Kalemat by Arabian Oud - FiFi Award 2010

Kalemat by Arabian Oud is an unisex fragrance inspired by the smell of bakhoor. Bakhoor (Arabic بخور) is the Arabic name given to woodchips soaked in fragrant oils or in most Arab countries it is the name given to scented bricks. These scented chips/bricks are burned in incense burners to perfume the home and clothing with a rich thick smoke. The ingridients of bakhoor are mostly agarwood (oud), sandlewood, frankincense and other natural oils in different mixtures.
At my first visit to UAE I actually deeply fell in love with the exotic smell of bakhoor which you can smell almost everywhere.

Kalemat is the fragrance which won the  FiFi Award 2010 in Dubai for the most popular perfume of the year. The significance of the award is represented in the fact it is the first online consumer voting within the region to choose their favourite perfume within the Arab World.

So beside my love for bakhoor it made me even more curious to test this popular perfume. And indeed it captured me though it is not  as good as the real bakhoor smell.
Unfortunately I noticed later that it just doesn't work on my skin. I didn't test it extensively and not on my own skin. I should have know it better, as I noticed couple of times in the past that my skin is not on friendly terms with frankincence as it is getting to be too herbal.

Top Notes: Frankincence,  Basil
Heart Notes: Cedar Wood
Base Notes: Vanilla

So I personally will stay true to bakhoor and when I want to smell of it I will scent my clothes exposing to the smoke of bakhoor like many Arabs do. I always claim that in fact I am probably Arab, kidnapped and brought to Europe and given time I adopted to the surrounding conditions by getting blond :-D

Mukhallat Ghoroob, Zahrat Al Khalije, Egyptian Jasmine by Arabian Oud

At Arabian Oud you can also get wonderfull oil perfumes decanted in sizes of 3, 6 or 12ml. And also these precious scents are beautifully presented in the same special bottles I mentioned in my last post about Al Qurashi and the same way keeping in big glass perfume bottles overdrawn with gold and hand painted flowers.

Mokhallat Ghoroob

Ghoroob actually means sunset and the title hit the mark. It is a warm, oriental, sunny scent which warms you like the setting sun. It is deep in its intensity and exotic through and through but not too heavy. When you close your eyes having this scent arround you, you can imagine the warmth and the color of the desert.

Top notes: Sandalwood, Istanbul rose
Heart notes: Saffron
Base notes: Vanilla

Actually there is much of sandalwood and it is  a little sweet but very comfortable.


Egyptian Jasmine

Everyone who loves Jasmine it is a very must because it is pure! This oil gives you a feeling being in the middle of Tunisia passing all the people's gardens in which you can always find a jasmin shrub.

This scent is created from only one ingridient. It is light with a touch of sweetness for an everyday use.

Zahrat al Khalije

means Khaleeji Flower but which flower is it actually?

Top notes: Lemon, Citrus
Heart notes: White Musk
Base notes: Corriender, Violet

This is a very unusual scent and the name doesn't fit in my opinion. Though it is a very interesting, exotic one.
The title sounds somehow very feminine to me. Opposite is the first sniff you get. It is very sharp and fresh like an aftershave. I have the feeling that there is also mint in the top notes.
After minutes it settles down and the sharpness disappears and what remain is an oriental but fresh mix.
Actually I don't know wheather to like it or not because there is definately something disturbing in it or is it just this feeling of aftershave?!

Al Hamra by Arabian Oud

Al Hamra perfume oil is a fruity floral ultra light and smooth fragrance for women. It is one of the most famous arabian pefumes worldwide as it was in the nominees list at the FIFI Awards in 2006 for the best perfume in the world.

Top Notes: Apple Blossom
Heart Notes: Rose, Jasmine, Lilac
Base Notes: Himalayan Balsam Flower, Musk

It is a very smooth and fresh fragrance which I would recommend for a day use as it is light, gently sweet and close to skin.
In the beginning you smell the apple, green apples. Afterwards the apple scent is gonna minimized and mixed with all the flowers. The Himalayan Balsam Flower give it a cool touch and is damping the sweetness and the musk also,  very smoothly gives it the soft oriental touch in the background.

Wearing Al Hamra you have the feeling, walking bare-footed in the morning dew through an orchard  full of apple trees with the several flowers all arround.

The special about Al Hamra is not just the fragrance but its interesting package. The bud which is holding the precious flacon.
It's a very nice gift idea as well as a beautifull decoration for your home.