Attar/Mukhallat of the Day

[melkhaldi]

ElKhaldi Studio - Amber Indonesia

This presents itself beautifully with a dark brown color with luxurious floral and ambergris notes. I’m getting a slight jasmine and civet/musk scent. The Oud in here is opulent and tempers the whole of the composition and balances it out by rounding off all the notes together with a deep sensual tantalizing of the senses and euphonious feeling. Absolutely amazing @melkhaldi this second time around.

This is a prototype , so it never made it to the website 🙂.
Glad you like it !

 

[Alamande]

Lupus & Vega - Jasmine Oud/Botanical Minimalism

This opens with an all-encompassing, harmonious floral blast that resonates like you just walked into a cathedral and hit a chord on the organ - arresting stuff. The initially very clean florals then move in a more baroque direction, taking on a carnal aspect and a sense of elegant decay - is this what people mean when they say jasmine is ‘indolic’? Segueing into the base notes, an impression of smouldering wood emerges - not so much an oudy, ‘chip-on-subitism’ thing; more like a nostalgic, campfire vibe. This is softened and supported by the musks, adding a nice textural element to the dry-down, which lingers for an impressively long time.

I’m spotting a pattern here - the lingering drydown is wonderful, but it makes me want to reach for the bottle and hit the narcotic top notes again. In other words, this is very moreish!

Finally, check out the packaging - I think any attar fan would be pleased to receive one of these.

 

[Alamande]

Oudique. Gensei Attar

Patchouli that is soft, round, and full with smooth vanilla background with nuances of coolness breathing through the aroma every now and then.
Patchoouli typically reminds me of ice hockey gear that was left in the bag for a few days, never one of my go to oils, BUT this is so full, and spherical, no sharp edges, mellow like Bluesy Music. I purchased to confirm my previous (incorrect) notion concerning patchouli, but was I ever sweetly surprised.
Tantalizing concoction. Last week it was 92 F, today it is 57 F so I was thinking about a warm, boozy cognac like aroma, when I got home I popped this one open and am I ever surprised, delighted, and sinking into it. Smells the way soft pajamas feel, safe, warm, cocoon, and I will develop tennis elbow if I keep sniffing my hand every 8 seconds.

Absolutely balanced, pleasing, makes me want more.

Nice - I think I will swipe this tonight!

 

[Mr.P]

Sweet Fern concentrate fresh out of the evaporator. This is about 20 fold concentrated, I went until solid materials started to crystallize and precipitate out of solution. To make this into a true resinoid I we have to remove the remaining alcohol - I am looking into getting some kind of vacuum desiccation / degassing chamber for this.

I don't want to concentrate them fully in the rotary evaporator because getting the thick concentrates out of the flask it uses could be problematic or impossible (without redissolving).

The initial smell of this is green, grassy, sugary like it has maltol, a little bit tart; there is a pleasant "deeper" grassy facet - I don't want to say it's like vetiver, but it's a certain tangy grapefruit green grass/vetiver(ish) facet, a really nice "recently fallen autumn leaf" or darjeeling tea aspect, and then a clean balsamic labdanum ambergris minus the dung aroma for the dry down. The dried leaves themselves had quite a barnyard / cowdung quality like some labdanum does but I'm not picking up on that at the moment in the concentrate.

 

[Shiningrobes]

I feel like your last few distillations(?) alone would lend themselves to years worth of blending experiments!

 

[Mr.P]

I feel like your last few distillations(?) alone would lend themselves to years worth of blending experiments!

These are solvent extractions FYI BUT both the extractor and the concentrator are a type of still. In this case the distillation is occurring for the sake of re-purifying the solvent that was used to make the extract instead of to condense an evaporated essential oil.

I'm trying to understand which are useful and which are kind of redundant for other commonly available materials. I've been experimenting with layering them with other fragrances and with each other and indeed it's like a whole fun little avenue to explore that could well occupy just about any amount of time. These things very much skew towards being base note heavy which makes them very interesting and time consuming to evaluate… They're all fixatives of one sort or another. The spikenard is super interesting to me - it has that crazy funk but then it gets super suave and beautiful dry abstract woody, pairs really well with sweet oud.

