Boukhour Blend
Abdul Samad Al Qurashi

This is a fairly light oil that starts with a musky floral lilt running though it which feels like mimosa, sweet but with a vein of tart bitterness. It sits quite close but leaves a decent scent trails in its wake. Quite interesting progression with this one though as the tart aspects increase over time giving the impression of the oil emitted from a squeezed grapefruit skin adding a bracing freshness to the composition. At the beginning I wasn't too sure, but as the tart 'grapefruit' accord developed and a woody accord entered I found I enjoyed this quite a bit, in the end it actually morphs into a nicer version of Malle's Eau de Magnolia, sharp and refreshing unsophisticated fun. Worth checking out especially as the price is very reasonable.

Boukhour is a soapy and quite easter minimalistic musky-floral rendition from the conceptually wester (arabic) Abdul Samad Al Qurashi house. The perfume (actually an oil) is extremely musky floral chypre, vaguely aldehydic and white (white floral-white musky-white vanillic). The amber-vanilla accord smells extremely balmy and aromatic, yes really evocative of soapy moments of relax in the bathroom when you decide to give to yourself a full relaxing bath full of soap bubbles and may be aromatic candles. Typically chypre final wave with powdery woods, vanilla and a delicate white musk. It seems to detect a jasmine absolute joined with rose, ylang-ylang, lily, mimosa and may be gardenia. There is a vaguely honeyed-waxy secret undertone. Seriously, this fragrance seems initially supremely balmy and is due for the lovers of artisanal soaps perfumes. Arcane undertones of laundry, wiped hotel rooms, herbalist's shops and neutral cosmetics jump on mind while the subtle floral undertone (barely detectable at distance- tamporal/spatial) conjures me vaguely juices a la Guerlain Cruel Gardenia, Amouage Dia Woman or Chloe Eau de Parfum Intense (but in a less articulated way). The quality of musk conjures me a lot several Acampora's musks.
P.S= Really impressive evolution, over a couple of hours the fragrance evolves significantly towards a sharper dimension, all the intense floral sophistication jumps on the stage counteracting the yet fainter (almost disappeared) soapiness with a floral-tart fruits valzer over a classic (far sharper) base. In this stage the floral intensity (lily, cyclamen, geranium??), the dry musk, sharp woods, an almost aqueous fluidity conjure me vaguely the classic and sadly discontinued Mila Schon Uomo (but also Chanel Allure is in the air).

Boukhour is a mixture of wood chips or brickettes soaked in essential oils, resins, and other fragrant materials that are designed to be burned over hot charcoal disks in burners to scent the home, clothes, and hair with its thick, perfumed smoke. I have read that some Muslims also burn boukhour chips to 'seal in' perfume oils they have applied on their skin, hair, or robes. This is a lovely idea, and an evocative one. After all, the original meaning of the word 'perfume' is "through the smoke" ('per fume' in Latin).

Boukhour Blend is a sweet, simple perfume oil designed to be rubbed through your hair or onto your clothes, and perhaps even 'baked in' through the use of boukhour chips, hence the name. Honestly, I would have preferred if the name (Boukhour Blend) referred to a smokey, incense type smell in the scent itself, rather than simply to its intended use. The opening is all candied, sweet white flowers (orange blossoms and jasmine, I am guessing), so sweet and syrupy that it kind of reminds me of those Japanese gummy candies I have a weakness for - they taste sweet and fruity but oddly floral at the same time. It stays sweet and white floral-y all the way through, and I guess there is a generic base of musk, amber, and woods here too - although those notes are listed for practically all scents in the catalogs of the major Arabian perfume houses, so that doesn't necessarily tell you anything.

It's very simple. Pretty. It will appeal to anyone who likes Candy by Prada or Amor Amor by Cacherel. I tried baking this oil into my skin by burning some frankincense and standing in the burner's upstream, but I just smell like smoke now. I will try to get my hands on some real boukhour chips to see if they add some complexity to this very simple, sweet oil.