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.

A strong 4. Unique. Strong chocolate-forward oud mixture. Resinous and amberous. A festive wear if you wear a turban. Hard to find a place for this stuff in a bustling American city but it's certainly good. I'd prefer wearing Slumberhouse's Ore in this class...

For me it’s a like but my least favorite out of OE, SM, and RO. It’s a bit sour to my nose and the Cacao is very strong. I would have preferred that the Oud be stronger than it is.

Russian Oud 2 Opens with a blast of powdery cacao with a woody backbone. Own a bottle and love wearing this one at night.

Russian Oud II is very complex, not everyone's game. It has harsh medicine syrupy kind of opening. It reminds me of opening an old wooden storage or cabin after long time which have cocoa, chocolates and resins. It is dusty cocoa, slightly animalic with warm resins. Initial feel is not tremendous fragrance as Russian Oud I, will give some time for bottle to settle and try again in colder climate. Try sample and then decide of buying as the price bracket is high. Scent: 5/10 [Initial Opinion] Silage: 6.5/10 Longevity: 6/10 Bottle: 9.5/10 Price: 5/10

Russian Oud II opens with a blast of resinous dried fruits, a whiplash inducing hit of Siberian Deer Musk, and the oceanic, breathy halitosis of high quality ambergris mixing with the raw beauty of freshly ground Cacao slivers and Hindi Oud. Imagine taking the resinous, fruity nuances of Hindi Oud, raw cigar leaf tobacco, and the warm, breathy fuzz of ambergris blended to perfection. What you’ll get is a symphony of olfactory bliss, notes that seemingly display fireworks in one room and completely different facets in another. It’s hard to pin down just what exactly constitutes the opening of Russian Oud, however, to my nose there’s clearly defined stages and transitions. Stage one opens with an animalic explosion topped with boozy, bitter, dry cacao. The breathy ambergris stays for the first hour or so while a diesel injected deer musk displays a nose piercing quality that just exudes mastery on Russian Adam’s end. Stage two is more of a incense laden gourmand facet with a toasted Hindi Oud accord. It’s ambery, incensy, and almost smells like oakmoss might be hiding somewhere in there. It’s at this stage I also get tobacco and the most pronounced chocolate aroma verse the more dry, bitter dark cacao of the opening. Stage 3 is Russian Adam’s full realized, fully mastered symphony of simplicity. Imagine if the famed Kalakassi aroma of high quality Hindi Oud presented itself as amber. THAT is the final drydown. It’s familiar and present in ALD’s more ambered ouddy offerings like the Agar de Noir, Oud Luwak, and even Oud Zhen but here this DNA is perfected. This is truly a perfected fragrance and one that I think Russian Adam should be given accolades for. Not only has Russian Oud 2 accomplished what it set out to do but it provides mastery while doing it. The blending is seamless. Nothing is heavy handed. The animalics work in tandem and provide lift, clarity, and longevity. Two sprays will provide 14-18 hours of performance with solid projection for at least 4-6 hours and incredible sillage for almost 8. It becomes a second skin after awhile and feels like it’s always been apart of YOUR dna. Russian Oud 2 is an Oud masterpiece. It’s an outlier in a genre that’s all too neglected in Artisan perfumery. Where most perfumers want the best florals, best Oud, and best animalics to be the center of a perfume, Russian Adam has created an experience of warmth. He’s a Michelin star chef using 4 ingredients put with total mastery makes the best meal of your life. Russian Oud 2 proves that chocolate and Oud not only are meant to be together but he does so in a way that allows for absolute efficiency of each to be smelled, felt, and discerned. The more you concentrate the more you smell. 10/10 in my book. This is top class perfumery wether you enjoy the way it smells or not.

Russian oud II Opening section: Russian oud II opens with a strong cacao, this cacao isn’t tame, it hits you straight away, dusty, powdery, it’s not like chocolate at all to me, well maybe a tiny bit, but overall it’s very different. I’m not really feeling the ambergris and musk shine out too much, even though listed as “Top notes”, the musk is slight, distant, and then, the ambergris isn’t even really there. There’s a touch of that Indian oud in the heart, it’s by no means offensive how sometimes Indian oud can get, the problem is, it’s just getting outshined by the cacao in every way (which I wish wasn’t the case), the Indian oud is almost hidden by the cacao in this instance. The scent is great, it’s wearable, mature, and overall pleasent to the nose. I just think the cacao is slightly too much, it’s pretty well blended. The composition listed may be misleading to some, I hope that the musk comes out a bit more later in the fragrance. Heart section: Once the scent reaches the heart, the cacao kind of settles, less in your face, and it intertwines with a stronger (than in the top) Indian oud. With natural deer musk I struggle to describe it, it’s like “pissy” but not at all at the same time, imagine a pissy smell, but with every facet that makes it pissy taken out, just with slight residue behind. Then this smell is mixed with an almost cushioning, pure smelling musk, this addictive natural musk is truly an addictive smell, it’s by far my favourite note in perfumery, it also has almost... and after taste. The Indian oud is by no means barnyard or challenging, it’s just perfect, it’s a lovely smell, I also love the way it perfectly intertwines with the musk previously explained. From what I understand, Russian oud II was a fragrance that was made as a wearable artisanal, slightly animalic fragrance, for what Russian Adam was trying to do, this has perfectly hit the spot. Drydown section: Once the scent has fully developed into the Drydown stage, there’s a slightly resinous, earthy woody feeling. There is still a prominent residue of what a lovely scent the heart was, you can still smell that dusty cacao, blending nicely with Indian oud. For some reason, to me, this is where the musk (listed as a top note) really comes into play. It’s a soft backbone, not taking centre stage, just letting the scent fully evolve around it. Think about this, you’re in a forest, it’s earthy and woody. There’s a deer in the distance, running around, sprinting from area to area (I get that the inherent smell of deer isn’t the same as the musk, I’m just using this as an example), there’s a few cacao pods, one has been crushed open, and then evolved into a very dusty, almost old, gourmand scent.

