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.

D.S. & Durga's take on the classic oud-rose-saffron DNA. Oud forward, but not extremely animalic or fecal to my nose. It starts off with a dusty oud, maybe accompanied by some rose. Weirdly, I smelled something minty (?) off my wrist when I first smelled it, but its nice! As it dries, the oud and papyrus begin to jump off my skin. Its a nice combo, and pretty unique. When worn in moderation, this can be an office-safe fragrance. It says on the DSD website that the perfumer, David Seth Moltz, "procured" a rare Indonesian Oud that he used as a base for this fragrance, but I'm not sure if he's actually using the authentic oud or an accord. I think its an accord. Nonetheless, I am really enjoying my sample and would definitely consider buying a FB if I can get a good deal on it. Longevity is solid, 8+ hours on my skin, applied at night, and could smell it the next morning. Definitely NOT a blind buy.

Spent several hours at the Silver Lake store in LA. It was the best retail experience I’ve had in decades. They were super friendly, super chill, well-informed, passionate, & unaffected. There was zero rush, zero pressure to buy. The DS&D stores use little overturned ceramic cups to smell each frag (way more civilized than strips) and they had an impressive library of ingredients on-hand (!) to learn how each scent is built. The civet was bonkers, but it stirred something in me (not that). I left with a hefty envelope of samples gratis (so classy; UNHEARD of in California). But sure enough, over the next week, that stinky little critter kept squeaking out my name, beckoning me back to Notorious OUD over and over again. I bought a 100 ml bottle. Had to. I thought maybe I’d get sick of it, but nope. Months later I still revel in the dankness. Take my advice: get your nose way up in this one.

I've got a big grin my face seeing that @lessthanzero in the review below mentioned a connection to Lowe's - my immediate reaction when I first smelled this in a shop was "oh my god this smells like a Lowe's garden department," which for me is not a complaint! I love the smells of utility stores like Home Depot etc, the various smells of stone, soil, lumber, and garden supplies drifting around and to me those come to mind while wearing this. It's a fragrance that makes you want to get up and out of the house, move around - theres a breeziness from the camphor that feels uplifting. My initial reaction to it was that it was an interesting novelty but nothing exceptional, but every time I try the sample I have I get a little bit more addicted to it. Certainly one I wouldn't mind on my shelf! Quite a fun, funky, and well-concocted offering.

It's beautiful, a truly unisex experience, there's oud but I think it's there to add depth to the other notes and give richness to the composition as well, I can't discern it but I know it's there. Halfway sweet and halfway meditatively medicinal I'd say. I put it on the shelf Amber Kiso and Amber Teutonic because of the richness but this is better in terms of versatility than the other two imo. It's the blend it's just blended so perfectly that it melds into this surreal type of hypnotic scent, dreamy for sure, all seasons. I've got it, it's the saffron, it's the saffron that stands out but not in a saffron way, you just have to smell it, it's a must have for fragheads, kudos Mr.Moltz for a job well done.👏👏👏

on me this is not too animalic, but surprisingly pleasant while different, dark, dry and oud-y but not skanky, woody with a hint of something that smells like vibrations feel (the saffron i think). weirdly, it reminds me of something i also smell in baccarat rouge extrait (a hint of the burnt sugar minus the sugar - i know it doesn't make sense, but i cannot describe it in other words... it is rather dark than sweet and i think again it might be the saffron). i love wearing it on its own, just so good and different but inoffensive, but also layer it to give woody or rose fragrances a darker and moody undertone. perfect. love!

I own a sample of this fragrance and it is possibly the strongest fragrance I have and is only rivalled by the other oud fragrance in my collection, Oud Ispahan by Dior. This fragrance is very appropriately named, and it will definitely fill a room. It smells amazing though. A clean but intense oud with warm spicy and rose undertones. This fragrance lasts forever on my skin. I showered twice and I could still smell it, but I absolutely love it. This smells like a male CEO in an all black suit wearing his dress shirt 3 buttons down who exerts authority.

Tested this over the weekend. Strong and immediate resemblance to Mattiere Premier Crystal Saffron but with less focus on saffron (although still prominent) and the addition of oud and papyrus. Lavender helps smooth the whole thing out a touch of camphor opens the sinuses but isn't bothersome. The oud is the western variety. I love this one, but I already have crystal saffron. Less similar to Le Labo Oud IMO. Great release, I'm a fan of DSM and DS Durga. Scent 8.8/10 Performance 7/10

Woody, green, paternal, hot professor in a merino pullover kind of scent. A grey pebble pulled out from a stream. Leans really masculine but that's okay, I can enjoy smelling like a sexy man. Something to remind you of him when you're apart. Definitely giving authority figure, mature, but a little bit tortured. Can't stop sniffing myself. Comforting and relaxing.

Im testing this right now and I think it’s amazing! There is a rubbery smell, and I like it. It has good longevity and doesn’t over project. To me, it smells like a real estate agent touring a 10 million dollar New York brownstone with 11 ft ceilings. 😂😘

This is really lovely. Complex, well blended. I have a hard time picking out any specific notes, but I'm not very experienced with oud. Extremely sensual. Woody, like a drumbeat. _-.. _-.. _-.. _ I want to try some of this outfit's other offerings now.

First impression: Great Oud scent with camphoric green undertones that gives a surprising freshness and bite. Rose Oud has been done million times but this has lavender, galbanum and other notes that makes it pleasant but also strong.

this scent makes me go completely feral. i layer it with musk oil to soften the whole thing. when it’s on me, i can’t stop smelling myself. it smells like saffron and sex.

Yum! Saffron, a little dirty, dry, Oud rose with little to no sweetness. Glad to have my full bottle.

Notorious Oud. The opening smells fucking amazing. The dry down smells fucking fabulous (but better).

all I smell is saffron on my skin, but I grew to love that, actually