Royal Blend
Abdul Samad Al Qurashi

I own a Tola of this paradise mix ... a jewelry !! .. May I see not or is the beginning Strong Oud here clear V? ... no..Al Nukhba starts with citrus and then it becomes Amber Floral. It is only towards the bottom that Oud Vieillie appears..

This oil blend is my all-time favorite. It is regal, sensual, power and elegance all blended in to one bottle. Royal Blend can be worn anywhere to any type of event, for any occasion. Work or play. Great for year-round wear. This one will get you compliments as well as a good amount of positive attraction.

Longevity is 10+ hours and will last a few days on your clothes. Sillage is amazing and people will notice.

Signature scent worthy.

Applying two or three drops and rubbing it into your hands, arms neck and hair, it will last a long time; which is great because that means the bottle will last you quite a while.

10/10

Smoke, musky-spicy resins and rose hallmark the evolution of this Abdul Samad Al Qurashi's warm composition. Unlike many others from the same brand I detect on skin a less "laborious" evolution and an effective more plain versatility. A final touch of vanilla soothens the elements (yes effectively preserving the general unsweet rosey neutrality mastering since the beginning). I detect a stouth musky camphoraceous presence and a less heady (anyway even present) ambergris touch. Since the opening the rose is dominant, immediately a sort of camphoraceous, oily-hesperidic (powerful on it) and woodsy-resinous (fir resins, cistus, cipriol oil??) laundry rose with "literally" smoky undertones. In this phase I can't avoid to think to By Kilian Pure Oud which is by soon anyway more "boots polish" and smoky like. In Royal Blend I detect actually less "petrol" and more musks. Honestly I hardly detect specific fruity patterns (something peachy could be well joined with the general amalgam, I suppose), anyway I'm not frankly able to distinguish a specific fruity element while it seems to detect spices as pepper, saffron or may be kurkuma as surrounded by something vaguely minty and aromatic. The vanilla provides a marvellous soapy softeness embracing the neutral muskiness. I detect patchouli in the mix, well combined with musk, rose and oud in a where conjuring me more than vaguely the same (darker) combination of notes in Montale Black Aoud (the latter finally less natural, less smoothly vanillic, less warm, more "brash", "bully" and probably more rosey). I agree with cbstarker on that there is a full balanced interpenetration between ambery oud and rose whereof the outcome is a marvellously musky and resinous well rounded floral laundriness of extreme subtleness. The dry down is not in my opinion extremely textured but is subtle, smooth, clean, sensual and softly musky (straight to the point: wearable). Warmth and balance are remarkable. Of course Royal Blend is another example of really Arabic (and not synthetically arabian-themed) composition.
P.S: in the "late" dry down ambery warmth and fruity nuances hang out and the aroma becomes far more sensual and intriguing.

This is absolute dynamite! I know a lot of blends have a great oud presence with a rose accompaniment, and others have a nice rose opening but let the oud roam free, but Royal Blend is the perfect balance between the two. The oud note really fills the space in the room but the rose note stays close and fills the space around me. Both notes are readily available and last all day long, neither one pushing the other out of the way, but rather embracing each other. On my wrist it smells strongly of rose with soft sweet hints of hay and vanilla while around me is a more strongly resinous incense of woody oud. The two really walk hand-in-hand and never let go. Both the oud and the rose are very clean with almost no smoke and with what smells like just a touch of bergamot, some spices, and some amber in the mix, which really just makes it all the more interesting and well-rounded with a bright and lively step. There's some musk in the base that really comes out late in the drydown. Royal Blend is such an easy blend to wear and so much fun. Even though the oud note is so prevalent, it's equally suited to noses unaccustomed to eastern-styled blends as the balance and radiance in this one is simply perfect.

Amazing, period. And trust me: for this one, you don't really need to be a "connoisseur" or to make some efforts to agree with me. It's pure, straightforward beauty. Royal Blend is a *fantastic* oud-woody-ambery (ambergris) scent with nuances of flowers and vanilla, which easily outclasses any other (especially niche) scent with these types of notes. The opening is warm, refined, deep, with a thick, smoky, slightly dry woody base (the oud, which is quite restrained here, nonetheless outrageously enjoyable), resins, a few spices, and something so irresistibly radiant and luminous, warm, silky: it's vanilla seeds, so dense and graceful they smell also of velvet and flower petals. No flowers in the composition, but I clearly smell them, light and lively, sweetening and softening the woody-ambery blend. The quality of the materials is so great you get a physical feel of coziness, warmth, confidence and utter pleasure, like watching a summer sunset on the sea, scented with your favourite perfume, waiting for dinner to be served. Each ingredient carries its nuances; the ambergris is camphoraceous, slightly skanky, slightly salty, at the same time mellow and balsamic. The oud, well, it's real (and I guess, quite aged), so you know already what to expect if you've ever experienced the real, great, magically complex smell of agar wood. What intrigues me of Royal Blend is the final result, which is this warm elegance that sticks to your skin for hours, sensual and sophisticated, Oriental and opulent but at the same restrained and utterly refined. I won't dare to say that this seems to be the true nature of Arabian perfumery, all about elegance and natural mystery, but surely these are the main qualities I am finding – for the first time in my life – in these oils by Al Qurashi, contrary to what I am used to with my Western modern perfumes (which have other qualities, I am not saying they are rubbish, obviously). Also, the projection is impressive here: I applied some drops on my left hand, and I could easily smell it "on" me like if I sprayed it all over my clothes. And as all other Al Qurashi oils I've tested so far, the persistence is great, surviving a shower - in this case it did even not only survive it, but actually became better after it, more deep, more bright, more silky, like if the combined action of warm water and soap had somehow "helped" it to penetrate more deeply in my skin. Or well, however it smelled still gorgeous. Easily my personal favourite from Al Qurashi so far, as it has really them all – class, deepness, complexity, persistence, versatility. It's less complex and less challenging than other oils, so in a way less "interesting" perhaps, but fairly more versatile and with a (probably) wider potential appeal, and I appreciate this balance of qualities - hence my high rate. I've written it also for other products from this house but I feel to repeat it here too, even if I may sound affiliated with them (which I am not, obviously): any perfume fan shall try these products once in a lifetime.

9/10

This oil blend by Saudi Arabian brand Abdul Samal Al Qurashi is probably one of the *easiest* to like in their middle / upper range of offerings. It opens with the usual blast of rose / citrus supported by a light yet quite remarkable oud note. It initially feels dense and very concentrated, almost cacophonic, but once is settles down, it unfolds an incredibly versatile blend of earthy / woody notes supported by light rosey facets and spicy undertones. Distant echoes of vanilla serve to round up things a little bit while the fragrance still feels remarkably woody and dry.

So, it's earthy, it's woody and it's spicy but, at the same time, it's smooth and extremely easy to like. Both rose and vanilla (two notes that I generally avoid), are handled with restraint and serve more like refinements than main players. The vanilla is probably the least sweet I ever tried (no gourmandic facets whatsoever) while the rose is enhanced in its light / clean aspect to provide a little *air* to a generally claustrophobic theme. It takes a while for the top notes to settle down and allow the fragrance to expresss its actual nature but, once you get through Royal Blend's tremendous evolution, you'll be amazed by its endless woody/musky dry down.

Now, while it probably doesn't explore new grounds in middle-eastern perfumery, Royal Blend is still able to stand out for its effortless perfection and versatility. People who generally dig popular arabian-themed fragrances such as ByKilian, Tom Ford and the likes, should seriously ponder this one to, at least, check the difference between an arabic-themed fragrance and an actual arabic blend. Bleieve me, it helps a lot to put a bunch of things in perspective...