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Begum is one of those fragrances I seriously thought I would love from looking at the note breakdown, unfortunately I was left disappointed. Usually the fragrances from the 17/17 Stone Collection smells exceptional with fantastic quality, however this seems to smell significantly cheaper to it’s peers. It opens with a medley of citrus and fruity red berries before quickly developing a clean floral heart of jammy rose, soft orris, powdery ylang and a hint of soapy white florals. This aspect of the scent is lovely I must say but as the sandalwood starts introducing itself, the obnoxiously sweet vanilla and plasticky rosewood take over and ruin it for me. This feels like the same style of rosewood they used for Alexandria II which I can’t stand. This scent starts off really well in the opening and then just gets progressively worse until you’re left with a bit of a headache-inducing mess if I’m honest.
I seem to like all Xerjoff's scents in "17/17 Stone Label" collection and those ones from other collections which are made by Chris Maurice. He just knows how to make an excellent perfumes. Most of the Xerjoffs are somewhat so synthetic, unpleasant and poor quality but perfumes in this collection always surprises me with their beauty. Unfortunately for now I only have Richwood and Symphonium but definitely need Irisss, Damarose and Pikovaya Dama and now I fell in love with this one. Straight away in the opening you can feel how beautifully Begum has been blended. all those flowers intertwine seamlessly, creating a velvety and creamy concoction. There is a subtle fruity aroma in the background but mostly it's the luxurious floral bouquet in the utterly soft and dreamy base. Iris and Violet makes it powdery but it's not a dry make up powder. This makes me think about the dream, it feels like sleeping on the clouds, it's like a foggy day in a fairy tale and the sun creates a hazy warm light through the clouds. None of those flowers is dominating the scent. The base is harmonious combination where Vanilla, Musk and Sandalwood are the main players and other woody and amber notes keep them together maintaining the scent floral, not as "Vanilla scent" or too sweet. There is nothing Oriental about the fragrance itself imo. Begum is signature scent worthy, it's year around scent, it has a feminine touch in it. It's so relaxing, I can see it suits well the classy lady at the work. It's elegant, it's attractive and seductive. I think men would love this on women. This scent doesn't bother anyone but still it's unique. It makes irresistible bubble around the wearer. I definitely want to buy a bottle of this one. I wish I would have tried this properly straight away after I got this sample over a year ago. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes