Midnight Oud

A mix of sweet charcoal-burning woods; the precession of an Egyptian Coptic mass; the gutted insides of an old church, its last embers and ashes steaming away; A 5-minute downpour on the outskirts of Benin, Africa; spice markets infused with the smoky nighttime air; a non-earthly presence of some powerful spiritual being riding a horse over the moonlit sand... midnight oud... a very crude, basic, and strikingly dark masterpiece... "Midnight Oud" smells more along the lines of smoked hashish in the garden of some old, burnt-down Catholic church. The few trees and bushes that remain are charred and still growing... it's heavy, alluring, sweet, very smoky, and tempting... it's a fragrance unto itself. Men and women can't resist the primitive, captivating darkness of "Midnight Oud"; it's a sexually daring fragrance, very seductive and satanic... The only vegetation to be seen is a lone lemon tree and some oregano seething in the catacomb embers... the waxy incense-like resins and the subtle but noticeable scorched earthiness - I get the skeleton of Frederic Malle's "Scent of a Lady" and DNA of "Black Afgano"... minus the rose and the floral inks..... It then has a whole overlayering arc of churchy smoky woods and herbs. The patchouli and bergamot give a tiny bit of sharpness to cut the transitioning smoky resinous undertones; the middle notes are present from start to finish... a monastery's attic, the smoky tents of Sufi holy men... the earthy darkness of a howling mine... the complete opposite of a bright, fresh fragrance... this is midnight in a bottle. Not gothic, not evil, but old, ancient, and sanctified... a leather tarpit-like darkness, a desert church that's on fire during a soccer game... the scent of smoke from a burning jungle... It remains darkly linear and alluring from start to end; the oud itself is the only brightness one gets... the pimento, which I can't detect much, adds just a bit of spiciness to let the oud lead the orchestra as it makes its dark, sharp, sweet, tar-like presence known... It's not unique, but it's just as good, if not better than most other "Black Afgano-like flankers". To me, it's a much less complicated mix of "Black Afgano" minus the hashish, Frederic Malle's "Portrait of a Lady" minus the roses... "Midnight Oud" embraces the smoky, woody, dark, resinous, churchy frankincense blending resins with leather and hashish, basing it on sweet, smoky amber adds a layer of seduction, barn-like woods, animal fur... it's a bit more unisex-leaning masculine... well worth its price, it smells better than many niche $100 offerings... I like it a lot, and so does everybody else who smelled it... very classy oud fragrance. Sadly, it is a masterfully remixed copy of other fragrances, so I will deduct points for originality. 9.1 out of 10

The definition of a love-it-or-hate-it fragrance, seemingly. I actually started out loving it and ended up really not liking it much at all. Heeding the warnings, I only used three sprays from my 10ml decant, and that was the perfect amount. In the opening, the incense and vanilla notes balance well, with smoke, amber and leather all contributing. The bergamot is barely noticeable to me, the oregano/cumin quite light in the mix. There is a nice sweetness underpinning all of these notes, and an anise biscotti vibe as well. As this dries down, the sweetness recedes significantly and the smoke increases, which flattens the fragrance and diminishes the incense and vanilla notes. I am not the biggest smoke fan, so this was somewhat disappointing to me. By the four hour mark, the incense and vanilla/amber notes are all but gone, and a sweat-like oud accord crawls out to join the oily smoke and slightly-animalic leather. It has a sour aspect that is really quite unpleasant to my nose. I haven't tried the Amouage, but this is similar in style to Lattafa Maahir Black. I prefer the Maahir Black due to the less-intense smoke, the barely perceptible oud, the more dominant sweetness and the lack of stale sweat drydown. I really wanted to love this, to find an amazing, complex, inexpensive version of a famous fragrance from one of my favorite houses. It was not to be.

Absolutely amazing for the low price, in fact, it would still be good if it was 8 or 9 times the price. Defo extremely inspired by Interlude man, but I strangely prefer this. Very well put together with no smell of alcohol at all when you first spray (Maybe 95% the same as Interlude at this point). Strong but Pleasant Spice/incense for the first 2-3 hours on me with great projection for around 2-3 hours. The incense is smoky and sweet with the benzoin giving the feel a catholic church (takes me back to being a kid watching the communion procession at high mass, and the alter boy swinging the incense) But this has a sweet vanillic background. The sweetness gradually swaps places with the incense and after around 3 hours on me, is the most forward scent. This then stays for 8-9 hours, probably a skin scent from around 5 hours but one that still gives good movement, which I keep getting sniffs of as I move my arms/walk. I still get the incense until the end, but it has totally swapped places with the sweet vanillas and is now the background. I love strong sweet fragrance, so this is perfect for me, and the price, ridiculous. Reading some of the other reviews really demonstrates how everybody's nose and preferences are different.

Apparently this is a clone of Amoage Interlude Man. However, as I haven't smelled that fragrance, I'm reviewing Midnight Oud on its own merits only. I've tried both the roll-on oil and the spray version of this fragrance. They had the same notes, but some were more prominent in one version and others in the other. It starts with a sweet punch of something like raspberry, but this dies down quickly and remains as a backdrop for other notes. Oregano is also immediately noticeable from the spray version - not so much in the roll-on. The oregano lasts longer than the raspberry, but eventually also fades away. A deep, woody fragrance with a spicy dash of pimento lingers; I'm not sure I love the pimento, but the rest is nice. There's some sweetness, but it's understated and not cloying. A smoky note appears later on. In the end, it's a smoky-pimento-raspberry fragrance, which is unique and actually pretty nice. The projection is surprisingly low, but not nonexistent by any means. The spray projects more than the oil. Both last a very long time - even overnight, and forever on clothing. I like this fragrance, though it took me a few wears to make that decision. Now it's one of my favourites.

Nose Note #86 The only word that comes up relating to this fragrance is "funny". To me it just smells funny. Interesting incense mixture, nothing like I've tried before, but I can't say it's pleasant. Smells very "old man", not in a good way. Has this funny sweetness to it. I haven't tried the OG, but I've used Amouage Epic Man for a long time and I remember it also being just a strange thing. Very strong, very "grown up", sophisticated. 35, maybe even 40+. It's kind of the same with this one. Interesting smell, some of my friends found it OK, but my wife didn't like it. I really wanted to try any clone of Interlude, but I'm disappointed. Interesting smell for sure, but you really have to be either 40+ or a connoisseur to enjoy it. I'm on the verge of liking it, but it just doesn't itch. Price-wise and all that - it's amazing. Definately worth it, but not a blind-buy. Great performer. UPD after a year: I've grown really fond of it. I don't think it's an old-man's scent anymore. It's very mature, but personally I'm now really comfortable with this DNA. It's just so unique and really well done. I'm sad I've ran out. Will be buying other dupes and the OG. 8.5/10, a legend