Qurashi Family Blend
Abdul Samad Al Qurashi

Unparalleled beauty, a magically exotic minty aoud-suede rendition rich of dreamy 80's "south american" memories about Hotels ballrooms, piano-bar, succulents and white-linen clothed daring men in sun glasses and crocodile shoes. The Qurashi Family Blend's agarwood resin is pure velvety suede freshly aromatic, laundry-soapy and spicy. All is pure fresh exoticism like a new ideal neo-classic Equipage. I see richly woody-leathery ambiences whose atmosphere is impregnated of woods "beeswax flavored" polish and leather brightening foam. The ambiences around are crowded of people and home of events, meetings, dinners, conventions. The opening is by soon luxurious and aromatic with a daring bergamot-lavender (aromatic and articulated) accord over an averagely seasoned pure oudh soft "suede-like" blanket. The note of mint supports lavender and bergamot in a sort of neo-fougere aromatic charismatic introduction leading soon the aroma towards a freshly laundry-soapy-resinous-leathery development absolutely bold and lush. The subtle (fresh, delicate and refined) dry down could be labeled as a soapy-waxy-suede veined neo chypre absolutely classic and modern at once. The final wake (soft, naif, somewhat balmy and persistent) is rich of nuances (balsams, aromatic elements, rosey floral notes, amber, honey, suede and musks). Super charming and latin lover is the man which dares to project outside such an inebriating optimistic golden aura.

The opening is an extremely interesting and original combo of lavender and citrusy green notes joined by a smooth oud presence. The mint and the lavender provide a very aromatic vibe while keeping the fragrance extremely easy to like for those who are not used to the most challenging middle-eastern blends. The oud note is restrained and definitely leaning towards the clean side of the spectrum. In this phase, Qurashi Family Blend smells like an extremely solid take on a fougere / chypre hybrid with a remarkable oriental twist. Smooth florals break in after a while turning the whole composition into a sort of clean woody-musky-chyprey thing that is really not so distant from several *Parfumerie Generale's* (I'm looking at you Corps Et Ames Eau De Toilette Aipaissante).

Nice overall, but definitely not amongst my favorites in the ASAQ's impressive range.