Sultan Al Oud

For once I am not disappointed with a blind buy. I have quickly fallen in love with Sultan al Oud, it's easily one of the best from the brand. Delicious leathery wood notes, lit incense smoke, warm peppery spice, subtle amber, and a wonderful cozy musk in the base. Even though this oil has the fake oud base that smells like paving tar, it's somehow smooth and not overly phenolic. There is just enough vanilla to soften the edges without smelling distinctly sweet. Not quite an "old book" smell, but the cedar and vanilla come together in a way that gives me that feeling. It's earthy, leathery, powdery, and smoky as well. It feels very cozy. Normally I don't think synthetic agarwood blends do the real substance much justice, but Sultan Al Oud is probably the closest you can come. It's a thoroughly clever and somewhat realistic agarwood reconstruction using cheap naturals and synthetics, an undervalued and wonderful treasure. I was puzzled by other people's comparisons, but I developed partial anosmia to Oud Wood at record speed. Just like the other Tom Ford fragrances, it has always registered as a modulated, synthetic scent. I much prefer Sultan Al Oud, it smells somewhat natural and hits high above the modest price point. Fantastic value, I highly recommend it. EDIT: The people calling this oud "barnyard", dirty, animalic etc. are completely off. This is a demure, refined interpretation of oud. The oud of Sultans.

This is a unique warm spicy, musky agarwood (Oud) fragrance from my conclusion it is fairly gourmand without any prominent sweet accords. It resembles a woody, masculine translation of Cinnabon’s cinnamon roll spice mix and I’m NOT JOKING! The [?] icons below are because those are the floral notes I pick up from the scent but do not know definitely if they are in the mixture. Moreover, the suspected iris lends in spicy, earthy powdery accords while heliotrope further smoothes out Oud with the vanilla. Secondly, heliotrope adds a sweet, powdery floral aspect providing an almond-like aroma therefore directing the fragrance more into the gourmand realm. Thirdly, ylang-ylang blends in like richly ripe fruits which I believe is providing this characteristic of a “spiced dessert good” into the scent. Sultan Al Oud has potential to be layered with other fragrances is great in the fall, winter and early spring also has enduring longevity and good sillage. Rating: 8.8/10, just wish this had some more projection then the score would have been closer to 10. :) Perfume notes composition: Top; Woody Notes (Cedarwood, Sandalwood) and Agarwood (Oud). Middle; Spicy Notes (Cloves, Cinnamon & Cardamom) and Vanilla. Base; Floral Notes (ylang-ylang[?]. heliotrope[?], iris[?]), Amber & Musk.

I've never smelled Black Afaghano or owned an oud scent before. But, I have been around lots of artists in my life and this smells just like freshly cut (or sanded) rosewood to me. This has just a hint of sandalwood and cinnamon at the start and then settles to something a bit more creamy. This is perfectly unisex and is "sweet" in the way a handmade natural broom is sweet or a freshly woven dried grass or sisal basket is sweet. I didn't know what to expect when I blind bought this, but I couldn't be happier with the juice. Sillage and longevity are medium, which is pretty great for less than $10. My only quibble is that I don't like the cap for the 35ml spray bottle. You can't win 'em all. I can see mixing this with White Musk, or British Rose, or with straight sandalwood for a deeper experience. I expect this will be very versatile, though I have enjoyed wearing it alone so far. I could see this for any season, any gender identity, and any time of day. It really is that good.

Fragrance -Sultan Al Oud Al-Rehab Bottle from - 2016 Sultan Al Oud reminds me a little bit of a ancient trees in the amazon rainforest.It has some similarities to Black Afgano by Nasomatto and Oud Alshain by Tiziana Terenzi. It's a beautiful,woody,spicy,musky and oriental scent. Vanilla tones down harsh oudy notes makes Sultan Al Oud look like more appealing,more refined and more mass pleasing fragrance."Quality/Cost Ratio"is extremely high. Longevity - 10/10(10+hours) Silage/Projection - 8/10(nice projection and silage for the first 2-3 hours) Weather - best in autumn and winter Age - 30+ Compliments - 7/10 Scent - 8/10 Main notes according to me - oud,spices,vanilla,musk,flowers. The drydown is nice and i get some woodiness,vanilla and musk. Emotions - dark forest,mysterious,dangerous,enigmatic,mystical,dark vibe elegance. Occasion -perfect for special occasions and formal events.

For reference, I tried the roll-on oil version of this fragrance. It's fairly aggressive and oudy at the beginning - not animalic, just sharp and darkly woody. It has lowish projection, but is somewhat stronger early on. As it evolves, I can smell cinnamon and semisweet vanilla. It's a beautiful fragrance. After an hour, the projection is still low without being a skin scent - pretty reasonable performance on me. It lasts a while, but never with much projection or sillage to speak of. While you could certainly layer this with other scents, it's also interesting enough to wear on its own. As an oud fragrance, it's very approachable and would be a good a starting point for someone not at all acquainted with that note. Absolutely worth the (extremely low) price; if you don't like it, it might still be educational, but it's more likely that you will enjoy it.