On the days I don’t want to see my Emperor Hind bottle go down, I wear this. That being said, this has a lot of familiarity with Emperor Hind. This is no Emperor, but those that missed out will be able to feel the direction of Emperor Hind. This is a great mixed-media perfume at a fantastic price. Ghaliya is about an experience of ingredients and one’s interpretation of binding together the best raw materials one can find. This is a journey from the deep sea to the dense vibrant earth.
The signature aged Hindi oud is present right from the opening. The clean zing of all Dixit and Zak fragrances (the Dixizade) is again in this fragrance. Citrus notes mix; nothing clearly sticks out. Dark and smoky notes are present up front, and I can get the labdanum. One of the biggest secrets in this perfume is the civet. It has to be real, and it gives a life to this perfume that you couldn’t get otherwise. I struggle with my own ethics on the ingredient, but I smell what it does, and there is no replication for this. A big reason this floats and creates magic is the civet touching and covering the florals, resins, and fruits. You will get a treat of rose. Don’t know if a Ghaliya exists without oud and rose. Tuberose is very spiced up with a drunken black currant. Just a bit of dark syrup vibe with the spiced florals. I love the patchouli with the rose here. It is a combo I like more than oud with rose, but in here, I get both.
The base shows itself quickly and fades nicely into the skin. I would venture to say real musk was used in this. The oud lasts in all transitions of the Ghaliya experience. Dixit and Zak are becoming masters at taking huge, dark, animalic ingredients and bringing an easy wearable character to them. They chose the most animalic notes of sea and earth: black ambergris and onchya shell, musk, civet, hyraceum, patchouli, and oakmoss. Those notes push everything a bit, but all are blended so meticulously. You can tell there is so much experience in these perfumes, so many magical ingredients, and they continue to not overdo any. Maybe there is a bit too much oud, but it should be overdone; real oud is the magical crystal ball note that has a way to showcase every other ingredient in a composition. There are so many mysteries of oud that have not been explored yet. Overall, this hits a magical place for the perfume world. Dark sea to dark earth, and you feel the vitality of both off your skin.