mashingitlikegailthesnail:

fumehead:

Ghroob by Arabian Oud. ♀ ♂

This is an oil fragrance by Arabian Oud. Photo on the left is the sample I tried out. The fellow that owns the shop, Parfums de France, gave it to me for cheap if I promised to promo his store on basenotes.com. I’m promoting him here too, because his store is amazing and he’s so kind. If you live in the DMV area go to Tyson’s Corner and visit him!

There’s talk that many of Tom Ford’s fragrances, particularly the ouds, but many others, are heavily inspired by many scents from Arabian Oud. Some folks even use the word “stolen”. But I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve got some Tom Ford frags and I can definitely see the similarities, but they have their distinctions and both houses are special in their own ways.

This scent is a fantastical floral oud. It’s softer than Arabian Oud’s famous Kalemat. This fragrance uses Cambodian oud instead of the usual Arabian agarwood, which can be a very acrid scent to people unaccustomed to it, but Cambodian agarwood has a satiny quality to it. The Cambodian oud mixes beautifully with floral notes, and this scent displays that in a magical performance. At first you’re filled with soft oud, followed by warm saffron, orange blossom, and gardenia. The saffron is prominent and adds so much to that satiny Cambodian oud. As the oil warms up on skin a warm and comforting mix of cinnamon and saffron and gardenia waft from your wrists. Warmth from this fragrance is reminiscent of that gaussian glow of old Hollywood, or the muted shine of pearls. I can perfectly picture starlets of the 1920’s dousing themselves in an oil like this before draping themselves in hundreds of pearls – especially considering the popularity of Oriental perfumes after Shalimar shook the western world.

Top notes: Cambodian oud, saffron, cinnamon, orange blossom, thyme, marjoram
Heart notes: Bulgarian rose, jasmine, gardenia, palmarosa, geranium
Base notes: Sandalwood, white amber, musk, vanilla

@thepeacockangel