Ubar (1995)
by Amouage

Like Gold, this one opens with an intense floral blast and a touch of civet and frankincense. It is more bearable that the aforementioned Gold, but still very floral and feminine. It lacks the overall powdery notes I get with Gold. The florals remain throughout and in the base some vanilla and sandalwood come through. Still overly feminine for me, though unlike Gold this one is not unbearable.

12nd January, 2012.

This one opens up with a a very strong floral composition remembering the vintage climate present in Hermes Rouge Eau Delicate, but without the soapy smell attached to it.

Throughout time, the floral notes settles down a little bit acquiring a hint of civet. But flowers still the main character on this one. Not for me.

4th September, 2011.

I'm taking a detour from my sojourn into Italian fragrances by heading towards Oman with a few generous dabs of Amouage UBAR. Figuratively speaking of course, for in Ubar I found no reference to Middle Eastern styles of perfumery. Ubar is the 'lost' city after all.

The construct leans towards the classical, borrowing more than a few leaves from perfumes of legend but the fragrance itself does not smell dated. Nor vintage. Better noses than mine have deconstructed the fragrance symphony so I shall not go there. In fact, I'm not sure if I could have done it had I tried. Ubar reached in deep into my core, moving me in ways very few fragrances could. Smelling it for the first time was, for lack of a better descriptive, heartbreaking. It made me realize why the disappearance or reformulation of vintage classics causes so much grief to perfume lovers.

Ubar, as it is so aptly named, is a heartaching story of lost but never-to-be-forgotten splendor. If anyone is after an Amouage masterpiece, this is it.

1st August, 2011.

this is about the new Ubar:

The City of the Lost


No history lesson here, anyone in need of remembering the story of the ancient city of Ubar can find it on Wikipedia, here. Amouage has a perfume wearing the name of this ancient city, in honour of the city, of Oman and of frankincense. I have read a few reviews of Ubar from Amouage before starting to write my own and now I sit here a bit worried. Almost all reviews were positive, very positive. And here I come, a nobody in the perfume world and I have the nerve not to like it. Do not misunderstand me, I can smell the quality in it, but it reminded me of my childhood and the heavy perfumes of my grandmother. I hated it then, it seems I did not get over it. For me it is like Shalimar, another masterpiece I hope only to see in perfume shops and never at home. Sorry folks, I do not like it. Oh, and a comment, if I may: Ubar, the city was wealthy, very wealthy because of the frankincense. I find it insulting not to put the stuff in the perfume.

Stars on my smell-o-meter: two out of five

8th July, 2011.

In answer to "Off Scenter" (great name, great reviews by the way) How often would I have occasion to wear Ubar? Hmmmm, only every day! I don't fall into the category of less is more, for me, more is MORE! And Ubar delivers. First sniff and I almost get teary eyed with nostalgia, it smells so much like a fragrance my mom wore. This is rich, rich, rich. Richer even than Gold in my opinion because it has a heavy, complex, almost gloomy heft and yet is simply magnificent. No holds were barred in this one and while Gold is akin to sweet, flowery angelic voices, Ubar is a gregorian chant to me. So far I haven't hit on a single note in this review, sorry, with this one I just can't break it down, I'll leave it to others. This is rich, complex, organic (as in I can detect nothing synthetic), aromatic, waxy, strong/soft and extremely long lasting. As in just reaching final drydown the next day. This is how fragrance used to be made. Thank God a few fine houses are still bringing us such magnificent creations. A thousand thumbs up!

26th April, 2011.

I like this scent, but would not wear it on a daily basis. Would only want to buy a smaller, 50 ml. bottle.

This smell is a nice and romantic smell. It find it so heavy that I would only put it at night time: either when going out to theater or a concert of classical music, or when I expect to meet my lover/man.
It does not linger ultralong.

4th December, 2010.