Nabeel
Nabeel
113 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Pineapple and cherry explode across the opening moments with disarming friendliness, their tropical brightness immediately tempered by bergamot's sharp citrus bite and a peppery cardamom that adds unexpected spice. The aquatic notes create an ozonic, almost ozonelike haze that feels simultaneously clean and slightly artificial, as though you've stepped into a climate-controlled garden designed rather than grown.
As the fruit begins to fade, rose and jasmine emerge with measured elegance, their floral sweetness anchored by saffron's earthy, slightly metallic warmth and sandalwood's creamy undertone. This is where Bahar Nabeel briefly finds coherence, the spice notes creating a gentle tension against vanilla's whispered sweetness, though the overall effect remains delicate, almost reticent.
The base dissolves rather than settles, leaving behind barely-detectable traces of oud and patchouli that feel more imagined than smelled; amber and musk form a skin-close veil of warmth that fades within hours. What remains is a lingering sweetness from the cashmere and vanilla—pleasant enough, though the promise of longevity proves entirely hollow.
Bahar Nabeel presents itself as a peculiar collision between a tropical fruit stand and a perfumer's spice cabinet—one that never quite reconciles its competing impulses. The concentration promises substance, yet what emerges from the bottle is a fragrance perpetually at odds with itself, caught between its ambitions and its execution.
Asghar Adam Ali constructs something genuinely unusual here: a unisex composition that leans heavily into the fresh-aquatic spectrum whilst simultaneously attempting to anchor itself in oud's resinous gravity. The fruit accord—dominated by cherry, pineapple, and raspberry—arrives with genuine vibrancy, brightened considerably by bergamot, bitter orange, and a peppery cardamom that prevents the sweetness from cloying. There's something almost playful about this opening impression, reminiscent of a Middle Eastern interpretation of Mediterranean freshness rather than an attempt at outright conventionality.
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4.2/5 (111)