Tcharas
AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

The top notes reveal a patchouli blast of some distinction: quite bright, crisp, like an restrainedly mild castoreum with a floral undertone, mainly a rose.

The drydown ads a slightly leathery note, but the most important development is that of an unusual incense. The latter is brighter than expected, with occasional balsamic undertones but not at all fitting the stereotype of the rich and dark Oriental balsam; there is a modern and lean feel to this note. There a touches of the civet evident at times.

The base adds a bright resinous touch to it, with whiffs of ginger and a mossy vibe also present at times.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

This is an interesting spring scent for cooler days. The combination of the disparate comments works exceedingly well, and some stretches of the development of this creation result in creative and original impressions. The quality of the ingredients is high and the blending is done very well; the performance is not stellar though. 3.5/5

One of my favorites. I have just received a generous sample of this scent and I love it. It's a bold and powerful scent, leathery, woody - with sandalwood presence - and a bit spicey and animal.

It smells mysterious and indeed has the tcharas smell present. Great one. I

After the somewhat surprising cool patchouli opening, the next few minutes reveal a dry yet bracing accord of what smells a lot like a blend of frankincense and rock rose. Salaam mentioned the use of 'flowery essences' but other than the patchouli which does have floral nuances these other 'florals' probably exist in trace amounts.

Similarly for the listed civet and castoreum, they are never given starring roles, employed as they are in the service of the composition by adding depth and texture, barely noticeable except late in the drydown for that lived-in vibe. I found nothing remotely 'barnyard'. If there are indeed any animals in this barn, I'm guessing they comprise of a cat, a dog, some mice and perhaps an owl.

On my skin TCHARAS is nothing more than a soft incense-patchouli fragrance. Nice but certainly nothing groundbreaking. If only the composer had taken a little more risk and push the boundaries of 'wearability' a little further...he'd probably end up with... Hindu Kush!

May thick spicy dust be yours ! "And to you many camels, many dates and much cumin !" So they greeted each other, bowing low in the mountains of Afghanistan, amid the pepper-pots of their ancestors. There's a shrill acetone patchouli (on top, for once) which dies down into its own reverse, a lightly salted, slightly mentholated cedar full of calm self-assurance. It's an orientalist version of the same line's Gringo. Abdes Salam Attar (peace be upon him), the ‘Perfume Composer' of this picture-postcard, writes : “This perfume has been composed in memory of the famous aromatic resins cultivated on the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. Resins that possess a powerful and inebriating fragrance characterised by the strong animalic tone of the mountain farm barns. Never in my travels did I ever encounter such a mighty aroma able to blend so perfectly the feelings of untamed wildness and of sofisticate harmony. With a base of Civet and Castoreum and with the resinous and flowery essences available to perfumers I attempted to revive a whole epoch.”. I've known coffee-shops with a more animalic tone than this barn, though admittedly they were in Oregon. As with others from Via del Profumo, it has irreproachable materials, a good idea, and yet is only a a near-miss.