Russian Oud II

A wonderful creation by Russian Adam. Starts off with pronounced cocoa and oud and smoothly transitions into oud and resins. Oud is not fecal, does not require trained nose, however, you got to be ready for the true niche experience. Longevity and sillage are decent. Reminds me of Bortnikoff creations, namely Oud Monarch, Oud Maximus, Mysterious Oud, which I own. However, Russian Oud II is ahead in the race, at least to my taste, as I’m a fan of cocoa/chocolate forward scents like Guerlain LIDGE. Excellent composition, quality materials and presentation tuned to the perfection. The box conveys the vibes of Russian culture and is very pleasant to touch, the edges are magnetic, and very easy to handle. The bottle deserves to be on the front row of any collector. The supply is scarce and, due to the unbeatable price-quality ratio, it sells out in a matter of days, despite the fact that only a limited circle of sophisticated noses knows about this brand (so far). I was late, but lucky enough to receive my bottle by surprise, for which I am eternally grateful to Adam. Russian Adam's customer care and work quality is head and shoulders above everyone else, a true gem of a company. I wish him all best in his business endeavors. As for me, I’m waiting for the next RO iteration.

Artisinal Ouds, specially from the house of ALD and Ensar have been quite a different experience compared to my journey with ouds in niche perfumery. At first, they can come across as challenging, something we never thought an oud would smell like, maybe because their respective compositions are based on aged naturals and a more traditional approach in perfume making. Where niche tries to blend everything together in a harmonious way, artisinal blends highlight their core notes with a powerful slam. In my opinion, both have their moods and occasions to be enjoyed at. Russian Oud II is unapologetic with its picturesque oud and cacao. Smoky, earthy with a hearty dose of dark chocolate. The first few minutes are raw and direct, later transforming this composition in a soothing mixture of the main notes along with ambergris, musk, resins and cedar wood. This scent can be really appreciated in the right setting. No worries about the performance, projection and sillage, it's sort of never-ending!

This is one of Russian Adam's easiest fragrances. It begins with the Russian Adam DNA then you get a full body of Cocao and a woody base could be a blend of the Cedar and Oud. I also detect some incense and I feel quite a decent amount of Deer Musk. Maybe I'm not experienced enough to recognise the Ambergris in it. In saying that it's an easy fragrance I mean it is not too challenging or complex to understand or with a stinky oud that is hard to like. It is smooth, well blended, warm and likeable and very Cacao-y. Even from people who are not fans of other Areej Le Dore Ive showed them they actually like this one. Performance is ok with a few sprays you can fill a room. I'm glad to have this in my collection. This is actually the first chocolate based fragrance ive brought. I enjoy the scent and the presentation is very nice.

I've tried over 20 Areej frags. This oud is very pleasant. It doesn't seem to have any very unique quality, but it's so well supported by the secondary notes. The cedar wood note is prominent, and maybe the best cedar note in a fragrance I can think of. The chocolate and ambergris with a bit of animalic, perfection. This seems to have a smoky incense note, not listed? The natural musk and salty ambergris lift the dark resins with a bright zing. You do get some floral and fruity undertones from the chocolate I believe. If someone wants the best chocolate/ Oud fragrance out there, this and Oud Zhen or Zen would just about be tops. Rating: 10/10 God bless. John 3:16

This is the first time I've smelled natural musk and I love it! Its slightly barnyard scent that you can almost smell the hair of a wild animal. Its mixed to absolute perfection. The cocao is well pronounced and the amber balances out the barnyard. One spray to the wrist produced a dark, resinous puddle so I dabbed my other wrist in the puddle and I was in OUD heaven! It radiates off the skin a good 3' for 4 hours and then becomes a skin scent. I do not mind smelling my wrist in this case. Like my other ouds, this is not for going out. This is for lounging around the house at night. I need a 10ml of this for sure! 8.75 and ranks at the top of my real ouds.

kudos to the entire team of ALD and Adam for this masterpiece! The opening is pure delight of the gourmandy chocolate and cocoa outburst..but the dry down is where the creme de la creme lies! The dry down is so good, special and this oudy-ambery-resinous-cocoa hitting the nostrils and bursting with charm and character..yet again beautifully done..lasts longer even after having a shower! Here the dry down is different from the dry down of Ambre de Cocoa..which is something to be experienced as no amount of words are enough to explain the dry down of ambre de cocoa from the seventh collection! Easily coming in after SM for me amongst the classics de 2023!