With Russian Oud, LESS is MORE. I like to see this perfume as a continuation of Zen and Picante. But this one is the player, the seductive one. Adam toned down the Oud, the smoke, the spices, and the animalics, added dark cocoa, and turned it up to an 11. The result is something truly perfect, brilliant in its barbaric simplicity. Hindi Oud, Resins, a hint of Castoreum, and Dark Cocoa that turns into a molted Chocolate accord. But it really boils down to 3 main players, the Oud, the Cocoa, and the Resins. That's it. But it's more than enough. It almost feels linear, though not quite that boring. The opening is a massive blast of dark, unsweetened Cocoa powder. Like someone just sprinkled some in your face. This opening is fantastic and it literally takes my breath away each time. It wears off quickly and it moves to the heart, where the Hindi Oud is present, quite bold, backed up by resins and a sweet, leathery castoreum. At this stage, the Cocoa envelopes the previously mentioned notes, as these are always portrayed through this Cocoa dust-screen. As it settles into the base, the Oud recedes and the Cocoa together with the resins fuse to create a dark chocolate accord. The woodiness just lingers as a reminder that this is still, an Oud perfume. This is very close to the original, but I actually prefer this version, as the Cocoa is more prominent, whereas I feel the Labdanum/Resins were more prominent in the OG. Also, there's a more vivid showcase of notes here, and the composition feels clearer. I believe Adam improved upon the original, with this one. To me, Russian Oud is the best Oud-Cacao blend ever and an incredibly satisfying and comfortable wear. Nothing is off here. Everything fits perfectly within the blend and is dosed accurately. If you are a Cocoa lover like myself, this should be one to sample. Bear in mind though, that this is no plain gourmand perfume, nor the commercially sweet stuff. It has a noticeable Hindi Oud note and Castoreum. I don't really find them to distract much, but I am quite used to them. The way the Cocoa accord is showcased here is my favorite. It has that dusty, velvety quality, before turning into a chocolate-toffee-like texture. For me, this one, alongside Lutens' Borneo, and older iterations of Slumbehouse Ore, reigns supreme in this genre. My Cocoa Trifecta. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Revisiting RO2 after quite some time has me realizing how much of a perfect fragrance this is. Anyone who loves dark chocolate will immediately recognize the deeply complex fruity undertones when you allow the chocolate to dissolve on the back of your tongue. In RO2 those notes are displayed front and center which to me feels like the most exquisite small batch Madagascan dark chocolate. Almost immediately the floral, oceanic and rather breathy ambergris with its salty brine and halitosis laced warmth combine with the Oud to create pure harmony. Many could argue Russian Oud 2, when compared to the highest quality niche compositions on the market, could feel clunky and even haphazard in the way the rawness shines through the wearing; however Russian Adam has seamlessly blended each material in such a way you don’t know where one starts and the other ends. It’s this reason alone that I feel Russian Oud 2 is a perfect composition. In the world of chocolate and spice there is not much that can compare to this legendary accord created at the very beginning of Areej Le Dore’s foray into artisan perfumery. RO2 showcases not only quality oud but it also highlights the interplay of incense, chocolate and musk. Noble Rot is often used to describe the more salient and sought after qualities of Oud from ANY region yet here the bone dry fermentation is on full display. At times this feels wild and animalic yet depending on the ambient climate one could find themselves in RO2 can also display a more sheer, molten warmth suitable for coffee shops and record stores. Dripping resins, treacly amber, and liquified cedar harmonize with the feral sweat of raw deer musk. The power packed in each spray thanks to the Animalics and whatever performance enhancers Russian Adam used allow RO2 to be felt on the skin for almost 24 hours with several hours of arms length projecting and enough sillage to leave a trail of ouddilicious chocolate wherever you go. I give this a 10/10. Truly remarkable this was only $250 on release.

