Abdul Samad Al Qurashi: Crassna 25-yr Aged Oud

I decided to leave this 25 years old aged ou for a "second stage" of my approach with A.S.A.Q. scents, in order to get better in touch with the mood of the house and this Eastern way of composing and producing. I did not want to get it "wrong" or not be able to appreciate it at the fullest. I think I was right, now that I tested some other (great!) oils by this brand, I thoroughly enjoyed this exotic beauty. As the name says, Crassna 25 y.o. Aged Oud is an almost pure-oud oil rich in aged agar wood: I also smell a slight camphoraceous-salty note of amber gris, and perhaps a gentle addition of flowers, but this may all be due to the richness of oud. Which is obviously the prominent note, and as you can imagine by the quality of this house (if you are familiar with it), is beyond incredible. The opening is less "stinky" than I feared, not challenging at all; it's surely powerful and bold at first, but its woody, moldy muskiness manages to smell just utterly refined, evocative and rich like a Byzantine mosaic. Actually it's more musk and civet which smell sometimes unbearably "stinky" and indolic. The agar wood here is warm, woodier than wood, smoked (more than "smoky"), raw and organic, with a bit of "rancid" nuances probably due to aging, and a subtle salty aftertaste which as I said, smells a bit like ambergris. It's fun how here in Europe and USA we use the same name (oud) for, basically, depressing smoked rubber which has not the slightest resemblance with this material, in terms of depth, dimensionality, strength, evocative power. The evolution of this Crassna oil shows balsamic nuances which come and go, and again the "smoked" feel you also detect at the very opening - somehow similar to birch tar, a sort of smell of smoked ham. Not a complex scent, just a rich, archaic yet sophisticated harmony of notes: balsamic, dark, smoked, ambery, floral, salty... all in a raw, simple piece of black aged agar wood, stuffed like in a magic vase. After two or three hours the blend becomes increasingly softer and sweeter, more velvety and softer: notes of vanilla, amber and "warmer" woods make Crassna smell more cozy and mellow, always rich and smoked, just in a gentler and more understated way. The persistence is of course quite strong and long-lasting, you easily get a whole day of enjoyment with a small application of some drops on a small portion of skin - I guess that with larger quantities and perhaps applying them on clothes too, you get probably weeks of this heaven. Utterly refined and easily the best oud scent I have ever tried in my limited experience, I would consider this a mandatory "stop" for any perfume lover (a sample is enough and completely worth every penny: bear in mind these oils are pure concentrated power). A trip in space and time, perfect alone or great for layering with other oils.

9/10

Royal Blend by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi

Amazing, period. And trust me: for this one, you don't really need to be a "connoisseur" or to make some efforts to agree with me. It's pure, straightforward beauty. Royal Blend is a *fantastic* oud-woody-ambery (ambergris) scent with nuances of flowers and vanilla, which easily outclasses any other (especially niche) scent with these types of notes. The opening is warm, refined, deep, with a thick, smoky, slightly dry woody base (the oud, which is quite restrained here, nonetheless outrageously enjoyable), resins, a few spices, and something so irresistibly radiant and luminous, warm, silky: it's vanilla seeds, so dense and graceful they smell also of velvet and flower petals. No flowers in the composition, but I clearly smell them, light and lively, sweetening and softening the woody-ambery blend. The quality of the materials is so great you get a physical feel of coziness, warmth, confidence and utter pleasure, like watching a summer sunset on the sea, scented with your favourite perfume, waiting for dinner to be served. Each ingredient carries its nuances; the ambergris is camphoraceous, slightly skanky, slightly salty, at the same time mellow and balsamic. The oud, well, it's real (and I guess, quite aged), so you know already what to expect if you've ever experienced the real, great, magically complex smell of agar wood. What intrigues me of Royal Blend is the final result, which is this warm elegance that sticks to your skin for hours, sensual and sophisticated, Oriental and opulent but at the same restrained and utterly refined. I won't dare to say that this seems to be the true nature of Arabian perfumery, all about elegance and natural mystery, but surely these are the main qualities I am finding – for the first time in my life – in these oils by Al Qurashi, contrary to what I am used to with my Western modern perfumes (which have other qualities, I am not saying they are rubbish, obviously). Also, the projection is impressive here: I applied some drops on my left hand, and I could easily smell it "on" me like if I sprayed it all over my clothes. And as all other Al Qurashi oils I've tested so far, the persistence is great, surviving a shower - in this case it did even not only survive it, but actually became better after it, more deep, more bright, more silky, like if the combined action of warm water and soap had somehow "helped" it to penetrate more deeply in my skin. Or well, however it smelled still gorgeous. Easily my personal favourite from Al Qurashi so far, as it has really them all – class, deepness, complexity, persistence, versatility. It's less complex and less challenging than other oils, so in a way less "interesting" perhaps, but fairly more versatile and with a (probably) wider potential appeal, and I appreciate this balance of qualities - hence my high rate. I've written it also for other products from this house but I feel to repeat it here too, even if I may sound affiliated with them (which I am not, obviously): any perfume fan shall try these products once in a lifetime.

9/10

Jewel Blend by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi

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