Kalemat Amber
Arabian Oud (2013)

Had it, sold it. Kalemat in the eau de parfum format is probably Arabian Oud’s most popular ‘mainstream’ fragrances. So how does the oil version stack up? Well, it sticks pretty closely to the curves of the original, the only real difference being the compression of some of the flightier notes in oil format. In other words, Kalemat oil has a much denser, doughier texture than the original, and is both rosier and sweeter. In general, though, the friendly, golden-fruited amber of the original has been faithfully translated. I cannot therefore explain why I love Kalemat so much in its original eau de parfum format and find it so mind-numbingly dull in the oil. I suspect it is because gooey ambers like Kalemat, being as stodgy as a bread-and-butter pudding in the depths of winter, need a bit of air and space between its molecules to make it work. When you squash something already so densely, jammily sweet down into an even more compressed space, you end up with a stock cube’s worth of it. And even the memory of that is enough for me to cry out for some ventilation.