This one was my second ever buy from Khalis. It stood out to me. I really liked the simple brown and gold bottle, so I went for a blind buy and boy, was I pleased.
Oud Afgano is a dense, smooth, smoky scent with a hint of tobacco, but not the same tobacco you’d find in Carolina Herrera’s Mystery Tobacco or Mancera’s Red Tobacco. It has a sweetness to it, but nowhere in the league of something like Bentley Intense For Men. The smooth dry smokiness is tempered by floral notes (rose and jasmine are listed on Fragrantica), but these are so subtle as to work really well – I’m not a fan of strong rose or jasmine. It makes me think of a reading room with the tick of a grandfather clock (yeah, I know that’s a bit out there).
In the few years I’ve had this, I’ve nearly emptied the bottle (a backup is on standby!) and would say my favourite time of year to wear it is in the autumn – with a brown cord jacket with fleece collar.
Regardless of whether it’s a clone of Black Afgano or not, I love it for what it is and it’s definitely one of my favourite fragrances.