Oud Pour Lui

*DISCLAIMER:This is not a note breakdown but my personal experience with the scent and the first feelings* Instant reminiscence of my childhood school workshop. It revives the smell of big sheets of paper, crayons, water and oil colors, burnt wood from woodworking, those sticky glues children used to glue everywhere on the workshop tables/flors, pencil shavings and even the smell of the cleaning products that was used some hours ago before children met in school. None might even get one of those mentions in the notes, and strangely enough the brain makes these association. Sadly no oud for me, but I'm glad i bought it. Will use for special occation. Big reminiscence and of good memories, therefore a big 8/10. It's not a big projection scent after the first 30 min It's skin scent for most of the life of the scent, around 5-8 hours of its life on my skin Definately a unique scent for my nose and NOT a dumb reach. It is of very high quality and for SPECIAL taste, so beware. It is NOT something you want to smell of for everyday and definately NOT office/date/formal or to impress someone with, so do NOT blindbuy.

Some 15 years ago I tried a sample of a karite body cream by I coloniali from their Spirit of Africa line. I was enchanted by its smell – it was mysterious, otherworldly, timeless. I had no idea what that smell was but I loved it. This magical scent evoked in my mind pictures of ancient times, faraway lands, mysterious knowledge and wisdom. Now when I tried Oud pour Lui by Alyssa Ashley this memory came back immediately – this is the exact same smell. I guess now that’s what incense is to me. It seems to speak to my olfactory senses in a very strange way. When I smell this, I feel ancient, immortal, body-less. Today it’s a cold winter day -17 C (seventeen below zero celsius) and I’m wearing Oud pour Lui. I find it a perfect warming scent for extremely cold weather. (I love Oud pour Elle too.)

Blind bought it after reading these reviews. I'm very happy with it. It's more oud than incense. If you are familiar with Comme des garcons kitchen and Montale than its easy to compare. Not a sweet scent at all, no rose, no sour marine, no flowers no bullshit! it's pretty great! Definatelly an churchy unisex scent! Its more familiar to some of the comme des garcons scent, i think less powerfull sillage but absolutely : if you are looking for a cheaper substituteof CdG - this is the best one so far. It is also similar to Montale Dark Oud but than more like CDG Black or Avignon. Defiantelly recommand.

great scent but I think it is very soft, for me this will be a summer scent; relaxing at home scent or a safe office scent. catholic church insence It shares some qualities with bois mysterieux from guerlain but this has way more insence and is less potent. update: I did some more sprays, 2 on each elbow and 2 under my shirt and it is very present now and man what a great scent. The oud and peppery smell is almost the same as Alma Colecion Privada Misterious Oud La Martina for women and men I bought it for 13 euros for 100 ml and I think I'm going to buy a backup bottle. 9/10

Straight up incense, as in frankincense, to my nose. I have just dug it out of my hibernated "winter collection" as I fancied some frankincense but didn't want to have anything burning around my room. This fragrance has a meditative quality to it. It works much better on me today than in winter, perhaps because my skin is warmer.

Little bit reminds the style of CDG Monocle Hinoki - gentle catholic church + oud. More incense than oud - this is true. In first 3 min. reminds Oud Imperial Perris Monte Carlo (nose Luca Maffei too). Excellent fragrance for this price (not cheap smell). Really like!

it's amazing how a scent is overlooked .... so beautiful !!!!!! The oud is felt at the beginning ... then slight sweetness becomes pure incense Catholic church .... 10/10 tùtto.credo to buy it and it will be in my top 5. It is a body Kouros incensed. beautiful.

More "Incense" than "Oud", but one of the best oud-incense combo available, at very cheap price. It reminds a walking inside forests, on high mountains. Really pleasant.

very nice dry-oud fragrance... it has also very enveloping warm balsamic incense note. A great siliage and longlivety!!!

incredible scent.start soft....and after...became....an incensy scent.best of various niche.i love it.

