Lao Oud

BORTNIKOFF Lao Oud (2021) Extrait de Parfum Unisex Bortnikoff’s ouds are quite easy to love but there are four which are more challenging than others. One of them is Lao Oud (others Sayat Nova, Oud Loukoum and maybe Triad for some). The master himself says “the note of Oud has never been so strong and animalic” in his perfumes. I don’t think it’s so animalic (for beginners definitely yes) but it’s very dense, dark and mysterious. Lao Oud is a blend of the exceptional Oud oil, the richness of Lao Coffee, and the Frangipani like sweetness (not listed here though) but it doesn’t remind me of freshly roasted coffee beans. It’s rather a some kind of the most darkest coffee syrap which has aged in the wooden barrels together with spices. There is a whiff of sweetness from which I smell honey and flowers with subtle animalic tones. You can smell a very dark Cacao, it’s not chocolate like but like that dark cacao powder which you didn’t wanted to be used in your drink when you was a kid. The whole blend is extremely sumptuous and unforgettable, it’s complex and addictive. Lao Oud is very close to Indian but it is much softer. Actually earlier I was thinking Oud Monarch to be like Lao Oud is. I was never thinking there is something that easy in Bortnikoff’s collection like Oud Monarch and I was thinking that Lao Oud would be too much for me. This is like a next step from Oud Monarch but there is a huge possibility that I’m just in the next level while exploring ouds, I love very animalic and edgy ones. I enjoy a lot of this masterfully blended piece of art. Top: Pink Pepper, Magnolia Middle: Beeswax Absolute, Cinnamon, Chamomile, Peru Balsam, Cacao Absolute Base: Oud from Laos, Tonka Beans, Crocodile Wood, Coffee, Oud from India, Vanilla Absolute, Birch Tar, Guaiac Wood Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

Of the 6 Bortnikoff samples I have on hand Lao Oud was definitely the most impactful on first spray, in a bad way. Animal manure, cheese, barn - take your pick, it certainly stinks. It honestly stunned me and I put it away feeling confident that this wasn’t going to be for me. Paradoxically it is now at the top of my purchase list (alongside Oud Hindi). I won’t pretend the fragrance isn’t challenging or polarizing as some reviewers have. My own initial reaction was viscerally negative. I’ve also received mostly negative feedback from the few people I subjected to it. But as with most things, 3 or 4 applications in I did end up growing desensitized to the initial stink and I think once(or rather if) you reach this stage you’ll start picking up on a lot of nuances. I’m not particularly knowledgeable on notes, so the following is largely based on the image that has formed in my head after a few wears. It opens with dirty spice, fermented woods, slightly herbal, certainly stinky(lactonic), but with some very faint floral aspects too. The main thing that sticks out to me as an obvious note at this point(besides the Oud) is coffee. As the fragrance dries down the stink and dirty spice fade slightly and Chocolate along with the other gourmand notes enter the foreground. This is a process that takes many hours on my skin. It is not a linear fragrance and goes through quite the transformation. This is the only Bortnikoff I have on hand you can really say this about and its one of the things I love about it. The main thing that draws me to Lao Oud is the interplay of the challenging and appealing facets and the mental imagery it evokes. If you want a more floral, less spicy, less stinky, cut to the chase gourmand experience definitely try Oud Monarch over this.

Oh là là Lao Oud, what a great surprise! Gorgeous dark oud, long lasting, very appealing, bold but not offensive... very wearable!! I tried not to imagine much as I was reading people comparing this to Oud Monarch (which I appreciate but don't particularly like) and to Oud Maximus (imho the best concept of the line but I already have it...). I definitely see a link to the latter but not much to the former really. It shares some notes with L'heure exquise as well (something beeswaxy in the first 20 min) and indeed with Oud Maximus (imagine it without the orange and with some strong bitter coffee in the background). I am raving over this as it is something I've been looking in the Bortnikoff universe for months: the high quality, strength, boldness many of them share but in simpler blends. Here you get to feel the spices, the bitter full-bodied Laosian coffee is so real it transported me immediately to Luang Prabang cafes by late afternoon, but the king is the Laosian oud in full display. Unapologetically so. I like that idea mentioned below of the rural cousin as it is indeed a rougher version, more direct to the point, totally unsweetened (don't get misled by the notes, this isn't a gourmand) and still distinguishable from others in the line. If you already have Oud Maximus, sample first to see if it is that different for you. For me they are and I may have found my new signature oud. Great job Dmitry!

