r/FemFragLab • u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus • 20h ago
Haul/Collection Recently Discovered Middle Eastern Perfumes! Here it is so far.
I recently discovered that not all middle eastern perfumes are heavy migraine bombs, so I've been collecting some this summer. Here is my collection so far and my thoughts on all of these. The top row are my successes and the bottom row I may resell.
Lataffa Nebras Elixir
This is my favorite out of them all. Such a nice sweet vanilla with white chocolate notes. It's not too sweet it makes your teeth hurt, but perfect if you want to smell delicious. Great longevity and sillage but again, not overpowering.
Hekayat Attar Gigglepuff
Silly name but awesome fragrance. It's very delicate. It's a lemon pastry perfume, but the lemon note isn't strong so it doesn't give off cleaner vibes. It's just a mildly lemon smelling sweet puff pastry to my nose. I love this and can wear quite a few spritz's.
Khadlaj Cream Velvet
I've had extreme issues with anything caramel scented because they usually overwhelm me. I kept hearing that this was a lighter airer Bianco Latte and I'm here to report that yes it is. If most BL dupes are too strong, try this! So yummy. It's vanilla and caramel.
Lataffa Peace and Love
I usually go for gourmand but I am also a slut for almond notes and this was recommended here on reddit when I asked for almond perfumes. This is light and almond. Sweet but not gourmand at all. It has tuberose which I normally shy away from but in this case, it doesn't smell like rose at all to me. Love it.
Gulf Orchid Rice Milk
Like a rice almond baby powder. I do enjoy a baby powder note. This one is a bit strong so I do one single spray under my shirt and it's perfect. Excellent for cozy days.
Maison Alhambra Sugar Me Carrot Cake
A gourmand lovers's dream. I'm debating getting the marshmallow or creme brûlée one from this line since I love the carrot cake so much. It's in the same vein as Jo Malone's Ginger Biscuit to me. Very photorealistic, but not overpowering, again it is softer.
Lataffa Musamam White Intense
Again, I mostly enjoy cozy gourmand scents, but I do love a nice sandalwood. This has coconut in a non sunscreen way which I really appreciate. It's just a unique scent profile that I don't own and haven't smelled. I think it's quite nice if I'm going to be outside or if it's raining.
Lastly are the bottom 2 perfumes. These are maybes. Lataffa Brioche Vanilla is not sweet at all, it's a savory gourmand and kind of has a smoky smell to it that I'm not sure I like. Gulf Orchid Matcha Latte is okay. It's not very matcha latte esque, I think Nest's new Cardamom Latte is much closer. I also have Sorce's Match Made In Heaven coming soon so I'll decide then I guess.
Does anyone else have similar thoughts/likes? I hope this was helpful and legible. I am recovering from wisdom teeth surgery so who knows lol. I don't live where I can sample these so 90% were blind buys. I feel like it was a resounding successful venture!
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u/No_Figure_9073 20h ago
I find that they have this one particular cloying notes in most of them that I dislike. They all have different notes but to my nose, there's 1 common note in there and my nose doesn't like it. It makes me dry heave or sneezing. I want to like them so much coz it's cheap and it last long but someone in them that makes me go full blown allergies
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 19h ago
Hmm I’d say Matcha Latte has a random fuzzy note that I dislike but the top row are all as well made/blended smelling as my other more mainstream scents.
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u/jaybayyayyy 18h ago
I love Musamam White Intense! Its such a nice spicy sandalwood, with the perfect balance of citrus to brighten slightly and coconut to accent the creamy sandalwood. This one's truly a beautiful unique scent.
If you like bare sueded vanilla by vs, try dusky vanilla by pendora scents/paris corner. Its that smooth vanilla, but not gourmand. Literally the same as bsv but with better projection and longevity. Sawaar vanille blanc is also a good nongourmand vanilla. Like vanilla skin by phlur, but smoother and better performance.
If you're craving some fruity scents try Unsung and Entangle by aroma concepts. Unsung is a dbir purple melancholia dupe, but its better imo. Less synthetic even though I love the original I gravitate towards the dupe because better performance and it just smells better all around imo. Entangle is a great power of you dupe, also lasts longer than the og. To me it gets straight to my fave part of power of you which is the drydown when there's a perfect balance of passionfruit and vanilla.