 

[Alamande]

Lupus & Vega - Spikenard and Oud Orchestra

Grateful to @Joe for the generous samples that came with my recent order - this was one of them. I’ve never smelled spikenard before, but here it reminds me quite vividly of the valerian tinctures I used to take to soothe my overstimulated nerves after partying back in the day. The funky, earthy, slightly sharp, but somehow simultaneously round and fleshy character that triggers associations with valerian in my mind is central to the composition here, but there is much more going on, both in terms of the florals accompanying the spikenard and the underlying base. As the attar dries downs it reveals notes of damp earth, sous-bois and fragrant woods together with gentle wisps of smoke - all of which act as a perfect foil to the rooty nard.

This is a superb composition, at least to my nose, and I could see myself wearing it regularly. Frankly, all of the samples are hits for me, and I am having a great time working my way through them.

 

[Ahmaoud]

The spikenard is super interesting to me - it has that crazy funk but then it gets super suave and beautiful dry abstract woody, pairs really well with sweet oud.

You extracted that from some old Yamadamatsu material, if I'm remembering correctly, that was destined for greatness, but also it sounds absolutely incredible in how it transitions!

scent_talks - Vetiver Extraordinaire - I've long been on the search for a ruh khus based, almost cologne like scent, and this one is a top contender! I'm wearing it today and wore it yesterday, the scent is enchanting and none of that kewra (pandanus) heavily majmua business going on here. This is a spicy take on ruh khus, and I'm emphasizing ruh khus because this scent wouldn't be the same with steam distilled vetiver. The very top, of even the very best of ruh khus oils have a sort of difficult, deeply bitter spicey (water flowing from a copper pipe) facet which I've never enjoyed, you get used it sure, and develop a fondness for it, but to an unacquainted nose, it's quite the experience. So the approach here has been to use spices to mitigate that, to my nose, a combination of cardamom and cinnamon, and perhaps some black pepper, though a similar result could have been obtained with just using a green rose otto (Kashan or Isparta) (to a varying degree). What comes out is a ruh khus attar where the earthy, mitti like nuances are highlighted. But it doesn't just stop at that, the spices lend themselves to create an almost crushed green leaf accord, which is both addictive and invigorating. After a little while I swear I'm getting nuances of ruh motia, watery green jasmine sambac notes, but very delicately used. I can get a dusty green from what I imagine is a Lawsonia inermis essential oil being used, and also get a bitter citrus rind like scent. When the spices tone down a bit you're greeted with this lovely, bitter floral, green and earthy mid, it's still uplifting and dignified. It's actually quite relaxing, it's the scent I associate with sitting in a lush green garden while dew still graces the grass. Brilliant stuff, and I'm sure there's a ton of other notes I've missed, this smells like there's a lot more notes here, and scent_talks loves his animalic and resins, though never overdoing it to my taste!

If someone wants an approachable ruh khus attar for Western sensibilities, one which imagines an idealized scent of the green tops of the khus plant, then I can't think of a better option! It's deeply relaxing and I feel doesn't try to re-write what ruh khus is, but decorates it in a way to make it accessible to new noses. Also I've applied it several times during writing this review, just because of how obsessed I am with it!

 

[Joe]

Lupus & Vega - Spikenard and Oud Orchestra

Grateful to @Joe for the generous samples that came with my recent order - this was one of them. I’ve never smelled spikenard before, but here it reminds me quite vividly of the valerian tinctures I used to take to soothe my overstimulated nerves after partying back in the day. The funky, earthy, slightly sharp, but somehow simultaneously round and fleshy character that triggers associations with valerian in my mind is central to the composition here, but there is much more going on, both in terms of the florals accompanying the spikenard and the underlying base. As the attar dries downs it reveals notes of damp earth, sous-bois and fragrant woods together with gentle wisps of smoke - all of which act as a perfect foil to the rooty nard.

This is a superb composition, at least to my nose, and I could see myself wearing it regularly. Frankly, all of the samples are hits for me, and I am having a great time working my way through them.

