Arabians Tonka

I lived in both Abu Dhabi and later in Dubai in the early 2000's, and for me this scent is an absolute photorealistic capture of the entire mall and souk culture that is so prevalent in the UAE. Arabians Tonka is like a passenger's ticket to the Arabian world of that time, where everywhere you went you were enveloped by the scent of this mystical fragrance that is a combination of ancient and synthetic notes swirling together in harmony. The oud smell is dialed to medium, with florals floating up while an utterly metallic note pierces them all. It's accessible luxury, the fragrance that floats out from the Persian rug stores, and even wafts through the enormous 2 story grocery stores that have their own heavily stocked perfume department. At the Dubai souk you can find shops selling a generic fragrance very similar to this for a few dollars and you get to choose your own pretty little exotic bottle. I have mad love for Arabians Tonka and when I wear it, all I have to do is close my eyes and I am back at Emirates Palace, watching the elegant Emiratis glide by.

I can’t believe no one has mentioned how much this resembles Bortnikoff Sans Fleurs. I don’t have a side by side available to test right now, but the moment I smelled Arabians Tonka that’s the first thing that came to mind. I’m not saying it’s a 1:1, but they are very similar in style. It’s a really nice, insanely strong, insanely sugary and vanillic scent with some very mild oud and leather touches. It’s a thin smell, and what I mean by that is in contrast to chewy amber or carmel-like dense sweetness. It pretty much smells like a sack of dry granulated vanilla sugar. Probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever smelled. I guess I can see what the hype is about. It’s a scent I keep wanting to come back to, but not sure when to wear it.

I sprayed this on paper first and was drawn in at first sniff. I smelled something strange but fleeting before it dried to a light woody rose. So, I sprayed it on my skin and I got the same wonderful opening which became a smokey, woody, vanilla and gently dried down. The rose disappeared, unlike on the paper. Every now and again I get a whiff of something metallic. It seems to shift on me. Sometimes it’s more agarwood other times it’s a warm, creamy vanilla, but it’s the metallic that intrigues me. I don’t even know what I could be sensing since metal is not in the notes, but I get a similar note with other woody fragrances so maybe it’s just my nose misinterpreting things. Either way, I am enjoying this fragrance.

Arabians Tonka is a really good cologne. It is not overly sweet or cloying; it is perfect. The oud is smooth, the sweet notes feel natural, almost like dates or other natural sweets. The performance is INSANE. I get recognized wearing it with a singular spray, 1 spray goes a long way. It projects, id say, 3-4 feet and lasts for 24+hrs on skin

As someone who came from a background smelling all kind of ouds since childhood until now this is a perfect bottle smells amazing if you don’t know nothing about or haven’t tried any ouds this is not for you