I have Sans Fleurs and Triad, both of which I love, and find completely dynamic, each wear giving a journey that's never quite the same as the last. Now I have Lao Oud, and it's totally in the same ball park. What's really strange is that it opens like BAM stinky poo in your face, then suddenly drops off to leave a chocolate, honey oud fragrance, which left me slightly disappointed, but actually, wait a minute, it comes back stronger than ever, and it keeps doing this, playing hide and seek, but somehow each time it comes back with more of a vengeance. In the dry down I find it very similar to Sans Fleurs, although smelling them side by side reveals a multitude of differences, but i think it's that they both have the same sort of oud plus little to no floral element, and a dose of vanilla. This perfume is an absolute beast, and now comes just below Triad in terms of scary, monstrous beast frag. This is easier to wear than Triad (due to Triad's epic latrine filled with hyraceum) if you can get past the opening minutes, which I love, but which do take me aback every time. Update: no, the drydown doesn't remind me of Sans Fleurs, the mid does. The actual drydown suddenly reveals a dry, realistic coffee smell, like fresh ground coffee beans, absolutely marvelous and unexpected!

A gourmand with balls. Yes, the somewhat cheesy (but beautiful) Laotian oud is definitely present, but extremely well blended - think cheesecake. The main players to my nose are oud, coffee, cacao, and honey. It smells like a mocha cappuccino with dense woods and birch-tar leather giving it depth. I totally get the comparisons to Oud Monarch, but after several wearings of both, I find Lao Oud to be superior and much more versatile. Oud Monarch, while beautiful in its own right, is a tad austere, formal, and leans more feminine to my nose (I would LOVE to smell it on my wife!). I'm also smelling some L'Heure Exquise DNA with the cacao/bitter woods, but Lao Oud improves on even that masterpiece by balancing the bitterness with honeyed sweetness. It leans more masculine to my nose, but I wouldn't mind it on woman at all. Overall an absolute winner (maybe even my favorite so far) from the house of Bortnikoff that takes elements of his previous creations and expertly improves upon them. 10/10

I love this one, I have a lil Bortnikoff collection, about 6-8 bottles. I can’t believe I just recently sampled this one . A fragrance collector friend sent me a sample of this one from his collection and WOW I really love it, I knew I had to get my own bottle. I have been waiting for a good discount on it but all I can get right now is 20%. That’s not good enough. 30-40% is more like what I’m used to. So I will wait. This one sure is a beauty. I don’t get any barnyardy stink from it.. Maybe on deep dry down. But by then I’ve already reapplied. Most perfumes don’t last but a few hrs on me. Out of the thousands of perfumes I’ve sampled and purchased in my life, only fragrances by Areej Le Dore have lasted all day and into the next . Also MFK Oud Satin Mood extrait, lasted all day and night. Ooh I love this one too. I suppose the more naturals they use, the longer it will last . Of course u must moisturize or/and use a primer like Eccentric Molecule. They actually do work.

I just pulled the trigger on a full bottle of the earlier version. I have Monarch and they have similarities. So it was hard to justify the purchase. But this is more enjoyable and complex than Monarch. The woods alone in Lao Oud are beautiful. - The guaiac wood and Peru balsam. The camomile note I've come to recognize, gives a soft herbal tone. The cinnamon, beeswax, pink pepper and birch tar, are all playing a part in making fragrance accords that keep the nose interested. I notice the magnolia at times. The chocolate is not overdone, just right. This has it all, and all is well blended. It has become my favorite Bortnikoff oud. It used to be #3. Could be my signature fragrance for Winter. So interesting and enjoyable. I was late to the game with Areej le Doré classics, which I use very sparingly. As I paid 2X original retail. This is close in quality and intrigue, enjoyability. Rating: 9.75/10 God bless. Ephesians 2:8.

Sticky chocolate and coffee blossoms! Kind of sticky cloying chocolate syrup, and coffee sugar with hints of spiciness and more vanilla! I don't see this anywhere near "Oud Lakoum" in anyway! not because there are some chocolate in oud Lakoum, both are completely different at least for the first 12 minutes in! I kind of see that 10 minutes of cloying syrup chocolate is too much! i wonder if all this sweetness will go after a while or not! let's wait and see cause honestly 14 minutes in i started to detect some incredible oud coming in & making quite an entrance! (40 minutes in) the Laos oud is out from the cage! amazingly blend it became now! no more clying, no more stickiness, and here comes the animalic Laos oud mixed with an Indian oud and a pinch of sweetness from the coffee blossoms. This blend has nothing to do with "Oud Lakoum" or "Oud Monarch" and honestly it is amusingly beautiful and sexy.

