Beauty and The Beast

Areej Le Doré’s Beauty and the Beast is a bold, unapologetic rose oud fragrance that leans heavily into its beastly side, delivering a potent and unforgettable olfactory experience. Master perfumer Russian Adam showcases his expertise in sourcing the finest authentic ingredients, and this creation is no exception. The star of the show is an intense Indian oud, reportedly distilled in rose water, which exudes a distinctly Eastern character—raw, commanding, and far removed from the tamer, Westernized ouds often found in mainstream perfumery. On application, the fragrance hits with a powerful blast of oud, rich and slightly animalic, dominating the opening. As it settles, a subtle cacao note emerges, adding a touch of bittersweet warmth that tempers the oud’s ferocity. In the drydown, the rose begins to bloom, intertwining with the oud to create a deep, luxurious harmony that feels both regal and primal. This is not a delicate rose but one that holds its own against the oud’s intensity. Beauty and the Beast boasts colossal projection, effortlessly filling a room, and its longevity is exceptional, lasting a solid 16+ hours. While unisex, its robust profile leans slightly masculine, making it ideal for those who want to exude strength and presence. This fragrance is not for beginners or the faint of heart—its intensity demands respect and a seasoned nose to fully appreciate. Versatility is limited; it shines best for evening wear, whether a night out or an intimate night in when you want to feel powerful. Sampling is a must due to its commanding nature, but for oud aficionados, Beauty and the Beast is a triumph in the rose oud genre—an artistic masterpiece that earns a resounding 10/10. Bravo to Russian Adam for crafting a fragrance that is as bold as it is beautiful.

Did you miss Malik al Taif and now don't want to pay exorbitant price for it? May be, you are looking for a no nonsense oud/rose scent that is not only blended with high quality ingredients but also provides you with an experience of pure awe. Then feel joy because not only Beauty & the Beast is that very scent you are looking for but best of all, it is still available. And I'm surprised and to an extent, shocked as to why this has not been sold out yet. Because, in my humble opinion, it will be a classic, an iconic scent that people will pay double its retail in near future. I might be totally wrong but being a owner of few of Adam's classics and fortunate person to have tried almost all his fragrance, i firmly believe in my aforementioned opinion. Beauty & the Beast, an aptly named fragrance, is a beautiful amalgamation of Taif Rose and Hindi Oud with hints of Cacao is background. Cacao in this blend is not overpowering or dominant but lends a supporting hand. Think of it as a dance between rose and oud, both fused into each other, a waltz till the dead of the night. Performance on this one is excellent for a relatively fresher juice. It lasts on skin for around 8 hours on skin and on clothes, double that time. Projection is not beastly but adequate enough to get you noticed. 3-4 full sprays are enough for a whole work day. As per my experience, it will only get better with time both in terms of performance and overall vividness. Yes, Ambre de Coco is my favorite from this collection because it is more interesting, complex and unique in its own way. But Beauty & the Beast is right behind, may be just few paces. It might lack a complex, nonlinear composition but even in its linearity, it surpasses many of its genre.

Almost a pedagogical exploration of the rose-oud perfume, Areej le Doré's Beauty and the Beast survives its cringe-worthy name by offering a fundamentals masterclass: add quality ingredients to tried-and-true olfactory combinations and the result is impressive, if not also a tad uninventive. Upon spraying B&B, the first thought isn't even olfactive. Rather, it's, "Wow, this atomizer is top-notch." Covering the expanse of my entire chest, fragrance immediately follows. I get dark chocolate and rose water. Eventually, more of the typical "barnyard" notes of oud start to undergird the cloudy puff enveloping me, giving depth and dynamism to an initially gourmand scent profile that would be troubling if it didn't soon dissipate into a skankier terrain, wherein the middle journey of Areej's fragrance starts to smell like—what my girlfriend described as—an antique bookcase. All the oudy woods take over, although they're wrapped in roses, giving off an agrestic quality not unlike the impression of having come into your library after a day of horse riding. While the above image might romanticize B&B, make no mistake about it; this perfume edges the offensive unless you grew up wearing oud or have already fallen in love with this essential oil's perplexing, somewhat crude magic. Wear this at home and practice a bit of self-love or head out into public and live life as a beast. Beauty, for the most part, has so little to do with how you smell.

