Coming from an Arabian background, we're quite familiar with different kinds of scents, many of which have a rather strong presence. Amber, oud, and of course, musk. Musk itself comes in many forms. You have the widely available synthetic varieties, such as white musk and other musk oils, alongside Egyptian musk, which is quite well known in certain fragrance communities. But there's another side to musk that not everyone gets to experience: the original animal musk. It's quite different from what most people associate with musk nowadays. It has a very distinctive, powerful animalic character. Some might find it overwhelming or even unpleasant, but personally, it's a character I genuinely appreciate and love in fragrances. I'm fortunate enough to own some of the original oil, and its strength has honestly surprised me. I once put around five drops on an object (let's call it an accessory), and the scent has remained there since last Friday! What's even more interesting is that I find it becoming more pleasant with time. Skin is a different story, of course. We shower, use soaps and shower gels, and naturally wash away what's on the surface. Without that, I imagine it would remain much longer. It also got me wondering about the place of natural animal musk in modern perfumery. With synthetic alternatives being so widely used today, I wonder how often we actually come across the original material. Have you come across any perfumes that use natural animal musk? Have you ever had the chance to smell it yourself? And what's your relationship with animalic scents? Do you appreciate their character, find them a little challenging, or prefer your musk on the cleaner side?

We're finally starting to feel a little coolness here, which got me thinking about what really gives an outfit that autumn feel. Is it the colours? Moving away from lighter shades and leaning towards more muted, earthy tones like burgundy, brown, olive, and charcoal? Or is it the textures? Knitwear, suede, heavier fabrics, and layering that make an outfit feel more suited to the season? Living here, we rarely get the kind of cold weather that calls for very heavy coats. A leather jacket, for instance, can easily work throughout the winter as well. But I think that's part of what makes fall so enjoyable when it comes to men's style. You get more room to experiment with textures, colours, and combinations without having to dress for extreme cold. Personally, fall has always been my favourite season for putting outfits together. There's just something about the overall look and feel of autumn dressing that I enjoy more than any other season. I'm curious, what makes an outfit feel like fall to you? Is it the colours, the fabrics, the layering, or perhaps a combination of all three?

I am trying out a new style of Post on Instgram, whilst I am not the biggest "influencer" (more a micro influencer) I actually got more likes and views than any of my other Carousel Posts with this format. If you are on Instagram at all, please give me a follow and even a like, comment or share so I can reach more people 😉 https://www.instagram.com/p/DfYiF8kE8Hq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&xtok=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I’ve been wondering about something related to dining etiquette, and I’d love to hear your opinions. I understand that in the traditional European or Continental style of dining, the knife is held in the right hand and the fork in the left. You cut with the knife, then eat with the fork still in your left hand. However, in my religion, there is guidance to eat with the right hand. Because of that, people around me generally handle this in one of two ways: some cut their food with the knife in their right hand, then switch the fork to their right hand to eat, while others simply adapt the way they hold their cutlery. Personally, I find switching hands after cutting rather inconvenient. Since I'm also quite comfortable handling a knife with my left hand, I do the opposite of the traditional arrangement: fork in my right hand, knife in my left. It allows me to eat comfortably with my right hand without constantly switching cutlery. Now, I'm curious about how this might come across when dining with other gentlemen. Would you notice it? Would you consider it a breach of table etiquette, or would you see it as a perfectly reasonable personal adaptation? Would it bother you if someone at your table did this? I know that some people use a similar arrangement for other reasons, but in my case, it's simply a matter of religious guidance and personal comfort. I'd genuinely appreciate your perspectives, especially from those familiar with formal dining etiquette. I'm interested in understanding how this is perceived, not in arguing that one approach is better than another.

I’ve always loved perfumes, but coming from an Arabic culture, I’ve also grown up around another side of fragrance that I feel gets overlooked: musk and oud oils. I’m not a huge fan of simply spraying two different perfumes on top of each other. What I enjoy much more is using a small amount of musk or oud oil on the hot spots, then spraying a perfume over it. Usually the hands, neck, and sometimes the beard. The oil gives the fragrance something to sit on, lasts much longer, and can subtly change the way the perfume develops throughout the day. I’ve tried quite a few combinations and honestly find this much more interesting than just mixing two fragrances. There’s also another level to this in Arab fragrance culture: bukhoor. Some people will perfume their clothes with bukhoor and then use musk/oud oil and perfume on the body. In the Gulf, you’ll sometimes see the traditional ghutra/shemagh used almost like a scent-preserving layer because the fabric holds the bukhoor beautifully. I’ve tried incorporating bukhoor into my routine too, but since I’m Egyptian and don’t normally wear a ghutra, I’ve experimented with perfuming other clothes instead. So I’m curious: Does anyone else layer fragrance this way? If you use oils underneath perfume, what do you reach for? - White musk? - Black musk? - Oud oil? - Amber? - Something else? And what perfume combinations have actually worked for you? I’m especially interested in combinations where the oil complements the perfume rather than completely changing it.