Notorious Oud

After smelling over 100 oud fragrances, I have noticed something: Few brands make oud fragrances that smell unique to the brand. What do I mean? Most oud fragrances made by most brands smell like they could've been made by any other brand. Exceptions to this observation...Royal OUd which is an Oud scent made with Creed’s aesthetic, Oud Wood by Tom Ford which smells like something Tom Ford would make and the newest release from DS& Durga, Notorious Oud. These fragrances have a style which mirrors the olfactory aesthetic of the brand. I'm a huge fan of this Brooklyn born brand. U can always count on DS&DURGA to create unique, interesting fragrances with uncommon ingredients in a blend that is very them. Notorious Oud was named after Brooklyn born rap legend Biggie Smalls. This is the second scent from the company that references music legends. The first being the Fig masterpiece Debaser, which was named after a song by the rock band, The Pixies. The name choice “Notorious Oud”, is an awesome way for this Brooklyn based brand to pay homage to a Brooklyn Legend and also highlights how forward, and cool, DS&D is. I can analyze in detail how this scent mirrors the man it was named after but I’ll save that for my video review. Some scents DS&D make smell down right weird on paper but reveal itself much better on skin. This was my experience with Notorious Oud, their newest scent. I went to the flagship store in Soho NYC and sprayed Notorious Oud on a blotter and the Oud, saffron Civet combo was jarring. The opening was almost a petting zoo and that thought almost made me make the mistake of dismissing it altogether. "oh boy...it's one of those", I thought. There wasn't the usual hyped up rose to pretty up that monster oud note. The opening was room filling but like many of the scents from this house the bark was worse than the bite. Sometimes they go on strong but settle very nicely to a noticeable but non disruptive bubble. Notorious has a very animalic, rugged opening but within 20 minutes you notice elements of the greenness and the floral rose. The rose in this fragrance is a lead character with no lines. It never sticks its head out too much but really supports the composition from almost the start to the end. It's a Jekyll and Hyde scent to be honest. Notorious Oud's opening will make some people recoil and within an hour these same people won't stop wanting to smell it. It stayed on me for over 8 hours but it was a skin scent longer than a room filler which for a scent like this, is perfect imo. It's distinctive but again, not disruptive. I prefer my fragrances to be discovered than unleashed. This is a scent I would spray right out of the shower tho so that it has time to settle as I prepare for my day. You know...to be on the safe side...lol Notorious has that DS&D woody, green dna backed by awesome use of flowers...in this case rose. Notorious smells conceptual but still wearable (once it settles...) and is a great scent for fall and winter. It's my favorite oud scent of this year and i've smelled quite a few. I really have only been able to wear it during summer evenings in less humid weather but I really think this will shine when it's cool. I can see middle eastern folks loving this and I can see open minded fragrance lovers appreciating the beauty of it also. My P.A.G.E.rating system is P for Poor, A for Average, G for Good, and E for Exceptional. To me this scent is a G fragrance without question. Oud lovers always tell people that the beauty of oud fragrances is in the drydown. This scent requires patience if you aren't used to its style. To me it's worthy of its price point and is imo unique enough to warrant a look if you are a fan of woody or oudy or rugged fragrances. Notorious demonstrates the beauty in "dirty". This ugly duckling is really a swan. SIMPLY PUT SCENTS

This is my second time sampling Notorious Oud. The first time I liked it but I felt it failed to stand out in a very crowded genre. I decided to sample more and circle back - which brings us to today. This time I’m testing in spring instead of winter and with more rose oud experience, and something just clicked - this is a dark green Oud rose. There is an overdose of papyrus, a green, papery, smokey note that’s becoming a favorite, made greener with galbanum and aromatic with the camphor and lavender and also slightly leathery from the animalics and saffron. An authentic smelling dark rubbery oud dominates, I get no barnyard, and the rose just offers a whisper of floral sweetness in the back. Those looking for a strong rose will be disappointed. Compared to most other examples this has the sweetness dialed way back, instead it’s pleasantly medicinal. That lack of sweetness makes it more versatile in warmer weather than most. Durga does a great job with woody notes and that shines here as well. My friend from the dog park said I smelled like me but better, which is a nice compliment to get. Update: Many more wearings has changed my perception of this quite a bit. There’s a lot of ambroxan in here and combined with the green elements it actually wears kinda like a dirty version of Gentle Fluidity Silver, (dirty from the oud) which is not a comparison I would have ever made at first. They layer perfectly too. I recommend giving this at least one full wear before deciding on it, it takes a while to reveal itself.

A decadent oud fragrance, totally Middle Eastern in feel, but with DS&D's DNA, so you almost can't go wrong if you are a fan of this house. The oud is definitely B.I.G. The other major players are rose, saffron, and some very huge and distinct animalic notes of civet and ambergris. The other notes of lavender, camphor, galbanum, papyrus are probably there, influencing the direction of the fragrance, but they don't stand out to me at all. One thing I am noticing with the latest releases, especially Amber Teutonic, is the perfumer's skill in blending. It's seamless, providing the wearer the opportunity to discover different facets of the fragrances on different days, different temperatures. This is a quality I associate the most with Amouage perfumes, a quality of which I think very highly because it gives me reason to visit the fragrances over and over again throughout the years, making them truly worthy of "collecting". Just call it the "Big Poppa" of ouds. Westerners are seriously stepping up their oud game lately! Notorious Oud IMHO blows all the completely fake ouds out of the water, and God there are sooo many. There is an empty spot in my treasure chest waiting for this gem.

On paper, this was full of bitter spice and I was not excited to skin test it. But what a nice surprise! I was just crushing on the dry papery tobacco in Chinese Tobacco by 1969, and this has something similar. This is a fat approachable log you see by the side of a hiking trail that you scope out for a snack break. As you sit down, wood dust poofs up and you see the little specks in the long sunbeams - Notorious Oud is that dust. It's old gnarled wood, dry and crisp in the sunshine. Just enough saffron and camphor to add a little spicy something. Dries down a little warm and yet mint medicinal. I am new to ouds but this is beautiful and very wearable, not too overpowering. Maybe my sample is a little mild but I'm not getting the punch of longevity others are describing. Edit to say: I adore the dry down of this. It stays well blended and I can continue to smell the individual notes, but it somehow slowly dissipates into something ethereal and cozy.

While on a trip to New York, I stopped at the storefront for D.S. & Durga. I hadn't ever really tried this brand before, and to be honest and a tad pretentious on my own behalf... I thought it looked a bit too "blatantly hipster" for my tastes. I was DEAD wrong. Nearly every single scent in their current lineup was incredible. If you shop in-store, you can build a 4-sample pack for $40, then redeem the envelope they come in for $40 off any FB! That said, it was nearly impossible to narrow my selection down to four. This made the cut. I'm not entirely an oud guy, but this is probably the most "fall" D.S. & Durga scent I came across. The oud is balanced beautifully with the floral elements but never gets too floral. I think this is a very easy wear, though the oud is a touch loud. Someone below mentioned that this is not office friendly, but I think if you go light with it, it's suitable for any occasion.