Russian Oud II from the Haute Luxury Perfumery Niche/Indie Areej Le Doré based in the UK is part of 'Classic Collection 2023' is an Extrait Of Parfum Amber Musky Woody Gourmand Unisex. This is a new fragrance, it was launched in 2023 and the perfumer who signs this fragrance is Russian Adam. Russian Oud ll is the dream of any lover of 'oud gourmand. It is a perfume built around a natural oil of achocolated 'agarwood distilled in India according to an ancient traditional method. All very tasty and pleasant, you will not find difficulties or challenges here. An extract in body spray with soul of attar. The fragrance is built on two pillars: 'Oud & Cocoa! In the opening we already have two natural ingredients rare in perfumery today and with an absurd quality: ambergris and musk ... has no comparison with the synthetics used on a large scale today. 'Oud Chocolate long-time is already known by lovers of 'natural oud in oil(attar’s). A unique natural experience provided by the bittersweet ambergris with a more aromatic musk that animalic already blending to the delicious gourmet accord of Indian oud and cocoa, a dose of sweetness but not far from nauseous, I would say a dark chocolate half bitter. In my view a semi-gourmand performed with mastery by Russian Adam. Towards the drying arrive resins of woody green woods bringing a woody content composition and an air more mature and formal composition. The juice of the perfume is super dense viscous sticky and dark, stains the skin that will tell light clothes; it is a attar bottled in spray form. Despite organic ingredients that may seem at first sight scary Russian Oud ll is zero difficult or challenging, only requires mild temperatures. Top Notes: Natural Musk Of Siberian Deer, Natural Ambergris. Middle Notes: Cocoa, Natural Indian 'Oud. Base Notes: Resins, Cedar Wood.

Wow. This has a lot of notes traditionally associated with male gendered perfumes, and it does make me think of men; it's musky, very faintly boozy, elements of tobacco and smoke, but it has a delicious line of chocolate in there somewhere, alongside a little smoke and the occasional touch of liquorice. It doesn't smell like any man I actually know, more like some imagined burly masculine archetype, I wouldn't be surprised if this guy - bearded naturally! - came to my door straight out of a Siberian winter. Can you see it? You're in your wooden cabin, while outside the full moon shines down on forests and mountains and the snow is so deep, your whole world is almost entirely white-blue ice crystals beneath that velvet moonlight. Then there's a knock on the door, and the scent works its way to you. And you know exactly who it is. In the real world, my partner wrinkled his nose at the topnotes when we tried them on his skin. 'It's like a French delicatessen' he said. I told him to keep his eye on it throughout the day, tell me how it developed. He did so, eventually saying 'it's very nice now...' And it was. But this was 12 hours later! 'I'd have to spray it on the day before,' he laughed. I admire a top note that hangs on in there, but you can't wander round smelling like meat and cheeses in order to have a nice pong on your wrists half a day in. Around £399 for 53 mls? Majestic but bonkers.

Slightly tart dried fruits, cacao powder, ultra smooth leather, dark chocolate, nougat, clean hay and tobacco. A lot of these note are probably facets of some hindi oud involved. Dry down consists of a natural, sweet amber accord combined with campfire smokey oud. Comparing it to the oil it opens up with a barnyard kick, which the oil is missing. Give it just a few seconds and you feel the beautiful OG chocolatey profile caressing your nose A mature, very warm gourmand for the fall and winter and almost as good as the oil, but that is without any maturation time. Solid!

Two things on paper that should mix well and almost mix themselves are cacao and oud as there can be bitter, dark chocolate facets to oud and dirty and unlit aspects to cacao but somehow the two seem to be fighting for supremacy with this one. Both trying to be as dominant as the other and this results in an unsatisfactory blend and a slight medicinal, musty tussle between the two. If you want better oud cacao scents go for Bortnikoff or even the Vanille Havane Couer du Oud from Les Indemodables, but this? This is a no from me.

It amazes me how people can’t smell the Oud in Russian Oud. It’s so front and center that I wonder if they’re not able to pick out the high quality nature of the Oud used in this blend. I think people look for “barnyard” in order to determine what Oud smells like in a blend yet with RO2 the opening sour, dark fruits, gentle tobacco, and woody elements are the Oud itself. Russian Adam just blended it really well which is what we want out of a high quality perfume.

My second fragrance from this house. Wow, just wow, although i think Chinese oud is the better oud fragrance, I love Russian Oud II overall even more. The incredible powdery and dusty cacao accord mixed with the natural deer musk is just mesmerizing, all laying on top of a prominent Indian oud accord. One of my absolute favorites in my entire collection.

This stuff is so good man! And I can't get enough of it. This is a work of art... I see slight similarity between RO & Lao oud / Oud Monarch from Bornikoff in the opening - early mid. I also get musky vibe reminiscent to Musk Khabib by Bortnikoff in the dry down due to the type of musk used in this composition, and likewise Ambergris... Enjoy guys!

A chocolate oud i rate just below sweetie aoud by roja dove, this fragrance is intoxicating and i can't get enough of it. If you like dark chocolate you'll LOVE this. 10/10 I don't know how russian adam makes stuff like this.

The Oud in this is not the typical RA Indian fermented but closer to the Ensar stewed fruits. For me I get more the spiced musk with the chocolate. Still getting to know it though

If anyone has a bottle of this, i am interested in buying it!