Parfums de Nicolaï - Oud Sublime

Picture: The Moose in the snow
Painting by John Bauer (1882-1918)

Oud Sublime is a luxurious elixir based on real cambodian oud, created by perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï for her own house, Parfums de Nicolaï. As the rest of the Nicolaï ouds, Oud Sublime stands out as a different oud compared to the common, strong, medical, syntecial intrpretation of this woody note. In the oud fragrances of Nicolaï oud is gentler and not as dominating, it's one of several notes inteacting in well constructed accords.

Oud Sublime starts smelling almost as Incense Oud for a while. Then Oud Sublime takes a darker and deeper trail, with less patchouli, smoother and a bit mysterious. It's texture and color is like a mossy green velvet gown under a dark chocolate brown velvet coat. There is no harsh chemical notes and no cloggy thickness which could be an issue with some "commercial" oudfragrances. Instead, despite of it's darkness, there is an element that could be described as fresh in Oud Sublime, it's the freshness of walking in the forest in the mid-winter, not the acquatic or citrus sort of fresh. The patchouli in Oud Sublime is the same characteristic "Nicolaï patchouli" as in Patchouli Homme/Patchouli Intense and the note is intergrated with the other notes in a seamless way. The base are dominated by the characteristic dark green, chalky, slight mossy elegant Nicolaï accord, the Guerlinade of the house of Nicolaï. In Oud Sublime, this houseaccord seems to be wrapped in dark, woody, slight animalic and natural oudy notes with a hint of a clean incense.

Picture: Oud Sublime
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Overall, to me Oud Sublime seems to be an extrait variation of Incense Oud, darker, smoother and close to the skin whereas Incense Oud is the more radiant, brighter, higher positioned on the fragrant notescale.
When it comes to the difference/similarity between the two versions it's about the same relationship as between Andy Tauers versions of his moroccan desert fragrances L'Air du Desert Marocain and Au Coeur du Desert where the former is the brighter and more radiant and the latter extrait variation is darker, smoother and close to the skin.

Oud Sublime is a wearable fragrance both for gloomy autumn/winterdays and for evenings year around. It's a unisex fragrance, close to the skin with a longevity for more then 12h. Silage is somewhere between close to medium.

For a conniseur both Oud Sublime and Incense Oud are worth owning, just as the classic Guerlains and Chanels are different enough to justify owning all versions. As Oud Sublime is quite expensive, Incense Oud is a good option which on the other hand is quite friendly to the wallet.

Rating: 5

Notes: Davana, coriander, rose, ambretta, cambodian oud, patchouli, incense, styrax

Parfums de Nicolaï is now avaible on Fragrance & Art

Rania J. - Cuir Andalou

Picture: Ziryab, one of the most famous musicians in Cordoba
 playing the oud, a musical instrument similar to a lute.
Poster illustrating  Cuir Andalou from Rania J. (c)

Rania Jouaneh is an independent perfumer with her own house Rania J. which has built a collection of wellcrafted fragrances with a high content of natural ingredients and with an oriental vibe. Rania dosen't rush releasing fragrances but now her new creation, Cuir Andalou dedicated to leather and supported by oud is here.

Cuir Andalou starts with a very dry leathernote and a light, slight fizzy, uplifting, clean dry spicy, slight peppery note I suspect it's the saffron. There's also an oudnote, clean and not smokey as often when combined with leather. The composition is like leather and pepper mixed with crisp, cold and clear high mountain air. Neroli is also present and brings the scent a vision of a garden with orangetrees in the palace of Alhambra. The orange, neroli and other flowery elements changes the apperance from slight chilly to golden and glowing, probably the saffron also contributes  to this impression. When Cuir Andalou dries further down, the well balanced clean oud spicy dry leather dominates but now in the warmer texture. In the basenotes there is also a touch of a animalic note, barely noticeable on my skin and a fine, dry, non smokey sort of embedded in golden nuances, vetiver which is prominent on me. The impression of the basenotes is as the fragrance is grounded in the dry, dusty, glowing Andalusian earth.

Picture: Cuir Andalou
Photo: Rania J. (c)

Cuir Andalou is a real wristsniffer, I catch myself constantly sniffing my wrists constantly during a day of wearing. An addictive experience (I'm craving Cuir Andalou in these grey autumn days). The fragrance is in the same genre as some other spicy/peppery-leathery-oud fragrances but Cuir Andalou is made with a feminine touch. It's not the rough, peppery, smokey variety Cuir Andalou is sort of fine cut with noble traits compared to the archetype of the genre. The sillage is medium+ and longevity great, it's still unfragmented after 12h and unfragmented traces are left after 24h. Suitable for year around, unisex but compared to most representatives of the genre, it's leaning more to the feminine side.

Cuir Andalou reminds me at bit of the dry, spicy texture of Robert Piguet Casbah without the smoke and the incense. As mentioned above it has something in common with leathery ouds in general but it's drier and doesen't contain the smokey note. So even if some similarities, Cuir Andalou is a frag of its own.

Rating: 5

Notes: Leather, rose, iris, neroli, patchouli, saffron, violet, castoreum, vetiver, sandalwood, oud

Perris Monte Carlo - Oud Imperial Edp & Extrait

Picture: Illustration from Persian version of
"One Thousand and One Nights" (1849-56)
Painter: Sani ol molk (1814-66)

Perris Monte Carlo Oud Imperial  is another, to my nose much more masculine take, on the oud theme than the earlier reviewed Bois d'Oud. As the other Perris fragrances,  Oud Imperial  is created by Luca Maffei. The first issue of Oud Imperial Edp was avaible in a golden bottle, after that there was some improvements in the raw materials and today Oud Imperial Edp is avaible in the black Perris bottle.

