Raghba by Lattafa Perfumes

Ragba is a strange perfume. I owned it for three years and eventually gave it away because I didn’t like it enough to wear. My bottle is from 2022 and seems to have become drier and less sweet over the years. It’s the perfect sweet for those who don’t enjoy gourmands and the ideal smoky scent for sweet lovers. It reminds me of a child wanting to drink adult vanilla. It’s not bad, but it has become more popular than it deserves; people buy it blindly and that often goes wrong.

Used to gourmands, this is the least sweet of them all. I detect no vanilla or sugar, just incense and oud. If you’re expecting something sweet and feminine, it’s not for you; it’s more unisex, leaning towards masculine.

Spectacular. A great opening. Between the cinnamon and dry down, a delicious vanilla. I don’t appreciate the incense, but it’s well done for those who are afraid of oriental scents. It has a light oud and perhaps a touch of leather from the wood. It sounds 70% like YSL Babycat. The projection is good for an hour and then it stays in the personal bubble. It’s not overpowering; I bought it blindly and I have no regrets.

Every nose is a world. It’s the most gourmand in my collection: pure brown sugar with vanilla and wood, with incense very in the background. I don’t sense oud. Despite lasting 12 hours and projecting for 6, it doesn’t seem chic or elegant to me. For me, it’s only for going out with friends or informal dinners. It’s so sweet it makes me hungry and I end up eating dessert, so I no longer want to wear it.

Excellent for those who like oud a lot. I don’t recommend buying it blindly.

I only detect a sweet, potent incense with a more masculine than feminine nuance. I like strong perfumes, but I’m not sure I love wearing this scent. It makes me feel as if I’ve just stepped out of a bonfire, wrapped in smoke. I’m not sure when or where to use it. It’s not a fragrance I enjoy; the performance is poor; despite a strong opening, it doesn’t project beyond the first hour.

I had high expectations, imagining an olfactory bomb. Perhaps it has already been reformulated, but the opening is potent and narcotic. I only feel a sweet, vanilla-incense scent that later settles right on the skin. If you like incense, it’s good, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. It doesn’t have great longevity, a maximum of 5 hours, very discreet with a low trail after the first hour. For autumn and winter, day or night, you have to apply it several times if you want it to last. I won’t be buying it again, although it’s cheap and I don’t dislike it entirely. A bit disappointing in terms of performance and scent.

After trying it tentatively before, today with the cold and bad weather, I’ve felt brave enough to wear it. The vanilla isn’t cloying or overly sweet, tamed by the incense and woods. It’s a good scent for the cold; it wraps you up and makes you feel comfortable. What caught my attention was the price… I expected it to be perfectly 10 or 15 € more expensive. It’s super synthetic, with hardly any evolution, but it’s noticeable that it’s well-made. For those seeking a dark vanilla with elegance and good value for money, Raghba has a beautiful scent. I don’t think I’ll buy it; they’re not my favourites and I already have them covered, but it was very interesting to try. Thanks to companion Taurien for the decant. I can’t help but mention the genius of Josesan, invoking Lope de Vega to describe his experience with Raghba. Bravo.

Bought blindly, knowing what I was exposing myself to. Linear ‘arabica’ vanilla. It didn’t convince me as it felt very synthetic and somewhat sharp. I gave it away. That said, I will always remember Raghba. Always. It taught me a tremendous lesson: under no circumstances should you gift a perfume you don’t like to a work colleague. Does that bottle never run out????

Total disappointment!!! It’s the third perfume from this Arab house, the third celebrated in forums and influencers, the third worth less than a kick. I’ve concluded that all orientals are the same in DNA and behave the same with a rapid free fall. This one opens well, magnificently for those who love the vanilla caramel touch, but after ten minutes it degenerates into a very annoying hint of ‘licorice’. In short, I don’t see much difference with the highly praised and horrible Raghba Wood Intense; luckily this one is softer and disappears sooner. Absolutely not recommended, much better an Abre Magique!!!!!

It is identical to Xerjoff’s Bouquet; hand in hand, they are the same.

Wow, what a sweet bomb! To me, it smells of pure sugar, caramelised vanilla and cinnamon. Although it is a winter scent, I wear it in the evenings during summer and I love it.

Lattafa has arrived in force in the West and Raghba was one of the first. It is a super warm fragrance, ideal for winter; it doesn’t even come close in spring, summer or when it’s raining due to the humidity. If you like the style of Baccarat Rouge, you will adore it: it has caramelised and burnt vanilla, but without being as annoying as Tobacco Vanille, more like toasted honey. It is unisex, although insecure men might find it a little ‘feminine’.

I gifted it to a friend for his birthday and today he smelled it and… what a beauty! What a wonderfully sweet scent! But be careful, it is refined sweetness, not a cheap gourmand. It lasts about 4 hours on the skin with some nice bursts. I’ve fallen in love and am buying it for myself. Totally unisex: if you are a man looking for vanilla, this is the one for you. I can’t wait for summer to leave a trail. A perfect 10! It will be my third Lattafa.

Raghba smells delicious, so analysing the notes is redundant, but it has been reformulated like many Arab fragrances that will soon lose their appeal. Longevity and projection are short. Those reading old reviews or social media posts are talking about a different perfume than the current one. I see it as unisex and totally gourmand, because the woody or incense notes don’t stand out at all. It doesn’t smell like an Arab fragrance loaded with smoke or oud. I think budget brands like Lattafa spotted the opportunity with the rising prices of the big houses and are reformulating to cut costs. First, they create the hype with the ‘beast mode’ bottles, then they release batches of poorer quality. The same old story… And Raghba is one of them.