Description
Known as Mehrunissa, the most powerful empress of the Mughal dynasty, Noor Jahan was the favorite wife of emperor Jehangir. She was the true power behind the throne while her husband lived, so much so that after his death her male relatives had her sequestered (in comfort!) for the rest of her life. In her confinement, she devoted herself to the art of perfumery as it had been passed down from her mother.
Mohur is a rose-based fragrance, a combination of opulent moghul rose perfumes and a distinguished spicy leather bouquet that can only be imagined during a high tea after a polo match. To capture this moment, Mohur has been created as a refined rose-oudh alliance that pays tribute to noor Jahan’s power and talent.
Mohur was created in 2011. It was launched in the USA in January 2012. The nose behind this fragrance is Bertrand Duchaufour.
ермиз – :
9:30 – initial spritz smells like cheap restaurant bathroom soap.
Luckily turns into a complex rose very quickly. With a slight linger of bathroom. Now the almond is kicking in, which always has a touch of plastic for me. The spices are saving this.
10 – How is amber so far down on the note ranking??? This has turned into an amber bomb. Enough so that I’m verging on a headache, which normally only happens with white florals and vetiver. Must be an individual chemistry thing. Three spitzes, one on each wrist and one on my hair.
Just foofed my hair out and the rose came back. I guess my skin is all about this amber.
12 – Gone by noon which was a bit surprising with how strong this was until 11 or so.
Not for me, which is too bad because I’m into the notes. Oh well.
Galya93 – :
The beginning of this smells like the striped zebra chewing gum of my early childhood, delicately fruity and sparkling. A clear translucent fruity rose with a little bit of saffron and greenish almond, very clear and the projection is modest and a bit close to the skin but I prefer intimate scents. It’s expensive so don’t blind buy if you can help it. I am on a fruity rose kick right now with this and Grace by Comme Des Garçon. I will be getting Pichola and Bombay Bling later this year.
dafnaplus – :
Lovely, subtly powdery & spicy rose. It smells very elegant, I think this would be a lovely scent for a mother to wear – it’s beautiful to snuggle up to and remember.
When I first tried this, I thought “Oh this is similar to Amouage Lyric, but much softer”. Then when I tried them side by side, I could really pick up on the Almond in Mohur, that I couldn’t smell at first.
asp01 – :
Tree of Hope, Keep Firm BY Frida Kahlo 1946
Grainyalalo – :
This is a lovely lush complex non-linear rose in the line of POAL or Serge Lutens Rose de Nuit and every so slightly Tauer’s Une Rose Kandahar, and I think one of the Amouage perfumes (Lyric?). This is not to say that Mohur would just swap out, but when I think of rose families, NV Mohur belongs more in this one with its spicy qualities, depth and animalic facets. The opening blast just caught me totally by surprise, and I thought I had over-applied.
That leads me to note: I did not over-apply. This rose is quite muted minutes later. One-half hour into the ride and it’s a substantially lighter skin scent, still spicy and deep and lovely, but the silage is “Poof! Gone.”
Rose is front and center, but amplified; for a few amazing minutes, it’s a deep RED rose on steroids, a velvet, furry fantastic rose with spices and woods. It’s like listening to an opera singer shattering a few octaves in one long breath.
But for the money, and considering the silage issue, one should try before they buy and carefully consider whether this is THE rose. I don’t regret, but enjoy my other roses enough not to repurchase.
PS–just looked up Lyric by Amouage. Well. No one is going to get a discount either way–but the notes are startlingly similar. Memoir I think is more powder incense.
George_Kruglov – :
It’s a very curious thing that Mohur smells very much like Ormonde Jayne’s Ta’if. Looking at the fragrance pyramid, you wouldn’t suspect it at all. But the similarities have been nagging me and finally it’s proven! I wore a dab of both on either wrists, being careful that I applied the same amount. They smell 99% alike.
The difference is that Mohur opens with a more fruity raspberry accord. Ta’if starts off more well rounded. Then both gradually veered into more screechy territory (tuberose?). Ta’if dried down to powdery rose. Mohur’s drydown was barely noticeable, it didn’t really last.