Starts cold, with a fresh woody character which reminds me of confier and has some similarities to accords in Robert Piguet Oud. Some wearings highlighets a note similar to petroleum which glimpses by, other wearings it's not that present. The same happens with a turphentine like note, similar to the one in Lorenzo Villoresi Piper Nigrum. When Oud Imperial dries further down it turns darker and warmer, with an oily texture and some light, smooth smoke. There is also something leathery to it. The oud becomes more present in this stage and it smells very autentic woody and it's lightly infused with a smooth almost nutty note which I think is present in sandalwood. Somehow Oud Imperial evokes the color of black, maybe the patchouli which is lightly present in the fragrance contributes to that. For most of it's dry down, Oud Imperial reminds me of a denser and darker interpretation of the excellent, dry Montale Original Aouds. Taken as a whole Imperial Oud is a dark and classy very masculine oud. It smells authentic, exotic woody and it's a quite complicated fragrance as it's highlighting different accords, notes and nuances in different wearings depending on dosage, season, weather etc.

The Oud Imperial Extrait is even more oily, darker and has more smoke to it. The leathery note is also more present. As an extrait it has not such radiance as the Edp, it'is a close skinscent, ticker and denser than the Edp. The versions complementing each other and to generalize the Edp is for daytime wearing and the Extrait for the evening.

Picture: Oud Imperial
Photo: PR Perris Monte Carlo (c)

Oud Imperial is very strong and has to be applied sparingly. It's a fragrance suitable for autumn and winter but could also be worn in dark, humid summernights. Sillage is strong and longevity for more then 24h for the Edp. The extrait has a close sillage and a lonegvity for 12h+, not as long as the Edp. As said above, this is a very masculine fragrance and frankly I don't feel comfortable to wear it even if I appreciate it's quality and good smell. On the other hand, Bois d'Oud is definitly my cup of tea.

Rating: 5 (on Mr Parfumista who enjoys this very much, especially the Edp and the impression in this post is                 just as much or even more his observations)
              Ratings are the same for both  Edp and Extrait.

Notes: Jasmine, caraway, incense, patchouli, saffron, oud, sandalwood, blackwood, cedar, labdanum, vetiver

Annick Goutal - Les Absolus 1001 Ouds

Picture: Enjoying Coffee, Oueen Shirin of Persia (d 628)
Painter from the french school,
 first half of the 18th century
Wikimedia commons

1001 Ouds is the third fragrance in the Les Absolus line from Annick Goutal. It's created by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal.1001 Ouds is inspired from the tales of the Arabian Nights.

1001 Ouds strarts with an smooth dry but in the same time creamy accord. The first impression of the fragrance is very original to me, it smells as something I'll describe as a creamy juniperberry. There is none of the sharpness from the usual interpretation of that note, just the woody-herbal character of the berry smoothened to a soft, fluffy texture. As there is no juniperberry among the notes I suppose it's the oud mixed with the birch, papyrus and rose which creates this inmpression, I can recognize this juniperberry like oud note from By Kilian Pure Oud where it's stronger and raw in its interpretation. As the dry down is approaching, the beautiful creamy, medium red rose, steps forward, fleeting in the fluffy but in the same time dry setting. The rose note slightly reminds me of the juicy rose in Le Galion La Rose, but not as big and radiating. There is a contrasting chilly aspect which is dry a bit like paper, probably the papyrus, combined with a soft, very light boozy almost applelike note, probably the myrrh, which has similarities with an accord in the great masculine Royal Vintage from M.Micallef. 1001 Ouds also feels royal, but it's to my nose is a feminne royalty.

As 1001 Oud dries down it becomes woodier and rosier but still preserves its excellent smoothness, it's a real comfort to wear this fragrance. It has not so much to do with the regular ouds, here the oud is one of the components interacting and not dominating over the other ingredients. This is not a "statementperfume" like many in the oud genre, this is pure, soft elegance. Maybe the name should be another as the many oudhaters which seems to be out there, at least in the perfumeforums could be scared away. But those should not fear, it's better to think of this as a woody oriental perfume and don't think of it as an oud. On the other hand I think the name is good as this perfume reveals that oud is an excellent ingredient and it could be presented in many shapes.

1001 Ouds is suitable to wear around the year, it has nuances that fit each season. The sillage is close and the longevity is for a day. A discrete, high quality fragrance, safe to wear in any occasion. Another winner from Annick Goutal and one of the best releases in 2015 IMO.

Rating: 5

Notes: Oud, papyrus, rose, pimento, birch, guaiac wood, myrrh

Perris Monte Carlo - Bois d'Oud

Picture: Uttewalde Grund
Painting ca 1825 by Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)
Wikimedia Commons

Bois d'Oud is a fragrance in the Perris Monte Carlo oud duo, to me it's the more feminine one whereas Oud Imperial is definitly the masculine alternative.

Bois d'Oud starts powerful with a woody, light oudy accord underscored with smokey notes accentuated by a light note almost close to grilled meat or burned leather. This meat/leather note but more distinct is present in Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir and to a lesser extent in Amouage Interlude Man where it's matched with a tangy almost rhubarbnote. Further on flowery elements steps forward, the flowers are interwoven with woody elements in an intricate pattern which gives an impression similar to flowery oud, I think it's the cambodian variety. In this stage I recognize the oudy, flowery style of Acqua di Parma Colonia Oud which smells more "vintage/perfumery" (in a positive way). As Bois d'Oud dries further down, the fragrance becomes more woody-spicy and Montale Amber & Spices comes to my mind, later on another Montale shows up the flower-sandalwood Sandalsliver which is brighter, sweeter and is playing in the higher octaves of the notescale. In the basenotes Bois d'Oud reminds me much of a darker, less sweet and more balsamic Sandalsliver with sudden whirls of the smokey notes.