Chocolate, rich oud, deer musk and spices. This is rich, potent and absolutely incredible. I just adore this stuff. Opening with a big blast of cacao, Russian oud II makes its presence known. The deer musk beautifully blends with the rich, almost dusty cacao as the scent develops. The Indian oud joins soon after. These are the 3 major players here. Cedar, ambergris, resins and some spices round out the formulation, but are definitely more in the background here. This stuff is a mix between a gourmande and a cheesy oud, without leaning too fair into either territory. I am going to start looking for a backup bottle now.

I was up at 3 am to cop this and I don't regret it for a second. Sure, it ended up taking a month or so to sell out, but I was SOOO KEEN to get this, I had to make sure. Having nursed a 0.2 - 0.5 ml sample of RO1 for 2 or 3 years, the relief I felt after this arrived, seriously, can't be put into words. As I type, I'm wondering if this is Pantheon tier... Dry chocolate, animalic musk, funky oud and some sweet, balsamic resins -- OMG it works PERFECTLY -- everything is in balance, everything is in sync and EVERYTHING is in the amounts and ratios that it needs to be. I love this scent -- LOVE IT.

I have small decants of this and the original. Both are the finest chocolaty ouds. But the original had more of a funky animalic note. Possibly the castoreum which is not in RO II. There are a few Areej Ouds I like better, that aren't oud dominant as this. I would say this is my #1 Oud dominant fragrance. PS! What I realized wearing this today, is that it has a clear ashen frankincense note. Reminding me as a whole, Sahara Noir by Tom Ford. This is an oudy, better version of Sahara Noir.

Ordered a sample of this because I really wanted to try the brand and get myself into more niche offerings. To me this is just a simple Oud, chocolate and musk fragrance. It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but I really don’t see how this is a ‘masterpiece’ as some reviews below are claiming. And for the prices I see these bottles going for on eBay I don’t think it’s nearly worth it. You can find many other Oud fragrances out there that are a fraction of the price and much more accessible.

first time smelling natural oud, hope i don't get fired! ig natural oud smells animalic, which is what this one smells like. Imagine an animalic cacao smell with woodiness. The cacao isn't like a yummy chocolate smell, it's kind of spicy. It's reaaaaly intense and harsh, one spray and you're ready for the day, It's beast mode. But still somehow i really like this, it's really pleasent even though it's really intense. 9.7/10 update: got fired

The best gourmand perfume ever for gourmand perfume haters! I love this. The cacao is very strong, wish the oud, was turned up and the cacao down, but then it maybe would not be a gourmand. It ́s boozy in the top and booze is not something i usually go for, but it settles to the most amazing cacao, oud, amber, musk blend very quickly. Not super complex, but the oils are so natural and first class smelling.

@r350 "If you want better oud cacao scents go for Bortnikoff or even the Vanille Havane Couer du Oud from Les Indemodables" ?????!!!! I know perfumes are subjective but do you have any idea what you're talking about?? How can you compare this masterpiece with Bortnikoff (yeah Lao Oud and Oud Monarch are good but not even close to this) or Les Indemodables one??? Doh....

First impression: Patchouli cacao bomb with and undercurrent of natural ambergris, musk and oud, listed in order of prominence. Suprisingly I didn't detect a ton of oud. You must like the first two notes I listed to enjoy this. A very slight funk from the ambergris and musk but nothing that would offend. Easygoing and very nice. Scent 84/100

I stand corrected. This stuff is amazing. It’s so cozy and beautiful. After trying many other (real) Oud fragrances in the last week I’ve come to realize this is in a league of its own. I found a bottle for an amazing price in a fb group so I snatched it up! Can’t wait for it to arrive.

This is a nice blend of cocoa and musk, that gives a vibe of smokiness that reminds me of a gourmand incense, with Oud becoming more prominent in the dry down. I love wearing this and hope he will make a Russian Oud 3 in the future! 5/5

