Hope

To start off my review, I understand the comparisons with Oud for Greatness and Haltane. Incense + Oud + Dry notes (whatever you might perceive first, be it the pink pepper, incense, etc) + subtle balsamic sweetness gives off a certain vibe that might be considered similar. However, the raw ingredients in Hope launch it into an entirely different dimension entirely. I've not purchased a full bottle, I probably never will unless I win the lottery, and even then I'll be kinda upset at myself. But the keyword is 'kinda' because in testing it, I have properly fallen in love with this fragrance. The balance between the oud and earthy notes is addicting. It's maybe 2% fecal/barnyardy and 98% luscious and spiritual. It smells natural and expensive, almost imaginative as if you've come across a being who's never bathed in their life, yet have the most attractive pheremones you've ever smelled. If I came across somebody else who smelled like this, I'd probably be attracted to them on some base subconscious level. At the very least I'd be extremely impressed by their taste. The smell is unrelenting as well, it lasts well over 12+ hours and reminds you of its presence, frequently, blending gorgeously with your natural skin scent over time. Keeping this in mind, anything over one spray is absolutely criminal and will give you diminishing returns when it comes to compliments and people wanting to be near you. One spray on the neck (front or back, your choice) is the maximum you should aim to apply on yourself. This scent is mysterious, exquisite, and evokes a seductive feeling for myself personally. I would wear this on a special occasion with a lover, at an open-air gala, or in a spiritual / bohemian setting. It could easily be rocked with a suit, as well as with robes, an Indian kurta / shirvani, batik clothing, Arabian formal attire, etc. It fits a masculine, but spiritual vibe. I find this to be a unique piece of art in the fragrance world. Granted, I'm not the most experienced frag-head out there and I'm sure that this certainly might not be to the general public's taste, but my nose and feelings gravitate towards this scent with fervor and I'm very happy I've had the opportunity to test it and can absolutely recommend anybody who enjoys oudy scents to try it as well.

Now that I'm smelling it, it's very difficult to pull away from the description I suspect many will jump to, which is that Hope smells like Promise. As such, Hope smells wonderful, but even so... hm... Hope to me smells a bit like a post-hoc demonstration that yes, Promise did indeed create a strong sense of oud without actually using any of the real stuff, because here's the real oud (Hope) and it smells extremely similar. It's an interesting 'quod est demonstrandum' moment, in which it feels like the brand has just finished a mathematical proof that two things (A and B) are indeed equivalent to each other. I'm certain that by combing through Hope and wearing from my sample over and over again, I will persuade myself that there are meaningful differences to Promise and that Hope is perhaps worthy of its enormous price, but I want it written here for posterity that these two frags, on first scent, are overwhelmingly similar. This isn't something I'll continue to harp on, but it is kind of an issue as, to me, new perfumes ought to be about either high-level refinement of an existing concept or, even better, the invention of an entirely new "effect", a new emotion. Provisionally I can offer that Hope is less apple-rich than Promise and as such is less psychopathically astringent, but still very much on the sharp end. The rose, which in Promise only reveals itself in glimpses and flashes in the mid, is supposedly absent here but, again, this doesn't meaningfully shift the effect or mood of Hope into something new. I do think Hope smells more relaxed than Promise. If Promise is a sword, then Hope is the same sword but now in its sheath. Nevertheless it's an incredible perfume, and I'd love a bottle. EDIT/Update: I've spent more time with Hope and, alas, my opinion is actually unchanged. I will say that as it dries down it develops a lot of ashy notes, which are less earthy and more burnt than Promise, but the two frags remain overwhelmingly similar. Still, against my better judgement, I lust for a full bottle of this (I did really love Promise so it's no surprise).

The comparisons to Promise, while marginally fair, are for the untrained nose. To be sure, the first blast of Hope will indeed conjure up strong memories and similarities to Promise, but it is ever so fleeting. In no time, Hope takes on its much more mature and rich character, and looks at you directly in the eye to see if you grasp what just happened. Think of Promise as the hardworking, enterprising one who finally made it to the big leagues despite the odds stacked against it, and Hope as the scion and bastion of institutional opulence who knows that his or her genuinely elevated stature could never be questioned, even if it came as a result of being born with a silver spoon.

