Alahine (2007)
by Téo Cabanel

Woody and reasinous amber with a rose-y undertone. I'm a sucker for ambers and while Alahine is not among the most original interpretations of the main theme it is still thoroughly enjoyable. Powerful, long lasting and well balanced. Good quality stuff. Unisex.

12nd December, 2011.

Love it! And I am very impressed with the quality of the Teo Cabanel line in general.

I don't really like ambers on me, they seem to disappear into my skin, and I don't like L'Heure Bleue, which I find far too sweet and reminiscent of pastilles. Alahine is quite ambery, and it reminds me of L'Heure Bleue, and yet it works for me. This is a really beautiful everyday, any occasion, fragrance - soft, rich, but not overpowering.

21st August, 2010.

It escapes my perception what makes this really ambery. I can not smell it. It may be near, but it is not ambery to my nose (tried, but not achieved?). Overall, it is nice, but disappointing after I have read some rave reviews. It's not too sweet, which is correct, and not particularly ladylike in case a man would consider pulling this one off. Again, it is just nice, but neither inventive nor a particularly smashing turn on something well-known or proven (which would be absolutely legitimate). The star of Teo Cabanel is Oha.

1st July, 2010.

After putting it on, I had an immediate "soul travel" back to my childhood;) I remember my great-grandma strongly believed in healing with natural remedies, and among them was burnt amber smoke (real amber, not synthetic one). She used it for earaches, burning a small piece of amber on a stove shovel and ordering me to put my aching ear next to its smoke. Now I fail to remember whether it helped, but I distinctly remember the scent of burning amber together with her own camphor body smell, and if she burned also some dried rose petals together with amber, it would be Alahine right away...P.S. I'm still on the fence with this one...guess I'll be ready to wear it when I'm about 85 years old:>

18th March, 2010.

Alahine, what am amazing fragrance. It is so beautifully well blended that no single notes stick out. Overall it's an ambery oriental but it's totally different from the usual sweet ambers that are mostly vanilla. Alahine is not too sweet at all - in fact it leans toward being dry. It's dry, spicy, warm and I know there are floral notes there, in it's heart, but I can't pick them out. I'm trying to think of something to compare it with and I'm coming up blank. I suppose (this is a stretch) that it's a much much more incredible sort of Coco. I'm thinking of Chanel because there's a wonderfully sparkling aldehydic quality to Alahine - and aldehydes remind me of Chanel. Coco is Chanel's spicy oriental so therein lies the comparison. But I can't underscore how much better than Coco this is! It's buttery and deep and dark and intoxicating. For this sort of gorgeous quality I don't think Teo Cabanel is expensive at all. In fact, I think it's a bargain for it's uniqueness, it's excellent longevity and nice sillage (not too powerful but definitely present). If you like retro/classic fragrances like Chanel and lean towards orientals you must try Alahine. I'm in love.

25th November, 2009. (Last Edited: 16th February, 2010.)

This is an incredibly beautiful fragrance! The most well blended I've come across, all of the ingredients work so well together it is difficult to identify individual notes. From the gloriously herbal citrus top notes till the dry down when it finally becomes one of the most intriguing ambers. Not at all sweet, it has no rough edges, but is a soft deep symphony of scent.

Sillage is good without being overpowering, lasts a good 6 hours for me. It is a wonderously unique scent, you won't smell like anyone else at the party. Definitely full bottle worthy.

4th November, 2008.