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.

Hope starts out as a big, high-quality skanky amber; masculine, rich and warm, a touch fruity, with the oudh coming through as a distinctly horsey undertone that I find darkly attractive. In less than five minutes the amber sweetness has burned away and what we have is a cooler, smokier oudh with a bit of that “medicinal” or “coniferous” quality. The juniper note comes through here too. This second stage almost feels cologne-y, albeit a very smoky, dark, saturnine take on cologne; we’ve passed through the nightclub into the office. An unusual trajectory, but I imagine it’s clever marketing: the sexy opening gets your wallet out, the more restrained drydown means you won’t regret wearing it to a meeting. Is it original? Nah, there are a bajillion very similar oudhs out there and the price is outrageous. But: does it spark joy? Does it smell good? Yes. There’s something compelling and alive and, yes, sexy here. It’s a low-key aura of mystery.

If Promise had never existed, this would be fine, ignoring the ridiculous price. As it stands, they seem to have given us the original Promise for 30 mins (after they butchered Promise with reformulation), then it falls completely flat into a boring, dull thing that resembles crap oud emulations by brands like Initio. To me this unfortunately speaks to the utter contempt the brand now has for their cash-cow customers. It's even more redundant when you consider Ropion has issued a spectacular update to the Promise legacy with his brand's Oud à l'Amour, which is still expensive, but isn't an absolute piss-take like Hope. You can get a far superior perfume with real oud from Ajmal for between 90 and 200 euros instead of paying the price of a new car for this absolute bullshit.

Noirish smoky take on the rose oud formula that makes for pleasant if not a completely memorable wear. The scent opens with juniper and rosemary atop a similar rose apple accord used in Promise. Then we get a smoky oud accord accentuated by some vetiver. The perfume dries off to a powdery base of amber, synthetic musk and slight leather. The masculine leaning scent has moderate to strong projection and good longevity. Although it quite does not have the heft of earlier releases like The Night and Dawn, it makes for a refined classy wear that exudes a certain opulent mystique about the wearer. Enjoy!

Received this as a freebie in an order of samples. To me, this has a strong oud and leather opening which I really enjoy, but the dry down has a bit of a BO note to it. Could be my skin chemistry, as it's not as noticeable when sprayed on a t shirt. The cotton also brings out more of the green aromatic notes that are absent entirely on skin. Probably wouldn't get a full bottle, but the sample will be nice as a clothing-only fragrance layered with something else.

I have no doubt that this smells like the original Oud for Greatness by Initio, but even better—more intense and smokier. Is it a crowd-pleaser? No, but it’s definitely one for the connoisseur.

Great bold release from Fredric Malle. In the similar atmosphere of Promise but its without fruit (apples) and it has more leather and juniper notes. Excellent quality and very long lasting.

Opens up really similar to Promise, but this one is smokier but not as long lasting. It's nice but i'll go with Promise over this any day of the week.

Another overpriced scam from Frederic Malle

Bare with me on this one it’s gonna be one hell of a ride , if you love this brand as I do the whole story I will tell will be very interesting to you but if you don’t care about stuff in the industry you will skip Let’s start with what this fragrance is It’s promises flanker Yes a shock to all of us but it’s the truth Let me take you with me in a journey throughout the history of the brand ever since the acquisition So Mr Freddy is happy with his legacy been growing it for 15 years and was offered a big cheque with verbal “promise” that he will have a big part in influencing the coming fragrances and he agreed And this promise kept Freddy happy until Covid hit the world obviously things started to take a turn for the worse After the virus hit the business owners were affected badly same as everybody else and they found out that for the past 20 years the brand wasn’t on par with the rest of the brands that they have that sell mainstream scents so they had to act even if it affected their relationship with Freddy So they made a choice going mainstream and how you ask let’s start by going with every scent ever since 2020 2021 - they brought a female perfumer for the first which was a surprise for the industry and since we live in a society which demand equality for all Sadly it the idea failed since it was clone of private collection 2022 - mainstream white floral scent that failed miserably and had no effect on the industry whatsoever 2022 - yes here Freddy started trying to find a compromise with the business owners they specifically asked for a blue fragrance that will shock the consumers Freddy agreed which surprised them the owners but still said he insisted on doing it in his own style so he chose roucel’s scents as inspiration and story to captivate the audience Sadly this try failed as well 2023 - the business guys are sad and demanded a big name to break sale records so they brought Jean to again but still Freddy couldn’t work on normal stuff so he asked Jean to create something out of his expertise so Jean made a disaster of a scents and failed again to garner any attention or most importantly no hype 2024 - at this point things are not looking very good the tension is rising the business demands to get a new category of consumers in the loop so they did everything here by themselves and Freddy just went along made a fragrance that smells like detergent and used one of the least experienced perfumers in the market again failed once more 2024 - this time Freddy “promised” to change everything with two of the most powerful combinations which are ropion + desert gems The bosses went along the journey but there was something not right for Freddy every special thing they present gets rejected by the committee Freddy lost it and demanded to be the leader of the project and his request was rejected So he left with a project mostly undone the big guys asked from ropion to create a flaker to one the desert gems most successful scent promise And it was done and just like I said in my review of the detergent scent that this will be the next creed and it’s exactly what happened since creeds first flanker aventus cologne this is the same story here and it will go the same rabbit hole until they go bankrupt I predict other flankers and higher consecrations old fragrances in the future Just let me assure you this just a hypothesis nothing of what I said is true just imagining what happened and I don’t think I was very far from the truth My fingers are done ... thank you whoever read this