Most rose-ouds are polite guests at a dinner party, perhaps slightly loud but ultimately well behaved. BatB is the guest who sets the house on fire and watches from the lawn. Despite its directly simple composition, I agree that it can be considered the "dominator" of the genre, rendering your Ombre Nomade (just gave mine away) or Oud Ispahan suddenly worthless... While some find a "darkness" hanging over the rose, I perceive something more tectonic. This is the Trinity Test of perfumery. As the cap comes off, one is reminded of Oppenheimer’s chilling realization: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Only here, it is the destroyer of all other rose-oud bottles in your collection. The rose isn’t delicate, it’s a crimson flare caught in a mushroom cloud of wild oud and thick, incensy-resinous smoke. The texture is what elevates it from the pack. It is leathery, dense, and nuancedly chocolatey. I'll leave the detailed description of BatB to others, as it's been already aptly described. Ultimately, to wear this is to realise that nowadays most "niche" (or exclusive lines) perfumery is merely playing dress-up. Adam has - once again - crafted something that expresses passion for high quality craftsmanship. This is for those who want to avoid the synthetic wasteland, without sacrificing on performance. BatB would be a 10/10 for those who can enjoy rose more than I do.

The balance between rose and oud is struck perfectly here. Imagine if an antique wooden cabinet were to be washed with rosewater, dried in the sun, then waxed gently. The oud is complex and savory, but not particularly challenging (e.g., fecal, lactonic, or bilious). The rose is light, dry, and very slightly citrusy. There is an extremely subtle hint of cacao that unifies the whole melange. Projection and sillage are average. As a relative newbie to the fragrance cult, my biggest surprise of the past year is just how wearable Areej Le Dore perfumes tend to be. Beauty and the Beast is no exception. Four sprays (two to the neck/torso, one to each arm) and you have a delightful aura that surrounds you comfortably for at least 3-4 hours. (Some skin types may experience better longevity--my Irish-American hide tends to drink this stuff up on contact.) Of course, this shouldn't be mistaken for a "going out" fragrance--Russian Adam doesn't really make those. This is a "library" fragrance. Maybe a "chapel" fragrance, regardless of your religious persuasion. This could even be a "sauna" fragrance, if you have it to yourself. It's all about creating a comfortable space where you can dream and contemplate and strategize and reminisce and be stupefied by the world around you. Breathe deeply--you may find yourself in here. 9/10.

Absolutely beautiful rose oud fragrance. Who finds the oud unpleasant, has probably not had any experience with real Indian oud. Who appreciates this, however, knows that you have a real treasure in front of you. Chocolaty, woody, barnyardy the oud comes along - supported by a dry and powdery cocoa, which one takes especially at the beginning. Followed by a beautiful rose that comes across as citrusy and gorgeous as Taif Rose. At the end of the journey, the pure oud remains, and remains balsamic, warm and woody. Has this fragrance reinvented the wheel? - No. But is it a high quality rose oud fragrance with a special twist? - Definitely yes! Anyone who can appreciate a well-made rose oud fragrance and has a fondness for Indian oud will find much to enjoy in this scent. Price-wise, the fragrance is in the normal Areej le Dore spectrum, if you compare it to old releases (Oud Zhen, ...) and consider that this one contains an even larger amount of oud.

If you love Oud/Rose fragrances this is a must have! This is a top teir fragrance. The name is perfect. It’s goes back and forth from beauty (rose garden) to beast (in the woods). I would put B&B a couple points below Ottoman Empire and Russian Oud. Those are 10’s. Many comments here are going to scare people away. I was shocked when I first wore this expecting the oud to be funky and poop smelling. I think those are people with beginners noses or those only used to western Ouds like SWY oud or OFG by initio. For noses that wear oud and enjoy them, it this is beautiful. Some have said it can only we worn in your house! What?? No way. This is gorgeous and can easily be worn at work,on a date, out shopping etc. So, don’t let this scare you. I hope it doesn’t sale out like most Areej le Dore do. This is an amazing fragrance. 8/10 fragrance only to leave the 10s for Ottoman Empire and RO2. Presentation of the bottle is incredible. Blessings 🙏🏼

If this scent had been created by virtually any other perfumer, I think I would perhaps give it a rave. The oud is rich and deep, the roses seem redder than most of famous rose centered fragrances. The cacao is largely submerged, at least for me. I will wear this more as a home scent because it might be off-putting to some. I guess I am somewhat reserved in my review in part because I have read kafkaesque's review and that may have influenced me some. More importantly, Russian Adam has created a number of masterpieces: Chinese Oud, War and Peace, Koh-i-Noor and at least 4 or 5 more. Is it fair that I hold him to a higher standard? No, but I just feel that some of this collection is about how rare the notes are instead of how well-blended they are. I feel lucky to sample this one, and the rest in this new collection. It is certainly worth a sample. I am far less sure about full bottle.

