Al Ezz Oud

Oud at its purest form For Middle Easterners it’s a treat But for the people that can’t stand strong fragrances don’t even try It’s powerful and ballsy You can get some vanilla but no fruits for me The quality of the oud is definitely very good I enjoyed it and the performance was great

Rediscovering a mystery perfume after two inadvertent years of maceration, I'm edging toward a near heretical comparison. Ghawali Al Ezz Oud has an ashtray note (albeit, strictly in miniature) I've found in exactly one other fragrance, this being the incomparable Tribute attar by Amouage (the black box edition, to be specific and here I should note - having just noted it myself - I am in possession of the Parfum version of Al Ezz Oud; failing a separate entry, I'll carry on). Somehow here that infamous "ashtray" note is more clearly rendered as a bone dry pipe tobacco; the scent of my grandfather's waistcoat. Quite something for a back of the wardrobe find. There is an echo of M7, the sweetness of the original specifically (slightly toned down for M7 Oud Absolu), its black cherry replaced by a jammy apricot and, again, that ash note rendering this oud accord darker and slightly more complex than the source material. A more contemporary comparison is to be found in the vanilla/wood liqueur opening of Roberto Cavalli's Nero Assoluto. I'd say it's also under-appreciated. And at an hour into the experience, there's a family resemblance to be noted in the black currant aspect of Opium Pour Homme and Penhaligon's LP No. 9. They're all masculine and dandy though the addition of (what I'm guessing is) Firmenich's Black Agar (or a close cousin) and an overdoes of Ambroxan (or something like it), elevate even as they take us deeper. Al Ezz Oud gives "Tom Ford as creative director"; an impressive work, Mr. Forat Al Haider! Fair warning: However approximate any of the above comparisons, an important additional consideration is sheer intensity. This Ghawali (my precious) has epic strength; two careful sprays and I'm dancing at the edge of chaos, i.e. Tribute EDT.