Although it is better than I expected in terms of scent and material quality, it is still a perfume that is not very sensational. It can be described as a flanker of Promise, which is also made by Ropion, and it resembles serious similarities with Promise. In fact, I can say that it is almost exactly the same at the beginning. Instead of Promise's spicy rose with an explosion of ambroxan, I can say that it is a generic oud and a smoky sour apple with lots of leather added. I definitely don’t think that the oud used here is natural but the quality is good. Still, there is a generic oud use. Although it is not as barnyardy as Night, there is a certain dirtiness. It contains an oud similar to Amouage Silver Oud which has been purified from the sour leather nuance and replaced with smokiness and clean leather. In conclusion, although its price and performance are directly proportional, it’s a perfume that I will only try and skip without buying it. Another unsuccessful work of FM in recent years. Unfortunately the work you did here, you took the easy way out Master Ropion. Excuse me but comparing with Promise and Moon (I know the perfumer is Julien), Hope is actually hopeless. Pull yourself together, you are a master perfumer. When I first sniffed Promise back in 2018, I was mesmerized but after all those years I simply can not feel or say the same thing for Hope. Taking the formula of Promise and bottling it with a slight difference doesn't suit you.

Right so... Hope. I’m not sure if the name is ironic or what because if anything was to crush any hope of originality in perfumery then this is it. I don’t know if my expectations are unfair now? I mean Pink Floyd couldn’t keep making Dark side of the Moon’s now could they? This is a boring perfume, opulent yes, powerful... reasonably... a modern oud which if you want to say has a kind of plastic, translucency, and a good mixture of spicy, resinous, animalic etc... then okay. But it smells like many other ‘opulent’ oud/oud rose perfumes (okay so no rose officially but...) I’m not sure why you’d drop FM gem money for this, I’m curious as to any excited interview from Dominique Ropion stating that he’s done anything here but create something which exists elsewhere in perfumery for a fraction of the price. Yes it’s nice and wearable and modern and I can even concede smells expensive & may contain real oud and some other nice naturals, but it doesn’t justify the price nor does it stand with the others in this line which although even more outrageously priced (in some cases) at least have a bit of something about them. Even Promise which is the most genetically similar and market pleasing has something of a unique balance to it.

A very nice note of smoke. No ash or BBQ resonance. Sits sturdy next to a powerful, seemingly misplaced oud note. This is...the wrong type of oud, as far as I can tell. This oud is fruity and even oily. Somethings up with the harmonics. Undertone is green AF. Dry vetiver and juniper. Strong overtone consists of leather and peppered amber. Borderline gnarly but it comes together into a cloak and dagger ensemble that comes off regal, in passing. Get closer to the scent and it doesn't make sense. An acquired taste in that respect. Something very SHL about it. Pour cypriol oil on a bed of grass. Grab your finest leather jacket, spray it down with Generation Man 2022 and throw it into the mix. Now add synthetic apple cleaning solution, one spritz of black gemstone and just light then put out a little fire nearby, and poof: "HOPE."

Based on the previous reviews, I tested Hope against Promise on paper. For the first 30 minutes, you smell the similar DNA, yes, but they progressively diverge as they dry down. For example on the opening, Promise's apple note is very noticeble against Hope (none). Long story short in about 2 hours, Hope dries down to a pure leather scent. 3 hours later, you can smell the "oud" vs "no oud" point raised by other reviewers. Worth comparing to other leather frags on the market if you like leather. Overpriced. Less complex than other releases from FM.

