Hayat
Al Kimiya (2014)

An awesome nose piercing multi-faceted oud with a dark sinister orange accent sitting on top...no bandaid or barnyard , but a for real smelling oud accord...the dark earthy patch adds more depth and wood/earthiness...this is a hard core Oriental fragrance...robust and flavorful...Very nice how this fragrance rides along through its life span...just got added to my wish list...

Orange and lavender, maybe a few spices heavily wrapped in a slightly faecal smelling natural oud, a big dollop of damp earthy patchouli creates a fabulous masculine dry down. Hayat surprised me given its first half hour, it's an almost sweet and sour opening and at this point it could have drove over a cliff edge but everything settles down beautifully, it evolves from Conan the barbarian into a civilised board room meeting. The journey is more complexed than you first think from initial wearings, the scent becomes more and more sophisticated over an 8-10 hour development, excellent Perfumery with a well thought out journey.

The lavender and patchouli create an earthy minty aroma at first and then the lavender is more aromatic, especially since it's blended with cardamom and cinnamon. Then there is the bitter smoky part made by cypriol and Oud. The dry down is pretty linear and mostly smoky and woody.

You're in a torture chamber getting stabbed in the face by knives covered in sharp and bitter orange juice, while also getting burned alive by a fire fueled by some really potent charred/smoked patchouli. You want to cry out, "Help!" but, you can't think of any words other than sharp ones, because everything, in this moment, is sharp. To finish you off, someone begins rubbing some rotting agarwood into your wounds, and you pass out. Hayat by Kemi Blending Magic.

From the word 'go' on the oud greets me - not as intrusively as in many other recent oud-centred releases, but strong enough to overpower the other components of the top note phase. A bitter citrus briefly shines through, whilst later in the drydown a touch of lavender struggles to make itself smelt.

Later on a touch of cardamom with a woodsy undertone is present, and closer towards the end a somewhat unexciting patchouli is added in. All throughout, however, the oud pushes all the rest of the notes aside in an overwhelming manner.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection and twelve hours of longevity.

An autumnal composition that performs very well, whilst lacking balance and over-emphasising the oud and keeping it far too dominant - a bit of Royal Oud's masterfully subtle aporoach to this wood would not go astray here. The oud as such is not so brilliant as to warrant its tyrannical dominance. 2.75/5.