Picture: Bois d'Oud
Photo: PR Perris Monte Carlo (c)

Bois d'Oud as a fragrance captures the mystical, dark, forest atmosphere in the Caspar David Friedrich painting above. It's appropriate for dusky autumn and winterdays but it's also developing very well when tested in summertempratures. Bois d'Oud is a strong fragrance, a little will go for long. Longevity is for 24h and sillage is medium or more. Its intensity makes it suitable for a night out. If worn in the office, gently application is recommended.

Rating: 5

Notes: Peach, plum, jasmine, rose, iris, orange blossom, oud, cedar, blackwood, patchouli, vanilla, ambergris, labdanum, musk

Ramon Monegal - Hand in Hand

Picture: Skiers

Painting by Frits Thaulow (1847-1906)

WikiArt

Hand in Hand is an oud-oriental  inspired perfume from the Barcelona based perfumehouse Ramon Monegal. As usual the very experienced perfumer, the house of Myrurgia offspring, Ramon Monegal. As Myrurgia is mentioned as the Guerlain of Spain, Ramon could be likened to a spanish version of Patricia de Nicolaï. Both well educated and experienced in perfume/perfume business, running own perfume houses, independent from the old family houses which since long been sold to some of the big ones.

Hand in Hand starts cold, with a woody smell of juniper bush and pine in winter. After a while a smoky accord appears, it's the fresh, dry smell from dry wood, lighted to a campfire a cold and sunny winterday in the forest. This is not the rough,  masculine, meaty, smoky accord as in the campfiresmoke in Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir, the smoke in Hand in Hand is more refined. After a while a hint of leather ant a peppery note also shines through. The dark rose is  discrerte in the first stages of Hand in Hand. Over all the first part of Hand in Hand (even if not smelling the same) reminds me of the first part of Robert Piguet Oud, which also contains the cold, pine note. These two fragrances could be described as the ouds of the North, they are very suitable to the Scandinavian landscape and colder tempratures. Hand in Hand also has some kinship to Frapin Nevermore, as an unsweet, dry relative to that dark, dramatic, boozy, intriguing one. In the second part Hand in Hand becomes more spicy, a spicy mix which togheter with a musky base brings forward the rose a bit more, even if the rosy note not is as dominating as in most rose-oud combos. The rosy note is as integrated with the other notes. In the later stages of Hand in Hand I find similarites with the dark, purple, rose from Parfumerie Générale Isparta.

Picture: Hand in Hand in it's inkwell bottle
Photo: PR Ramon Monegal (c)

The cold, confier and smoke accords  is the first part of Hand in Hand I find the most interesting, the second part is more familiar for this style of fragrance. Hand in Hand could be worn year around at any occasion where a more intense pefume could be accepted. The fragrance is very concentrated, and just as with Isparta, it's hard to avoid overapplying. Less is more is definitly what is applicable in this case. Sillage is great and longevity for 24h+. Hand in Hand is unisex, leaning to the feminine side according to my nose.

Rating: 4

Notes: Rose, oud, spices, musk

Serge Lutens - L'orpheline

Picture: L'orpheline
Photo: PR Serge Lutens

L'orpheline is the latest fragrance from Serge Lutens and it's a part of the square (spary) bottles line, sometimes also called the exportline. As the black label indicates, its a stronger concentration, and more expensive than the whitelabeled bottles. Perfumer is Christopher Sheldrake, the former inhouseperfumer of Serge Lutens, now also with Chanel. As with most of Lutens latest creations, there is a backstory to L'orpheline which has it's background in Lutens childhood, the relation to his mother and his analyze of his feelings of the time.

L'orpheline starts with an almost refreshing combination of aldehydes, a cold, woody,almost green incensenote similar to pine. After a while it becomes warmer and light woody, herbaceous and as the fragrance further dries down, a peppery twist of the incensenote similar to the one in Parfumerie Gènèrale L'Eau Guerrière, appears but only with a fraction of the strength of the latter. As the drydown goes furhter on, a comforting, slight soapy note appers, soften the incense without any sweetness. There is also traces of the chilly, fresh pinelike incensenote from the initial blast of L'orpheline, a note which is also present, but stronger, in Robert Piguet Oud and in Oriza L.Legrand Relique D'Amour. The dominating accord in the middle of the fragrance is this simple but beautiful combination of fresh incense and soapy aldehydes.

Reaching the base the special pleasant slight wet, powdery, putty and musky note appears which I like in creations as Chanel 1932 and several other good contemporary fragrances, here is the link to a special post about this basenote. In L'orpheline that special note is combined with incense and creates an alternately chilly and tepid impression. Overall, L'orpheline in its latest stage reminds me very much of Chanel 1932, without jasmine and with more incense. And probably is that not a coincidence taken Sheldrakes role in both houses into account.

L'orpheline is a subtle, lowkey skinscent with low silage. Longevity for a day but a bit weak in the latest stage. Office-appropriate but also casual mostly for intellectual leisures as visiting an art exhibition or a classic concert. L'orpheline is a fragrance for contemplating and situations that require some sort of tranquility. First it not seems very original as there are traces of other fragrances, but  when worn and properly evaluated, this is in my opinion a new way to treat incense, in a low key, comforting way. Anyway L'orpheline is intriguing (triggering the imagination) and pleasant to wear.