Hope by Frederic Malle – 6/10 Honestly it’s a nice perfume, but nothing special. For the price of $600/50ml it just doesn’t make any sense. You can get something way better for half of that.

Very similar to promise, I prefer it as I enjoy the oud but I find both promise and hope too mature and serious for me as a YN so I will pass.

text on paper: it is a copy of Ombre Nomade LV with less rose , this one is more masculine, more refined and luxurious than ON LV

Promise without the apple, rose and the earthy base. Add more smoke and a touch of vetiver to it at that

Dominique Ropion resumes the theme from Promise with Hope. Although hope dies last, when I tested Hope I confess that it died first. Hope is even more masculine, smoky, and heavier than Promise. For me it is really unwearable. What destroys it, in my opinion at least, is the cypriol. It seems that it passed as the number one note on the list of hates. It is increasingly used by various brands, in various categories of perfumes, to my dismay. I recommend it to those who want to smell like they spent hours at a campfire. Quality ingredients, no animalic hints.

In fact, promise and the moon are similar by 50%. And now come the hope in the middle between them. Slightly to the promise side. There is no real oud here just smokey woody accords. Its looks like Estee Lauder was waiting mr. Malle to leave. And bring something too much commercial. Disappointment. Edited 22-04-2025 Of course its smell good for me because I like both Promise and the Moon But in this price it should be more creative and innovative perfume

It is undoubtedly the worst of the desert gems series, I have tried many but it is a very dull scent, it has no special features.

dont know why but i sense quite a lot of rose in this..

Literally a copy of Promise by Frederic Malle. I feel like Dominique Ropion has applied Promise as a base, and added a few of his touches to enhancing the overall scent, especially since Hope contains oud. I Was quite devastated seeing how close it seems to smell to Promise. The only difference noticeable is the apple note, which isn’t as strong as the note in Promise, and Hope has a smokier vibe to it. Other than that, same DNA, which is not a good sign. Longevity is good, seemed to last a long time on skin, as well as on paper/clothing. You might ask is it worth buying, simple answer is if you have Promise, definitely not. Other than that, all depends on your taste, but I wasn’t happy with this release even though I was hyped to test it out.

So close to Promise, almost redundant release. It a bit woodier and smokier compared to Promise. In the other hand Promise got a huge dose of Ambroxan and Apple note. But even though it still soo close.

perfume which is failed which resembles oud greatness initio.

Frederic Malle is my absolute favorite fragrance house. Paradoxically, Promise is probably the only creation from the house that I genuinely love in the air on someone else. However, on my own skin and within my private "scent bubble", it becomes entirely unwearable for me I just can't handle it. When I first tested Hope "en passant" it felt practically identical to Promise. Determined to give it a fair trial, I recently got my hands on a small decant and have been applying 1 to 2 sprays daily over the past few days. I’ve been actively trying to resist all similarities to its famous predecessor, attempting to experience Hope from scratch as a completely standalone creation almost as if I had never smelled Promise before. It's the only way I could ever see myself pulling this fragrance off. Yet, an honest review must inevitably be constructed, at least to some degree, in comparison to Promise. Hope opens with an intense, sharp bite. Fortunately for me, it is significantly less sour than Promise, lacking that harsh "wood lacquer" or varnish effect. Instead, the juniper and pink pepper are beautifully clear right from the start. As the fragrance develops, it transitions into an incredibly smoky, rooty territory, and that initial "sour sharpness" gracefully fades away (again, much to my delight). Somewhere between these transitions and only in fleeting moments (unofortunately), I manage to pick up the oud. It is remarkably similar to the oud profile found in Dawn, completely devoid of primal animalic character seen in The Night. Hope possesses a deeply dark, melancholic soul, in fact, I would argue it is the darkest perfume in Malle entire lineup. Ultimately, Hope feels a bit more natural and organic compared to Promise, which tends to maintain a synthetic, plasticky sourness throughout its life. However, when it comes to performance, Hope is significantly weaker, it is highly likely that the absence of that loud, plasticky-sour synthetic backbone is precisely what caused this drop in performance. All in all, Hope is actually wearable for me, unlike Promise. I look forward to wearing it more in the future, hoping it continues to grow on me.

