Nilafar Du Nil Catamaran Extrait de Parfum Full Review: When East Meets West

Nilafar Du Nil is a promising Egyptian house that has recently garnered respect among the fragrance community. I believe they can compete, in terms of both quality and creativity, with vintage Niche houses. The house founders are experienced frag heads, which explains the ingenuity of their marvelous creations.

Nilafar released Catamaran back in 2019 and earned its position among underground Niche fragrances as a noteworthy and original creation.

To ride this wave of success, Nilafar followed Catamaran with an Extrait version in 2022. In my opinion, this was a daring step since making a flanker is usually a hit or miss. It could be regarded as a lazy cash grab, milking the success of the original release, or the other way around, which is when fans lean towards buying the better-performing flanker if they are all non-divergent in terms of the smell. Luckily, with Catamaran Extrait, it came off as needed flanker. Where the similarities between the original release and the flanker are out there, some mild differences also exist, making this release worthy of being a flanker.

Now, Straight to Catamaran Extrait De Parfum, the fragrance starts off with a classic Lavender and calming Bergamot opening. Getting to the heart, which also is the main player in the dry down and offers sweet and spicy notes of coconut, and sexy Nutmeg combined with some elemental Saffron, Geranium, and coffee to create a warm and heartfelt aroma that attracts nearby noses.

As for the base notes, the Nutmeg from the heart notes along with the coconut and coffee will still be detectable while some newcomers from the base join in. Olibanum, masculine green Patchouli, some smoky incense along with the elegant sandalwood and earthy vetiver come into the picture to add an elegant vibe to the fragrance.

The performance of Catamaran Extrait de Parfum is decent. I can detect it on me throughout my eight working hours if not more. The sillage is quite good too. When you wear Catamaran Extrait, most people notice it on you and complement it as well. The perfume utilizes high-quality ingredients, and no synthetic vibes can be detected. It is very versatile in terms of wearability, but I believe it is best worn in winter, specifically at nighttime. You can find the fragrance in the men’s section on the Nilafar Du Nil website, however, I think it can be easily pulled off by the ladies as well.

Tell us your thoughts about Catamaran. Have you tried any other releases by Nilafar? If so tell us in the comments.