Given that Ta’if was launched almost seven years prior to Neela’s fragrance, points don’t go to originality. But points go to recreating a similar scent with a whole different bunch of ingredients! That deserves applause surely.
direkt – :
Ahhhh… Pinkish red satan with ylang ylang all over and an Indian jasmine struck with dirty roses, I can sense the oud, the iris, and the slight cardamom. It reminds me ALLOT of Grossmith Betrothal specially when it dries down with more dirty roses, or roses in general. It is slightly animalic with Civit. Superb quality and amazingly captivating
Edit (20th April 2016) there is something dirty in here and not animalc, & not civit… something like a dirty water or wet woods that stays for 15 to 20 minutes and starts to vanish partially to let the rose take the lead. The cardamom is there but the almonds aren’t there.. the cloves the iris the vanilla are there as well. It was a mistake stating civit is there or even similar to betrothal or Grossmith in general.
Edit (25th April 2016) There is something bad in this juice that makes me dislike it somehow, this thing stays for more than 30 minutes and i can’t define what it is! it’s a shame as i was aiming for the Extrait but unfortunately i won’t. I wish they would have created an Extrait for Ashoka.
I remember they didn’t because of a fragrance committee somewhere in Europe that deals with fragrance usage & concentration towards health! it is called IFF something. & as long as Neela is following their guidelines then she should stay within some points and not to exceed the limits they draw, which i personally see a BS…. Ahhh… let’s just hope they will do it one day :/
nigga please – :
A silk embroidered veil holds back the intensity of light in this dusty landscape. Yes, Mohur Extrait is built around rose and boy what a rose it is, somewhere between fresh dewy green garden rose and a rich oriental jammy red rose, it’s both comforting and refreshing simultaneously.
But what to me really lifts this composition is what’s juxtaposed over the rose, that veil, the spices, cardamom, sandalwood and oud. They act as a Gaussian filter over the composition, softening and romanticising the setting and adding context to the Indian story.
I love this stuff, it’s one of those perfumes that transports you from the humdrum of everyday life to somewhere more spiritual, somewhere to reflect and be thankful for the goodness in life. On a side note, I’m a self confessed Duchaufour fanatic, and really this for me is the only thing that comes to exceeding Timbuktu.
This review is for the Extrait, but equally can be taken for the EdP which is completely similar except for lower strength.
boomka – :
Taif rose made cashmere like in a oud, saffron, pink pepper, orris, cardamon blend. Yes, the drydown is soapy but this is a classy feminine fragrance. It projects and doesn’t need to scream. Beautiful Autumn to Spring.
bfyxoeveic – :
I love this perfume. It has been one of my favorites in the last few years. It truly reminds me of Moghul India, the period which inspired its creation. One needs to read up on the Moghul era to truly understand the beauty and complexity of this wonderful fragrance. Even though I like floral perfumes, this one is different from the usual floral fragrance, with a non floral spicy lasting power. Kudos to Neela Vermeire Creations for creating a perfume so true to the Moghul era.
AndreiV2010 – :
Im just not impressed with anything in the Neela Vermeire collection. This smells like rose and green, slightly unripe almonds, and that is about all. Just like the others in the collection, I get no depth and little to no complexity, and abominable sillage. No leather, no oud, and smells too vapid. I frequently love the work of this nose, but not this time.
It smells like another version of a classic combination–rose, violet, and powder. The slightly sour almond does not agree with me at all. Thumbs down, sorry!
arheangel97 – :
Mohur is as an intelligent expression of rose as one is likely to find in a rose-based fragrance. With its petals set in a framework of oud, Mohur is an Eastern, rather than a Western, interpretation of rose. The inclusion of some Indian gourmand notes (carrot, cardamom, almond, coriander) further steers Mohur towards this Eastern portal. It is a subtly dramatic and captivating fragrance that is one of my all-time favorites and one of which I never tire.
Mohur’s rose, which is presented immediately with a trace of black pepper, falls away into a quietly emphatic oud note. The balance between the freshness of the red rose and the dryness of the mildly medicinal wood is sensational; one plays off the other so well that at some juncture I would call Mohur an oud fragrance rather than a rose one. For those who have trepidation about the oud note, try it here; if this doesn’t make you a believer nothing will. The oud note is a seductive dark embrace that makes no demand on the rose but rather envelops it in a gorgeous sostenato that lasts through the development of the fragrance.
