enter, despite the huge number of noisy visitors. Of course, I thoroughly explored the inevitable King's Chamber, the Great Gallery and the Queen's Chamber. Due to the numerous visitors and poor ventilation, the interior gets quite damp and makes a high contrast to the dry environment outside.
Before leaving the pyramid, I noticed the tunnel entrance leading to the Underground Chamber, also known as the Chamber of Thieves. I knew it had less archaeological interest and probably had no tourists. The narrow, low tunnel leading down to it was steep and with a gradient of more than 35º. Every now and then, a rough wooden beam nailed to the floor helped to prevent slipping. A dim light positioned every ten meters helped prevent the acrobatic descent from turning into a huge tumble and made it possible to see that the tunnel made a continuous curve. I only encountered a single other visitor making the upward journey. When I reached the final catacomb, I just found an empty room, lit only by a weak lamp. Suddenly the electricity went out for a time that seemed interminable. The darkness was total. I felt buried alive for more than twenty minutes. My imagination tortured me with all the details of mummy horror movies. The silence was sepulchral. Going back up through that tunnel-like trap, and with no lighting at all was unthinkable. It was the darkest and most sinister twenty minutes of my life. When I finally managed to get back and leave the Pyramid, I found my wife in tears and whining to the police that her husband had been kidnapped.
Maahir Black Edition is pitch black! It resembles a smoky black dungeon filled with cobwebs and hiding our darkest yearnings. The darkness around us is renewed with swirls of tar, embers and ash. It looks like a ghostly gothic storm! A little light made by a slightly floral, earthy and sweetish chord does not dispel this gloomy atmosphere.
On the other hand, we cannot remain indifferent before the dark magnitude of this perfume nor fail to appreciate the coherence between the different notes and the distinct phases. At the opening, we are awakened to an intrusion of peppers while saffron prepares a leathery trail. The heart reveals a light earthy pine background concealed by the development of strong notes of leather, smoke, resins and bittersweet balsams. Finally, the base reveals in full a dark leather note made with birch tar and enhanced with tarry guaiac wood and animalistic musk. It is a fantastic, ghostly symphony that accommodates the shadows and curses of an unwary tourist trapped in the claustrophobic chamber under the Great Pyramid.
As some of you may now suspect, I love dark fragrances. The darker they get, the more I appreciate them.
Let me enlighten this perfume with my personal ratings:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
- Opening: 10.0 (Impressive spicy opening giving way to an explosion of smoke and balms).
- Dry Down: 9.5 (Just a little less pungent but an impressive dark dryness anyway).
- Longevity: 8.5 (3 sprays last up to 8~9 hours).
- Sillage: 8.5 (up to 6 feet and 2.5 hours of projection, with 3 sprays).
- Uniqueness: 9.5 (the magnitude and smooth continuity of the successive dark phases at the proposed price point, is unique; only a slight resemblance with the much more expensive Terroni may be noticed).
- Wearability: 6.0 (Winter nights outdoor fragrance).
- Versatility: 7.5 (It is quite proper for lively evening and night events. It is intrusive for the office, as well as a day scent, and almost dangerous for sporty events or to use at the seaside: You may use it at any time / any season, if you are alone at leisure and enjoy this fragrance for your own pleasure).
- Price: 7.0 (Only the dark fragrance lovers will deify you!).
- Quality: 9.0 (Well above average especially if you consider its low price. It smells quite expensive).
- Presentation: 9.0 (Surprisingly, a UAE fragrance house proposes us a very acceptable box and a very beautiful and sturdy flask with a good metal cap).
- Price: 10.0 (100ml flask for €23.0, on sale and including tax and shipping).
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Overall rating: 8.61 / 10.00
- between 7 and 8 = above average;
- between 8 and 9 = recommended;
- above 9 = definitely not to be missed;
My opinion: A niche-like fragrance proposed by Lattafa that deserves to be a shiny landmark in the universe of very dark fragrances. Surprisingly, the flask is very nice and well crafted. Performance is not huge, but it's above average anyway. The brand's detractors, who normally consider Lattafa a "house of clones", may be surprised by this superb and unique execution.
Do I recommend it? Yes indeed!
Is it worthy of a blind purchase? You cannot miss it if you love dark fragrances. If you are a fresh, aquatic, green or blue scents enthusiast and you don't care about gloomy dark fragrances, keep a safe distance from this dangerous perfume. It will be worse than medieval torture for your skin. My wife hates it. I happen to love it and soon enough, I will buy a backup just in case.
Music: Disturbed - "The Sound Of Silence" (Hello darkness, my old friend...)
5 Replies
David8500
Carlitos01