I blind bought this and, honestly, I'm bit on a fence with it. The bottle: Looks very cheap. There are several imperfections on the glass, the grey label is just a sticker that looks like it's going to come off any minute and the plastic cap & sprayer feel cheap. But I can live with that. What's inside is what matters. The juice: Now the juice is indeed what I was looking for. Starts off with a zesty combination of citrus and saffron that quickly vanishes to let the incense-oud combination come forward. I agree with all the previous comments, there's more incense than oud and it definitely resembles a catholic church. Similar to my nose to Armani Prive Encens Satin. I do enjoy the smell quite a lot and it's definitely better than the bottle. Performance: Here is where I have concerns. Disclaimer, when testing this, I have a bit of a flu going on, so my nose is not operating at it's best parameters and I might be wrong, but ... I feel that Oud pour Lui has no staying power and sillage. Certainly not something suitable for an EDP ... It is gone in a couple of minutes. Or at least I don't feel it anymore. But due to my health issues, I shall revisit this, as I doubt this is a fake (who fakes a 50eur bottle of Alyssa Ashley?) or a watered down version and hopefully performance would increase, as I do enjoy the scent, in the minutes that I can smell it. Edit: so I've revisited this, with a proper working nose. Unfortunately, my previous statement stands. It's not a silage monster (you need to get your nose close to the skin to actually feel it) and on skin lasts between 4 to 6 hours. Oh well ...

This is all about a linear powerful cumin/saffron/incense (olibanum) trio. Cannot spot any oud in this one, but who cares! It's well blended and surprising for a premium brand... or maybe not so much, since Luca Maffei also blended a few great fragrances for Houbigant and Histoires de Parfums, just to cite a couple. This is a one-stage carbon copy of Laurent Mazzone Black Oud's drydown, and also reminds me of L'Artisan Parfumeur Al Oudh. Would I recommend it over LM Black Oud? Well.... I would say that it depends at what price you can spot it: it retails currently online around $65 for a 100ml bottle (not really a low premium price), and LM Black Oud is now around $130, but could be spotted until recently around $80. At $80, I would say without hesitation: get the real deal, go for LM Black Oud (which is definitely more complex and a step higher in terms of quality). At $130 for LM BO, I would say: get a 50ml at $40 of AA Oud Pour Lui while you wait for LM BO's price to drop. Just my 2 cents. Anyways, a good under-the-radar frag, but not really a "cheapie", so think twice before buying imo. Fall/Winter evenings, 30+ Edit: I recently spotted LM Black Oud for $70 on ebay.. no more hesitation!

No oud listed? Well, it is predominantly oud. To me this is a fairly low sillage oud that could easily be unisex. I'm usually no fan of oud and this is one reason I'm excited about trying every one in sight, proving there might be one out there for me yet. Oud Pour Lui is very basic and light for an oud lover, but easily adjusted to for the oud-sensitive nose. The cedar and saffron support so beautifully I don't even notice the cumin. There is freshness from the citrus and geranium, and slight sweetness provided by the jasmine and smokey wood. I'm wondering if they used iso e super to get the woody effect. The cedary smoke instantly brought to mind a much milder version of one of Olympic Orchid's creations. This is great in mild weather and I've been thinking of layering it with something equally dark and amazing for this time of year: Black Sugar. Think of this scent by an open fire, while turning leaves fall around you in the chilly night breeze. Medium longevity and fairly low sillage...as ZELJO said below," soft and strong at the same time"!

I have oud fragrances, and this one is NOT MUCH of an oud scent. When in Dubai, I tried oud and I was blown away by the power, and yes they warned me. Oud is really a potent and lasting unisex scent of that tree, a real wood. This one is gone in three-four hours, I'm not blown away at all, yet this is still from a tree, a resin of frankincense. Anybody mentioning church here. Yes, brother Leonard, I'm following you. Of course, you smell like a monk being infused with the scented smoke of incense after a church mass. Difficult to wear with the church associations on any occasion. Apart from that, a solid scent. If you going for a walk or on a hike, this one might be quite good because you are having nature on you and then maybe... for Xmas. No sweetness and heavy floral undertones keep it pretty much down to earth. I would not wear it in office or a to party, unless there are clerics there.