Every note in Mohur is in wonderful proportion to the whole and this includes what has been referred to as “Indian pastry” accord. Those notes present primarily as milky and semi-sweet but not necessarily gourmand. They are quirky jewels in the overall resplendent setting and there they shine, not individually definable but mellowing the oud (and a minor leather note) further into a dream state from which one does not wish to waken. Mohur feels plush but not overstuffed despite the long list of notes…
Mohur unfolds on the skin over the course of several hours during which wonderful nuance shades and lights the composition from within while still retaining the initial vibrancy of the rose note. Orris adds a slight powdery note and benzoin a medicinal trace; patchouli and amber have merely breathed onto the fragrance rather than truly living within it. The whole of it is understated luxury, completely distinguishable from the surfeit of rose/oud fragrances composed with clumsy hands and at once nearly airborne in its delicate treatment of this traditional Eastern fragrance theme.
So crazy am I about Mohur that it has utterly redefined rose for me beyond the halls of classic French perfumery. My impression of Mohur is the same as it was at the first: This is glorious, sublime stuff that is never out of season and always appropriate–it would make an ideal signature scent. Those bored with bourgeois mall perfumery would do well to order a sample and spend a day escaping the confines of modern Western perfumery. There truly is no finer rose fragrance, for me at least, and Mohur is one that continues to delight in all its myriad facets. Once woody, then floral, then milky-sweet, then leathery, this is something you will not find every day. Bertrand Duchaufour dramatizes rose like none other. Sheer bliss.
leon31213 – :
“Hey Mohur, I got a good friend I would like for you to meet. Mohur this is Jaipur Homme; Jaipur Homme this is Mohur.”
Simply put. Mohur is a gymnasium for your olfactory. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this is the best thing since pants with pockets because it’s not. What I will tell you is that this is an elegant option for opulent outings. I do think the house of Neela Vermeire accomplished their goal by creating something that evokes power. Definitely Throne Cologne. “For the glory”!!!! OK, I’m getting carried away…What’s presented is a complexed oriental fragrance with tons of spice. Although there were complaints about the lack of Oud, it’s definitely visible. The agarwood here is very light in nature leaving plenty of room for the other notes to showcase its flair. The perfume pyramid may show a sweet base but that’s not the entire story. For example, the pepper and ambrette is permanent throughout. This is what I would refer to as a “mood fragrance”. You have to be in a certain mood to wear this as for it’s not an everyday fragrance. If you tried the other offerings from this house, then you know what to expect. Sophistication in motion.
blv242bedyWelty – :
I’m getting roses and cherries, almost a Cherry Coke-like effect. No oud, no leather. A pleasant rose fragrance, but a little underwhelming after the tour de force that is Trayee.
plaifylib – :
I was completely enchanted and struck by the first hour of “Mohur”. Rich, opulent yet fresh rose with just the right amount of oud and leather added. Oh and the spices, a fantastic full oriental with natural and elegant roses. It simply SHINED on my wrist filling the room with this magnificent scent. In this hour I already checked where to buy this as I was head over heels in love with “Mohur”.
But as with some other perfumes made by Bertrand Duchaufour I encountered a problem. After the first hour – poof. “Mohur” settles to a powdery skin scent dominated by vanilla and almond, it is barely there, nothing left of it’s opulence and greatness. It’s like Mr. Bertrand Duchaufour used up his potency as a genius in the first hour and then decided to add some basic notes to give us a pleasant, powdery everyday fragrance.
It might work for some what he did there, but it does not work for me. After such a grand opening I was rather annoyed to discover the meager dry down.
Naley-naley – :
I have tried Mohur a few times on my skin and it does not work for me. Trayee is my new love but the others in this line, no. Mohur to my nose is the scent of a place, which Duchafour often does in his perfumes.
It smells like an ayurvedic practitioner’s office, with spices and medicinal, herby scents becoming stronger as the scent dries down. If I were having an ayurvedic treatment I might like these smells as part of a healing process but I do not find them to be anything I want to smell as a perfume.
After a few hours, the final drydown of this scent is spicy, woody and warm, but I don’t want to smell medicine for hours just to get to this.