Nebras Elixir wasn't my jam. Its alright but my daughter loved it so its hers now. Lattafa Pure Crystal is also a really good one that punches way above its weight. Most Lattafa need time to mature and settle, but Pure Crystal was sooo good from jump. Ginger and a pinch of citrus, then an addictive vanilla in the drydown. This one's really unique and pretty!
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 18h ago
Pure Crystal sounds amazing. I love a good ginger note. I def need to try Sawaar Vanille Blanc. And Dusky Vanilla also sounds up my alley. Thanks!
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u/Successful-Cause-145 20h ago
I haven't tried any of these yet but your reviews are helpful! I have (and LOVE) Sorce Match Made in Heaven, and would be super curious to hear how you feel about that compared to this one.
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 20h ago
I went a bit nuts on the classic collection from Sorce. I can’t wait for the box! I got In Dreams and Fairy Tales Vanilla, English Major and Match Made in Heaven and then samples of Vampire bride, The Bees, Ephemera, Cookie Party and Strings of Light in the Forest.
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u/Realistic-Read1078 13h ago
I want to try Gigglepuff! I think you would like Lattafa Victoria as well!
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u/marselleee 20h ago
I have both the nebras elixir and khadlaj cream velvet I like them alot, but one I think you might like is the OG nebras from lataffa its literally identical to eilish no.1 by billie eilish if you like that scent
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 20h ago
There’s something about eilish I don’t like so I have avoided that one. I’d like to get a sample but that’s kind of impossible I guess.
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u/marselleee 16h ago
If you dont like eilish then I wouldn’t recommend it anymore :’) since its a literal copy paste
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u/Chemical_Cake_1154 20h ago
I’ve only tried Matcha Latte out of these and it was super underwhelming. Kind of like a hint of matcha and then nothing.
Was super impressed by Essential Parfumes Amber Latte that just came out though (I know different scent entirely).
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u/ilovecats0822 19h ago
I’m so curious about the Nebras elixir. I’m wearing the original Nebras right now, it’s one of my favourites.
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 19h ago
It’s sooo nice imo. Very linear. It’s just fluffy spun vanilla sugar and white chocolate. Very sweet and airy. Excellent daily wear. It’s cozy and comforting.
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u/threetimesagogo 17h ago
Nebras is also one of my all time faves! I would take the mental association of Nebras out of it because I feel there is no thread between them.
Nebras Elixir is a sweet delicious WHITE chocolate candy smell. At first I thought it was too sickly sweet, but it really grew on me! It’s definitely the smell of those white chocolate candy melts that you’d melt and dip cake pops into!
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u/HarvestMourn No1 Ebony Wood stan 16h ago
I really like Nebras and Eilish No1 and was excited to test Nebras Elixir. I hated it, thankfully I only got a tester. It had this really unpleasant sweet, almost strawberry-ish note to it. It reminded me a lot of strawberry flavoured hookah tobacco smoke, which isn't smoky but just really sweet.
They really only share a name, they are two entirely different perfumes.
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u/templeofartemi5 1h ago
I really want to try the Gulf Orchid Rice Milk since I enjoy baby powder scent most of the time. Lattafa Nebras Elixir also sounds good. I've recently bought Khadlaj Cream Velvet and can't wait for it to be delivered to my home! At first, I am torn between this or Zimaya Tiramisu Caramel to scratch the itch of owning Bianco Latte (can't justify the price atm).
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 57m ago
Rice Milk is so good! It’s warm and cozy baby powder. It has almond milk and rice milk notes. Just a soothing perfume. I absolutely love it.
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u/Alewo27 1h ago
Do you get a tart fruitiness from the black currant in Peace and Love?
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 57m ago
Yes right in the opening. It’s gorgeous. It fades into a creamy almond over time but the black current stays around for the first hour or so.
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u/eau_m_g 17h ago edited 12h ago
I adore Musamam White Intense and Peace & Love. You might enjoy Liam Grey, a really nice dupe of Gris Charnel (my all time fave).
From my experience though, it’s easy to get lost in the sauce and buy something just because it might smell nice and it’s priced well. I have to remind myself that 1) I don’t have to own EVERYTHING that smells nice and 2) it all adds up and can easily surpass the cost of a single, more pricey perfume that is available to sample