* Intriguing and unusual blend of leather and gourmand fragrance DNAs
* The love child of Tom Ford Tuscan Leather and JPG Scandal Pour Homme
* Blend of sweet, amber, caramel, vanilla, spice, musk and leather aromas
* Dark masculine powerhouse
* Good for fans of Dior Farenheit Parfum
* Strong performer
* Great presentation
* Good QPR value
* Fair price
* Very much a love it or leave it proposition
* Can come off like rubber and gasoline to a nose that doesn't pick up the sweet notes a la Dior Farenheit
* Leans heavily masculine despite being marketed as unisex
* Not good for younger users
* Not good for those who prefer sweet and fresh fragrances
Lattafa's Ishq Al Shuyukh Gold is a really unusual and intriguing fragrance. That can be either good or bad depending on your tastes and the noses of those around you. It's a hybrid blend of leather and gourmand fragrance types. Sweet, amber, caramel, vanilla, spice, musk and leather aromas are combined into an absolute love it or leave it proposition. Imagine layering Tom Ford Tuscan Leather and Jean Paul Gaultier's Scandal Pour Homme. Not exactly a layering combination that would immediately come to most people's minds. Yet this works, coming off very dark and masculine.
This is quite a strong performer, so strong in fact that the leather note starts to overtake the others in the drydown. When it does and you and the noses around you start missing the sweet amber and caramel notes, this may come off smelling like an old car, all rubber and gasoline. That is in fact the strong leather note and Tuscan Leather (and its clones) gives off the very same notes. Very similar to Dior's Farenheit in that respect. Not coincidentally, that one is also a love it or leave it type of fragrance that had to be eventually softened with a heavy dose of vanilla in the Parfum edition. Ishq Al Shuyukh Gold adds amber and caramel to the vanilla to accomplish the same results. If you like one, you'll enjoy the other.
This leans very heavily masculine despite being marketed as unisex and is not a good choice for women. It's also not good for younger users and those who prefer sweet and fresh fragrances a la Invictus or 1 Million. Performance is quite strong, as mentioned, the presentation is top notch and the price is very fair for what it offers making this a good QPR value. Highly recommended but you absolutely must enjoy leather fragrances before you even think about picking this one up.