Update December 2014: Cold weather makes the best of L'orpheline, it's a awesome fragrance, easy to wear, intriguing, which means that you get compliments. One of the best releases of 2014.

Rating: 4 5 (December 2014)

Notes: Aldehydes, coumarin (fougere accord), woods, ambergris, patchouli, incense, chasmerean
(notelist from Perfumeshrine as Serge Lutens doesn't reveal the notes on the site)

Rania J - Oud Assam

Picture: Before the race,
Painting, oil on panel, ca 1882-84
 Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Wikipedia Commons

Oud Assam is the oud fragrance in Rania J:s natural perfume line.Oud Assam is created by Rania Jouaneh.

Oud Assam starts with a burst of dirty, animalic notes contrasted by a discrete offsetting glimpse of dense orangenotes. The orange is not of the sparkling, light character, the impression is more like orange combined with dark chocolade, but in this case, orange combined with animalic notes. As Oud Assam dries down further, a very well interpreted leather establishes and Oud Assam is an intriguing interaction between barnyard, leather and woody notes, even if it gets more polite later in the basenotes with a note similar to dark, dry chocolade or maybe a dry tobacconote. and it's almost as the orange glimpses through together with some musc and in this stage a very pleasant, almost pure, part appears. Despite the demanding notes especially in the first part of Oud Assam, the fragrance is smooth and comforting in texture and it feels natural and very wellbalanced  in style. There are non of the harsh or peppery notes which are so common in synthetic ouds. Oud Assam is very special and a pleasant surprise, one of the very best ouds both I and Mr Parfumista has tested so far. The comforting oudnote in Oud Assam reminds me of the oud in the amber-oud fragrance from Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Doré but drier and smoother. The first part of Oud Assam is maybe not the best officefragrance but the second part would be no problem. Anyway, Oud Assam is perfect for cozy days at home or for walks in the forest during autumn and winter. Sillage is medium and longevity for almost a day.

Oud Assam is totally unisex. When Mr Parfumista wears Oud Assam less of the animalic notes appears and more of the polished ones. In the later stages Oud Assam is a gentle, woody perfume which smells pure and natural. Mr Parfumista find something in the pure notes in Oud Assam that reminds him of vintage Cartier Santos and I agree when smelling them side by side. On my skin Oud Assam takes another route, the animalic-dirty. I can still smell the stablenots in the late drydown.

Overall Oud Assam is an intriguing and very special oud that takes many twists during its drydown. Oud Assam should be smelled on skin, it's fine on the scentstrip but warmed up and mixed with ones own chemistry something almost magical heppens and Oud Assam reaches a higher level. It's a very personal fragrance as almost different perfumes are appearing depending on who is wearing Oud Assam. Mr Parfumista also want to add that he truly appreciate the lack of pepper in this oud as he is so fed up with all the bombastic, peppery oudnotes out there.

Oud Assam is a real gem and should be tested by those who like oud and wellcrafted woody perfumes. Even if not smelling the same, Oud Assam has the natural feeling of delicate and comforting oud just as Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Oud and The Different Company Oud Shamash. Oud Assam is also a priceworthy alternative to those fragrances.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, sweet and bitter orange, oud, cedarwood, vetiver, incense, pepper, tonka bean, musc 

Parfums de Nicolaï - Rose Oud

Picture: Rose Oud
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Rose Oud is the rosy one of the two newly launched perfumes by Parfums de Nicolaï containing the famous oudnote. As always the owner of the house the Guerlain descendant, ISIPCA graduated perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï has created the fragrance.

Rose Oud starts with the most natural smelling raspberry note I've smelled so far. The rose that follows is light, fresh and medium pink in color. The raspberry lends it a jammy but discrete character. In this stage Rose Oud reminds me of another Nicolaï Jardin Secret but Rose Oud is softer. As Rose Oud dries down the rose gets more dominant but it's soft, gentle slight creamy, very comforting, not a power rose. The rose is interacting with to my nose non-descript light florals togehter with a light, refined, woody mix. When Rose Oud reaches the basenotes I can smell a sparkling note similar to geranium that I recognize from Mona di Orio Oud and I think this is the oud probably natural or at least a high precentage of natural, as the syntetic ones smells much stronger, headier, rougher and darker. But I no expert so I'll just guess. To summerize the basenotes, they smell close to, but creamier and lighter, the base of Amber Oud.

Rose Oud is overall a wellcarfted, wearable, "take no risks" fragrance. It is discrete, elegant and proper for daily officewear. It's even lighter in apperance than Amber Oud but has a good longevity on skin, traces are there after 12h+.

Just as Amber Oud, Rose Oud is an un-oudy oud, it's a wellcrafted, discrete, flowery fragrances, where oud is one supporting note among others in the base. Rose Oud had no similarities with By Kilians Rose Oud which is a traditional rose-oud creation with these two notes dominating.

Rating: 4

Notes: Raspberry, artemisia, osmanthus, rose, lily-of-the-valley, oud, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, musk, castoreum, amber

By Kilian - Musk Oud

Picture: Autumn dark, pink rose
Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Musk Oud is the last episode in By Kilians Arbian Night Collection preceded by Pure Oud 2009, Rose Oud 2010, Incense Oud 2011 and Ambre Oud 2012. Musk Oud is created by Alberto Morillas.

