Highness IX Maroon
Afnan Highness IX Maroon Eau de Parfum 100ml puts its musk at the very start rather than saving it for the end, and that is the first sign that this one has been arranged differently from almost everything around it on the shelf.
Musk in the opening gives the first minutes a soft, skin warm quality rather than a bright one, and nutmeg sits beside it, dry and dusty with a faint heat. Rose is the third element up there, and it is a full, slightly jammy rose rather than a cool green one. The effect is of walking into the middle of a fragrance rather than the beginning of one.
The middle is short and warm. Amber brings a resinous, golden glow, and orange blossom lifts it with something honeyed and faintly waxy, and that is all there is in that section. It functions as a bridge rather than a destination. The last act is where it becomes odd and rather good. Peach is soft, fuzzy and ripe, pineapple blossom is sharper and greener than the fruit would be, and apple blossom is pale and cool and a little powdery. Using three blossom and fruit materials at the bottom rather than the top is the reverse of the usual arrangement, and it means the fragrance gets sweeter and fresher as it wears instead of heavier.
Imran Fazlani composed it. Eight materials, eau de parfum concentration, and a realistic expectation of seven or eight hours of wear with moderate projection throughout. It reads as unisex despite the weight of the bottle, it suits cooler weather and evenings rather than hot afternoons, and two sprays is the right dose for most people.
The house behind it was established in 2007 in the United Arab Emirates, where it still formulates and bottles its own range rather than operating as a licensee for somebody else's fashion label.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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