DESCRIPTION
HM Badshah 1981. HM Burmi 1982. Ambergris from the Sultan’s atelier. Mysore Sandalwood from the 90s. Royal Vintage Ta’ifi Rose.
We have never begun a description by listing the ingredients first, but these are too precious to be introduced any other way. This is not just a fragrance, it is a reckoning. The most outrageous, the most expensive, and perhaps the most terrifying composition we have ever dared to assemble.
Making a Ghaliyah is unlike composing any other attar or fragrance. Here, maceration rules, and it cannot be controlled. Is there too much musk? (We used an entire pod from the royal atelier.) What happens when ambergris collides with vintage Hindi?, How will Burmi converse with Ta’ifi rose?... These are dialogues between materials that no perfumer can script, only surrender to.
And when the stakes are tens of thousands of dollars in irreplaceable essences, macerating becomes an act of trust. The Burmi oud alone costs many thousands per tola. The vintage Hindi musk pods can never be replaced. The Halflong, gone the moment it is poured in. Even the base rests on vintage sandalwood from the 90s, itself a relic of perfumery. You do not plan such a composition; you close your eyes and trust in God, waiting for the Ghaliyah to reveal itself.
After last year’s popularity and instant sell out, the objective for this year’s Ghaliyah was clear: to craft something outrageous, solely from the Sultan’s atelier. After a year of macerating, the result is nothing short of a masterful symphony. The royal ingredients have yielded a vintage Ghaliyah profile, one that carries unmistakably the Sultani DNA.
Take the applicator and hold it to your nose without touching the skin. Its aura rises immediately: Ta’ifi rose entwined with Burmi oud, evoking a note reminiscent of Royal Jardin Edición de Musc. Apply it to the skin, and the air blooms with vintage Hindi and musk. A whole musk pod forms its heart, yet the balance remains nothing short of phenomenal.
I call it a symphony because that is what it is, a living, shifting performance. It transitions endlessly with the hour, with the warmth of your skin, with it's surroundings. For nearly a year, we have returned to it, watching it evolve, deepen, and mature.
This is a Ghaliyah at its most sovereign.
