Jewel Blend has been my first encounter with Abdul Samad Al Qurashi, and all I can say is that it couldn't really go better than this. The very first sniff instantly throws you into the deep gap of difference with Western modern perfumery – not a matter of being better or worse, just deeply different. Basically, Jewel is a powerful, faceted and dense amber-oud blend, softened and sweetened by floral notes and dirtened by a musky, skanky touch. All in a way I was quite un-used to; the texture is thick and oily, the oud is (finally – first time ever for me) a real oud, full of balsamic, animalic, smoky, woody, mystical nuances; it's woody in the most deep and compelling sense – dark, dry, organic, a bit dusty on one side, almost stale on the other. Perhaps a litte challenging at first, but worth the effort of some patience (one hour, and it's pure class, far from the barn). No rubber, no smell of tires. The amber accord itself is also considerably less "friendly" and gentle than the synthetic ones we're used to; it's terribly warm and sumptuously golden, but also spicy, shady, somehow austere and tough. Overall Jewel Blend exudes charm, class and interest, it's a scent to explore and to listen to, a veritable "door to the unknown". The evolution is quite long and comprises a kaleidoscope of whiffs, nuances, echoes which come and go – balsamic, musky, woody, sweet; overall it tends to become drier and darker as hours pass, slowly turning into a tar, smoky-woody accord, which after some hours (6 or 7 possibly) gets again a whiff of balsamic with an unexpected floral accord which returns for a while. The woody accord mutates then again into something more gentle and aromatic (something like cedar or oak), slowly vanishing away. After almost 8 hours you get basically a dusty, delicate, sweet ambery scent with just an echo of woods. All still vibrant and clear hour after hour, even if obviously, lighter and lighter as hours pass – but on a time span of more than 12 hours, so you've really plenty of time to enjoy all this. Now, maybe I paid particular and perhaps unnecessary attention to the evolution, but Jewel Blend can also be simply enjoyed as a classy, compelling, long-lasting and versatile oud-amber scent with floral nuances that lasts for hours and smells great. So basically you can either enjoy it as a "normal" perfume (probably better than most of your others, though) or like a satisfying and charming olfactory "journey", or "experience" if you wish. Needless to say we shouldn't even compare this elegant, versatile, deep and precious oud ambery scent to the sad, plain, cheap synthetic ouds we're used to. Surely worth a try.
9/10
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