It does not happen a lot to me, falling in love. As a matter of fact, it hasn't happened in years. At least, when we're taking about a dude. When it comes to perfumes I'm pretty much the same: I hate, dislike or like something, but love at first sight - or in this case smell - is an occasion worthy of a global notification.
Thank god we have fragrance sites, right? Because, I can tell in no uncertain terms my very first sniff of Jazzab Gold made my heart go aflutter and my nostrils sing.
I recently got a gazillion samples/decants on an Middle Eastern perfumes webshop so I could test quite a portion of my wishlist/potentials. Most of these wishlisters have oudh and/or another note that can be tricky for me (I've stopped hoping oakmoss or cardemon will ever work for me), so with the epic blind buy fail of Opulent Red fresh in the back of my mind the rule "No more blind buys" was a strict & logical one. I went 2ml- hunting with a decant of Ard Al Zaafaran's Golden bottle in the number one spot.
Jazzab Gold could, in potential, live up to its name because I'm a pink pepper and amber fan, but when a pyramid says oudh twice and adds vague terms like "wood notes " and "blossom" anything goes.
In this case, 'anything' means me sniffing my arm constantly and smiling like a moron. Call me crazy, but I might have found a "keeper" - a liquid love for life.
Why? Several reasons.
Firstly, I wouldn't be surprised if Jazzab Gold is a yearround fragrance with the citrus notes and flowers blossoming extra in warmer temperatures and the wood, amber and pepper pushing to the front when the barometers drop.
Secondly, and most importantly: how it smells on me.
The opening is fresh and sweet as a result of both Rose and citrusy-but not sour influences, immediately pulling you in, making you curious. Especially because the oudh and pink pepper aren't exactly shy and come forward faster than you can say Heart. Where oudh can have an unfortunate smell in a lot of perfumes when I wear them (in Pascal Morabito- Sultan Noir it's moldy hay for me, in both Bade'e Al Ouds I get cow dung and in Opulent Red it's a mess of burnt rubber and farts. Yes, you read that correctly.), in Jazzab Gold it's a wonderful sweet and warm note. The same woody accord I get in Lattafa Raghba or Ard Al Zaafaran's Romancea.
A warm note that's working beautifully in accord with the flowers - that are soft and honey-sweet - as well as the light spicyness of the pepper that's almost reminiscent of a cinnamon or nutmeg note here. The heart is lovely and shows anyone with an oudh-fear they might actually be able to wear it as a fragnote every now and then, as long as the balance is as luscious and well done as in Jazzab Gold.
The dry down is a little sweeter and less spicy and the cooler the weather gets the more you lose the spice and the more you get a fresh yellow fruity layered wooden scent. I'd expected the opposite, but - as the cool kids say these days - "I'm not mad at it"!
Jazzab Gold isn't an 'in your face' scent, but she isn't afraid to *be there* either, particularly in the first hour. I was warned by one of my favourite fragrance-Tubers that Jazzab Gold is of bodymist quality longevity wise, but as we all know: skin chemistry is key. As said earlier: this fragrance isn't loud or heavy in any regard, so when it comes to bodymist... maybe the sillage and in a lesser way the projection might qualify as such - or "ish".
However, I kept smelling her while typing (any scent I review I spray before writing), showing off the projection. In the first hour projection is quite decent. When I went to bed after typing most of this, and woke up (as always, aargh) around 2am, I could still smell whiffs of Jazzab Gold. For everyone who loves to wear perfume to bed or who lives in a warmer climate: good news. Ard Al Zaafaran's juice shines most when it is warm. During a not too hot summer and when I'm all cosy under the comforter, even my atrocious skin chemistry can count on 5 to 6hrs. Granted, *on my skin* it is a skin scent in the last two for sure, but this means that just one respray let's you enjoy a full day of this fragrance - I'm game!
We poor Northern/Western Europeans and anyone else who needs a warm jacket outside for most of the year has - outside of under the covers - a slightly less durable first few spritzes. But for the 25 bucks I paid (and the fact that nowadays 4-6 hours of longevity for a designer edp of €100+ seems average) the 3 to 3,5 good hours, plus a few extra skin scent hours, I'm getting off of Jazzab Gold is more than acceptable. I just have to give the atomiser a bit of a workout for a full day of smelling amazing.
Now, if you can accept the longevity and projection, let's go to the most important point: SCENT & SIMILARITY:
If you happen to own Lancome Trésor La Nuit or especially Afnan Modest Deux Pour Femme and think on 1st acquaintance: "Hmmm, this smells familiar! " then congratulations: you have adequate olfactory senses (LVEB? Come on! No). While none of these are truly dupes, you could say La Nuit is a first cousin and the Modest Deux is an older sibling!
Not surprising, as the MD & JG pyramids are similar. Bases and hearts have most in common. The differences are in the details. Both have fruity openings, but where Jazzab Gold has citrusnotes/ yellow fruits, Modest Deux is full of luscious red fruits. Where Jazzab becomes a creamier woody hug in the end, Modest is a more sensual musky nose-tease.
Basically, you get a fresher, woodier variant of the Afnan fragrance, and it simply is in 'the vibe" of the more mature Lancôme. As said earlier, definitely not duping it, but tipping its hat to it. In my humble opinion that also means Jazzab Gold can have a proper place in your collection, even when you already own Modest Deux (or the Lancome). Simply said, Modest Deux has a reddish, sweeter vibe and Jazzab a yellow, fresher one. Plus, the woody notes truly sparkle on certain skin types with the Ard Al Zaafaran fragrance.
I'm absolutely addicted to this scent profile, and Jazzab Gold's interpretation especially is very easy to wear on the daily. I also love the fact that it is so versatile.
The oudh is showing itself from its best side, being all cosy-woody. The freshness of the fruits is making Jazzab Gold even more inoffensive. Say hello to a great daily work - or college classes fragrance because of it! (Though I could easily see myself grabbing the bottle before going out with friends, or a romantic partner. )
On the other hand, it has this "I need to sniff you NOW" quality, giving it some sensuality, just like cousin La Nuit and sister Modest Deux (which is slightly sexier than JG btw). All three make me feel like I smell yummy and look great, with each of them accents that suit a different venue or weather type. From the three I would soonest pick up Jazzab Gold on a no- jacket day, since it comes closest to a yearround fragrance. Regardless of weather though, with me feeling pretty and confident wearing this, I think
Jazzab Gold gives you the whole "wanting to smell delicious without being obnoxious, or rolling out the red carpet to your bedroom"- vibe ;).
Last thoughts: feminine leaning, but possible unisex, amazing price-quality ratio, suitable for wide audience and last, but not least: JG comes in a nice bottle of encased heavy glass, with a magnetic cap and ideal mist from the atomiser. Absolutely recommended!
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
Astralmonad
PetitePinup