When I smell Lao Oud, I feel blessed to be living in a fragrance era where such masterpieces are available to people around the globe. I love this house and have not been disappointed with any of the ones I own or have sampled. I enjoy this more than some of the well known others such as Majestic because I can enjoy almost all the notes individually and as an overall fragrance. It is not for those who want to show restraint and I would not advise wearing to work or to a low key social gathering. These kinds of beasts are not meant to be gently petted. Let the oud and other ingredients roar. Maybe some would be tired of something this strong over repeated use. To put it in rotation with other untamed beasts seems a way of keeping the surprise and joy it evokes for years to come. It isn't as majestic as Sayat Nova but it is well worth owning.

This is my first time smelling an oud fragrance and I was a little nervous when I cracked my sample. However, it isn’t gross in the slightest! Maybe because I’m used to animalics by now, and I do enjoy them, but wow this perfume is so gorgeous! I get a lot of oud, coffee, and balsam. It’s blended to perfection, and perfectly unisex. The woody oud does a great job at tempering the sweetness. Warm, rich, and piney, it would smell divine in the height of winter. I think it would smell amazing as a candle as well. Lit at a table of adults playing cards and drinking coffee spiked with rum, outside a blizzard is swirling in the dark winter night. Just beautiful!!! Edit: put this on a few weeks later and got nothing but cheesy poopy oud 😭

House Bortnikoff's Oud Monarch is one of my all time favourite perfumes. With Lao Oud you're introduced to it's rural cousin. For the untrained nose, the opening will be challenging. Instead of Monarch's boozy rum/cocoa/clean oud opening, cousin Lao greets you with a full on barnyard, fecal hail. Incredibly skillfully blended, the oud is combined with a cacao-coffee delightfully backed by beautiful florals. Mr. Dmitry is among the oud-distillers-turned-perfumers clearly THE best blender. I can't get enough of his ingenuity and skill when it comes to blending precious ouds with with equally precious supporting/enhancing notes. And I can't get enough of LAO OUD!

Absolutely wonderful! Much prefer this over the Oud Monarch Attar I purchased recently. On first spray the oud is incredibly prominent, however after about 5 minutes the scent turns into an incredibly warm, delightful experience. So many levels in the dry down. I’ll definitely be keeping with Bortnikoff extraits, as the attars - to me, are far too subtle. Very pleasing blind buy and definitely a great reach for cold winter weather! EDIT: I’m in LOVE. This has quickly become my favorite, number one winter reach. I’m definitely on the hunt for similar works.

.. and I love it I have had a sample since it got out, sprayed as soon as it arrived and ... archived. I thought “the usual Bortnikoff perfume” I don’t know why but the sample from my drawer kind of called me the other day for a test... I love it, it’s still carry Bortnikoff DNA and I am thankful for that. It’s a mix between Oud Maximus and Oud Monarch. A perfect match! The gourmand side from Cacao is balanced by the dirty Oud (chamomile and Beeswax enhance this dirtiness) and I feel it as a perfect outcome Will buy a bottle once funds allow me to ;)

This is GOOD. A primary example of Agar. Lao Oud is not polarizing, not even challenging. It is a creamy, rich and pleasing scent. I never thought I would say this about any scent with chamomille in it. I sprayed one side with King Cobra (Zoologist) and the other with Lao Oud. What a couple! I have a skin chemistry that either makes fragrances melt away immediately or have them stay for an entire day. Often, I miss the entire drydown. Lao Oud stays and gets enough hours to evolve. Lao Oud has a supreme drydown. 10/10 overall.

This is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! <3 I've sampled 5ml of: Mysterious Oud. Oud Hindi. Oud Kinam. Oud Lokum. Oud Malinau. Oud Maximus. Oud Monarch. Oud Sinharaja. Sayat Nova. Tabac Dore. Lao Oud and Tabac Dore are by far may fav. Please buy a few sampels with a friend/loved one, prepare your setup, blindfold each other and start smelling without reading/viewing any review and make your own conclusions.

I think there is a lot of artistry and skill by Bortnikov to be able to think of how pink pepper and beeswax can form a cohesive fragrance with Lao oud - I love this aspect very much. There are also milk / lactone undertones which to some may be cheese. I would say that this is more like an artistic piece than something you would wear for regular occasions.

The magnolia and pink pepper lift the senses in the first few minutes, before the combination of beeswax, chamomile, and coffee manages to tamp the growing, only slightly animalic oud assam. So, so good.

I have removed this review because Fragrantica needs to stop encouraging/tolerating racist, queerphobic content but they are too racist and queerphobic to do so. Catch my review on Parfumo or Basenotes!

Too much coffee in this. I see what he was trying to do. But it’s a fail imho. I own quite a few Bortnikoff fragrances but some I don’t like at all.

Мне пахнет облепиховым маслом и свежей облепихой с листьями. Сладкий, с хорошим шлейфом. Добью отливант, куплю ещё. Хочу флакон? - Да!