It's easy to see why Malik Al Taif and Triad are referenced, but this is very different in its simplicity & strength. Malik Al Taif is a DIVINE rose bomb (with an unfortunately mediocre & weak backbone); in contrast, the rose here is a lot more citrusy and gets quickly outshined by the oud. I would've been ecstatic if the dry-down is really something similar to Triad, but without the support of benzoin & tonka, Beauty and the Beast lacks the honey-like sweetness that bridges & compliments the rose/oud. This fragrance is a criminally underrated study in notes, very Middle Eastern in style (Reminds me of Ajmal Dahn Oudh Al Shams without the artificial sharpness), and great for people who love Indian oud (Imagine a much softer & rosier version of Frederic Malle The Night).

Masterpiece and simply stunning! Promises to be polarising. I get an intoxicating mixture of rose-cacao-Oud that is extremely well blended and each facet of this shines through fleetingly throughout the wear, making this a total delight to wear. Above average performance. Collectors item! Shukran Habibi

I love it, it is so raw and in your face. Cannot get enough of this pure oud/rose, no messin about. As the name suggests, still holds alot of beauty

Wore this to dump some household garbage. Amazing match of perfume to occasion! No one at the waste depot smelled better

All I get is chocolate....I had to look at the label several timea to make sure this is the rose oud one, and not the one with chocolate in the name.

I personally did not experience any chocolate in this one at all. Huge amount of rose. like 70% rose. With what smells to me like not the greatest of hindi ouds. most likely fermented. Slightly cheesy and horse stalls. Another one i'll be happy to pass on.

All rose and rose water with a hint of something very unpleasant underneath. For the most hyped scent of this collection, I was very disappointed. I love rose, but the “beast” part made it unbearable to me. A hard pass.

this is the exact same smell you get in a goat barn

@Mantee you’re telling me you can smell the opening of this up close and enjoy it? Lol. Up close, this has the most off-putting opening in history. I have tried incredibly expensive oud oils, along with plenty of incredibly expensive oud releases from Bortnikoff, Dusita, Roja, and Fragrance du Bois. If the oud note at the opening of Beauty and The Beast is the “highest quality” oud ever, I would respond by saying that quality of smell doesn’t always correlate with the price of a certain crop of oud. This smells like genuine oud, it just doesn’t smell good - up close at least. Something is way way off. This is like incredibly moldy blue cheese paired with unwashed feet that makes you puke in your mouth when you smell it. If you have trained your nose to enjoy this, that just means that you have tricked yourself into thinking this smells good.

Not bad but not very original parfum. Lots of rose and oud with cocoa in the nice opening but then the perfume sits weakly in a long rose dry down without any particular emotions. The brand has had an involution in my humble opinion, always offering new fragrances and not leaving the best perfumes permanent. Even the rebranding of the bottles, which is secondary, I don't like. Now 7 perfumes in one release but no trace of the good old oud louwak or russian oud, with increased prices and less quantity of perfume. I would have tried a safe route, reassuring users that their favorite perfumes are always on sale. This perfume now is already available on ebay and not on the official website. Expensive and little attention to the consumer: for the price point I like more attention and something special.

A classic rose oud with a chocolate twist. It has a citrusy slightly sweet rose damascena note with leathery spicy earthy Indian oud and dark chocolate-like earthy nutty bittersweet cacao in the opening. The rose moves to the background as time passes and the scent becomes more focused on the rich Indian oud with hints of cacao, and animalic and slightly phenolic nuances. The oud used here is a traditional fermented Indian oud. The late drydown has some faint vanillic sweetness to my nose. The quality of the materials is exceptional but the perfume feels a bit simple and redundant. It shares similarities to Malik Al Taif, but I think B&TB is more balanced and well-rounded.

