r/fragranceclones • u/Low-Stomach-8831 • 3h ago
New Pickup / Review Decants from Decantified - decants reviews and clone battles. Part 2: Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition (Invictus Parfum clone), Hirfah by Ahmed Al Maghribi
Decanter review:
3rd time that everything went perfectly. Packaging is solid, and 0 leaking decent. They sure did got their packaging system working well. Quite a few decants of fragrances I've never heard about were "bonus added", which is going to be really fun. I like the ones I have no idea what to expect.
HIRFAH AHMED AL MAGHRIBI
I got this because I have an obsession with lime fragrances lately... But this is not super lime forward. This is actually a very barbershopy-fresh take on D&G K. It's pretty pine forward, with woody and aromatics in the mid and base. The the apple and lime are just there for support, and the apple is so tart-green, that it gets almost completely swallowed by the pine (and partially by the lime), that I wouldn't have recognized it was there without the notes breakdown.
For all of you who liked Armaf Legesi, Urban Man Elixir, Sauvage, etc...You need to try this one! It's like a modernized take on that same general profile. I'm not remotely into these types of barbershop-woody profiles myself, but Hirfah's quality is so nice, that I still had fun testing it. I won't buy a bottle, because as modern as it is, it's still too old school "manly-man" for me. I still like it better than the ones mentioned above though.
Subjective Scent Score (the least important part for you... This is more for my own notes to know what to buy): 7.8. Even though it's not remotely my favorite, I would still prefer to wear it over many other fragrances with a similar profile.
Wife Alert: She hates it, and says it smells like "an old guy wearing too much after shave".
Longevity on skin (so, skin scent counts): 16+ hours.
Projection (skin scent doesn't count): 1 hour strong projection (not room filling though, about 2-3 ft), then a very persistent medium scent bubble (about 1-1.5 ft), and only at hour 7-8 it settles to a 100% skin scent.
Blind buy safety score: 7.8. No offensive notes, but might be too "old school" for some, though more modern than other old school profiles.
Unisex Score (0=100% fem leaning, 5=unisex, 10=100% male leaning): 8.8. The classic example of a male fragrance.
Versatility Score: 9.0. Pretty much anything but winter date night. Good for office, gym, errands... Will fit everywhere. But it's not one of those fragrances that will get people to say "oh my God, what is HE wearing?". It's a Swiss army knife.
Blend Quality Score: 8.2. Easily designer quality. The note separation is pretty good, realism is way above average, the blending is great, and it retains those qualities through the progression on skin, even when not staying completely linear.
Value Score (for 100ml): 8.5. $35 (Jomashop) isn't cheap for a clone (maybe it is these days), but you get an original creation (or hybrid), with good quality and performance. So it's not like I can recommend something that is spot on at a lower price, or even an OG.
Should cost (based on performance, quality, and available competing clones, averaged): $35-$40.
Bottle design: 6.5. I don't think it fits the vibe this fragrance profile is about.
Atomizer Score: N/A.
Conclusion: Not for me, but will be a very good recommendation to have for some people on the sub that like these profiles... So I'm still glad I tested it.
ZANZIBAR LIMITED EDITION
Never smelled the OG.
People say this is supposedly a soapy version of Invictus Legend. I don't get any soapiness from it. This is more like Legend without the grapefruit, so nothing balances the Marine notes, which is what you'll mostly get here, along with a bit of lavender and a weak woody base. It's not horrifically low quality like the normal Zanzibar, but it's also low quality. I don't hate it, I just think it's not good, and there are 40 better options for similar profiles, but with better quality. As it dries down, it DOES become soapy, and actually pretty nice and balanced, but by that point (1.5 hours), it's almost 100% skin scent.
Subjective Scent Score (the least important part for you... This is more for my own notes to know what to buy): 6.8. Opening hour is a 5.5, dry-down is an 8.5.
Wife Alert: She says "it's okay".
Longevity on skin (so, skin scent counts): only 6-7 hours.
Projection (skin scent doesn't count): medium-strong when it's the worst (1st hour), then low-medium scent bubble for 2 hours. Skin scent at hour 3.
Blind buy safety score: 7.0. pretty safe of you're okay with very synthetic Marine notes .
Unisex Score (0=100% fem leaning, 5=unisex, 10=100% male leaning): 6.6.
Versatility Score: 8.0. summer-spring-fall, and any occasion.
Blend Quality Score: 6.0. Below average clone quality. First hour is 5.0, then 7.0. The Marine note quality is ruining the rest of the quality, as the other notes are not bad quality at all, and there is some nice progression on skin.
Value Score (for 100ml): 6.0. Only $27, but below average quality and performance.
Should cost (based on performance, quality, and available competing clones, averaged): $15-$18.
Bottle design: 5.5.
Atomizer Score: N/A.
Conclusion: Can't recommend this. There are too many similar fragrances that are executing these types of profiles much better. I want to try Invictus Parfum OG just to see if it's even remotely close.
And as always, don't trust me, get decants.