That's very kind of you. I'm glad you like them, and can you use them in your daily life?

 

[Ouderriffic]

Wearing a 2021 Mongolian Maceration today

This little maceration features "Musk 1960" Indian sandalwood oil from Hermitage with a heavy dose of Mongolian grains. Smooth and buttery with notes of honey, chocolate, and coconut. As you could guess from the name of the Sandalwood oil, it already has some good musk notes as is, so it really compliments the musk grains well.

I've transferred the remaining "Musk 1960" from the big bottle to the smaller bottles to reduce the headspace.

One a side note, what are your thoughts on an oil being called "vintage" because it supposedly uses old wood, yet was distilled within a few years? 😂

 

[Ahmaoud]

The funky, earthy, slightly sharp, but somehow simultaneously round and fleshy character

What a beautiful description, not often you don't often hear members of the plant kingdom being described as such! But jokes aside I can relate to that, I'm thinking of the plush like qualities I've noticed in tuberose and a much lesser extent, frangipani, the latter half of course.

 

[Alamande]

What a beautiful description, not often you don't often hear members of the plant kingdom being described as such! But jokes aside I can relate to that, I'm thinking of the plush like qualities I've noticed in tuberose and a much lesser extent, frangipani, the latter half of course.

When I typed this, the attar was conjuring associations with very ripe - or overripe - fruits; not specific fruit aromas, just the textural sense of plumpness and juiciness you get with fruit that is very ripe and perhaps a day or two away from starting to decay. Does that make sense? It’s another example of me trying to use wine vocabulary where it doesn’t really belong 😅

 

[Joe]

Lupus & Vega - Jasmine Oud/Botanical Minimalism

This opens with an all-encompassing, harmonious floral blast that resonates like you just walked into a cathedral and hit a chord on the organ - arresting stuff. The initially very clean florals then move in a more baroque direction, taking on a carnal aspect and a sense of elegant decay - is this what people mean when they say jasmine is ‘indolic’? Segueing into the base notes, an impression of smouldering wood emerges - not so much an oudy, ‘chip-on-subitism’ thing; more like a nostalgic, campfire vibe. This is softened and supported by the musks, adding a nice textural element to the dry-down, which lingers for an impressively long time.

I’m spotting a pattern here - the lingering drydown is wonderful, but it makes me want to reach for the bottle and hit the narcotic top notes again. In other words, this is very moreish!

Finally, check out the packaging - I think any attar fan would be pleased to receive one of these.
View attachment 49589

When I'm done with these cases, I have more elaborate ones coming up! And thanks for the write-up. Makes me feel good. Glad you got it.

 

[Ahmaoud]

When I typed this, the attar was conjuring associations with very ripe - or overripe - fruits; not specific fruit aromas, just the textural sense of plumpness and juiciness you get with fruit that is very ripe and perhaps a day or two away from starting to decay. Does that make sense? It’s another example of me trying to use wine vocabulary where it doesn’t really belong 😅

Makes perfect sense! I'm imagining stone fruits, such as plums and peaches, perhaps more so plums because as they ripen you're able to feel them getting soft, and almost fuller in a new sort of way, while the exterior skin reminds me of a sort of fruit leather, if that makes any sense. Peaches have a deeper aroma as they ripen but their skin is so paper like that, you can often just rub it off completely with no difficulty! It's peaches season here, so the stone fruits are on my mind 😅

 

[Saudalhajri]

1:20am and cannot sleep
Improvised with a drop of vintage Burmese, and a drop of vintage vetiver. Rubbed on hands and beard. Very very calming blend and might be the start of something good. Perhaps with lavender absolute or blue lotus (if I can find any), spikenard benzoin

 

[Saudalhajri]

Revisiting a ghalya I made for my daughter a while ago.
Containing Siberian and Mongolian musk, raw civet, ambergris, mysore and Indonesian sandalwood, Cambodian a Laotian Ouds, Taif and Kashan rose, sambac absolute, Ruh Khus Ateeq from @An Najwa .
I myself love this blend and see it as one of my successfully attars. But I was very surprised when -Alhamdulillah- it was cherished and loved by every single person who tried it so far.
It transports me to another realm when I smell it, it’s animalic but appeals to musk and civet haters, it has a green resinous note (which I normally hate) that is lovely and relaxing.
It’s funny that I was on the verge on throwing it away when it was initially made using just the oud and musks. Now it’s a completely different beast.

