ANFAS
SA’ADAH

2017

PERFUMER
Chris Maurice

Orange
Pine
Neroli
Rose

Violet
Ylang-Ylang
Cedarwood

Tonka Bean
Sandalwood
Vanilla

I sprayed 9 fragrances from the Anfas collection on paper and picked 3 that appealed to me the most to wear on skin: Shaghaf, Sa’adah & Gaya.

Sa’adah spoke to me as an easy to wear scent, yet not fully fresh. In the opening I get a lot of neroli and ylang-ylang; slightly tropical, but generally refreshing and floral.

At the same time; a lot of vanilla/tonka. Super sweet and soft. Fragrantica compares this to womens designers like the Alien line by Mugler and I can definitely see that; even goes towards Kilian’s Love Don’t Be Shy. Complete departure from some of the Middle Eastern styled perfumes from Anfas (they seem to have two distinctly different styles among their range).

What I like about Sa’adah is the lasting petal-y flowers (and feminine leaning tinge) throughout the wear, that becomes very vanillic sweet otherwise. It smells like candy, but in classy way.

In the late drydown it’s mostly a vanilla skin scent.

Not an overly special scent and probably one of the less unique smelling from the Anfas I’ve tried (alongside Rahaba), but a mass appealing one that’s executed well. Would be a much more interesting option at a lower price point in my opinion.