Musk Oud starts with bright, sort of clean light fruity and spicy notes, the impression is a natural freshness. From the beginning a pink, slight musky rose, deepened by a gentle oudnote, is also present. The rose-spice-musk and oud combo is gentle and brings an air of sophisticated comfort. The more Musk Oud dries down, the more the fragrance simplifies when it comes to perceived notes. The oud-rose combo climbes forward and when entering the second half of the dry down, Musk Oud resembles any conventional basic oud-rose combo with one exception: A very light, barely discernible boozy, slight sour, note appears which is somehow a  little annoying to me. When reaching the basenotes, the fragrance is very oud-y.

The overall impression is that of a good, easy to wear, standard rose-oud. The sillage is great and so is the longevity, 24h. Musk Oud is wearable any time of the year. Of the By Kilan offerings of 2013 Flower of Immortality and Playing with the Devil, Musk Oud is the one that impresses me the least. On the other hand, Playing with the Devil is one of the best releases of all 2013 IMO. Absolutely nothing wrong with Musk Oud, but I have smelled the same for almost a decade and has become a bit jaded.

Rating: 3

Notes: Lemon, cardamom, coriander; cypress, rose, geranium, artemisia, rum, incense, agarwood, musk, patchouli.

Puredistance - Black

Picture: Odette and Odile
Photo: City Ballet of San Diego (c)

A short break in the ongoing Guerlain-cavalcade as I feel I have to share my impressions of a new beautiful perfume: Puredistance Black is created by Antoine Lie for the top notch niche house Puredistance and will be released in November/December 2013. In the marketing blurb Puredistance ask us just to relax, enjoy and not analyze. Therefore the notelist is not disclosed which of course even more triggers a true parfumista to analyze what could be in that little sample vial.

It would be intriguing to know the notes and I hope Puredistance will disclose the notelist later on. I'm no "notepicker" but I think at least I smell as follows: To my nose Puredistance Black starts with a fine incense and some gentle spices, followed by a dark, ripe plummy note underscored with the woody notes of old oak cognacbarrels and a subtle oud. As the composition proceeds, it suddenly becomes colder and greener, I can smell what I think is pine balm, some traces of an almost fizzy geranium and some velvety, dark in the same time contemporary but clean patchouli over warm resins. On my skin Black goes from warm and dark notes to colder, greener even if still dark, dark like muffled mossgreen velvet worn in a cold, starry winter night.Further on in the second part of Black, the boozy, woody cognac notes appears again togehter with the dark plum, the fragrance gets warm, cozy and comforting in the later stages of the base. I pleasant, subtle smoky note (no harsh edges) also appears in the late dry down and together with the other notes, stays close to the skin for the rest of the dry down.

The vision of Puredistance Black is to be the dark and more masculine equivalent to the bright and light feminine I.  IMO this vision has been fullfilled, this is like Odile and Odette, resembling each other, beautiful and graceful, but in the same so time different in character. Both Black and I are subtle and refined fragrances, Black dark and mysterious, I bright and shining. Black also deliver on the promise to slowly unfold its layers and this proecess is continuing during the whole extended drydown, longevity is minimum 24h for me, when showering of the pefume after one days, it's still unfragmented and full in its texture..

Even if not particularly original as a composition, Puredistance Black is (as always with Puredistance) a very well made and wearable fragrance, of high quality ingredients and with good sillage and longevity. It's interesting to wear and a fragrance which wins in the long run. Black is definitly unisex even if lending slightly to the masculine side. The first part of the fragrance is more feminine than the second, Black becomes more masculine when the (which I guess is) pine and geranium notes appears. In it's third stage, where the warmer notes are re-appearing Black becomes more feminine again.  When it comes to resembling fragrances I think the first part contains elements from and reminds me in style of Serge Lutens Boxeuses (swe) (but without the leather and less sweet) and Annick Goutal  Mon Parfum Cheri, par Camille (swe) but drier in texture than the latter. In the cooler part of the drydown I find traces of Robert Puguet Oud but Black is more gentle and quiet in style. Another fragrance which comes to my mind when wearing Puredistance Black is Donna Karan Black Cashmere and the great Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand for M.Micallef but clean, polished and well behaved in character compared to the dangerous latter.

Rating: 5

Notes: Not disclosed but woody oriental - see my guesses above.

Robert Piguet - Oud

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Oud by Robert Piguet is, as all five fragrances in the Nouvelle Collection, created by the Piguet housenose Aurelien Guichard

Oud starts with an almost animalic note accuented by the dry leather smell of antique books. Soon the the animalic touch disappears and soft leather, minty herbals and a green, woody notes takes the center of the stage. The pepper typical for the syntetic oud also appears but in a very balanced way, not overwhelming, at all, just a gentle touch. As Oud is a linear fragrance, it also continues like described during the whole dry down. Comfortable and pleasant. To my nose the topnotes is the most interesting part of Oud and I wish the initial animalic touch would be present also in the basenotes. To me Oud is somehow the Oud of the cold north. When I smell it, I can imagine the snowy, coniferous forests of the Nordic countries in the middle of a hard winter.

Oud doesn’t follow the most common rose-saffran-oud path, instead it follows the alternative track the colder, leather, herbal, oud. The latter is, to western standards, more masculine than the former oudstructure, which is a masculien one in the Middle East. Oud is a versatile and good everyday oud, not extreme in any sense and a good “beginners oud”. Oud is the oud-herbal-leather equivalent to the everyday rose-saffron-oud Juliette Has A Gun Midnight Oud, which also is a good and wearable “beginners oud”. Sillage is quite impressing and longevity is for 24h.