A dusty, church-like composition. Incense and candle wax. If you're looking for a Middle Eastern-style powerhouse oud, prepare to be disappointed. It's a far subtler take. There is a slight synthetic quality; comforting old chemicals and a touch of sawdust, too. Like a woodshop or an old hardware store. A beguiling, nostalgic feel. For a male-targeted fragrance, it's refreshingly free of that intangible "generic aftershave" smell, without lacking a subtle masculinity. Comfortably unisex however and the best of both oud fragrances (Pour Lui and Pour Elle) by Luca Maffei for Alyssa Ashley. For an eau de parfum however, its performance on my skin is disappointingly short-lived, wearing more like a moderate toilette. A mild take on oud, but nonetheless an interesting effort full of atmosphere and charm.

Oud no, incense yes, very, church like vibe. Not bad for the price unfortunately I don’t get any cumin, and I love cumin frags. Where to wear? not sure with this as it might annoy some but the dry down isn’t bad and sits close to the skin. Definitely not a blind buy.

I blind bought this recently while Alyssa Ashley was having a 2-for-1 sale. Admittedly, I probably should have known better than to buy fragrance from a manufacturer who does "2-for-1"-type promos, but lesson learned. I'm a fan of both oud and incense, but this fragrance is a mess and shouldn't fairly be classified as either. As other reviewers have already noted, this is much more incense than oud. However, the incense here is so terribly synthetic and screechy that it barely references smoldering resins. It's not particularly liturgical, but nor is it very woody or earthy. I'd imagine that this fragrance approximates the aroma of someone who has lightly applied CdG's Avignon, followed by a massive amount of cheap hairspray (think aquanet). While there is some incense and oud to be found here, both are buried beneath a nasal searing opening that never fully resolves. So I'm stuck with two full bottles of this stuff....it was inexpensive, but still among the poorest blind buys I've made. I very rarely buy a fragrance without testing, and this one reinforces my proclivity for sampling before buying.

A lot of varied reviews here. Here is mine. Presentation. The bottle is transparent, not blue. The symbols are actually on the back of the bottle, in relief. The box is extremely sober but who cares. The sprayer is strong and more narrow than anything else I have. Silver cap. Sticker on the front. All in all the bottle looks decent. I was really curious and hopeful for this one but I do not like it. I smell one thing and one thing only: church incense. The thick sharp incense they put in the burners and gently swing around. This is really sharp to the nose! To me this is a 100% match of church incense. Longevity is moderate at the least. Update 1-MAR-2021: this is the last time I will try it. Hideously sharp.

Scratchiest fragrance I've ever had in my nose. BIG on the iso-e super, couldn't smell much incense over the scratchiness, and consequently never tried it on skin. If you're sensitive to low quality iso-e then avoid it!

No, it doesn't smell at all like CdG Avignon nor Montale Full Incense. It's a poor quality fragrance, camporish, fastidiously chemical.

Somewhat scandalous, ungrateful, very poor taste reviews which gratuitously offend the work of a young Italian perfumer, Luca Maffei: a son of art, he came into contact with greats of international perfumery such as Dominique Ropion and Michel Almairac from a very young age... he collaborates with many famous niche brands, launched Atelier Fragranze Milano, became a member of the Société Française des Parfumeurs in 2014. In all this, out of nowhere the telematic garbage rains mud and dung on this pleasant creation commissioned by Alyssa Ashley, a very famous brand founded by Enrico Donati, artist Italian belonging to the surrealist movement, also an experimenter by birth and influenced by the important creative cycle that between the 40s and 60s saw the growth of Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp, he was married for the second time to the last heir of the historic perfume house Houbigant, founded in Paris in 1775 and a pillar of the history of perfumery above all for its capacity for experimentation and innovation. Houbigant of Quelques Fleurs created in 1912. In all this, the work of those who are hired by a giant of world perfumery is minimized and trampled upon and atrocities are written such as: it smells like a service station bathroom, you can't smell oud, petrol fumes, grotesque, national popular, synthetic (as if the other super famous ones were all natural). Luca Maffei collaborates with prestigious names and you are throwing out sentences. Shame on you. Oud Pour Lui by Alyssa Ashley is a very pleasant amber fragrance, reminiscent of the much praised Arab fragrances, plus it has accords: warm spicy, mystical and clerical that evoke sacred atmospheres, It reminds me of Schu by Emilio Schuberth, a very popular fragrance in the 1950s. Absolutely unisex fragrance, with a democratic price and excellent durability.

