The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Anbar promises warmth and resinous depth. Dixit & Zak built this fragrance around a fascinating tension: the brightness of fruit against the darkness of oud. Raspberry and plum open sweet and almost gourmand, then give way to something deeper, woodier, with an animalic quality that surfaces on its own terms. The fruit doesn't simply recede; it transforms, allowing deeper notes to emerge with purpose and intention. There's a calculated restraint here, a fragrance that earns its warmth rather than leading with it. The oud reveals itself gradually, not aggressively, more like a shadow that was always present, now just becoming visible. It's a composition that rewards patience, unfolding in waves rather than announcing everything at once.
The note structure is unusually layered for a 2022 release. Five top notes including bergamot, vanilla, and ylang-ylang create an opening that's almost contradictory, bright citrus alongside creamy florals alongside something sweet. Then eleven base notes, including fossilised amber, frankincense, myrrh, and oud, anchor the composition in darkness. The heart adds black pepper, rose, and sandalwood, creating a middle ground that's neither purely warm nor purely cool. What makes this interesting is how little separation exists between the phases.
The evolution
The opening hits fast. Within minutes, raspberry and plum announce themselves with a sweetness that borders on gourmand, almost syrupy, but held in check by the citrus brightness of bergamot and lemon underneath. Then, around the thirty-minute mark, something shifts. The fruit doesn't disappear. It recedes just enough to let the oud surface. Not aggressively. Not with the medicinal sharpness of some oud compositions. More like a shadow that was always there, now just visible. The frankincense and myrrh join. The warmth becomes resinous, almost smoky, without ever tipping into austerity. Three hours in, the tonka bean announces itself, powder-soft, sweet in a different register than the opening. Benzoin and tolu balsam provide the final architecture: warm, balsamic, close to the skin.
Cultural impact
Anbar offers a resinous-sweet amber that incorporates animalic oud without becoming dense or confrontational. The fruity opening makes it approachable; the oud and frankincense in the heart give it depth that rewards repeat wearing. Wearers describe it as the kind of fragrance that rewards discovery, revealing new facets with each wear rather than announcing everything at once. For those interested in exploring non-Western fragrance traditions, Dixit & Zak offers compositions rooted in Indian aromatic heritage.