Two weeks ago, I picked up this fragrance on impulse in Harrods, Knightsbridge. I am very impressed with the quality of the fragrance. I own FM Promise. I could see the similarities, but this is different. It's a lighter, more pleasant wear. I enjoy this more than I do Promise. I have worn this twice, once on a long-haul flight. The fragrance was present all through the flight. I love fragrances, with a bubble and I can constantly smell myself . This is a 10 out of 10 fragrance and not redundant to own this and promise.

This perfume is so intriguing. It goes on smelling like Promise and then within an hour or two becomes smoky and leathery. It then settles into its woody oud base. By the end of the day has a very subtle sweetness. For sillage, at 4 hours after one spritz from the sample vial a cashier 3 ft away told me I smelled “great”. My wife usually gets that comment wearing Portrait. While it has yet to become my signature, it has move up the ladder quite rapidly. I love it.

I hoped I'd disagree with everyone here, but it's indeed like a Promise with its rough edges sanded down, making for a quieter aroma. It starts to diverge a little after the hour mark, and it's pretty agreeable, but the high price point will put most off. Like the reviewer below, my favourites are still Dawn and Moon. And they justify their hefty price tag. I can't really justify so much money for a more refined Promise. Odd direction, I think.

Promise was groundbreaking and Hope was the perfection of the dna. Hope is promise with real oud (the clean and not poopy smelling kind). Moderate projection far from the beast of what promise is, while still maintaining the longevity and trail. Very wearable and versatile. Notes are a scam so dont use it as a benchmark.

This one grew on me. It’s Promise with a sweeter dry down like Oud For Greatness. The start is like a smokier promise, while the dry down retains some smokiness with hints of leather, but the amber kicks in with sweetness. For the mature and formal wear. Shukran Habibi!

OUD À L'AMOUR reviews average and retail price is still expensive. Hope has Oud and no rose while Oud à l'Amour is rose, Cypriol and Geranium with NO Oud plus added pineapple. People hate it partially because of the price, now The Night and Dawn are expensive...

For me there is nothing similar to Promise or Moon. For me its a scent about vetiver and oud. There is nothing animalic. Closest scent to compare is Sultan Vetiver from Nishane. I really love this scent and want a bottle. Wish list worth 100%

Starts off as wearable Promise and ends in masculine / leatherish Oud for Greatness. One can argue if it is creative enough for FM, but I find this to be quite pleasing and performs very well. Elegant and for formal occasions. Shukran Habibi!

It is a great smell and lasts very long. Like days long and I would class it as same category with Nishane Sultan Vetiver as they are both for any season especially in the hot weather. It is a niche so expect the price to be high

“Absolutely beautiful fragrance. Gives me a bit of Promise vibes, but that dry down with the smoky oud wow. Not everyone will like it, but for me it’s insane. Underrated gem for sure.”

Opens like promise, minus the apple, plus oud and leather. Dry down is very similar to oud for greatness. I would say better. Not worth the price though, and FM is my favorite house.

if Promise made Elysium pregnant, they would have this baby. Smoky, oudy promise with fresh spicy Elysium vibes dry down. what more i could ask for? best release from the house.

Much better than Promise - quality wise and overall scent is way more appealing. Does it worth the price? No. Is it good and an upgrade on Promise? Yeah it is

8.5/10 J'adore, un oud épicé et élégant. Ma Rivka à raison, ce Dominique Ropion est extra !

