Opus XV – King Blue

Its actually redundant to own this and Silver Oud, wish i pulled the brake when i got Silver Oud. Personally, i prefer SO than this, but both are gorgeous imo. On Amouage's site, there's "Oud Silver" listed in the base notes of KB, idk if they meant it as Silver Oud or it was the name of oud variant, but my guessing would be this is basically SO then added a few new notes. To my nose this is 80% identical to SO, the only difference is, the sweetness from SO came from the vanilla (kudos to Cecile for this), and in KB it came from fruity notes. They listed black currant and mandarin orange as the fruit notes, but to my nose it smells like jackfruit. All those fruits above are so common to find in here, and im very familiar with those, so im confident enough to say that it smells like jackfruit. So its a smoky-woody-jackfruit scent for me lol. In the DD, the leather starts coming out, but its not that prominent as in TF OL or TL, its well balanced with the other notes. If u're not used to prominent leather scent, u might detect the leather sooner and stronger, but im used to prominent leather scent, so its pretty subtle for me, but its there. For me, SO is harder to wear, its more masculine and alpha male scent, while KB is easier to wear and more playful. Also SO is pretty linear from the start to finish, while KB has a slight change. It might be tiring to wear SO oftenly bc of the linear profile, so i'll keep SO for special occasions only, and KB for my monthly rotation. About the poop scent, at first, yeah u will smell a faint poop scent, BUT, it aint that strong like u just wipe ur dirty ass with ur bare hand, lots of people are exaggerating it. Also it only smells like it when u smell it up close to ur skin, but in the air its a different story, its so pleasant and beautiful in the air. When ur nose gets used to the Assam oud, u wont even be able to detect the fecal smell anymore, trust me, i've been there. There are a LOT of frags that listed oud in the notes, especially in the middle eastern cheap brands. Mostly they didnt use natural oud oil; or it was only oud accord; or it was natural/synthetic oud oil but only in a VERY LITTLE dose just to give slight oomph in the performance; or the worse it didnt have any oud oil neither natural or synthetic, they just listed the oud or put the oud in the name just to sell better. So lots of people who have never smelled the real natural oud oil had the placebo effect that they could handle or wear or love oud frags, but when facing with a real oud frag they talk shit about the frag for smelling foulish. So dont really trust the reviews on the internet, trust ur nose only, since its so subjective. Overall: Is it wearable? Absolutely! Is it repulsive? Only if u smell it upclose during ur first few wears. Is the oud prominent? Yes, but not that strong in beastly level. Is it good for rookie in oud? No, there are easier options to start with oud. Is it perfect for hardcore oud lover? No, to me its kinda in the middle between rookie and expert. Just remember, the important key to wear oud frag is, never smell it up close!

King Blue is the best Amouage they've released so far. Unfortunately the oud is almost non-existent, there's such a small amount used in this fragrance I'm surprised that they've even able to market it as an oud fragrance. When people think they're smelling oud here, they're really smelling the moderate doses of "ambranum" with a dash of cypriol. For those that are perfumers and have worked with "ambranum", as soon as you smell this work of art, you'll immediately recognise that those two ingredients are the core of the fragrance with mandarin and cassis woven into the blend. The mandarin and cassis pair well together and they sit present in the background. This past November for me birthday, I bought a bottle at Katara Village in Doha and ran thru it in three weeks. My only complaint is about how you can't see or feel how much perfume is left is in these bottles. Well I tried to buy another bottle and turns out it was the last bottle in ALL of Doha at the time. It's February and they still are sold out. I'm hurt lol. I've never received as many compliments from a perfume in my life until I bought that one, especially at work in the office. Males and Females, people from North Africa and the Gulf were asking me about it. People from back home in Germany and Europe were asking me about it. People from the US were asking me about it. A true compliment getter and headturner. I wear it on all occasions, all seasons. I do nothing less than 6 sprays, and I get at least 4 hours from it before I need to reapply so that's extremely long lasting for me considering most fragrances only give me 2 or 3 hours before I need to reapply. Now for all those people being immature and hyperbolic using words like "feces", "doodoo water", "poopy", you can just ignore them, you'll get nothing but compliments from this fragrance as it's a warm fruity vanillic ambery with hints of sandal and oakwood fragrance that has almost zero oud in it. Its extremely inoffensive and can be worn in all seasons on all occasions. The co-perfumer "Hamid Merati-Kashani" has made another hidden gem called "Oud Tuareg" by Fabricia Della Musa. If you love Nouveau Monde (Jacques Cavallier) and King Blue, you'll love "Oud Tuareg" as well. This is a 10 out of 10 masterpiece released from Amouage. On the same level as Silver Oud and Royal Tobacco.