Ok, I am going to pipe in here. I own both a full bottle of this and a full bottle of Montale Full Incense. I have one on each arm. Anyone who says these do not smell alike are completely wrong in my opinion. There are clear similarities between the two. For Oud Pour Lui I feel like I sprayed Amouage Interlude Man on my arm and then Full incense. This has a definite smokey edge similar to the smell of church incense actually burning while MFI is the raw resin sitting in the thurible boat waiting to be spooned onto the coal. I find this to be on par with other niche selections. Is it synthetic? YES! But so is every single other fragrance in the Montale/Mancera line up. They smell fantastic! Not one person who smells this coming off of you will screech "what is that synthetic mess of a smell?" Mostly because average people couldn't explain the purpose of or list one single aroma molecule. No one has ever approached me to find out if my fragrance used natural Mysore oil or Sandalore. This stuff is 100% worth getting your hands on...especially now that it's being discontinued.

It is not bad at all, but rather a Good one! My fave incense has always been "Black" CdG. So I know good tar and incense by heart. I received Oud along with Ambre Gris from kind fragrantican lady and I positively like it and going to wear both these juices till the last drop. It is no more synthetic than much more expensive niche and each has it's own character and individuality. The oud here combined with cumin, so it has warm, slightly "dirty" stable undertone, to me personally it is a plus, I dislike sterile, "safe" ouds, prefer slightly daring combinations for every day. Unlike to few others - this type of frankincense is not churchy to me. Doesn't strike me as calming as well. More like Eastern cafes and bazaars, other style of life, something adventurous, kind of Lawrence Of Arabia smell. Would be strange to believe that Luca Maffei will create boring-something. It lasts well, it projects well (from my skin), it costs not a lot, comfortable bottle to hold, very good job done.

This is a total failure. The smell is indeed a synthetic weird salty incense that is not 100% bad, maybe 10% acceptable. All the notes listed in the pyramide above are ridiculous. There is no oud, sandalwood, flower and certainly no citrus. I used Alyssa Ashley's famous Musk in the eighties and that was a very pleasant almost epic cheapie. This frag that I bought blind is not epic by far. How is it possible that the talented upcoming perfumer Luca Maffei creates such a horrible failure. Maybe I can use this as a furniture spray or layer some fake incense into a freshie that I want to make a bit darker. But likely it will spoil the whole thing. I will put it away and maybe try a spray in the fall/ wintertime. I wonder if it still smells so bad in those darker times of the year.

The main element here reminds me of two samples I obtained (one several years ago) that were supposed to be "real oud." Now this one isn't exactly like those but it does a good job of providing a similar experience (and this lasts longer than those did, at least with good projection/sillage). It has a kind of "industrial clean" quality that not everyone is going to like, obviously, but for the price I think it will satisfy a very particular aficionado, and I happen to be one of those people! I'm not going to pay a couple hundred dollars for a small vial of the "good stuff," so this seems to be the main alterative, AFAICT. After a few hours I get a synthetic musk note I've encountered in other scents, such as Club Man by Azzaro, but this one is blended better, IMO.

Strange but not unpleasant opening followed by a lovely smoky, dusty incense dry down. I think it sits fairly close to the skin. Although, side by side with RL Oud Supreme and Dunhill Icon Absolute, similarities aren’t easy to nail down, I find that there is an approximation, ie, they are of a similar genre. Happy to wear this and for the price, it’s a lot better buy than the 3 Mancera failures that I’ve purchased recently, each for significantly more money than this. I bought 30ml from eBay for £17. At £27 for 50ml and £38 for a 100ml, I’m highly likely to buy the full bottle too. Update. I bought a 50ml and a 100ml bottle. I love this stuff, but I understand that it might not be a wildly popular acquisition for some people.