I get Malik al Taif flashbacks here, except for B&B is more airy(which is a good thing as MaT was overly dense, thus not all facets of ingredients were able to shine). It is same pink rose that is a little astrigent at the start but mellows down to a slightly lipstick like rose. Oud is tame and not overbearing if you use about half a spray, but 1 or more sprays - you will have oud dominant perfume with rose as supporting element. Oud will feel somewhat barny if oversprayed. Cocoa is not very pronounced, more so blended in with oud to provide warm base. Easy wear. Less is more. Fans of MaT and those who missed it should check this one out :)

Do you think Frederic Malle The Night is challenging? Lmao. Try this. This is probably the only fragrance I have ever smelled that smells just wrong. You smell the opening and you say to yourself “ok, something in my refrigerator expired.” Something is genuinely wrong with this fragrance. I have smelled a pure oud oil from Xerjoff that is $100/ml, and it smelled more pleasant and people pleasing than this. If you let it waft you to your nose is smells fine, but no matter what you do please do not put your nose right up to your skin when you are wearing this, especially at the opening

BatB is great. It recalls ALD's Malik Al Taif, only in a lighter concentration, giving the individual components a little more space to breathe. Incredibly wearable. Not a lot more to contribute to the conversation. This is a reference rose / oud to me. The rose is deep, somewhat fresh, dewy. A little sharp. Fruity. I get the Taif "meaty" thing a little The oud is tamed to my nose. It's doing a lot of structural work and giving some gaseous momentum. All around I find this perfume great value for what you receive. If you're into rose, it's a must have.

Beauty and the Beast immediately reminded me of Ajmal’s Mukhallat al Shams. While B.B has chocolaty and sweet nuauances, Shams is more musky and spicy in a different way. I know Russian Adam’s passion for Indian Oud and I don’t blame him for getting inspired by Ajmal’s oud-rose masterpiece. Obviosuly, some top quality materials was used in this concoction including his own Indian oud oil distilled in rose water. In a nutshell, I believe that Beauty and the Beast has already secured its place in top 3 oud-rose combos that has ever been created.

This opened up to me as something fantastic and amazing. The explosion of rose and oud were so powerful. Honestly the opening reminded me of a mix of MFK Satin Mood and FM The Night / BTV Nebulous. As the rose dies down the oud takes center stage going into a light cocoa phase. This would have been an immediate purchase for me, but during the dry down I get a very very very similar dry down to Aqualaria Blossom, which isn't a bad thing, but makes the purchase redundant to me. Loving Ambre de Coco Mysore Incenza though!

As everyone else has mentioned, a spectacular rose-oud, which by Russian Adam's standards, is quite standard. As RA has created amazing scents in the past, you kind of get used to being wowed and surprised. This time, he hasn't done that, and given us quite a standard scent, very similar to Malik Al Taif and a few others whose names escape me. He's basically re-invented the wheel here, and he didn't really need to, but, nonetheless, a stunning scent, just not one that we haven't already experienced before...

This is one of those oud and rose fragrances that is so authentic, wearing it in the West makes no sense. It’s a masterful fragrance, but ultimately unwearable if you don’t live in the East. Incredibly high quality REAL oud, REAL rose. I get every facet imaginable of each of these natural ingredients. Just be conscious of how you will come off to others. You’ll kind of smell like roses smothered in poop.

Stunning, high quality rose-oud from start to finish. Malik al Taif's opening (that is to say citric rose soliflore) together with a more rounded cacao, slightly leathery hindi oud profile. Dries down a lot like Bortnikoff's Triad. Simple, rather linear but amazing for true lovers of the genre. If the price of admission is worth the experience, go for it!

My partner asked what smelled like vomit after spraying it. He’s not wrong. It is extremely pungent, rotting and sourly in your face. There is the beauty of the rose but the oud is just beastly. This might be something you could enjoy on your own in a sick way but a hazard outside of your home.

Unenthusiastic and pessimistic about this collection. Specially with the early feedback by kafkaesque being beauty and the beast almost noteworthy.

Wet, dank, dark roses and oud. Powerful. A bit too syrupy/jammy for me, I would have liked a more lactonic, fermented oud.

A modest perfume and not even suitable as an occasion perfume

Oops. Looks like I hurt Mak-7’s feelings.

The Rose🌹is the Beast not the Beauty.