Oud was the fragrance within the Nouvelle Collection that I had highest expectations about before I started sampling. Despite Oud is a well made, balanced, comfortable and very wearable fragrance, it turned out to be the one that moved me at least. Maybe it’s just too perfect and to me BoisNoir is a notch more interesting when comparing the two Robert Piguet woods in the Nouvelle Collection.

Rating: 4 (Dec 2012) 4+ (April 2013)

Notes: Saffron, fir balsam, styrax, myrrh, woody notes, oud, patchouli

Update April 2013: Probably my testingexperience of RP Oud in December was affected by the outbreak of the worst flu I have had in 10+ years  just a few days later. Now I feel it's nuances better and i doubt it's a beginners oud any more. The animalic notes are for example still present in the basenotes, blended with the cold confierstyled woody smell and the oud that feels somehow cold in this creation.  There is also an almost leathery/metallic accord that reminds me of a sort of darker interpretation of the great Frapin Speakeasy.

XerJoff - Oud Stars Al-Khatt

Picture: Raoucha

Artist: Nasreddine Dinet, 1901, Wikimedia Commons

Al-Khatt, from the oud line of the mega luxary house XerJoff, starts with a pleasant barnyard oud followed by a refreshing, high quality, slight creamy boquet of flowers. Unfortunately the animlic oud disapperas soon and the beautiful flowery blends remains and develops as Al-Katt is drying down. Or maybe the oudnote doesn't disappears, the laotian oud is known to be gentle and flowery in it's character, an excelllent example is Mona di Orio Oud, maybe the out in Al-Khatt just going through it's normal evulation. Beside the disappering animalic oud note there is also another annoying thing with Al-Khatt: The beautiful, bergamot-jasmine dominated flowery blend is very similar to Amouages Ubar, but Al-Khatt has a cashmeran, smoot, creamy texture. As Ubar is one of my favourite Amouages this mimicry irritates me but apart from that the perfumers Sergio Momo, Sonia Espelta and Laura Santander did a good job. Al-Khatt, just as Ubar, conveys the feeling of a sunny and pleasantly warm summerday. As a XerJoff, Al-Khatt is a high quality fragrance where the best ingredients are used. The elegant flowery blend is seemless with an excellent longevity and moderate projektion, can't disturb anybody if not overapplied. The blend is concentrated and a little goes for a whole day. My 1 ml sample will thankfully last for long.

To summon up: Al-Khatt is not as oriental in style as one can expect from an oud perfume. But on the other hand, Al-Khatt as it's older sister Ubar is a pleasure to wear, it's the sort of high quality flowery fragance that makes the wearer unwilling to wear even a decent mainstream fragrance again. I'm in love!

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, jasmine sambac, cashmeran, vanilla, oakmoss, benzoin, oud from Laos

Perfumed thoughts April 2012

Earlier this week I thought that this weekend would be the right time to publish my list of Spring-Spring perfumes in my serie Spring fragrances, see the earlier post Winter-Spring fragrances. But then Jack Frost returned for the weekend and I lost all the inspiration. But as always there is some perfumed thoughts:

* As the Robert Piguet fragrances is an old love to me I'm really looking forward to the release of the  five fragrances in the Nouvelle Collection created by the Piguet "house-nose"Aurélien Guichard at Givaudan: Bois Noir, Casbah, Mademoiselle Piguet, NoteS and Oud. Earlier, expect from Douglas Hannant by Robert Piguet, the house in collaboration with perfumer Aurélien Guichard  has new-interpreted their old classics Visa, Baghari, Calypso and Futur. Bandit, Fracas and Cravache I think are "regulary" reformulations of the original Germaine Cellier creations. The Nouvelle Collection will be tested and reviewed later if I can get my hands of some samples.

* Another release I have read about but are not sure it will be this year is some new fragrances from Vero Kern, Vero Profumo. As I love Rubj, Onda (swedish) and Kiki I know Vero will deliver.

* I'm also not sure about if or when the perfume/perfumes Mona di Orio was working on when she passed away in December 2011 will be released. As a great admier of Mona, although it is so deeply tragic, I'm waiting of the privilege to take part of her final creation(s).

* There is so many interesting fragrances around and it's hard to select what is worth to sample. As Denyse at Grain the Musc wrote in her post (controversial as she argues about the consequenses of the sharp increase of perfumebloggers)  Enchanted, disenchanted she can't waste time trying out scents that don't challange her. Therefore her strategy is almost only to test and review creations from houses/noses that she know almost always delivers from her point of view. I will try to practice this rule in the future, and I already do that (without thinking of it)  to some extent, but it's not a a planned strategy of mine. As I have many already written reviews "in stock" the mix of favouritehouse/noses and other will remain within the foreseeable future.

That's my perfumed thoughts by now :-)

Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Oud

MFK:s recently launched Oud is a creation of the founder of the house, the skillfull perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. As almost all houses currently, also MFK launch it's own take on Oud which I think is very appealing as I like Oud in different interpretations. Oud definitly is a note that is here to stay and just as many houses has their own amber, vetiver, vanille, incense etc they also need an oud.

The MFK Oud is a different take on the oud-theme. The fragrance starts with some citrus and medical, spicy/herbal notes, like a medical potion. I can recognize traces of MFK Absolute pour le Matin but that one is greener, ligther and have more citrus. As the spicy/herbal potion softens, but still is evident, a slight leathery soft oudnote appears, but also hits of cedar. There is not the sharpness in the oud and it is not loud and dominating as in the Montales. MFK note is somehow a fresh, sporty and casual oud. The medical impression comes mainly by the herbal, spicy, slight sweet "cough mixture" like notes, probably the oud as medical notes, but stronger and more compact, are present in the Montales. The citrus-spicy-herbal qualities of Oud gives the fragrance an almost airy expression. In the basenotes the cedar also is present in moderation together with ditto patchouli and Oud.

