Rihla

[Beccah]

 

Rihla

The length of a journey often depends on the desire of the traveler, and the 14th century Muslim explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta was a most resolute soul, considered one of the greatest and wide-ranging travelers of all time, visiting North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East. His thirty-year odyssey is recounted in the Rihla – an Arabic word for "journey" - and in it he reflected upon the many things he had never before seen, including such exotica as plums, watermelon, silk, and paper money. Having covered even more ground than Marco Polo, we thought he deserved a scented tribute to those travels: a lovely enticing fragrance with a heart of juicy plum framed by Indian sandalwood, frankincense, two types of Oud attar and a precious dusting of Arabian spice.

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Magickal Meanings of Ingredients:

PLUM ~ Inspires & maintains love, protects dwelling against evil and intrusion.
INDIAN SANDALWOOD ~ Love, exotic, sensual atmospheric; aphrodisiac. Healing, spirituality, exorcism.
FRANKINCENSE ~ Purification, consecration, protection, exorcism. Associated with silver and the moon.
OUD (Agarwood) ~ Love, aphrodisia, spirituality, health.
ARABIAN SPICES ~ Sexual stimulation, passion, lust, healing, protection, energy, creativity, psychic powers.

[Raq On]

Nervous abou the plum but Of COURSE i'm trying this baby out. Can't wait! I think the plum will be interesting with the spices. It will add a balancing note to the variety of spices, which can get heavy on me.

[liz]

Let me know what you think Raq, I recall a "plum" scent a few yrs back and it didn't do me right, LUV the rest of the notes, I was gonna order it blind and forgot already thinking of another order...aaaggghhhh

then I wonder WHY I'm always BROKE !

Edited May 11, 2013 by liz

[luna65]

You're probably thinking of Plum Exotique, liz. Either that or Plum Dandy.

[liz]

You're probably thinking of Plum Exotique, liz. Either that or Plum Dandy.

oh I forgot about Plum Dandy, but you're right about Plum Exotique

I'll have to go find it, try it again with something resin-y or that has OUD

Thx Luna !

Edited May 11, 2013 by liz

[NuTrix]

I'm trying this one. I'm on the fence about resin-spicy scents...food spicy is usually a winner...but perfumes like LP Black and Sex & Violins, though amazing, are not my first choices. I do very much like the sandalwood & frankincense combination! Not really sure what oud smells like and I'm curious about the Arabian spices and what they may be...had to at least try this!

[LadyVictoria]

I really didn't expect to like this one because it has all those notes that I do not understand but it actually smells warm to me- like a spiced plum. Get OUD of here I might actually really dig this one!

[Mrschrissyrez]

I really didn't expect to like this one because it has all those notes that I do not understand but it actually smells warm to me- like a spiced plum. Get OUD of here I might actually really dig this one!

 

I freaking love your reviews!! I didn't get a sample and your making me regret it, lol.

[NuTrix]

. Get OUD of here I might actually really dig this one!

[luna65]

but it actually smells warm to me- like a spiced plum.

Yeah I get that too, this is nicely balanced in that nothing dominates.

[NuTrix]

I thought this one would be all heavy and resinous but it's not! In the vial it's light and the plum is front and center. I love sandalwood and frankincense together. I'll have to wear it to know for sure and see how the plum works with my chemistry. I've found some GREAT fruity scents and I've also found some that went sharp so I'm leery but optimistic Be back sometime soon!

[Raq On]

plum...hmm.... hope that stays in the background for me. But I'm optimistic. If you told me I'd like vicars and tarts I wouldn't believe it and it's one of my faves.

[Just Ducky]

Oh my gosh but this is beautiful! Perfectly balanced between the plum and the spices -- not too strong, not too sweet. To be sure, "ephemeral" or "light" do not define this wonderful fragrance, but neither do "thick" or "overbearing." If you fear the plum, have no fear! It's there, but then not there. It fades a bit and the spices move forward. It settles into a soft, lovely veil.

 

FB for sure.

[lalaDinky]

Ok so far fresh off the wand is a juicy, tart plum. But that top note is quickly receding into the background after shining for a minute or so. It's starting to meld with soft sandalwood nicely. A few minutes later more sandalwood is coming out, and yes I smell it. OUD. Not much, but on me it's slightly smoky and pungent. It gives this scent that robust feeling that eastern perfumes have.

 

Still sweet, but much more sandalwood now. I smell some spices in the background. A metallic bite. I think it's stopped transforming for now. I smell a beautiful meld of sandalwood and frankincense...it kind of smells like an unlit incense. I think a man could wear this as much as a woman after drydown, very smooth and androgynous. Oh wait, at the end the fruit is peeping through again. I guess Miss Plum wasn't finished after all.

