Category Archives: Fragrance Genres

Mallo SEZ

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Let’s take a scented trip to Spain today through Mallo Parfums and its limited-edition SEZ. The small artisanal house was founded by Antonio Lasheras, who is also the nose. He describes his brand’s mission as follows:

Mallo is a project about memory and forgetfulness. This gambling game consists in storing memories and time will be responsible for buring them. This war between exceptional crops and strength of nature. A long search for something able to carry us to our more primitive origins or to some different kind of life.

Materials that mankind and earth created and that are not available anymore. Methods and techniques in order to create a few bottles to host lights and shadows within them.

Mallo SEZ banner. Source: Mallo.

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Areej Le Doré Aquilaria Blossom

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Aquilaria Blossom is a collaboration between two of the top masters of oud fragrances and oud distillation, Russian Adam of Areej Le Doré (“ALD”) and Taha Syed of Agar Aura. It is a much lighter, more resinous, less oud-y, more amber-scentric fragrance (on my skin) than many of the things that I’ve tried from either brilliant auteur. That makes it a more approachable, easy-to-wear, and versatile scent in many ways, even if it comes across as more simplistic, linear, and less operatic in character on an olfactory level. I enjoyed it, particularly during its cozy, snuggalicious drydown phase.

Agar Aura and Areej Le Dore Aquilaria Blossom in the 30 ml and 10 ml bottles. Photo: Russian Adam.

Areej Le Dore & Agar Aura Aquilaria Blossom 30 ml bottle. Photo: Russian Adam.

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Ensar Oud Santal Sultan (Parfum)

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The original Santal Sultan oil stole my heart and was my Holy Grail sandalwood scent. Heck, as far as I was concerned, it was THE Unicorn sandalwood that nothing else came close to in terms of notes, smell, opulence, smoothness, or quality.

My total adoration of Ensar’s Santal Sultan oil was no small thing; a long-time reader teasingly called me a “Sandalwood Snob” almost a decade ago and that moniker is so true that I adopted the name for myself. (I’m still waiting on those “Sandalwood Snob” t-shirts that were promised to me, “Hajasuuri.”) Whether it was an Amouage santal attar or something from Tom Ford, Rising Phoenix, or Killian, nothing was the perfect fit for my personal tastes or impressed me much.

Nothing until Ensar Oud’s (original) Santal Sultan oil.

And now he’s made a sprayable pure parfum version of it!

Ensar Oud Eo Santal Sultan parfum. Photo: my own.

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