Even if not similar in smell, Oud:s character is reminiscent of Montales Aoud Flowers although AF contains some rose which MFK Oud doesn't. MFK Oud is as Mona di Orios Oud an Oud that boycotts paring the rose with oud in favor of other companions, osmanthus in MdO Oud and spicy/herbal notes in MFK Oud.

To summon it all up MFK Oud is a different, very wearable, brisk Oud, unisex in character and with good stayingpower. It's perfect for daytime wearing, especially during the spring and summer.

Rating: 4+

Notes: Oud from Laos, saffron, patchouli, cedar

Thanks to Maison Francis Kurkdjian for providing me a sample to test.

Neela Vermeire Creations - Trayeé

Picture: Spices in Mapusa Market, Goa, India

Photo: judepics, (cc) Wikimedia commons, some rights reserved

Trayeé is a very original, thick, spicy blend, created by Bertrand Duchaufour for the indian inspired perfumehouse Neela Vermeire Creations. Trayeé is inspired by the ancient India during the Veda-period.

Trayeé smells as I image an Indian spicemarket with distinct spices with the unconventional addition of a slight smoky tarnote. The tarnote is most evident in the topnotes but lingers in a dimmed version during the whole dry down. As Trayeé reaches the basenotes a bright, geraniumlike oud becomes the star of the show, even if it interacts very well with the spices. The oud note is the same as I percive in Mona di Orios beautiful Oud but as Monas oud is interacting with the flower of osmanthus, the oud in Trayeé interacts with the spices instead. In the basenotes of Trayeé I can finally smell something slight vanillic that rounds out and soften the other potent notes.

Trayeé is a pleasure to wear and it is perfect for cold days. It is suitable for many occasions, to work or casual. Besides the similarities with the oudnote of Mona di Orios Oud, Trayeés spicyness reminds me of Montales Amber & Spices and also of Lorenzo Villoresis Piper Nigrum but the spiciness of Trayeé i thicker, darker and mysterious than in those two mentioned.

Trayeé is a must try for the spice and/or oud lover and so far it's my favorite among the three Neela Vermeire Creations.

Rating: 5

Notes: Ginger, cinnamon, elemi, black currant, basil, jasmine, sandalwood, saffron, clove, cardamom, vetiver, patchouli, okmoss, cedar, amber, incense, myrrhe, vanille, oud

Carner Barcelona - Cuirs

Picture: Cuirs and it's source of inspiration

 (c) Carner Barcelona.

Carner Barcelona is a spanish nichehouse founded by Sarah Carner in 2009. Sarah want's to capture the meaningful moments in her perfumes and she is collaborate with different perfumers to achieve that. The latest perfume Cuirs is created by perfumer Sonia Constant. Cuirs is inspired by the artisan atiliers in Barcelona in the beginning of the last century, the smell of pipetobacco smoke mixed with the tanned leather preparde in the craft workshops.

To me Cuir is a peppery oud perfume and to my nose the fragrance is to dry to induce the typical creamy leathery aroma that the mix saffron-oud-rose creates. To me Cuirs is more of a dry woody, spicy particulary peppery perfume. In the middlenotes I smell a fleeting, light, flowery note and there is also something slight foody in this phase.

Cuirs is extremely strong and the projection is huge as is the longevity. One sprits is enough to be sure not to cause allergic reactions nearby. It's the type of scent that can trigger a campain for a scentfree office. Cuirs is classified as a unisex scent which is true but to my nose it lends more to the masculine side.
Cuirs feels very familliar to me, the scent doesen't add anything new to the perfumed landscape. To my nose it is very close to some of the newer Montales as Dark Oud (the rough australian sandalwood) in particular, with the radiation of Aoud Musk and with some accords from Amouages Opus V, perhaps the bullied little violet (iris in Opus V). Late in the dry down, about twelve hours after application. I can recognize the varm, foody spices  from one of my favorite Montales Amber & Spices. Cuirs is a good alternative to those fragrances but doesn't feel original as the other fragrances precede Cuirs. To me Cuirs is to strong and to masculine and it's likely that Cuirs wears much better on Mr Parfumista as he wears the neutronbomb Aoud Musk very well.

In summary; Cuir is a scent for occasions when the wearer will make a bold statement.

Rating: 3+ (on me)
Rating: 4   (on Mr Parfumista) updated in April 2012

Notes: Cumin, Saffron, violet, australian sandalwood, cederwood, guaiac wood, patchouli, tonka bean, cistus, musk, oud, nagarmotha, amyris, dry amber, leather

By Kilian - Rose Oud

Foto: Herr Parfumista (c)

Åhhh, jag vet inte var jag ska börja. Rose Oud är en doft som gör mig färdig att utrangera halva parfymgarderoben, innan jag kommer till sans igen och inser att det i längden ändå är variation som gäller. Rose Oud är en sådan där mörk, dov och mystisk rosendoft som jag bara älskar. Dessutom med en av mina favorittränoter oud. Jag får aldrig nog av den här typen av doft, känns som att jag kan prova och njuta av hur många varianter på temat som helst utan att tröttna. Rose Oud är en del av By Kilians orientaliska kollektion Arabian Nights och är skapad av Calice Becker som gjort de flesta av By Kilians dofter. Review av Incense Oud finns från april.

