FRAGRANCE REVIEWS // Ibrahim Al Qurashi Special Musk Alkhas body mist

I’ve been a huge fan of Ibrahim Al Qurashi’s musk body mists for a number of years now. They are one of the very few brands that do musk really well, and well they should, since their whole brand is practically built upon musk. Their fragrances are extremely long lasting and combine well with the warmth of your skin to project the scent outwards. 

Ibrahim Al Qurashi have a wide variety of musks to suit different tastes and they don’t just come in the form of body mists, they also have musk hair mists and solid perfumes.

Who are Ibraheem Al Qurashi? 

Ibrahim Al Qurashi is a well known perfume brand in the Middle East, famous for their clean musk products, namely the musk body mists, hair mists and musk solid perfumes. They were established back in 1929 by a guy named Ibrahim. Ibrahim Al Qurashi – hence the name.

He started out on the streets of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, near the Grand Mosque, selling oud, amber and his own unique perfume blends. Musk is extremely popular in Saudi, and across the entire Gulf region, and Ibrahim Al Qurashi have mastered the execution of it.

Going back to the name, you might find different spellings of the word ‘Ibrahim’ going around, this is most likely because the brand itself seem to use ‘Ibrahim’ and ‘Ibraheem’ interchangeably. For those unaware, the Arabic alphabet is based on a completely different lettering system, so when Arabic words are converted into Roman Latin letters we’re more familiar with and able to read (transliteration), the ‘ee’ and ‘I’ essentially have the same sound.

What types of musks do Ibrahim Al Qurashi offer? 

Ibrahim Al Qurashi have quite the range, and some of them sound like maybe they shouldn’t really work, yet somehow they do, so brace yourselves here:

• Powder Musk 
• Sugar Musk
• Pomegranate Musk 
• Blueberry Musk 
• Candy Musk 
• Pistachio Musk 
• Cardamom Musk 
• Peach Musk 
• Vanilla Musk
• Luban Musk 
• Sun Musk 
• Dusk Musk 
• Night Musk 
• Moon Musk
• Special Alkhas Musk 

As you can see, they have a variety of different musks on offer to cater to even the fussiest of fragrance lovers. The one I’m reviewing in this post is Special Alkhas Musk in the body mist.

Special Musk body mist

First and foremost, an ode to the bottle. It looks so decadent and so regal. It is a point of difference for the brand against its competitors, setting them apart as unique and special. The majority of their fragrances are opaque liquids, so the clear glass bottle really shows that off, and draws you in as if it’s some kind of magical elixir. For Special Musk, it’s a milky white colour, and it’s mesmerising to look at.

Unfortunately, Ibrahim Al Qurashi changed the bottle designs for the musk body mists recently to something more sleek and contemporary. The new look bottles are pretty, no doubt, but they’re nowhere near as fabulously Arabian as the bottle pictured. As long as the juice inside is just as good, in time it won’t make any difference, I suppose.

Notes of Ibrahim Al Qurashi Special Musk 

The official fragrance notes are:

Top notes: Musk, Amber, Birch Flower

Heart notes: Suede, Lily

Base notes: Rose, Tonka Bean

What does Ibrahim Al Qurashi Special Musk actually smell like? 

This smells like as clean a musk as you could ever expect, but with a more grown up and sophisticated feel to it. The usual baby-powder-ish and delicate qualities are still very much there, but they’re a little muted. What comes out strong for me are soapy, clean, airy tones, with rose adding depth to it. Initially it’s sharp, sweet and jammy, but as the day goes on, the more powdery and softer it becomes.

Compared to any other musks you might find out there, it’s really strong, not so delicate or ‘feminine’ as perfumiers might say, and it comes with a whole host of other notes all competing for your attention, but all somehow getting along there in that little bottle of magic. I pick up a slight bit of warm amber and a very faint touch of creaminess.

Longevity and sillage 

For a body mist, Special Musk is incredibly long lasting. The scent clings to the body all day, and often in the evenings, I can still smell it radiating from the husband’s chest.

This fragrance really comes alive during hot, sweaty summery days though. The hotter and sweatier you get during the day, the stronger this musk actually projects. This makes it ideal for the summer of course, but even in winter it provides a welcome blast of warmth and comfort.

When should Ibrahim Al Qurashi Musk body mists be applied? 

It is advised to spritz this onto your body after a shower, whilst the skin is slightly damp as it will help the fragrance stick to your body all day. 

I tend to moisturise my body after a shower, so whilst my skin is still slightly wet from the moisturiser, I will then spritz on Special Musk all over (yes, even my legs!). 

Is Ibrahim Al Qurashi Special Musk for men or women? 

Personally, I see it as a genderless fragrance – my husband loves it just as much as I do.

It’s also important to note that the majority of Arab fragrances are genderless anyway. They tend not to pull the same marketing crap we do in the West where we have strict ‘pour homme’ or ‘pour femme’ lines. 

How much does Ibrahim Al Qurashi Special Musk cost and where can I buy it from? 

I bought mine from Dubai Mall for around 200 AED, which works out at about £44. They also had a buy one get one free offer so I got my second bottle of Special Musk for free, an absolute steal.

Sadly, Ibrahim Al Qurashi is not readily available in the UK though, but they do have branches all over the Middle East. 

Given the high quality fragrance, its unique scent and performance, I would happily repurchase this for as long as they continue to make it.