I loved Silver Oud but I fell in love with King Blue more because it’s more wearable and easy reach, it doesn’t need a certain kind of mood. It needs certain kind of clothes though or no clothes at all. Assam Oud in King Blue is not as brash as it is in its predecessor Silver Oud and the leather which is quite strong in it is utterly tame in King Blue. I adore this scent. It’s so addictive with its fruity notes especially from Blackcurrant but Mandarin as well - those are so perfect with slightly dirty Oud and warm resinous Amber. Fruits bring sweet aromas which play hide and seek from the opening until the dry down. It’s like Blackcurrant jam covered with hefty Oud, not vice versa. Sweetness from fruits together with sweetness from resinous Amber works great. I love fruits and Oud together so much but here the combination is astonishingly beautiful because of other notes and a complex blend. Just right around of smokiness from Frankincense is not T*bacco like but smooth and hazy adding vibrance into this blend which is actually astonishingly calming like the deep blue sea. That is the only connection which I find here to the colour blue in the name. At the latest, somewhat cozy, creamy texture of Sandalwood blended with all these notes makes this one of my favourite perfumes to wear in the bedtime. These kind of scents are erotic as well imo (I know, sounds maybe strange). The most erotic scents from Amouage are "Gold Man | Amouage" and this one. I can’t get enough of King Blue. I want to enjoy of it as much as I can now when it’s warm since it performs so beautifully now on my skin. During wintertime my skin is too cold for this scent. This needs warm to shine and it doesn't feel too heavy in Finnish summer since it's not so hot, mostly 20-25c. Is this easy Oud? Yes if you love real Oud, this is gentle. If you don’t - you can forget King Blue. But I highly recommend to give it a chance. It’s ravishing. Yes, a little bit dirty Oud can be ravishing. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

Crafted in 2023 by Hamid Merati-Kashani (Mr. Layton) and Alexis Grugeon (Mr. Flaming Lemons), King Blue is a surrealist fragrance that thrives on contradiction. It opens with a fresh burst of citrus (mandarin and blackcurrant laced with pink pepper) radiating brightness. But this lightness is fleeting. Almost immediately, a barnyard-tinged oud and smoky resins pull the composition into shadow, creating a tension that will define the scentsperience. This is where King Blue becomes truly interesting: it is both bold and restrained, abstract yet grounded. The heart reveals a smoky blend of frankincense and amber, while the base unfolds into a textured landscape of Assam oud, sandalwood, oakwood, and patchouli. A leather note emerges not as a dominant force, but as a bonding factor. It gives me the idea of worn suede, with a rubbery, rooibos-like (a.k.a. tea) nuance. After the 4-hour mark, the dry down reveals an ashy, more refined leather that lingers close to the skin, offering an intimate presence which will last for the rest of the day. Despite its potent ingredients, King Blue defies the weight typically associated with oud fragrances. It wears surprisingly well in heat, and - in my opinion - its abstract heart renders it genuinely unisex. This is not a typical oud bomb, nor a traditional leather-based scent. It’s a fragrance of dualities: fresh yet animalic, loud (in the first hour) yet wearable, ideally masculine yet fluid. King Blue is an outstanding olfactory paradox, where disparate elements converge into a composition that is abstract, powerful, and unexpectedly versatile. PS: if it is the first time that you are trying King Blue, avoid smelling it close immediately after you sprayed it - especially if you are not used to oud in general. Let it sit for a while and smell it in the air. On hotter days, I usually spray it on skin only just below my lower chest... It works like a charm.

Amouage has always been one of my favorite houses, and King Blue carries that DNA proudly. I don’t yet own a full bottle, but I was lucky enough to receive samples and I kept them aside, waiting for the perfect moment. This is not a fragrance for heat or humidity. It needs cold air, space, and time to breathe. That moment came in Adelaide. People may not think of Australia as cold, but on a dry winter night it can bite, and that was the perfect stage for King Blue. I sprayed it before heading out and immediately the air filled with lush, ripe fruit. Mandarin and blackcurrant burst out in a way that feels rich yet never childish. It is juicy, tart, slightly sweet, and at the same time you sense something darker waiting behind it. And then the oud rises. Not the heavy, resinous kind that dominates, but an oud that is alive and pulsing, carrying the fruit into the woods and leather beneath. It is bold and animalic, yet refined, the kind of oud that feels like it has been shaped by master hands. Layered with frankincense and amber, it shifts between brightness and shadow, like walking through a city lit by cold street lamps while your breath lingers in the air. What makes King Blue intoxicating is how it lingers around you. The fruits do not disappear, they weave into the wood and leather, giving off flashes of sweetness against the darker backdrop. With the cold breeze outside, it almost seemed to move with me, like the fragrance was alive and dancing in the air. This is where Amouage excels, creating not just a perfume, but an atmosphere. King Blue left me speechless. For me, it is a masterpiece of perfumery. If you want something that feels both primal and elegant, something that transforms with the weather and truly shines in the cold, this is it.