Oud Zhen

Oud Zhen from Areej Le Dore. Now that Winter is near I can enjoy this smoky oud concoction more often. I wear whatever I crave, all year round, yet some perfumes just shine under the right conditions. This is the case with Oud Zhen. It blooms in the cold. It bears the "dark oud perfume" DNA of the house, being part of the same family as Oud Picante and Russian Oud. It's my second favorite among the three, behind Russian Oud, but ahead of Picante. It is smokier and not as sweet as the former and less spicy than the latter. Not a complicated scent by any means, it's quite a robust and straightforward olfactory piece, but it delivers what promises. A beautiful woody scent profile, with plenty of bakhoor-like smokiness, and smoldering resins. These are the main players whereas in the base some musks creep in, mostly castoreum. You need to like smoky perfumes to appreciate this one as there is plenty of that. I'm not too fond of this genre but in this case, it blends well within the composition. The opening is quite a burst of smoke. Fumigating wood it's how it comes across. Dense, with a strong woody aroma. Once it settles down, the woodiness comes forefront in full display. Not funky by any means, more akin to old wood, think of an ancient wooden cabinet or chest. Later, the resins support the oud with the myrrh lending a nice toffee, nutty, and boozy-like quality, like someone spilled a fine cognac on the wood. Once the labdanum kicks in, the nutty and toffee-like facets become more apparent and slowly melt over the wood's profile. At this point, it transitions to a more resinous affair, with the emphasis shifting from the wood to the latter. Later in the base, a beautiful chewy, sweet, and smoky castoreum adds warmth, alongside a slightly daring civet-like accord. At this stage, it wears more like a smoky-resinous perfume with musky nuances. It's very long-lasting and will send beautiful wafts throughout the day, cutting through the cold and warming you up. It wears well in the heat but it'll truly make you appreciate its presence in the freezing air. Much like Russian Oud, it is quite a simple composition that delivers. A bakhoor-like woody experience topped with molten resins and sprinkled with the right amount of animalics to keep you warm during the long Winter nights, or to make you stand out in the hot climate of the Middle East, as it will overshadow any other scents around with its presence. IG:@memory.of.scents

This is a mind blowing oud that I am lucky to own a full bottle of. It is hard to compare it to other ouds from other brands because others are so watered down and seems so spineless in comparison (Xerjoff, Fragrance du Bois, you name it), yet this is also exceedingly wearable. I have other ALD ouds, but this is the true iron fist in the velvet glove (to use a Burgundy wine analogy for Musigny). It can't really compare to Russian Oud, Oud Luwak or Agar de Noir, because it is composed on far fewer notes, but paradoxically even more complex. It lacks the green notes of Agar de Noir, the chocolate and saltiness of Russian Oud, and the bitter smoke of Luwak, but makes up for it with a prodigious booziness. Here the oud is the star and it must have been the best oud known to man to achieve such heights. It opens with barbecue smoked woods, much like Atelier des Ors Bois Sikar, but this impression is much deeper and longer lasting (the AdO fading to a woody musk in about 45 min), the fragrance slowly transitioning to something so boozy and so creamy it cannot be put into words - maybe Roja Enigma Parfum with whipped cream? It is that sense of booze, smoke and whipped cream that makes it so addictive. The scent stays that way for almost 12 hours, with swirls of aged cognac and cigar box complexity, but amazes because it projects so far. When I went to get groceries I was buried in its cloud and people seemed to notice from meters away. Aged cognac and cigar box that makes Roja Enigma look like a joke (and I have 14 Rojas, including Enigma Parfum) and also leaves Atelier des Ors Bois Sikar (which I also own) seeming thin and lame. A power house but oh so soft and sensual! 15/10.

Comparing this to the original Oud Zen, Oud Zhen is missing that smooth, roasted almond nuttiness with a bit of booze that extended ever so naturally into a chocolatey finish. That whole unique accord is what is so alluring and gorgeous about Oud Zen so I am disappointed to find that aspect is largely missing from this iteration. Also the smoke in Oud Zhen is not as nuanced and it just takes the front seat of the scent right from the get go, which masks all the other beautiful aspects of oud used here. I would almost describe Oud Zen as a sort of a unique gourmand scent, but Oud Zhen simply lacks that complexity. While Oud Zhen is not a weak performer, the performance took a hit too, as half a spray of Oud Zen will last all day and then some, while Oud Zhen requires at least two full sprays to achieve the same longevity and sillage. Smelling these side by side on my skin at this moment, I really think that conception of Oud Zen was sort of a happy accident or a fluke, and I need to count my blessings for having a bottle that I can enjoy because once it's gone, nothing will be able to replicate it's unique, serendipitous beauty, not even if Russian Adam tried harder.

