Bambini
AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

Ethereal. Like a veil made of fabric so fine, you can barely see it’s there. Of all the perfumes from Master Salaam I’ve tried so far, this is my favourite. Why? Because this perfume simply cannot be scrutinized, it can evoke nothing but love and can bring with it nothing but peace. There isn’t a time or a place where this perfume would intrude, impose or irritate. It simply is there, with you, not over you or around you. Metaphysical musings aside, this is one fine citrus fragrance.

To begin with, this is so far the only fragrance I’ve ever tried where even the immediate opening upon application, when the alcohol hasn’t yet fully evaporated, is a pleasant experience. Because of the volatility of lemon, it jumps straight at you from the first second, coming very close to the experience of pouring a glass of limoncello. In this sense, we could speak of a pre-top note. This effect of course settles quickly, and the dance of the citrus fruits begins. The first half hour of this perfume can’t be described in any other words than a megacitrus. What does a megacitrus feel like? To quote a dear book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it feels like “having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.” A rather grotesque analogy, but one I find to be perfectly fitting. This stage is exactly like the description on the website, with a dance of tangerines, oranges, lemons and grapefruit, which come and go as they please. Early on I also briefly smell something peppery, almost incense-like, but this disappears into the fruit very soon. If I had to summarize what this stage feels like, it’s like making one of those powdered citrus drinks, but using Fanta instead of water to make it and then dropping a glass of limoncello on top. It’s that citrusy.

After a while, the fizziness of the citrus fruits starts to soften, and the fragrance starts getting creamier and creamier. It is at this stage that the neroli starts to shine, and a strange (but oh, so welcome) tranquillity descends upon me. This is when Bambini becomes the perfume of “la dolce vita”, but not at all in the hedonistic sense, which is often attributed to this saying, but in a pure, happy way. The effect of neroli is almost narcotic, and suddenly that genuine smile to the passing stranger appears on your lips even more naturally, and the touch of sunshine on your skin seems even warmer and more pleasant. Every time I inhale this heavenly scent, I am overcome by this feeling of gratitude, not in the narrow sense of solely being grateful to the perfumer for creating this scent, or to God for letting me experience it, but a complete gratitude for everything and everyone that surrounds me, which brings me as close to a sense of complete unity and harmony with the universe as possible in this physical manifestation. Along with the lingering sour blast from the top and the opulent sweetness of neroli, there is a certain fresh-spiciness, which perfectly ties everything together. I could swear I get occasional whiffs of cardamom, perhaps even something akin to ginger? This could just be my mind and youthful memories playing tricks on me though… In summary, this stage swaps the multitude of fizzy drinks from the top notes for a very creamy and slightly spicy lemon popsicle, an image so vivid you can almost see the ice-cream melting in the heat.

In the dry down, this wonderful juice somehow keeps on getting creamier, which, together with the sour and fresh-spicy aspects of the fragrance creates an association to a genuine sorbetto. The sweet, sour and spicy aspects create an almost holy trinity. In the far dry down, the perfume also gets a slight green edge, which almost feels like the bright, citrusy aspects of vetiver. As for the longevity, some people say it doesn’t last, well, I can smell whiffs of it the next day after applying it, so go figure… The fact that something so juicy and pleasant lasts for so long is almost preposterous, bordering on blasphemy. In any case – if my introspective descriptions are of no interest to you, and you’re just wondering whether this citrus fragrance is worth your time (and money), then yes, this is truly the one citrus to rule them all. If you also seek a transcendent olfactory experience, then I would urge you to try it even more.

Yes - a nice citrus opening with a strong and tart grapefruit component, but good lashings of tangerine, mandarin, orange, and lemon.

In the drydown I get a faint neroli and touches Irma white florals, like the orange blossom. I do not get a separate base.

The sillage is poor, the projection good and the longevity is three hours on my skin.

A lovely citrus that is quite natural. That is all, really. Lots of reapplication is needed. Not refreshing, not a true Cologne, but the idea is not dissimilar. Good quality indeed.

Worth a positive score? Well, just. By the skin of its teeth. 3/5