Hope from the French House of Haute Luxury Niche Perfumery Frederic Malle is part of the 'Desert Gems' collection, it is an Oriental Woody Amber leathery Smoky Unisex perfume. It was released in 2024; and the perfumer who signs this fragrance is Dominique Ropion. Aamal/Hope is an elegant 'oud fragrance, enriched with incense, leather, a smoky vetiver, and spicy notes. The quality of the ingredients is impressive as usual in this collection. Aamal/Hope. This fragrance opens with the sparkling and aromatic glow of juniper with its varied facets, adding right at the opening a resinous, woody, fresh green nuance, reminiscent of a pine tree; Pepper, on the other hand, brings a spicy heat. This initial duet creates an immediate and intriguing impact, drawing attention and preparing the senses for the more complex heart of the fragrance. As the fragrance evolves, we enter the heart enriched by the aroma of the star of the composition, an 'oud with a smoky, resinous and leathery profile, perfectly intertwined with the earthy, herbaceous and smoky nuances of vetiver. The steaming incense imparts a mysterious, dark quality that blends with the leathery warmth of the 'oud, creating a sense of depth and complexity. Already arriving at the dry, Hope reveals its opulent base of amber and leather. Amber actually envelops the entire fragrance and exudes a soft, sweet warmth that envelops the senses throughout evolution, while leather introduces a rich, almost tactile texture, a striking leather that is luxurious and comforting without harshness. This combination results in an undeniably elegant, luxurious fragrance with excellent performance!

Update: After wearing this a couple days now. I would say what dominates for me is the sweetness. I'm not smelling the juniper much at all. Its a sweet amber and leather with some aromatic accents. I just got a decant from Scent Split. It looked promising. But no oud. Its slightly sweet and woody, with a hint of fruity. After a while I am picking up a nice green juniper. What he uses to mimick oud is a musky ambret I believe. Ive written about 900 reviews and have many real oud frags by Russian Adam, Areej le Dore. This is a ho hum above average woooy frag. Way over priced and over hyped. I can recommend a great juniper fragrance, Chanel Edimbourg. 100 ml for under $200. Better quality and distictivness. This was my first Desert gems frag. I've ordered decants of Promise and Moon as well. I think I get it, desert gems. Hope does have a good dose of amber, a smoky vetiver and a bit of leather in the mix. I have or tried at least 20 Frederic Malls. I realized they did not have hardly any resinous Oriental fragrances in the line. So came the Desert Gems. Maybe Night has some real oud, but Hope and Promise do not. Hope is a nice Oriental. But quite common. My favorite amber or labdanum fragrance is Chanel Le Lion. Its not as sweet as Hope. Like Chinese restaurants put sugar and salt in theie sauces because most people like sugar and salt. Likewise Hope is made sweet. If you'd like some suggestions for sweet oriental frags, try Amouage Jubilation XXV or Nasomatto Pardon. They are in the same ballpark with Hope. Rating: 8/10, But outrageously overpriced. God bless. John 3:16

This actually smells better than I expected. The oud accord is strong and bold. Smells pretty natural in the opening but dry down is less impressive. I don’t know if it’s real oud, but it does have a realistic feel. Indian oud variety, slight fertilizer touches that will intrigue fragheads. I don’t like Promise as I find it too abrasive and harsh. This is much more my taste. If you have smelled Amouage Silver Oud, the oud here smells similarly dry and barnyard in the opening (albeit not as loud and awe-inducing). But, really not as imaginative as I would have hoped from this brand. Comparing this to OFG is ridiculous, this smells nothing like it and is in a different league as far as raw materials. Still, because of the redundant and boring feel combined with an extremely high price, only 6/10 seems fair.

Numerous experts have provided their insightful perspectives on Frederick Malle's Hope Scent. I wish to emphasize the remarkable skill of this exclusive brand. The fusion of Wood and Leather imparts a slightly more intense essence, yet the inclusion of the amber note results in a harmoniously balanced aroma with a delicate hint of sweetness to enhance the masculine undertones. It is a masterpiece, meticulously designed and impeccably executed. I highly recommend sampling it, as it is truly exceptional. I am a devoted admirer of this Niche Brand, as each fragrance conjures a distinct and enthralling journey. This is a scent that demands attention. Exceptional! Rating: 9.5/10

Initially smells a lot like Promise, almost confusingly to me. Of course there is no apple or any sour notes. Then on my skin it dries down to a nice, pleasant oud-leather-vetiver combo. Stereotypically masculine, hand me a cigarette and a leather jacket! Nothing wrong in it, nothing groundbreaking or overly exciting either. I was HOPING for something else however. Still it captivates me enough to crave for a few millilitres in stock. Good execution of a very decent scent. But you can never force an artist to make a masterpiece. When money intervenes art - only HOPE remains.