Risk

Risk is one of my favorite releases of 2023. The first spray I thought “oh no this is 99% like being in a horse barn with a campfire nearby, not for me... But then on the following wears, I began to notice how dynamic this perfum is. Sometimes I get hints of the yuzu, other times this presents deep blue hues similar in some ways to Amouage King Blue. It is lovely and interesting and quite a fun fragrance to wear. Don’t overspray this one, it’s strong! Also don’t jump to conclusions right away, as this deserves multiple wears before forming your opinion. Phenomenal fragrance all around though!

I love it. Not crowd pleasant. For super niche lovers and a very daring fragrance.

The newest release from Azman Perfumes, Risk, is a collaboration with Antonio Gardoni from Bogue Profumo. I was set to purchase a bottle as soon as Antonio disclosed that he was working on an oud perfume. First, because I love Atonio's work, and second, because I love Agarwood. I had purchased it blind, something that I don't do very often these days. First of all, this has to be the most chameleonic perfume I have ever experienced. I've worn it five times by now, and every single time it would present as something different. It also twists and turns during the wear. My guess is that the perfume still needs time to settle and for the composition to come together. I believe that the final shape of it is yet to come. What you get here, is a perfume composed of two parts. The Oud matrix, the canvas if you want. And the embellishments, the auxiliary notes. Strokes of color on the canvas. They never come in the foreground, but rather help push some of the Oud facets forward without showing themselves entirely. The oud matrix feels dominated by Hindi and Trat to my nose. Facets that I pick up here would be leather, old wood, faint smoke, hay, bitter/medicinal/gauze, a bit of fruit, and terpenic. There is a faint barn-like aroma, as the hay-wood-leather facet/accord might come across to some. These nuances are always present, as the matrix is always the same, it never shifts, never changes. What happens though, is the other ingredients come and go, highlighting some of these facets more than others, at various times. The bergamot in the opening, which I find to be the most consistent, pushes out the sour, the terpenic, and brings about a wet, moldy character. The tuberose brings out a milky, sour, and green quality. The immortelle pushes out the sweetness and the hay-like flavor. The benzoin brings about a sweet-vanillic aroma. The civet and the ambergris exude an animalistic glow and bring out the leather qualities, the ambergris even lends a touch of minerality. I get all of that, but in turns, never at once, never the same, and never in the same order. I was actually horrified with my very first wearing, as all the bitter and medicinal facets came through and those are the ones I hate the most with oud. I was disappointed, to say the least. My second wearing was more about the hay and the leather. The third time around I got sweet resins with oud. Then sour milk and greens. And I came not just to like it but to appreciate it. I now have come to the conclusion that this perfume needs more time. If you purchase this and you don't like it at first, wear it again, and again. As Antonio said, put it inside a drawer, and just forget about it for a year. And do not judge it on a paper strip, as paper doesn't allow it to open up. This one needs skin to breathe. Overall, it is an Oud solinote perfume, playing on the various facets of Oud. As far as the style goes, it is definitely a Middle Eastern take on Oud, so do expect to get more of the heavy aromas. To me, it went really fast from disappointment to appreciation and excitement. And I really can't wait to see how it will continue to transform. If you love the Middle Eastern Oud aesthetic, you are patient, and like complex perfumes, this one is a Risk worth taking. Instagram: @memory.of.scents

As the dust settles on this one, I pull out the bottle to wear once again and find myself scratching my head at these reviews. I guess it must smell different on everyone, the Oud slots in pretty subtly against the yuzu and civet, which lead this perfume up with an ambient aroma somewhat reminiscent of freshly cut green peppers. Its tangy and tart with the sweetness and light smoke of whisky barrels and tequila. There’s a green floral tuberose at the heart and the Oud has a few different edges: there’s a dirty woody musky base like the bottom of Hainan 05 or Tigerwood Royale by Ensar, there’s a fruity tobacco reminiscent of Thai plantation oils, a slight barny kick that touches on mainstream Lao oudhs and a nice Kalakassi Oud that peaks out in parallel to the other floral/citrus aspects. It’s almost like a song in stereo, different pieces move against each other as you move around the edges of the perfume. This isn’t feral enough for most of the Oud lovers on here or as much of a soliflor as some of the more refined users enjoy(like some Agar Aura perfumes). But it’s miles away from a mall Oud or something super mainstream.

Most Azman fragrances are relatively crowd-pleasing and easy to wear. Risk is the exception and is polarizing. This perhaps explains the poor Fragrantica rating and negative comments below. Risk is a fragrance for the artisanal lovers and for those who truly enjoy oud. Dare I say, if you enjoy watching Ramsey's videos on YouTube you may wish to give Risk a try. I enjoyed wearing Risk because it is multifaceted and interesting. A rare commodity in today's world of niche perfumery whereby the majority of houses consistently pump out the same generic and bland crap. Notwithstanding, Risk is not quite full bottle worthy for me. I own Cartier's Oud Absolu which is more wearable in public and is a fragrance I personally find more pleasurable. Moreover, at this price range I would also give consideration to Muskara Aquilaria and Oud Patagonia by Fueguia 1833 - both equally good quality oud fragrances. Azman deserve massive credit for being bold enough to polarize. They could have just went for a cash grab and released 'Azman the Elixir Parfum'. Antonio Gardoni also deserves huge credit for a solid piece of work.