I were reight chuffed (as they say up north) by this Leeds based, Gulf-style blend attar.
Scent Salim (as a company) is a bit like myself; exuberant in its exotic ethnicity but with an English accent. Established in 2010, they are the only oud fragrance specialist in the north of England and won Business Retailer of the Year 2018. Their prices range from £7 - £600 depending on the quality/quantity of notes. Luckily, most of the attars (including the best sellers) are at the lower end of the price range.
‘Dubai Oud’ is one of my favourites from Scent Salim. It comes as a rich, Whiskey coloured oil, whose blend is a perfect balance between sweet, spicy, woody, musky and earthy. Don’t be too focused on the “sweet” aspect; it’s only just sweet enough to be balanced. It’s actually a sparkling, powdery, woody, musky, soapy and gently floral scent. The oud is not a dark brown smouldering mass of boisterous wood; it’s fresh, clean and would be light ash grey in colour (if we’re talking in synaesthesia terms). It's perfume blending perfection by master perfumer Ilyas Salim. ‘Dubai Oud’ is the authentic scent of the United Arab Emirates but without any cloying vanilla. Scent Salim excels in oud and does it (a million times) better than Tom Ford. 'Dubai Oud' shoots straight to my top oud favourites.
The official listed notes are ambiguous, but I’d describe it as containing a powdery amber, with a spicy saffron, the cleanest of ouds, a little musk, and a hint of fresh white floral. It reminds me of Roja Dove’s ‘Aoud’ and ‘Amber Aoud’ (apart from the £595 price tag). I’d be more inclined to get Scent Salim’s ‘Dubai Oud’ at only £19.99 for 12ml, as the quality and longevity is dead good, bye-eck, that’s Leeds is that.
TOP – Sweet Notes
MIDDLE – Spicy Notes
BASE - Earthy