Rose Oud inleds med ros och en lätt oud. Det är inte en tuff och dominerande oud som i flera av Montales dofter utan den är snällare, mjukare och finstämt harmonierande. Det finns, vad jag läst, en del äkta oud inblandad men jag gissar att det som i de flesta västerländska ouddofter också finns en del syntetisk vara. Saffransnoten är inte särskilt dominant utan jag upplever den som en supportnot som ger värme och kraft till Rose Oud. Rosendoften känns som om den kommer av högkvalitativ rosenolja och den varierar och uppträder olika i olika stadier av doften. På mig känns den, konstigt nog, först mörkröd och mystiskt djup för att senare anta ljusare och fruktiga facetter. I denna fas kan man tro att det finns fruktiga ingredienser tillsatta även om några sådana finns inte angivna och rosenolja av viss sort och i viss kombination antar just en fruktig karaktär. Ett dygn senare känns något som påminner om en pudrig mellanrosa ros och det finns också inslag som dofter som en nyponrosbuske en varm sommardag. Troligen är det, som notlistan antyder, flera varianter av rosenolja (och säkert även syntetisk ros) inblandat eftersom jag känner så många rosendoftsvarianter.

Rosenvariationerna gör verkligen Rose Oud till en unik doft där det under hela parfymens utveckling händer nya spännande saker. Ändå känner jag likheter med flera andra favoriter i mörk ros genren. Först och främst med Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle:s Portrait of a Lady som Rose Oud är mest lik även om jag upplevar PoaL som ännu mörkare. Men Rose Oud har också många gemensamma noter med Téo Cabanels Alahine även om den senare har mer dragning åt klassisk pudrig oriental och Rose Oud åt mörk trädoft med ambroxan. Även om ambroxan inte finns angivet bland ingredienserna så tror jag nog att den lurar där i basen, precis som i PoaL. I den fruktigt rosiga fasen finns noter som påminner om Andy Tauers Une Rose Vermeille.

Rose Oud är en i mitt tycke klart feminin ros-oud kombination med en lagom projektion och en elegans som gör att den passar väldigt bra till fest även om jag tycker att man ska få njuta av sådana här underbara dofter också i den grå vardagen.

Betyg: 5

Noter: Saffran, ros-tincture, oud, guaiac-trä

By Kilian - Pure Oud

Foto: Parfumista (c)

Pure Oud är den första doften i by Kilians oudinspirerade-serie Arabian Nights. Doften är skapad av Calice Becker som de flesta av by Kilians parfymer. Pure Oud är en finstämd ouddoft som känns på något sätt ren, enkel och högkvalitativ. Mycket är gemensamt med efterföljaren Rose Oud, troligen är basen densamma. Pure Oud är mer maskulin i karaktären men passar enligt mitt tycke lika bra på kvinnor medan Rose Oud framförallt är en feminin parfym. Inlägg om Rose Oud finns i förra veckan. Review av den tredje doften i serien Incense Oud finns från april.

I Pure Oud känner jag direkt i öppningen igen noter från äkta oud-olja fast noterna i Pure Oud känns mer uttunnade. Jag har läst att det ingår äkta oud men den kan förstås vara förstärkt med syntetisk. Doften är i karaktären varm, jordig och balsamaktig. Under stor del av Pure Ouds utveckling känner jag också en doft av lagerbladsbär som påminner mig mycket om ett ackord i Andy Taurers Une Rose Chyprée. Den noten känns nästan lite gummiartad, som doften av ett solvarmt bildäck. Dessutom glimrar en lädernot fram vid ett par tillfällen, den typiska lädenot som erhålls genom kombinationen oud, saffran och ros. Pure Oud är linjär i typen men den är ändå tillräckligt intressant för att jag inte ska tråkas ut under en dag.

Betyg: 5

Noter: Guaiac trä, oud, saffran, copahu balsam

Juliette Has A Gun - Midnight Oud

Foto: Herr Parfumista (c)

Juliette Has A Gun:s Midnight Oud kallas ibland "lättoud" eller "nybörjaroud". Och visst är den lättare och snällare än till exempel de flesta av Montales ouder men den är samtidigt en mer elegant och bärbar variant. Montales ouder är i regel skarpare och tar plats i rummet medan Midnight Oud diskret håller sig på mattan.

Midnight Oud inleds med en fin lädernot, läderdoft i olika schatteringar blir resultatet av mixen oud, saffran och ros. Efter toppnotern är doften mycket en välbalanserad trä och saffran kombintion med oudens typiska accent men i en nedtonad form. Jag ser inte Midnight Oud främst som en oud, utan som en parfym i den mörka genren som råkar ha oud som en av de framträdande ingredienserna. Jag är väldigt förtjust i mörka, sammetslika dofter av den här typen, oavsett om de innehåller oud. En annan favorit av samma typ är JHAG:s Lady Vengeance. Av Montales skapelser som jag har provat påminner Midnight Oud mest om White Oud men lugnare och inte lika dominant.

Så visst är det en "snälloud" men vad spelar det för roll, det är som sagt inte med syftet att bära en oud jag använder Midnight Oud. Snarare ger den känslan av en modern, elgeant och minimalistisk chypre. Den är en riktig komfortdoft och handledsmagnet som förgyller den gråaste dag. Och som sagt mycket bärbar, alltid användbar och inte påträngande: En oud för kontoret. Dessutom ett för att vara oud ganska lågt pris,  EUR 103.

Betyg: 5

Noter: Ros, oud, ambra, mysk, saffran, geranium och patchoulli