Of the Desert Gems collection, Hope is the one that is the least exciting. It is certainly very, deeply pleasant, but it doesn't quite tug at the heart strings as you would expect (or hope, pun intended?) for a perfume with its mandate and description. The juniper and pepper at the top add a dryness and a "snap" to the oncoming smokey oud accord that ushers in a feeling of austere elegance. This is the first sign that Hope is probably not going to be what we, or at least I, expected. Oud is a funky animal. It is what it is and best of luck to anyone who tries to wrestle it into submission. The opening tells us Ropion intends to try to wrestle with this behemoth, and we see an initial sign that he is very likely to succeed since the juniper and pepper seem to make the oud stand-up straight, tuck in its shirt, comb its hair, chin up, and keep a stoic expression on its face. Prim and proper, not a funky wild animal, seems to be the direction this is going. Sure enough, as the juniper and pepper disappear, oud keeps to the mandate of good behavior. The funky turned-fruit and barnyard-animalic facets are still there, but neatly buttoned-up and dressed-up. The smoke is dark and thick, but it's not sticky like wood smoke, acting more like incense weaving its tendrils through the air, always diffusive and elegant. Approaching the final dry down I get an answer to one other question I had pondered since the beginning, which is the volume the different notes of this perfume were going to choose to speak at: at no point in the opening, heart, or base do the notes ever go above quiet conversation levels. It's a warm and slightly humid day here in a NorCal - typically a recipe for a big oud perfume to start screaming at you and everyone else around you, but not Hope. It is wonderfully well-behaved and restrained in this weather. In the last dry down, the leathers and balsams stick to the mandate, and make for a very seamless, elegant, and well-executed transition. In final thoughts, I have two. The first is that I believe I get how the perfume follows the creative vision: hope doesn't actually exist, it's a feeling, either collective or individual, and as a feeling it is meant to have a degree of confidence but nonetheless feel a bit difficult to get your hands around; there is a fleeting aspect to it. In this sense, Hope succeeds exceptionally well. It is strong, but not overly so, confident without being brash, but a bit fleeting and hard to hold on to, just like hope. However, in its quiet simplicity and fleetingness it lacks a feeling of specialness. Hope always feels like a special feeling, not something someone is aloof towards. At no point wearing Hope do I feel special, at no point does it ever really strike me, and for what is being charged for it you would absolutely expect that it damn well should. I like it enough to want to add it to my collection, no doubt. It's a beautiful oud. So, on the wishlist it goes. Will I ever buy it? No, I will not be spending the retail money on this. Perhaps I should hope someone will gift me a bottle. That would be special.

I had to sit on this for a week before arriving at a conclusion. This certainly wasn’t what I was hoping for (pardon the pun), but I do like it. I keep returning to it. There is a strange similarity to Promise with this new release which I was not expecting after looking at the compositions notes. The juniper, vetiver and oud seem to create a sweet accord that in a weird way is similar to the artificial apple note in Promise. I was hoping for more smokiness and a drier vetiver. Although the overall effect is definitely smoky it has a damp wet quality which I don’t love. Although not listed, it sure smells like cypress or cypriol oil (or is it camphor?) is used in this composition although that might be a result of the vetiver and juniper accord. Conceptually, I don’t necessarily get “hope”. Generally, I don’t get a clarity of execution with this one (still better than Promise by a long way). Whether this fragrance is more a reflection of the intent of the perfumer or the creative direction, who knows? The must haves in this collection are The Night, The Moon and The Dawn. My personal favorite is The Dawn followed by The Moon and The Night, Promise is the least interesting IMO.

Hope offers a high quality oud blend, which is not groundbreaking or unique, yet enjoyable. It is both restraint and wild, surprisingly. There's a bit of a stable in the background, and maybe some distant meadow with a touch of animalic notes. I also get the fresh smell that old cheese produces, like the fresh, airy aroma of camembert or brie. It made me think of Promise for the first few seconds, but then it develops in a different direction. It also made me think of Louis Vuitton's incredible perfume Nouveau Monde, but this is drier, less lively, has less character and more leathery. It feels like the antidote to the loud oud perfumes. It's oud that is mature, reserved. Just like Promise, it doesn't make me fall in love with it, because it purposely doesn't offer a clear story, and instead is just a very high quality blend. In a way, this lack of a clear story is what makes it sophisticated and elegant. Like not making too much of a fuss about a perfume. Just looking for the best ingredients.