When I got a decant of La Via del Profumo Sharif in the mail, two things of note happened: an autumn chill arrived in the Northwest, sweeping away summer in one afternoon, and my cat, Vanya Mandelstam, um, “sullied” the Sharif packing materials that I had thrown on the floor. Both of these events had an impact on my relationship with Sharif, but first….

Sharif smells wonderful. It starts off with a nose-searing note that smells like tonka beans in turpentine (with a nutty background aroma, almost dessert-like, but not too sweet). A beautiful, almost smoky, leather scent appears next, blending well with tonka and spice (a clear, pungent cinnamon-clove note). Sharif remains in tonka-leather-cinnamon territory for a long time before turning a tad powdery with musky (civet) amber in the dry-down. There is a hint of smooth “incense ash” in the base notes also. The entire composition is fine-tuned and high-quality (what a relief it is to smell Sharif after sampling too many cheap perfumes from other houses recently).

Now, to my “relationship” with Sharif. First, its arrival on a chilly day was auspicious; this is a cool-weather perfume…

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