I bought this (as a sample) because I love incense scents, and was curious. The top notes dissipate very quickly, thank goodness, because they make it too sweet and blowsy. Then the middle notes come through. Jasmine isn't a favourite, so I was glad that doesn't last either, after which the whole beauty comes out. Woodsy incense. Warm, close to the skin, a heavenly mix of oilbanum, cedar, sandalwood, benzoin and amber. Very gently churchy. I find it unisex, and I am not sure I would find much use for it by itself, although combining it with a rose base, or a green base, it would really add depth - so long as it wasn't overwhelmed. Will be trying it combined with Premier Figuier and Rosa Moceniga, to see what I get.

I can't wait to try this because Luca Maffei did Ambre Gris the same year for Ashley and it's great. Punches way above its price. I'll resist a blind buy unless it shows up for 10 bucks. Update: I have it and on my skin, it's funkier and dirtier than I ever expected. Excited it may be related to Amouage Figment. That one needs a couple wears for the nose to adjust. I have a hunch this is the same. I have a theory that a perfume works over time in the "sense memory" and the first wear isn't always what it finally ends up smelling like. The sense of smell and the brain has to get used to the blend. More thoughts, soon.

I’ve been meaning to test out Terror and Magnificence by Beaufort London and finally have a sample to test it out. So I test the sample on my arm and leave it a few minutes. I start to get whiffs of it and it’s smelling like a fragrance I know. To cut a long story short I wrecked my brain for two hours to try to remember which fragrance it was. Well I finally remembered and decided to take a look at the notes on fragrantica and compare. Beaufort London costs Euro 130 Oud Pour Lui by Alyssa Ashley for men can be found for Euro 20. The choice is yours.

Absolutely gorgeous dark, incensy-woody-spicey, westernized-oriental cheapie. My best at the genre. It is better than the similar arabians. Synthetic? Of course, for that price, but it's not disturbing in that case. I feel some breathfully roasted-coffee-like note and a bit of cinnamon. It is not the caramellic-vanillic-rose oriental mainstream, but not the extremly smokey-burnt-tire other side. It is dark, elegant and mystical in an easily acceptable way. I like that stuff and recommend it all for the oriental lovers!

I just received, not bad, too soft, it starts with geranium, pine, lemon. 30 min later comes jasmin and some wood with incense, not church incense, more hindu. It reminds me some place in Italy or Greece, probably a street market or a small turistic beach place... Some people say its for winter, in my opinion its good for summer, reminds me summer mediterranean places... Nice, should be stronger but for the price is 7/10

This is identical to Tauerville Incense Flash to my nose for the first 2 hours. It starts off dry and resinous. This is straight up incense. But 2 hours later a magical honey/benzoin starts to pop out. This is not a heaver projector but it lasts forever as a skin scent. I paid $30 for a 50ml and this is the quality of a $150 scent. This is gorgeous to me.

Selling/swapping a 30ml bottle of this if anyone is interested. I am a girl, and bought it because I was hoping from the notes it would be unisex. It might be to some extent, but it didn't really fit my chemistry and I'm not confident enough to wear it. Otherwise a lovely, spicy scent with a lithurgic character.

This one is not really an "oud" scent....IMO. But for what it is....it does smell really nice. I bought mine from Alyssa Ashley website on clearance for under $9.....1.7 oz edp. Projection/sillage for me is "mild"...and on my skin quickly becomes a skin scent only.

Kicking myself vigorously for never grabbing up a few bottles when I still had the chance - please, if you have an extra bottle that you're willing to part with for a reasonable price, do kindly drop me a pm. I would be so grateful. Thank you in advance...

Hi, I wonder if there are any differences in scent (longevity / sillage / notes) between the blue flacon of AA and the transparent one with the white label. Anyone know the difference and which of them may be older?

At first sniff this Alyssa Ashley oud reminds me Avignon Comme des Garcons or maybe Etat libre d'orange Marquis de Sade. Labdanum dominates in this perfume. Mmmmm.....Strange perfume

one of the best oud for men I know,soft and strong at the same time, better than others much more expensive and exactly the same as Armani royal privee oud

It's not the first Oud fragrance without Oud and it will not be the last. Bus a nice oriental incense and amber scent anyway.

Not a beast but lasts over 24hrs on me with nice wafts and in the final hours I get Sahara noir. Gorgeous.