Al Haramain - Lak

So many delights, in this cheap little boring bottle!

I’ve got the oil version which is meant to be smoother than the fancy gold spray bottle. So if you can’t afford Arabian Oud’s ‘Ghroob’ then this is your similar alternative.

‘Lak’ is strong but creamy-sweet, with a smoothly nutty, syrupy dried fruit heart. It’s rich and decadent like an apricot and walnut honey. It’s creamy, spicy, fresh and warm with a huge power behind it. I generously slathered it on myself before bed so I could languish in the luxurious aroma. After the first 30 minutes I noticed a distant, woody, unisex rose coming through. When I awoke 8 hours later, I wasn’t aware that I smelt of anything anymore. I hear the longevity is better from the spray, but with the spray being less smooth and barely related, I’m not tempted to try it. I love the intensively rich smoothness of the ‘Lak’ oil. This is one of the best performing from the lowest priced Arabian oils, so definitely worth having.

You can find the 15ml oil version of ‘Lak’ for around £15. The spray version is harder to find and is about £35. It lasts 24 hours against your clothes and most of the night on your skin as you sleep.

Update: Of course I couldn’t resist my curiosity for trying the spray version. So I’ve got the 55ml Lak spray on one wrist and the 15ml Lak oil on the other - so let’s finally get to the bottom of this comparison.

When I asked the seller if the spray and the oil were similar, the reply was quite simply; “I think same”. So let’s start by stating that the spray is NOTHING like the oil. They are not even remotely related.

The Bottles: The oil comes in a cheap silver bottle that falls apart (the lid and the base have now fallen off, the seller advised me to just glue it back together). The spray (on the other hand) comes in an impressively heavy and beautiful gold metal bottle.

The Smell: The oil is sweet ‘n’ juicy Heaven in a bottle, but the spray isn’t anything special. The spray starts like a transparent hairspray with a medicinal oud note. I couldn’t believe the vast difference between the two - I’ve got band-aid oud hairspray with dry walnut husk on one wrist and rich, sweet-opulence on the other. I waited for the spray to develop, or at least warm to become less parched and dry.

1 hour in and I suddenly think it’s a clever idea to now blast my neck with 3 generous sprays. I’m instantly reminded of the boozy oud-poop intro and suffer that for the next 10 minutes. In comparison, my wrist now smells a lot more interesting. Maybe there’s a timid musk trying to get through the walnut shell? Still no dried fruits nor sweetness but it’s getting spicier, as I detect saffron.

2 hours in and I smell clean, spicy walnuts - it’s becoming a skin-scent as it’s transparent and not overbearing, plus the longevity is awesome. My mum just smelt both to confirm that they are nothing at all alike and around my next she said “it doesn’t smell like YOU, you smell like someone else” which I interpret negatively. I think it’s clear that I officially don’t like the spray. The heavy gold bottle (and the scent) actually reminds me of ‘Nasmah’ by Al Haramain.

So the bottom line is, the spray is a dry walnut, synthetic oud and spicy musk mix - the oil is a beautiful rich blend of sweet dried fruits, walnut, black rose and a little musk.

The oil goes into my favourites list and the spray goes into the sin-bin.
Powdery notes, Musk, Woody notes, Vanilla, Praline, Balsamic notes, Dried fruits, Black Rose, Walnut