Attar Baazar Egyptian Shalimar

Attar Bazaar makes quite a few little gems that don't get much press, so I thought I might take a moment to review one of them here since I've recently tried their wares.

Egyptian Shalimar is a surprisingly good perfume oil which I'd ordered primarily for the name. I am a lover of the ubiquitous Guerlain Shalimar and thought it'd be interesting to see what a small perfume oil company might do that would imitate that renowned fragrance. Even better, you can get this little beauty for under $10 and given how strong it is, I think that will be quite enough to satisfy.

I couldn't have had a more incorrect assumption.  Mind you, it didn't come simply from the name as more than one reviewer has made the implication that a correlation exists.

It doesn't.

This is it's own fragrance!  The opening is heavy on incense and spices but with an underlying floral aspect.  The florals are not what I think of as typical florals.  There isn't a thing sweet or innocent about this fragrance, but they dance underneath in rather a mesmerizing fashion while incense wafts in and out of the maze of potent allure.

But it's the dry-down of Egyptian Shalimar that most loudly grabbed my attention.  If I didn't know better, I'd guess someone was sniffing Weil's Secret de Venus and borrowed the bass end of that impossible to find beauty.  Why, because the musky depths of ES are so similar as to possibly be confused for the same fragrance. It's a hot bed of smooth velvet musk.

I'll leave you with the image above, of an exotic tent draped in sheer layers of color.  I imagine flickering candle light and some Arabian music in the background.  Just think exotic and see where that takes you. And the best part, you can get this little beauty for under $10 and given how strong it is, I think that will be quite enough to satisfy.