LANA & HADI PARFUMS
SQ BAKHOOR ABSOLUTE
2025
sultan qaboos bakhoor
‘As some of you may know, I created an absolute oil from Sultan Qaboos’ bakhoor, which I was fortunate enough to acquire a few years ago. The first tincture was produced in small quantities—a lucky few were able to purchase a bottle, while others received it as gifts. Most of that batch went into a composition I was developing at the time, alongside a piece Faizal was also working on. That original absolute was truly remarkable. After days of carefully burning off the alcohol, it transformed into a thick, almost resinous oil. The scent was extraordinary—rich, smoky, and incense-heavy—just as one would expect from the Sultan’s renowned bakhoor, which was said to be made only from the finest ingredients. Some even suggested it contained Burmese Oud. Once settled on the skin, it revealed softer undertones of rose and florals that balanced the smoky intensity. This new SQ Bakhoor Absolute oil took me over a week to create. I lowered the temperature further this time, allowing the alcohol to evaporate more slowly. The result surprised me: a magnificent oil, distinctly different from the first batch. It is still incense-forward, but with far more floral depth and character. Where the original leaned heavily into smoke, this version feels lighter, more refined, and even slightly powdery—an airy counterpoint to its predecessor. The first batch mirrored the Sultan’s bakhoor almost exactly. This second batch retains that same spirit, but carries far greater nuance and complexity, offering a completely new experience.’ – LHParfums
I’d smelled some Lana & Hadi before via a friend and the brand kindly sent over samples to try the entire collection. After testing on paper, I picked 5 favorites to wear on skin; SQ Bakhoor was one of them, but I did apply it after the other 4, so my thoughts on it are less clear.
What I do know is that I really like it. I’ve yet to smell the other 2 attars that I have from Lana & Hadi at the time of writing, but SQ Bakhoor Absolute is definitely one of the gems from the collection. I feel like I get hints of Oud Opulente 2 and Whispers Of The Desert here, but it’s a lot smoother and nicer to wear for me than Oud Opulente 2 in the opening. The similarity with that I find in the cola-esque amber golden lining. A bit more floral and sweet, the way Whispers Of The Desert wears. Absolutely lovely. You would think that an attar form loses some of the acidity and brightness, but my experience with this one is the opposite; I feel like it retains its brightness better than most of the sprayable perfumes from the brand (when comparing them on paper versus on skin or after the opening). That’s not to say that SQ Bakhoor is a bright scent profile; it’s thick, syrupy, woody, sweet, but it has this golden lining and almost soapy tinge to it that makes it so that it doesn’t feel like wearing it will drag you down or gets tiresome. Out of the line, this is one that I’d have to test again mostly.
