Blu Oud

Blu Oud by Ahmed Al-Maghribi is a bit of an enigma. It is a strong, spicy, leathery, fruity, fresh, musky oud. Yep, all of it. The overall impression is sweeter than you expect and it opens with a crack of slightly smoky leather. I get some pink pepper and some aromatics in the background to freshen it up, although it is fair to say the bergamot in the top does most of the heavy lifting here. The oud in the base drifts in slowly, filtered through some musk and a heavy, cloying whack of a fixative (Ambroxan? something that smells synthetic) so it isn't heavy or animalic in the slightest but cleverly retains just enough of its sourness to peek through the clouds if you know where to look for it. For the first twenty minutes or so this leans too much into the Ambroxan-type fixative that characterises many of the local "fresh" ouds here. I call it "Mall Oud" because there are stalls every few yards in every shopping mall in Dubai all offering untold hundreds of different varieties of oud fragrances in every shape and size bottle imaginable. They all smell very strongly of the exact same synthetic note we see here. It always makes me laugh to see the hustlers waving tester strips under the noses of all the tourists who have all heard of the wonderful oud perfumes in the UAE and want to try some. Tourists associate the smell of this Ambroxan-type fixative with "oud" here. I always wonder what they would think if they actually tried something with a real oud accord in, like Black Oud by Taif Al Emarat: a much harder sell for them, but not for me. Blu Oud does improve a lot after twenty minutes or so when the Ambroxan-type note starts to recede as the synthetic oud accord warms up and comes out to play. Along with it the Cuir Infrarouge-lite kind of leather heats and softens and it all starts to make more sense. I do like this a lot, but I do still think there is too much synthetic fixative in this for me to truly love it, as it does still give me "mall oud" vibes. It is nonetheless very pleasant, very unisex and way more wearable than the notes may initially suggest. It is impressive that such a heavy fragrance with leather, musk, oud and some incense in still manages to play in the freshie domain, which in itself makes this a very interesting fragrance that is definitely worth checking out. Three Word Summary: A Heavy Freshie Layering Suggestion: Some Cambodian oud oil over the top of this to accentuate the oud vibe and cut through the synthetic edge quicker. Outfit Suggestion: Gym gear. Yes, this is a leather and oud fragrance you can wear to the gym. Seriously. Scent - 7/10 Drydown - 8/10 Sillage - 8/10 Bottle/Packaging - 8/10 Performance - 9/10 40/50

Blu Oud (Extrait) opens on bergamot and cypress, with a slightly herbal, faintly fruity freshness. There's also a floral facet, which reminds me more of professionally cleaned laundry: crisp and slightly metallic. As the opening burns off, the leather reveals itself as the real spine of the scent. It's dry, slightly incensy, and it carries the composition long after the fresher top has faded. Personally, I don't get much actual oud here, especially since I have a few real oud gems for comparison. To me, this reads more as a smoky leather with some animalic edge, which is probably why some people interpret it as oud. What makes it interesting is the contrast: that darker, leathery core is set against the first half of the fragrance, which leans into a familiar clean aquatic blue accord. Even so, this is not the usual kind of blue fragrance you find at Sephora. Performance is excellent. Longevity is incredible, and projection is strong enough to fill the house with just a few sprays. One morning, I put no more than eight sprays on my shirt before heading out, and my girlfriend, from the other end of the house, told me to come closer so she could enjoy it properly. Of all the reviews I've read, I agree most with kaycee1: this is very close to Hawas Fire. From the same general family, I also know Ra'ed Oud and Khair, and when I sprayed all of them on test strips, it was genuinely difficult to tell them apart blind at first. Clickfish is also right: Ahmed really does have many nearly identical fragrances. That surprises me, because they're not presented as though they are meant to overlap so closely, yet once you read enough reviews, you can already tell they will be almost identical. There's also something here that Ombré Leather and its clones share. In the end, Blu Oud comes across far less as an oud-centered fragrance than as a fresh blue-leather composition with an oudy accent in the background. It belongs to that category of oud for people who don't really like oud. Everything here is exceptionally well done and easy to wear. I also think it works as an Arab fragrance for people who are not usually into Arab fragrances. It's a daily-friendly, domesticated take on the genre, greener and a little deeper than the similar fragrances I mentioned, with quality to match. It even smells more expensive than it is (and it's really cheap), with a distinctly glossy feel. Opening note: 8+ Sillage/Projection: 9 Drydown: 9 Longevity: 9+ Blend/Composition: 9 Versatility: 8 Uniqueness: 7 Value for money: 9 Bottle design/Aesthetics: 8 Overall experience: 9- Blind-buy rating: 8-

Firstly this is a review for Blu Oud. Ahmed Al Maghribi has another scent that is just called "Blue". Comes in an Extrait and an EDP I believe. As for Blu Oud, this is a really versatile fragrance that carries a great quality in general, and for the price the quality is almost absurd. The blending is superb. As far as scent profile, the leather really is very reminiscent of Tuscan Leather. There really isn't much incense in here but there is a very slight smoke in it. This balances well against a fruity note (I don't think its Bergamot like listed but I could be wrong). This fruity note is really what gives the scent its versatility because this note is slightly playful. Its not a super serious, sensual fruity note, and its not very bright, but its bright enough and really friendly. Combined with the other notes of a warming oud, the whole scent just comes together really well. Its a nice fresh, but warm, clean scent with a good base. I rarely blind buy (and I rarely like anything) but this was a super pleasant purchase. If you are good with leather, I would say this really is blind buy friendly. Just aside, most people who review this house tend to like Oud Ignite ahead of Blu Oud. I completely disagree. The two share the same quality, but Blu Oud really outshines it, and has way more character with its leather. It has gotten slightly better with Maceration (~4 months), but I don't think people should expect a huge change if they let it sit.

Absolutely phenomenal creation by AAM. I just got my bottle and right from the first spray it smells amazing. You don't need to mature this one, I have a feeling they macerated this before bottling. This is a huge upgrade over Cinder which they released a free years earlier. I have never gotten the original under my nose, but I have tried this, Cinder, and Hawas Fire, as well as a few other lesser known interpretations. This is fresh, yet earthy, with some beautiful animalistic undertones. It's well balanced, so those animalistic bites never become overbearing. This would make a great signature scent. Performance is great, 8+ hours on skin, days on clothing. Huge room filling projection. I spray this on earlier, went out to the garage to work on my car and when I came back in 2 hours later, I could smell it strongly in the room I sprayed it. Unfortunately I go noseblind to this one, but it's presence is noticed by everyone else. Four season safe, although I may stray away from it on the hottest days where something lighter is needed for some respite from the heat. Definitely a more masculine scent to my nose, the smoke, oud, and leather are brilliantly balanced against that fresh opening citrus and florals. Mind blowing composition. I can't imagine Imperial Valley or Reef 33 smell this good. AAM has been creating some absolutely incredible stuff. 96/100

like every aam i own - and it's a few - what you get straight out of the box is only a clue as to what's to come. all nearly useless until three months on the shelf and they get their shit together. this one isn't too complicated and all the better for it, it's the kind of frag that's built to be a daily driver or the dumb reach when you can't make up your mind and if there was a list for 'one frag for every situation' this would be on it. toys with the idea of being a blue frag but the elemi and transition to smoky leather give it a boundary that keeps it from going too far in. there's a floral sweetness than gets dangerously close to being a little too much but it rides the line of 'fine' before then timbers settle in and keep it dry and a little generic. it's a very good frag, not a great one, and given the swiss-army versatility it has it'll never be a dud in the collection, whether or not you buy a second bottle is personal preference.