Teriaq

Caramel and bitter almond arrive together, with apricot adding soft stone-fruit juiciness and pink pepper a light prickle on top. The heart is where it becomes unusual: honey, thick and slightly waxy, with rhubarb's tartness cutting across it while rose and white flowers thread through. Honey is a difficult note because it carries a natural animalic quality, and here it has deliberately been left a bit raw. The base of leather, vanilla, labdanum, musk and vetiver picks that up and runs with it, producing a dry-down that manages to be sweet and skin-like at once, with a distinct suede texture underneath.

The most interesting thing about Teriaq is who made it. Quentin Bisch of Givaudan composed it, the same nose behind Parfums de Marly Delina, Chloe Nomade, Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl and Mugler Angel Muse. A perfumer of that standing working for a Dubai budget house marked a real shift in the market, and it shows in the result, which is more textured and less obviously commercial than most fragrances at this price.

It is also divisive, and honesty matters here. Fragrantica users rate it 3.74 out of 5 from more than 3,100 votes, well below Lattafa's biggest hits. The honey-and-leather combination reads as rich and characterful to some people and as sour or sweaty to others. Sample it properly before committing.

Performance is good at around eight hours, with moderate projection and a long, close-wearing tail. Cooler weather suits it, since heat pushes the honey forward and makes the animalic side far more obvious. Wear it in the evening, in winter, when you want something with personality rather than something safe. A stronger flanker, Teriaq Intense, followed for anyone who wants the same idea with more force behind it. For anyone who has been curious about what a mainstream perfumer does with a budget brief, this is one of the clearest examples on the market, and it is more interesting to smell than a great many higher-priced releases.