The depth of Oud Zhen, as jonoborn1 mentioned, really is incredible. There's a very pleasant balance to it & I'd say I enjoy it a bit more than Agar De Noir or Oud Luwak (can't comment on the other ALD ouds), which are both pretty nice IMO. I'll update after spending some more time with it, but fresh out the box, this is an oud lover's dream & simultaneously one of the more approachable hefty oud scents I've come across. Can't comment on Oud Zhen vs the original, but this is definitely nice work. Update: Jonoborn1 nailed it. Sweet, smokey, frag-head campfire... The "smoke" is subtle & a bit chocolatey; hard to imagine this one offending people. I'm not a massive oud-chaser myself but must admit this is really good... A nice fuzzy scent bubble in a bottle. Love those. =)

The thick waves of sweet oud just keep coming. For people who love oud oils, this is amazing. It's a scent you wear for your own pleasure, it definitely isn't a crowd pleaser and will most likely be off-putting to people who are not familiar with real oud. I cant wait to see how this perfume will develop over the next months/years. If I manage to not use it all up before that ;-) Oh, and those bottles... they are truly stunning! I love the cap, and the atomizer sprays great. It's very easy to dose your sprays.

The deepest Oud Incense I’ve ever sprayed onto myself. Wearing this perfume is akin to sitting around a campfire, only, the campfire is made out of Oud chips, and instead of roasting mashmellows, you’re roasting amber tree resins, saffron, and sweet castoreum pods. A wonderful experience to spray on. If you grabbed a bottle, lucky you, as this sold out in less than 3 hours!

Fantastic. Smoked animalic oud of great quality as Russian Adam always does.

A smoky resinous masculine oud fragrance with vanillic undertones, fairly linear IMO compared to previous oud-based releases. Those who enjoy a safer oud will love this, but for me, it lacks the complexity of Russian Oud, Oud Luwak, and Agar de Noir. You could easily use an oud oil for the same experience.

Oud Zhen is very similar to Russian Oud 2 in the opening as it is woody and cacao like even though its not listed as a note on the breakdown. It has a smokey background im assuming comes from the castoreum. May be a little to similar to RO2 to me.

Delightful exit around an excellent Indian 'oud I would say 85% chocolate 15% barn, it is spiced by a superior quality saffron without a rubbery appearance with a slight leathery appearance. In these first moments I don't feel anything animalic. Just a sweet 'oud and a hint of saffron, this perfume is about 'agarwood('oud), that's clear from the start. A dark resinous center of myrrh and balsamic ambery of tolu deepen the arabesque character of the composition, which intertwining with the Indian 'oud of the first magnitude brings the wonderful sensation of a noble wood lacquered with a thin layer of varnish (Wooowww)!! Artisanal Perfumery With High Quality Natural Ingredients! I love all this very much! The fragrance is even added with more density in its woody part with natural Indian sandalwood and vetiver with a slight smoky green touch. The animalistic duo formed by the castoreum and the civet are docile and domesticated, this animalic portion of the perfume is felt more in the drydown. Which removes any fear of the composition being unpleasant. I reiterate abusive quality, all in high definition/resolution of notes and chords. Delicious Perfume; Built with 'Agarwood Natural Indian Sweet Chocolatey as a backdrop in the composition, it is undoubtedly for passionate aficionados of 'Oud: the intimate, the soul of wild wood. Perfume for those who are not limited and have the understanding that 'oud is a multifaceted raw material with various nuances and unlimited ways to be worked into a fragrance.

You are at barbeque party but instead of meat, a bag full of agarwood chips are dumped into the grill. The whole yard is filled with luscious smoke of resinous wild chips. This is how Oud Zhen begins, this is how one of the best offerings from master perfumer lures you into this dark, opulent, mesmerizing fragrance. As you come out of smoke, you are thrown into maze of rich and sweet amber akin to that in amber absolute. But as soon you try to associate Oud Zhen with something else, you get an animalic castoreum that in combination with amber and oud, gives of a relaxing aroma that stays on you for a very long time. If i have to make a list of best oud dominant fragrances of all time, this definitely would make top 5.

This ia a masterpiece from the great Russian Adam.It's a complex, very smokey and super resinious agarwood fragrance.Unfortunately Dr B1414 gets his review totally wrong, so to say, by claiming it's not a complex fragrance. Indeed it is COMPLEX, eventhough it doesn"t consists of many ingedients.I guess there is a big misconseption in the review below, where complexity is measured in amounts of ingredients used😆

Smoky oud that lasted over a week on one of my shirts. The opening was challenging my first couple wearings but this sucker is so gorgeous in the drydown. This is one that has you coming back for more.

If you had a vintage dark-wood box, spilled a bottle of fine rum inside and then left it by your fireplace to dry out for ten years. Wonderful

I'll probably get rid of this one! The castoreum here is a bit heavy on myrrh, balsamic and Oud.