Oh Akkad!!! What a stunning resinous oriental juice this is from Lubin. I've got a strange, inexplicable, soft spot for this house even though I've only tried a couple of their fragrances, and they weren't world beaters if I'm honest. Sometimes you come across fragrances which put a smile on your face and redefine a genre for you. I mean I love lots of amber and Oud, incense accords but even if a scent is appealing or good quality it's a rare thing to find innovation anymore but when you do it's refreshing. It's like every so often in music when you think you've heard every mildly derivative guitar outfit, then suddenly something excites you. I wouldn't quite call Akkad a 'Game changer' (hate that cliche anyway) but it is an amber with balance, sweetness, warmth, creaminess, not cloying and has refreshing fresh incense top notes...what more could I ask for? It starts out with a fresh transparent blast of bergamot, frankincense, elemi and labnadum, transitioning into a kind of benzoin, styrax... ancient powdery amber drydown which is thickened and sweetened with vanilla throughout. Akkad seems to manage both elements of resin slightly cool and uplifting to warm, cosy and authentic in the base. This is great juice however, I can't help but think the top notes should last longer before it dries down to what is quite a standard amber accord. That's harsh criticism because if you love resins as I do you won't care and at least those top notes are there in the first place...however fleeting.