Zahras.com - Gets my approval as a source for fine Arabian fragrance!

Wow! Thanks for the info, now I have to go and check the catalogue.

That's awesome. I ordered around the same time you did, so hopefully mine will come soon. I had some bakhoor, a burner, and some oud wood as well (and oddly didn't get the "shipped" notification for a week after I ordered), so mine may take a bit longer. I'm really looking forward to it though - did they send it registered? More importantly, did you have to sign for it/go get it at the post office? I'm hoping not - it really sucks to come home to a slip on the door saying you have to go get it another day at the post office.

I'll post photos and such when my package arrives!


... btw, have to move this thread to the Shopping Guide forum.

Unfortunately, while the regular Amouage bottles are slightly cheaper than buying elsewhere, you have to make sure you pay attention to the shipping rates.

My package arrived yesterday and I picked it up from the post office today. Great packaging (believe me, nothing was going to be harmed. It could have been kicked and would have been fine), good samples, etc. I'll take photos this evening and post soon. I'll definitely be a repeat customer!

Please let us know what you think of the Al Mas when you get a chance to sniff it properly jrd4t.

As far as I can see Zahras is the only place that offers it.

Al Mas (and Zahras) are both fantastic. I put some photos and some initial thoughts on it here.

Just dissapointed at the service not the product as I have not received it as yet. I paid on the 5th March, received a confirmation on the shipping 9 days later and still have not received the product in New York. I have ordered before from the Middle East and not experienced this delay. Sorry, maybe when this stuff is available Stateside I will order again. Sorry .


Seller's Name: Zahra's Exquisite Boutique
Seller's Email: info@zahras.com
Transaction ID: 4LL87308GR855430N
Transaction Date: Mar 5, 2010 11:48:09 PST
Transaction Amount: $105.00 USD



"service@paypal.com" <service@paypal.com>
cc:
bcc:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sunday, March 14, 2010 12:46PM
Subject: Shipment Tracking and Order Status provided for Transaction ID: 4LL87308GR855430N(Routing Code: C840-L001-Q-T)

Be patient. It's shipping from Bahrain. You're disappointed with their service because the postal service takes a long time to arrive from the opposite side of the earth? I would bet it'll arrive within the next few days.

That Al Mas attar is absolutely beautiful. I want to own it for the packaging if nothing else!

Porkfat/jrd4t. I specifically did not reply before because I thought it would serve no purpose at that time. I received my package today and am well pleased with the contents. The following facts however must be known. The shipping date is 15 March as notified by Paypal confirmed by shipping tag on package. Arrived JFK 03/18/10 at 0745 pm confirmed by USPS tag on package. There is a serious disconnect in time paid and shipped.

Ordered a bottle of Surrati Tom Oud from zahras.com this morning. It totally a mom/pop kind of place, but I haven't been disappointed yet and am looking forward to this gorgeous oud oil coming my way

It seems they take a little while to ship, then customs holds the package for a few days, judging from my past order and others' experiences, so I'll post my dates for this set!

Did they just increase the prices for Tribute and Homage ???

TRIBUTE
Concentrated Perfume Oil
12ml - $500 //$350 at luckyscent
30ml - $907 //$650 at luckyscent

HOMAGE
Concentrated Perfume Oil
3ml - $219
6ml - $375
12ml - $625 // $355 at luckyscent
30ml - $1157

As of 10/6/2010...

Hey guys. I've been doing some online shopping and I noticed that Zahra's seems to have a pretty decent collection of Arabian perfumes. Has anyone ever shopped from there or heard anything about them?

The posts above describe their experiences, so I'll just add mine. As a novice, I first ordered a sample set, which came at $50 (shipping to US included). It didn't contain anything of big value (except for a smidgen of excellent aged oudh), but it was a very well thought out set for a beginner, with different substances and perfume houses. After that, I placed another order to use the big discounts during ramadan (a few things were half price, others were buy 1 tola get 1/2 tola free of something of equal or lesser value). Unfortunately, there was a mix up of one item (I had ordered an oud based oil, blindly, but I received a spray, which was horrid), but they refunded everything without any problems. I'm planning to buy again, perhaps some of the more expensive oils.

cacio

I'm hoping someone here can give me a heads up about placing an order with Zahras these days. I sent an email indicating the items I want to buy and did not receive any reply. I sent a second email with an added request the a day later. It's been two days and no reply. I sent my request to info@zahras.com Am I doing something wrong? Are they still up and running? I understand delays in processing and especially in shipping times, but not even an initial reply to an email is frustrating. Do I have cause for concern or is this par for the course?

Sounds strange, I always had a reply within two days. Unless it's some holiday down there...

cacio

Hmmm, I was wondering too if a holiday may be the reason, although I saw no mention on the website. I'll wait another day before sending more emails because I feel I'd appear as a pest if I keep sending them every other day.

Well, it is Eid al-Adha soon. But there might be another reason.

I sent another inquiry yesterday, still no reply. I'll post if and when I get a reply.

Oh- one more question for now- Is there any other online source for Ajmal Musk Gazelle? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Yes Saripatates you were right- they were closed for Eid Holidays. I received a very polite reply from them when they returned, with an apology for not replying while they were closed. Placed order that day- btw for those who worry about the delivery time, they were quite upfront and clear about the expected time for delivery to be from 3 to 5 weeks.

It has always taken me at least 3-4 weeks to get regular packages to and from the Gulf, with zahras or otherwise. But they did arrive eventually.

cacio

Has anyone ordered from them lately? Are they reliable and legitimate? Wondering about your experiences, shipping times (to the US) and suggestions for purchases. Any information actually. There are a few threads about them from quite a while back, nothing recent.

Thanks in advance.

Go over to Fragrantica. That question is covered in depth in their thread "The Arabic Perfume Oil Experiment".

I ordered from them a couple of times, the latest last year. No problems with them. The first time, I asked them to prepare me a sample set, which turned out to be quite interesting, with various styles, materials, and price ranges. Then I bought a few oils, more expensive ouds (like Cambodi smoked), middle range non-oud oils (an excellent royal jasmine, white musk) and good synth oud cheapies (like Mukhallat Shamama or mukallat al malaki). I also asked them to suggest an oud-rose combo which I bought blindly. It turned out to be a scary canned fruit monster I hated; but then, when I proposed it in a pass-the-sample, it turned out to be a surprising hit with many sniffers - so perhaps it was just my nose.

I would not go into alcohol based perfumes, as far as I know, Arabian perfumers are not interested in the form, and alochol based perfumes, typically, are not at the level of western perfumes (the Amouages, in fact, are composed by western perfumers)

cacio

Alright...Since their has not been a recent review of Zahras boutique website here it goes...Well first off when you browse the website you will notice it is not the same as regular shopping websites. They have a catalogue of perfumes from each company all on the same site. You can think of them as a middleman for the rest of the companies. Now when it comes down to placing an order, you basically note the name of the individual perfume, note the company that is selling it and then you take that information and email them at info@zahras.com with the list. After I emailed them I was not given an immediate response. I believe they answered after 10 days. They however apologized and told me that they were on holiday. So I placed an order for about 15 attars 99% of them from Abdul Samad al qurashi(ASAQ). I was given a pricing list for my order on an excel document with a 10% discount because it was over $1000. I also told them I needed the main package before Ramadhan. Mind you, it was about a month before Eid. They told me it would cost around $30 more for expedited shipping. So now I made my payment through paypal on the 26th of July 2012 and in two weeks or precisely 12 days I recieved my package in the mail. The package was taped up ridiculously. I literally had to rip it open in my car because I did not want my family knowing about their presents. Each attar box was covered in foam wrap, which was then covered in aluminum. The box for the loose perfume is their branded brown box that they use for all of their attars. When you open the box, the attar itself is covered with aluminum and placed inside a smaller version of the sand which bags. You could tell It was placed very delicately. I also received a complimentary gift attar for 3 ml called Kalakhan by ASAQ.. It smelled AMAZING!!! I also found one glass bottle that had cracked and some of the attar poured out so I emailed zahras with photos and an explanation. Sister Safia told me that the company would send me an empty bottle and a 1/3 tola or 3ml attar on behalf of the broken one. I haven’t recieved it yet but I will update when I do. The second package arrived yesterday September 6th 2012. The only down side to the entire transaction was that the shipping tracking service is not the same as the one here in the US. Here we can track daily and can see where in the states and even out of the country by using UPS. The affiliated USPS tracking they use in bahrain does not update at all. It also lags in timing so I suggest you use the expedited shipping as that is a quicker option.

I have to say, without a doubt I would recommend this company to anyone and everyone. Their service is great and with a little tweaking in the shipping area, they should be unmatched in providing quality attars that you CAN NOT get here in the US.
I can give you reviews regarding the fragrances but It would take too long. But I will say that Safari by ASAQ is drop dead magnificent. There is simply nothing more to say!