Princess Jawaher Blend
Abdul Samad Al Qurashi

Well, Alfarom thinks this might be filler in the ASAQ line up, but if that is true, then I am not ashamed to say that I love this particular filler. It opens up on a juicy, sweet bergamot-type note on top of some warm, somehow also sparkling oud, and then spreads out into a beautiful bouquet of creamy, sweet flowers, among them (I think) a fruity jasmine, neroli, and maybe ylang. The beginning is beautiful, actually – sparkling, but also limpid, floral, and sweet without being sickly. Irresistible. Backing it is a beautiful clean, warm oud with no stinkiness or anything that would challenge the average Western nose. I really like the way the oud note is handled in this blend – it starts out high, warm, clean, but towards the very end of the oil's lifespan, it begins to pick up a little bit of smokiness and deep woodiness. It adds gravitas to what would otherwise seem a light and floral blend.

After the mixed white and yellows florals of the start, a warm rose blooms suddenly into life, appearing as if out of nowhere. Different from the creamy but rather indistinct florals at the beginning, this is a pulsating, juicy rose note, broadcast as clear as day. I love this part. In the base, I pick up on a chewy, sweet, almost caramelized amber note, but as this is not listed, I must be wrong (but my nose says I'm not).

As I work my way up through the different categories and price ranges of the ASAQ catalog (well, a cross-section of it), the more obvious it becomes to me that there is a distinct correlation between price and quality and overall complexity of the blends. Take Princess Jawaher Blend, for example. This is listed as $365 per tola (approximately 11.66666 grams - an old Arab measurement that is very difficult to translate into mls, so grams is a bit more accurate). A favorite of mine from the lower-end blends, Al Ghar, costs $135 per tola. I love both of them, so what is there that justifies the price difference of $230? Quite simply, there is a noticeable hike in quality (especially of the oud used) and complexity from Al Ghar to Princess Jawaher. In fact, re-testing Al Ghar after having tried Princess Jawaher only makes the difference clearer - in comparison, Al Ghar feels light, simple, almost insubstantial. Still beautiful, mind you!

Good quality yet not particularly distinctive woody-rose combo leaning towards the clean side of the spectrum. It honestly smell pretty darned good especially during the early stages but the drydown is really a been there done that type of woody-rose that makes of this blend quite an anonymous delivery in such a great range of offerings.

Somehwat of a filler in my opinion.