Right off the bat, RO2 opens with a blast of Chocolatey Hindi Oud up front, there's a load of Cacao powder from the get-go. There aren't much of any top notes, there aren't any citrus, fruits, or florals at all, the Cocoa Oud is at the front and center throughout the wearing. Minimal amount of fermented barn from the Oud, nowhere near the level of B&B, no fecal or any other off notes, the Hindi Oud is very tamed and well-behaved. RO2 isn't a very loud scent but has a good tenacity with a density on the lower end of the medium spectrum, the scent bubble is pronounced but inoffensive. The deer musk and ambergris from RO2 are just playing a supportive role as fixatives, it is nowhere near the muskiness of SM3, and the gris is not as pronounced, oceanic, or as ambery as AA2. Both the musk and gris enriched the Cacao Oud and gave it an opulent feel. The Chocolatey note from RO2 comes from a combination of compounds, mainly the Cacao absolute, the Hindi Oud, along with the grey ambergris. I have never smelled the OG so I can't compare, the Cacao here reminds me of EO's Rumi and a bit of Agar de Noir. Compared to Oud Zhen however, the only similarity I found is the simplicity of the scent profile structure, but they both went completely different directions. RO2 is more gourmand, driven by the Cacao, it's sweeter, and more powdery/dusty than OZ. OZ is a lot more animalic than RO2 (relatively speaking) thanks to the Castoreum and Civet in OZ. Between the two, RO2 is far easier to wear. Personally, I wouldn't consider either one of them as 'challenging' to wear, but RO2 definitely has a much higher mass appeal. OZ is the more masculine of the two, while RO2 is more Unisex and versatile. Overall, RO2 is simplistic and very straightforward, with Cacao Oud being the main theme, there isn't any complexity to speak of, being linear is not necessarily a bad thing when the main accord is being done well, as in the case here in RO2. This is a comforting, warm, and super easy to wear type scent profile, the minute you spray on RO2, it goes straight to the main course, there's no foreplay, no transitions, no dramas, simply spray and go to get drowned in Chocolatey goodness from beginning to the very end all day long. 50ml of this RO2 for $250 is absolutely a bargain if you're looking for a gourmand Oud soliflore, it's going to be very hard to beat. Y'all have seen the insane price of what the OG fetched for in the used market 😂 and RA practically put a stop to that sort of nonsense when he released a truckload of RO2 now, and there's still plenty of it in stock. The first time I wore RO2, i was caught by surprise and perplexed by the simplicity of the composition, my initial impression was that this RO2 was super flat and bland, downright boring! It came off as One-dimensional stuff pretty much the whole way through, I didn't realize that was done intentionally by RA, as I have always been drawn more toward something a hell lot more complex and sophisticated, with lots of layers and different transitions. What I needed, was just to recalibrate my perspective and to evaluate scent profile like this for what it is. RO2 is essentially an Oud Soliflore, by definition it is NOT supposed to be super complex, when you want to high-lite and showcase the Oud, the last thing you need is to throw in a bunch of different top notes and florals to bury the Oud that you're trying to show off, less is MORE in Oud Soliflore type compositions. RO2 may be simplistic and linear, but it is doing a hell of a job being a simple Chocolatey Oud Soliflore, it's a great release for what it is.

Leave it to Russian Adam to transport us with a choco-oud gourmand not to Switzerland but to Oaxaca, where upon opening spray a "ceremonial-grade"-like cacao starts Russian Oud 2 with rich, boozy delight. To my nose, Russian Oud 2 is like a "second-skin," where the sweet odor of flesh is met with the tacky perspiration of time; In fact, not only will R02 leave your skin sticky, it will also extend the development of every supporting note trying to break free from its chocolatized occlusion. Remember chocolate-greedy Augustus falling into Willy Wonka's river? Well, "terrific pressure is building up behind the blockage." A strong cedar starts to resonate by the mid, as does a really smooth Hindi oud, reminding one careful waft after the next that not all is sweet—and that's where Areej le Doré's artistry lies. I live in New York, home to an army of subway-riding gourmands, and for once I'm smelling the world altered by their nose, "for who could hate or bear a grudge, against a luscious bit of fudge?"

Better than V1. ROII is a chocolate centered perfume with an awesome boozy start that is quite short unfortunately, moving to a chocolate mid with a gentle touch of castoreum that gives it animalic magnetism and depth. Drydown is ambery with beautiful gentle spices that are never shouting. Oud is present but its incorporated into composition very well, it doesnt stick out. As mentioned below - it is a continuation of the oud theme and yes, it is a child of Agar de Noir drydown without the greenery, a touch of Oud Zhen and kind of spices like in Oud Picante, but in a EDP format where there is more space between the notes, and its a good thing. Complex simplicity, more complex than v1, better longevity and sillage. It transformed from a very basic toffee oud perfume to a beautiful chocolate oud frag for grown ups. Grab your bottle while prices are reasonable 👍🏽

Definately Oud in this, and it's met with a very spicy chocolate. I have thoughts of a chilli infused dark chocolate as I smell it, and the oud is there as an aftersmell along with a touch of the musk. Bit of dark stewed fruits feel in here too. Doesn't blow my mind, but pretty good. I prefer Oud Monarch as a oud and chocolate mix personally.