WuzaPetkas – :
Perfumes are wonderful things, aren’t they? Changing with the weather, your skin and your memories? Before I ordered a trial set from Neela Vermeire, I read reviews. The general consensus was that Mohur was a gourmand rose, spicy and incense-laden. Fair enough. But when I tried it? I was immediately transported to another time and place. Read my review with a pinch of salt; my experience with Mohur is fundamentally tied in with my identity and the wheres and hows of my life growing up in India.
On application, Mohur is a soft, organic rose; a day or two too old and more intense for wilting from the heat and sunlight. In a few minutes it turns into a full-blown milky sweet gourmand. This is starker for layering the almond milk with sandalwood and vanilla. A sheer veil of powdery aubepin and voilet settle on the surface of the concoction. Mohur is a creamy, powdery rose.
The addition of cardamom, pepper and what feels like saffron (although I didn’t see it listed anywhere) bears more than a passing resemblance to Rooh Afza, a spicy rose syrup concentrate. Of course, there is one other thing it reminds me of. At my navjote, a holy communion-equivalent if you will, I bathed, for the first and last time in my life, in a bath of milk and rose petals. I was nine, but Mohur takes me back as if it were yesterday. And I remember the revered matriarchs surrounding me with their rosewater eau de colognes and the pleasantly distinctive scent of frail, soft, cool skin (the unsaturated aldehyde 2-Nonenal that is typically secreted in larger quantities by the skin glands of those advanced in age). Mohur has it all and more.
At this point, despite the distractions of my associations it has indeed become a breezy gourmand; a spicy, smoky rose wrapped in a discreet oud. Individual notes elude me; it is so complex and well-blended. As I go about my day and catch a whiff every so often, I must smile. It’s WONDERFUL. But it’s also antiquated.
As the day goes on and the rose grows ever darker with the addition of leather, I find myself marvelling at the subtlety and the restraint of Vermeire and Duchaufour. Mohur is quietly beautiful; understated sophistication from a time long past.
There’s a fair likelihood it’ll be a ‘sleeper’ scent that flies under the radar until you return to it the fifth or eighth time to be caught up in its magical story; the shy sister hiding behind the elegant Trayee and happy-go-lucky Bombay Bling!
Give her a chance; she might surprise you yet!
itviksat – :
From the roof of the world Alexander descended through the Hindu Kush into fabled mysterious unconquerable India. This Greek who was worshiped as a god from Egypt to Bactria thought that surely this valley of the Indus was at last the edge of the Earth. When, not if, he took India, the world would be his.
India was unlike anyplace the Greeks had ever seen. The heat, the light, the jungles, the aromas of her splendors were seductive, not to mention the colors that streaked across the sky at dawn when her thousand gods turned as one to behold the land. India intrigued Alexander as no woman or man ever could and in the end would break his heart.
In the valley of the Indus River the true beauty of India unfurled before Alexander. There in the markets he tasted rare pepper, cardamom and coriander. In a Punjab palace garden the air was redolent with roses and jasmine iris violet and exotic patchouli more beautiful than those of the hanging gardens of Babylon or the fragrant pools of Karnack.
After the battle of the Hydaspes River Alexander feasted in the high chambers of King Porus under a roof of sandalwood and drank the wine of the defeated King. Porus whom he had spared sat next to him upon a great leather couch surrounded by his court and slaves and watched with the steely eyes of the Greeks.
“How would you like to be treated?” Alexander said to the monarch.
Porus resplendent in silk and laden with precious stones nodded to the Greek, “As a king my lord.”
“And so you shall be.” He said with a smile that could ensnare the heart of Eros.
Late that evening as Alexander was bathed by his favorite Bagoas, he pondered the mystery that was India. The Persian rubbed aromatic elemi and benzoin into the golden battle scared flesh of his beloved conqueror scenting his body before sleep. Suddenly Alexander covered Bagoas’ hand with his own and halted the ritual. He turned and leveled his eyes on the courtier as he would a city he was about to take.
“Bagoas, I cannot understand it.”
“Understand what my lord?”
“This land, this India, it is so different. Greece is mind and beauty, Egypt is birth and death, Persia is a great bull god. But India, it eludes me. Why is it that I cannot understand this place?”
