dry | The Scented Hound

Wazamba is a hard fragrance for me to review. It’s exotic nature and unfamiliar notes make for a scent that is for me very distinctive, yet difficult to describe. According to some information I found on the web, a Wasamba (spelled with an S) is a West African instrument made of wooden sticks that is used during circumcision and initiation rites. Now the description above is not going to help describe this scent, but I found the definition pretty interesting upon itself.

So what does Wazamba smell like? When applied its spicy, dry and a little bitter. To me it has almost has hints of Indian curry with a slight dry fruitiness. As time goes on, this becomes even dryer and closer to the skin and a bit sharper. I found that as I wore this throughout the day, it didn’t overwhelm me, but would occasionally rise to surround me at various times. I love this scent, but am not sure how often I would wear it. I would say that it works for both day and night and leans towards the masculine although it would work well for women as well.

Bottom line: Hard to describe, lovely to wear, exotic and distinctive!

Wazamba Notes:

Somalian incense, Kenyan myrrh, Ethiopian opoponax, Indian sandalwood, Moroccan cypress, labdanum, apple, fir balsam

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $75 for 50ml EDP

I really wanted to like this scent. I had read some wonderful reviews where people were raving about how distinct and special L’Air du Desert Marocain was. Maybe it’s just my body chemistry but this scent just got lost on me. In the bottle it smells amazing and when I applied it, I got an immediate rush of green in an almost medicinal sense. Then it quickly moved into an ever so slight floral…I was thinking that this may turn sweet? No, it then moved to a very dry and woody single layered scent that I found to be nice. But I need more than nice. As the day wore on, it just disappeared on me. I recently reviewed 07 Tanoke by Odin and found this to be similar, but it lacks the extra special something (maybe the tinge of sweetness?) that Odin found.

From the Tauer Perfumes Website:

Head Notes: Coriander and cumin, carefully blended with petitgrain.

Heart Notes: A warm heart note with rock rose and a hint of jasmine.

Body Notes: Dry cedar woods and vetiver, brilliantly joined on a fine ambergris background.

Powerful, sensual and pure. Laying on the bed, watching the moon raising over the sandy hills of the Saharan desert, he dreamt the fragrance of a Moroccan night.

Bone Rating: 2 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: dry, woody
Classification: Unisex but leans towards masculine
Expense: Moderately expensive – $105 for 50ml EDT intense