 

[Just Ducky]

Oh wait, at the end the fruit is peeping through again. I guess Miss Plum wasn't finished after all.

 

Agreed. It's been about an hour now and the plum is still there, but barely. Final dry down seems to be well-balanced and much softer than initial application. Reminds me just a tad of a more eastern version of LV's Black Panther.

[lalaDinky]

yes definitely. I'm trying to type real time as I sniff, but the true scent is most definitely after about an hour or so.

[NuTrix]

The plum comes out on top. not piercing (which is always my personal concern). This seems light and sheer. This is not a me scent but it IS very feminine and lovely. When the plum chills it gets soft and really sheer. This is another one of those fragrances that although it may not be a "me" scent, I can certainly appreciate the talents that put it together. A lot of ladies will like this one A LOT It's exotic and lovely and unique, very nice

 

 

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This actually finished to a nice soft spice and resin that is slightly sweet and the plum seemed to vanish completely. Very lovely indeed!

Edited May 19, 2013 by NuTrix

[Raq On]

In the sample vial I smelled all the lovely spices but something else (I'm guessing it must be the plum) is hogging her turn. Hope it's different on my skin.

 

Oh wow, I wore this last night and thankfully just dotted a few dots on my inner arm and spared my neck and collarbone. This morphed into a mutant fruit/floral. Even after 2 washings with soap I could still smell it. Not sure what exactly apmed so loud so fast, but I got no spice. Very strong on me.

 

What does OUD smell ilke? I am assuming it's a spicy scent. I wouldn't say I could even smell plum. It was more like heavy, heavy floral on me.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Raq On

[perfumesniffer]

Juicy plum with a base of soft, dry resins. Nice.

[luna65]

What does OUD smell ilke? I am assuming it's a spicy scent.heavy floral on me.

Oud is a type of wood, it lends a somewhat spicy deep characteristic to scents; a friend of mine calls it "sandalwood on steriods."

[Pursestan]

I like this scent. It's sweet and juicy with a nice sandalwood base. What's interesting is that it smells like it has some cinnamon in it, so I was surprised to not see it in the ingredient list. I added OCCO Red to mine to help compliment that aspect. So far, this is a winner for me.

[Pursestan]

My husband likes this one. He's told me that he thinks that most of the LP scents smell "weird" but that this one "smells really nice." I guess I'll need to try to procure another bottle of this.

[tyvey]

Sounds kind of like a plum sugared magi!

[Dolly]

OK, wet, I get plum and woody notes. Initial dry-down is woodsy-spicy and plum in the background. Like this! Glad I ordered two bottles! Will update later as it continues to dry down.

 

As of right now, those of you who are not into the darker scents do not need to be scared. This is not that dark. More of a spicy, woodsy thing......

[missdarlyncherie]

I actually may give this a try now. I didn't think I liked plum...but after Black Panther I am rethinking that. Plus I love sandalwood for sure.

[Dolly]

I actually may give this a try now. I didn't think I liked plum...but after Black Panther I am rethinking that. Plus I love sandalwood for sure.

 

 

You should try it. I don't get bright screaming "I AM PLUM!", just more of a deep sweetness that I can discern as plum. And I get lots of spices and woods. Very exotic.

[ElizabethOSP]

This is skipped-day-whichever-it-is of trying my May FB set! Rihla doesn't smell at all like I expected, but I am falling in love with it anyway!

 

Snoofing the bottle I get somewhat spiced resinous fruity NOM. Hitting my skin, it shouts"CANDIED PLUM!" and then immediately spreads out into warm spiciness, sans the plum note! ~ Really!?~ Where's the plum???

 

As drydown kicks in and progresses, I get a hint of plum and the ghost of Oud/Sandal/Frankincense threading in and out of the Arabian Spices. The Spice mix is the star on my skin...but bear in mind that I usually amp spices and I WUB THEM SO, so that's all good for me. Heh.

 

Upon extreme drydown...Oh, say! There's the Oud/Sandal/Frank blend! At this point, they start sitting equally with the spices. And then...some Plum pokes her head back in! And then hides again. Way completely extreme drydown (!) is a warm spice blend with a hint of fruity sweetness. GODS, YUMMMMM.

 

So unlike the Ladies who are getting a balanced feel from Rihla...I am UNBALANCED (but you *knew* that, didn't you). This is overall a warm spicy blend that reminds me of Heart of Fire and probably more so of Spontaneous Combustion. WIN.

[johnsonlisa90012]

Initially this was really plum cough syrup on me. Something like an anise note with the plum is pushing to the front. It's not there in the throw but up close its amping on me. That said, the note meanings of this are vitally important to me.. the unknown journey, protection, exorcism. This is definitely going to be used as annointing oil to counteract the fear I have about my job and it's end and where I go next.