Bagoas smiled. “India my Iskander is vapor, it is a perfume. It fills the senses but can never be truly yours. It is not to be understood it is to be felt in the soul.”
And so it was that India conquered Alexander the Great.
*******************************
The wonderful Mohur by Neela Vermeire is like the India that eluded Alexander. It is soulful in its beauty. The nose behind it is the very prolific Bertrand Dachaufour. He has blended a lovely perfume for Neela that is subtle, elegant and simply grand.
This is not a perfume that will overwhelm, not one that takes command of the wearer but one that becomes the one who wears it. It opens in a spice market of sweet cardamom, sharp pepper and coriander with a touch of carrot seed and musky ambrette. There is a hint of elemi that adds a bit of aromatic lift to the opening. This spicy mix shimmers like a shooting star that falls into a midnight garden of flowers
The heart notes here in this garden are dominated by the rose and jasmine. This combination is lush and romantic and finds support from just a hint of dark leather. There is moist earthiness of iris in the mix that adds to the fullness of the perfume.
The dry down is a sublime oriental creation of sandalwood, amber, benzoin, a touch of oud that is smoothed out by vanilla and Tonka bean. This is all wrapped in a nice layer of patchouli. In the ending it is a really gorgeous skin scent. This is where I fell in love with Mohur. It trails about the skin with oriental tendrils of smoky fascination.
This jewel of a perfume is multi-facetted that sparkles and ignites the imagination to dreams. Soft in its splendor it lasts about 6 hours on my skin and has a moderate projection. Mohur is not a conquering goddess but rather a wise beauty who wins her battles with a seductive allure.
FIVE GOLD STARS *****
sky070878 – :
After the big hype on perfume blogs I ordered ‘Try your India’ samples directly from Neela Vermeire Creations and was awaiting them with anticipation. They arrived and… I was somehow disappointed. It’s either my skin chemistry that either makes all of these fragrances somehow insignificant or simply it’s not my cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, all three fragrances are beautifully done and shall any of them come my way as a gift I’ll be pleased but they didn’t move my heart.
Out of three of them I like Mohur the most: it starts out strong and after this initial spray I almost ruled it out completely but then after a while (and in my case it was a long while!) it settled into pleasant combination of rose, oud, leather and very subtle vanila/almond. And don’t ask me where I got it from but I can also smell cooked carrots! (yeah, carrot seeds are on the ‘menu’ – just checked)
Update (half a year later in Summer). I digged out my samples I bought in January and tried Mohur again. What a surprise! I discovered nuances I didn’t smell in winter, like its creaminess, softness, luxury. Amazing how our perception of fragrances changes with seasons. I put it on the top of my ‘To buy list’. And who cares about the price? 🙂
eteneDomCen – :
Tea is what I smell, is that the roses? This is a subtle scent that is very airy and comforting. I do not detect overbearing oud, instead, there is a whisper of fine powder that is clingy the way bath oil clings to wet skin and a relaxed wood that simply sits back and lets the roses shine.The woods are a tad bit finite for my taste as I prefer something a little more hard core. I would personally choose to layer this with one of my Arabian oils just to give it some weight.
This is a beautiful fragrance that would be lovely to wear to a wedding, a graduation ceremony, or a fancy opera.
Every rose lover should take the initiative to sample this very fine fragrance, you won’t be disappointed.
koi634elipseskism – :
I get the wood, leather and rose to start, but the first two notes fade away as it dries down and I end up with a somehow jammy, fruity rose. For the first hour I was enjoying the complexity of this fragrance, but as it went along I started to feel annoyed by it and in the end it was too busy, with WAY too much going on and that fruity note just kind of messed everything up. I had to scrub it off in the end. Try this before buying it, please: It has a lot to it and it may not be your thing, depending on what notes your skin amplifies. That being said, because this one does react so differently on each person, it has the potential to be a signature scent on the one whose chemistry compliments it’s layered structure. Good luck!
Lenivezz – :
Greetings Fragrantica Community! Mohur is my first fragrance review, and I couldn’t think of a more beautiful scent to write about.
I ordered Neela’s “Try Your India” pack last month, after reading rave reviews about this fabulous trinity of fragrances. In just a few short days I received my packet with a beautiful card with a handwritten note and the decants in a beautiful Brocade bag. Mohur was the first of the three that I sampled.
