Anzar's opening is a cacophony of notes. I detect Oud, Agar, Citrus, Woods and smoke from Birch Tar. Within minutes, there's a leathery element attaching itself to the accord. To me, this is masculine all the way and this aroma is what stays with me for almost the entire wearing. I say almost because at the end, Amber makes an appearance due to the other players finally dissipating.
In the past 10 years, I've owned numerous Ouds from Niche and Designer alike. The two I have really liked were niche releases ( Oud for Love by TDC and Mona's original Oud before her untimely passing ). The designer Ouds were okay, but nothing special and I sold them off. Anzar wears more like a Niche Oud, but it's nothing like the aforementioned, luxury ouds ( as I like to call them). Anzar is like a masculine cousin from a rough neighborhood.
Now, do I like Anzar? Yea, I like it, but I don't love it. In its defense, there hasn't been an Oud release I've loved. Like is as good as it gets for me with this note. Would I wear Anzar? Absolutely. I'd wear this in the cool to cold months due to its characteristics. I dig the smokiness in this. It's obviously front and center, but it pairs well with the woods and leathery notes.
The overall volume is acceptable. It's not too loud and within an hour it has relaxed in intensity and throw. It's more a personal space scent by this time, but this can also be attributed to olfactory fatigue from incessantly smelling this as I wear it. There's nothing elegant about Anzar, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it brutish either. Rather, I perceive it as a manly cold weather fragrance that would serve as a nice alternative to others in the designer world.
In summary, Anzar is an interesting take on a note that has innumerable versions to choose from out there in the fragrance world. Anzar also concludes the 4 sample wear reviews I've chosen to do on Yellowstone Parfums.
If this was available in 5ml. atomizers, I'd pick one up for the winter months. I just don't wear Ouds enough to warrant more than that since I've downsized my wardrobe drastically over the years.
I'm going to give Anzar a neutral rating in spite of my liking it more than a slew of designer Ouds I've offloaded. For those who like Oud and Agarwood, this would probably be an interesting sample wear. Overall, I've liked what I've smelled from this new house and I'll eventually get around to reviewing the other 4 samples I have from their lineup. It's good to see small, Indie houses entering the fragrance arena. God only knows I've had enough buyers remorse from frags bought from established and well known houses.
Thank you for writing about this (unknown to me) company.
ReplyDeleteSeems impossible to get here in Europe, but I'm happy to know that some small companies still gives perfumery a shot. I will be looking out for Yellowstone in the future.
And, generally, I miss the older days, when most colognes had longevity and projection for hour upon hour with only a little dab/spray. Today I don't know a single offering who lasts beyond lunch time, even tho they once upon a time could last for days.
Understood. The Yellowstone samples gave me acceptable longevity. No fragrances anymore are powerhouses like Kouros, Balenciaga PH or Ted Lapidus. There's some decent Indie houses like Yellowstone, Madhat Scents, Pineward and PK ( Paul Kiler ).
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