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erihsp – :
To me this smells dusty smokey and like an ashtray.. There is a sweet halva like aspect to it but it’s mostly smoke on me. I have no idea why… I really didn’t expect this!
MypeWiffibeh – :
Heavy, sweet, soapy nonsense that goes nowhere. Hmph!
abu0515 – :
On me this is a sweet, rich, balsamic scent with honey, vanilla, and ambergris. Maybe some dark caramel notes, similar to the ones in Jessica Simpson Fancy (which I hated). This is very strong so use with care! I love it but it is really easy to overdo it because it is so sweet.
mak77 – :
As with all Nabeel’s I hated this at first and it gave me a storming headache. I tried again a few weeks later with a tiny dot on my tummy and I am very glad that I did. This has amazing longevity, even on my horrid dry skin. I totally get the comparison to the perfume parlour version of Cacharel Gloria, but this is much deeper and more complex. It is pretty cold here in the UK, so I look forward to trying this in warmer temperatures to see if it sings even more.
SfaIIRaT30 – :
So finally here is my review. I bought this some time ago on EBay. I must say, to begin with this was not that strong on me, hardly noticeable!??
Anyway, I put it away. And now I’m wearing it again. This time in the heat! I’ve moved to warmer climates.
And it merges with my body chemistry perfectly well.
It smells vey similar to Raghba. Except this is more wearable ( IMO) smooth, creamy, sweet, caramel, sugar, spice, vanilla.
And the longevity is absolutely amazing!!!
Projection, is enough to be noticed, but not knocked out. Lol
The thing with these oils / attars to remember is, they project in warmer climates. And just whisper in cooler climates. That is something I have noticed.
So I’m looking forward to wearing my attars much more now.
Overall, beautiful, sensual, lovely delicious perfume.
What more can one want!?
725269 – :
This is amazingly beautiful. I put a small amount on my arm this morning when I got it and it’s nearly 3pm and still going strong. What a gorgeous perfume, I find it hard to describe, it has a sweetness but not sickly and a warmness that’s very comforting. It seems to have stayed the same since I applied it, no change in dry down, absolutely stunning! I’m finding some real treasures in these oils xx
angel_jansulu – :
Fruits and florals dripping with vanillic ambergris. It smells super luxe. A great buy…and to me, its too fruity to be ragba.
vip-aleks2010 – :
Ermm…How typical, couldn’t join and agree with one single review below, aren’t they fun, all these oils?.)
On me it is very quiet, till the whisper, Illusion of scent indeed. Final description after wearing for a day – caramel-cookie in sticky sugar-burned glaze. I do agree with voting regarding 24 Gold by ScentStory though, they are very similar.
boOwetty – :
Delicious smell…Warm, sweet, spiced vanilla cedar. This has an earthy, sweet and dark character. I applied this more heavily than I do my other attar oils. I couldn’t smell much with the usual one dot rubbed in. Once I applied more liberally, I got this lovely, rich flood of what I thought was a warm cinnamon, vanilla cedar scent floating all around. Why isn’t cinnamon listed in notes? It’s probably just me.
Ambergris may be the defining note that makes this magical and unique. Amazing for layering those woodsy and spicy fall fragrances. Definitely unisex. Really nice!
Update: layered this with Jlo Glowing and it is just to die for.
jisappeaf – :
Smells like incense to me! Very dusty incense scent. Its unusual. I quite like it.
vovches – :
Total skin scent on me. In fact it’s barely even a skin scent after only 2 hours of heavy application. I had been seeing this pop up everywhere in the forum (granted, in retrospect, it was a select few that kept recommending it) and thought I’d give it a shot. I feel like I can’t provide a review on the scent itself, because I can barely smell it. Compared to those I have tried from Al Rehab, this is a huge disappointment and I personally can’t recommend it. Thankfully the cost was minimal, so it’s not a huge loss in that way.
kvaga – :
Thanks goldiloks for reviewing this.. I ordered some straight away being a fellow perfume parlour buyer. This is lovely…First impressions were honeycomb but the dry down is very well blended and just gorgeous
profan – :
Thanks goldiloks for reviewing this.. I ordered some straight away being a fellow perfume parlour buyer. This is lovely…First impressions were honeycomb but the dry down is very well blended and just gorgeous
alexSTdnr1 – :
Mmmmmmm! Spiced cherry cola sprinkled in wood shavings and a pinch of something dirty. On first sniff, it actually reminds me of Perfume Parlour’s dupe oil for Cacharel’s Gloria.
Warm, woody, gooey, exotic and autumnal. AND £3!!!!
I wanted to buy Raghba by Lataffa, but was a bit scared to blind buy because of the anamallitic note everyone mentions. I thought this might give me a taster first, since they are apparently quite similar. I’m already feeling braver!