It opens with an opulent, yet soft tea rose. Much like how the beautifully fragrant David Austin style English roses often smell. Then right away, I picked up a touch of the cardamom just whispering, along with other gently blended spices–a bit of a tie in to Trayee, the first fragrance of the three. Once in awhile I would pick up a hint almond trees, and rich Benzoin incense. The oud was very tender–I couldn’t really pick it up too much, although the only other times I’ve only smelled it in Japanese stick incense and a C02 extract form. So I’m glad it wasn’t too overshadowing.
The drydown kept quite a bit of the rose, at least on my skin–And the Sandalwood stayed with me for a good 8 hours or so after I first applied it.
Oh I would love to own a full bottle of this, but for now I will have to settle on the “Try Your India” set, and pray for some unexpected cash to come my way…It would go right to Neela! 🙂
I just felt great wearing this scent–and even as a guy, I wouldn’t hesitate to wear it any time I wanted to feel elegant and beautiful.
It’s one of me faves!
VetalOo – :
Mohur is a beautiful, high-quality, fresh rose fragrance, in which I can’t really detect much aoud or almond and only a little leather. However, the rose at the heart is amazingly beautiful and radiant, brightened by the citrus-incense smell of elemi resin and spiced up with ambrette, coriander and cardamom.
The other flowers in the perfume keep in the background and sing as a faint choir to the central rose.
Mohur is a wonderful fragrance for spring especially, but it can be easily worn year-round as well. It’s ample but also delicate and the lasting power is around 8-10 hours with light sillage.
dymov – :
I recently sampled one of the Neela Vermeire perfumes and was so captivated that I had to try the other two, which I ordered from her website. A mere week later I received my beautifully packaged samples from Paris, complete with a lovely handwritten note. I was quite impressed, because that kind of excellent customer service is almost unheard of these days.
Mohur is a gorgeous rose/oud combination featuring Turkish rose oil and oud Palao from Laos. My experience with most rose/oud frags is that the oud tends to overpower the poor rose, but that’s fortunately not the case here. Mohur’s great big rose (11% rose accords) is beautifully enhanced by the spicy top notes of pepper, coriander and cardomom and continues to bloom and develop against the oud and leather as the scent dries down.
The story of Noor Jahan’s benign captivity that inspired Mohur suits the mood I get from this perfume, which is that of a beloved woman living in a protective cocoon while time marches on outside, sort of like Sleeping Beauty in her enchanted castle. If you enjoy rose/oud frags or are just a rose lover in general, Mohur is something you ought to try. Wearing it will remind you of how special you are. Sillage was moderate on my skin, and longevity was about 6 or 7 hours.
vaso0297 – :
Another sample from the editors – thank you!
Okay, in the book Jitterbug Perfume, amateur perfumer Priscilla was obsessed with finding the base note for her perfume and I’m pretty sure I know it was oud (along with beet pollen).
On the dry down of this scent I get nothing but oud, along with a little leather and it smells completely old and ancient and is probably the secret to eternal life. I like the rose I get on the first spray, but it doesn’t linger long on me. This is a lasting fragrance. It stayed with me all day.
That said, I don’t think the oud notes in this are my cup of tea, but I appreciate the complexities of this one and the fact that it is part of Neela’s culture. I also like her logo very much.
rocker18 – :
i got all 3 samples of the neela vermeire perfumes. i didn’t like bombay at all. i wasn’t sure about mohur and trayee was my favorite, i thought. i kept coming back to smelling this one for some reason. i wore it to work today and i could still smell it after about 6 hours. i didn’t put much of it on since it was just a sample size. i can definitely smell the leather, i’m not a big fan of the scent of roses, but this doesn’t smell like the typical rose. this is not a girly perfume, i would say it is almost unisex, but it leans more towards feminine. it is a great fragrance, with alot of lasting power. it might replace trayee as my favorite of the 3.
cxvxgdfhdf – :
This is an oud fragrance, leathery, but fresh! It’s unmistakably oriental, spicy, balmy, but also very fresh, almost dewy, and powdery at the same time. The tenderest oud fragrance ;o)