Diluting it in alcohol as a test was successful, it gave a different profile slightly but the same DNA, and longevity was about 5 hours, ending in a sweet bukhoor-like scent with medium projection.

 

[Ahmaoud]

It’s funny that I was on the verge on throwing it away when it was initially made using just the oud and musks. Now it’s a completely different beast.

I just applied some of my hacky Majmua, roughly speaking it's 70% Ruh Khus Ateeq from An Najwa to 30% NTT Sandalwood batch 3 from MesOud, with some other ingredients which I've mentioned before and today it opens up on the skin as incredibly buttery. Like this was last thing I was expecting it to morph into and yet hear we are. Honestly the waiting process for pure oil blends is a nightmare, they're super slow to come together.

All that being said it's a welcome character to this blend!

 

[Joe]

You extracted that from some old Yamadamatsu material, if I'm remembering correctly, that was destined for greatness, but also it sounds absolutely incredible in how it transitions!

scent_talks - Vetiver Extraordinaire - I've long been on the search for a ruh khus based, almost cologne like scent, and this one is a top contender! I'm wearing it today and wore it yesterday, the scent is enchanting and none of that kewra (pandanus) heavily majmua business going on here. This is a spicy take on ruh khus, and I'm emphasizing ruh khus because this scent wouldn't be the same with steam distilled vetiver. The very top, of even the very best of ruh khus oils have a sort of difficult, deeply bitter spicey (water flowing from a copper pipe) facet which I've never enjoyed, you get used it sure, and develop a fondness for it, but to an unacquainted nose, it's quite the experience. So the approach here has been to use spices to mitigate that, to my nose, a combination of cardamom and cinnamon, and perhaps some black pepper, though a similar result could have been obtained with just using a green rose otto (Kashan or Isparta) (to a varying degree). What comes out is a ruh khus attar where the earthy, mitti like nuances are highlighted. But it doesn't just stop at that, the spices lend themselves to create an almost crushed green leaf accord, which is both addictive and invigorating. After a little while I swear I'm getting nuances of ruh motia, watery green jasmine sambac notes, but very delicately used. I can get a dusty green from what I imagine is a Lawsonia inermis essential oil being used, and also get a bitter citrus rind like scent. When the spices tone down a bit you're greeted with this lovely, bitter floral, green and earthy mid, it's still uplifting and dignified. It's actually quite relaxing, it's the scent I associate with sitting in a lush green garden while dew still graces the grass. Brilliant stuff, and I'm sure there's a ton of other notes I've missed, this smells like there's a lot more notes here, and scent_talks loves his animalic and resins, though never overdoing it to my taste!

If someone wants an approachable ruh khus attar for Western sensibilities, one which imagines an idealized scent of the green tops of the khus plant, then I can't think of a better option! It's deeply relaxing and I feel doesn't try to re-write what ruh khus is, but decorates it in a way to make it accessible to new noses. Also I've applied it several times during writing this review, just because of how obsessed I am with it!

Vetiver remind me of the dirt on the ground, moist with fog.

 

[Joe]

1:20am and cannot sleep
Improvised with a drop of vintage Burmese, and a drop of vintage vetiver. Rubbed on hands and beard. Very very calming blend and might be the start of something good. Perhaps with lavender absolute or blue lotus (if I can find any), spikenard benzoin

Oh no! I am a terrible insomniac, which goes with my anxiety and depression. I now take tons of pills just to yawn.

 

[Mr.P]

Sweet fern folded tincture I extracted this week. Top notes are a photorealistic strawberry - the grassy element and the maltol like facets combined to make sweet-tart, and for whatever reason it is the aroma of strawberries. Weirdest thing. The plant itself has zero resemblance to strawberries other than the tartness when you crushed the leaves.