Update: I’ve been wearing this for about a week continuously. I don’t take back anything I said, however, as it is a lovely scent. But I can’t help feeling like I smell like a Christmas candle or spiced pot pourri. There is a detatchment to the scent that stops it melding entirely with me, and rather just sits on top of my skin. I don’t wear a lot of spicey orientals, so this may just be how they behave generally, but it stops just short of blending with my body’s chemistry.
All that said, I’ve put Raghba on my Xmas wish list 🙂
lit992JeomiWogkig – :
This is really beautiful! It’s difficult to pick out any individual notes, it’s so well blended. The best way for me to describe this is that it isn’t unlike blowing out an expensive vanilla candle…soft, sweet, with a bit of smokiness. It seems to sit quite close to the skin, at least on me… after three hours I can barely detect it. But maybe others can still smell it? I suppose that’s my only gripe, the silage and longevity…I’m accustomed to most of these oils being absolute powerhouses! In a way it’s nice having a softer option, for work or around people sensitive to strong fragrances. Probably would be great for layering, too. A solid blind buy for sure!
ilmust – :
Oh my goodness – this is gorgeous.
A blind buy (as most of my perfumes are), I paid £2.84 for 6ml, with free P&P from eBay UK. My thinking was – if it’s a stinker – I haven’t lost much…
This is an immediate love for me. It’s got great sillage for an oil and moderate longevity. Really rich, intense fragrance, sweet but not sugary or cloying, with a delicious woody base. Very well blended; I am not good at picking out individual notes, though.
I have a number of fragrances from U.A.E. – this is my first from Nabeel, I think – they are VERY good, well priced and definitely worth investigating.
rarzip – :
This is a strange, strange perfume. when I first smelled it after having smeared it on a paper towel, the opening immediately reminded me of that of D&G By Man, but sweeter. It evolved into a very pleasant and sweet fragrance, heavy on vanilla with detectable strawberry and a slight metallic tinge. More suited to women than men in my opinion. I also thought it was quite weak. I could smell it only close-up.
A few days later, I smeared some on a tissue and left it in a small room. When I returned a few minutes later I was surprised on two counts: 1, it had filled the room with scent; 2, the scent was no longer nice. It was still unmistakably the scent of Nabeel Illusion, but propagating through the air had changed it so that it smelled like food rotting in a bin mixed with the original scent. And yet close-up, it still smelled pleasant. This is the opposite behaviour of many other fragrances which smell unpleasant close-up, but pleasant from a distance.
sany195 – :
This seems to be a favorite to many, and I know my fellow Arabian loving fragrantica friends really like it but I did not like this one at all. There was something so sharp and odd smelling in the opening of this I just could not get past. ( the pineapple maybe?) I realize this is probably a skin chemistry thing. Out of the many Arabian oils I have tried this is the only one I just could not do. There are however so many more to try and fall in love with 🙂
Assassin1990 – :
Indeed, an excellent sister for Raghba – and a cousin to 24 Gold Scent Story! The latter contains more vanilla, and Raghba less, which is the reason I place Illusion closer to Raghba in it’s chemistry.
There is no description that quite does ANY of these middle eastern scents justice, but here’s a quick summary:
Rich, Balsamic, Sweet, and Long Lasting. Incense and Dark notes are balanced with sweet, almost gooey goodness. Sillage is moderate after the first few minutes, making Illusion surprisingly office friendly. Strong, but not TOO strong for daily wear. Nice!
A winner, especially when you consider the layering potential and the price – under TWO US Dollars?! Yes, I love Illusion. And you probably will too. 😀
greelmensar – :
Oh wow, thanks for adding this one to the database. I am a bit surprised looking at the notes… to me this seems fairly reminiscent of 24 Scentstory Gold or Lattafa Raghba. Great for layering, long lasting yet inexpensive.
kgx823bedyWelty – :
Another arabian oil that I’m in love with and I’m so excited it’s finally in the database. I’ve been wearing this for months now and it’s fabulous and totally unisex. It really doesn’t smell much like the notes listed. It smells very similar to scentstory 24 Gold. It’s a dark fragrace. It’s sticky ,sweet, woody (i mean this in a good way). I can smell the cedar and strawberry but it’s so well blended you have to concentrate to pick out notes. I love wearing it layered under other fragraces and alone. Longevity is amazing and sillage is an arms length. The dry down smells like a deep dark red wine. It’s cozy, sexy, salty,sweet, ambery, carmel woods. If you’ve ever smelled scentstory 24 Gold and you like it you’ll love this. It’s so similar except illusion is deeper and has the wine dry down. Amazing!!
psv7777 – :
I jus received this yesterday in a swap with a very generous Fragrantican, though I’ve known about it for a while. I love this. To me, it smells exactly like the drydown of Shalimar Parfum Initial. It is salty and ambery, and caramelly and somewhat woody.
It’s about time that this was added to the database!
I’m so glad I have this. It is not synthetic-smelling to my nose. It is a lovely fall scent.