Les Absolus d'Orient Oud Essentiel

So here we have a Guerlain Oud ! No Guerlinade, no Gourmandise, no Compromise, kind of a revolution for this house ... I was surprised by this new frag, though Amber Eternel & Santal Royal suggested that something like this could come someday. Other surprise: this one is already available abroad whereas it's not yet available in France, even on the website ... i needed to know well enough an AS at Guerlain's flagship boutique in Paris to get my hands on the ordinary 125 ml EdP bottle.. HackerX's comments are quite accurate but IMHO saffron takes a bit more time to come than half an hour. Is it natural Oud or not? I don't know, but it doesn't leave the typical oily film on the skin like Montale's ouds do, though it does have the power of Montale/Mancera's, Ford's and ADP's ouds, so maybe or not ... I'd be surprised that Wasser, who spends 100s of k$ to get a fantastic natural Ambre Gris, would play that kind of game. Anyway, for those like me who like Oud, this is a must: not aggressive but still not light, soflty enveloped in roses, leather, saffron, olibanum & cedar, oud at it's best ! Longevity is more than 12 hours: not sure that girls will like this as once sprayed in the morning, they can't wear flowers until late at night. Nice twice a month for me, like Ambre Eternel, maybe I'll go for a bee bottle once it'll be available in that form, but the ordinary flacon will last more than a year. BTW it's not a Harrod's exclusive as suggested by Q80, but at Guerlain they take their time to make it available everywhere ... a new strategy or a lack of ingredients to start full production ?

Exquisite! That one word could easily be the sum total of my review, but it wouldn’t be like me not to waffle on. The Santal royal in this collection has a very prominent, sharp and skanky, resinous oud note which is completely in contrast with this stuff, a pure tonepoem of luxury and perfumery excelllence. This is a purely indulgent smell with no one one note dominant, but a smoother resin, saffron and leathery oud smell of giant proportions but delicate and modest execution. I was told by the SA that sprayed me(with perfume;) at the Guerlain counter that it was made with access to ingredients other houses don’t (which I’m inclined to believe as it’s guerlain) and also he was big on the fact that I could keep it for years and years and it won’t spoil (again which is my experience of most perfumes ...kept correctly of course) Oh and also he was encouraging me to layer other scents on top of this, which I don’t do but I see how this emorphous, classy bed of woods and resin would enhance even the worst fragrance you sprayed on it. I love it. I think it’s incredible and an oud to get excited about, it’s not groundbreaking and I’ve smelled similar before but I think it’s a perfect storm this one, a perfect oud for ANYONE to wear and enjoy. It’s soft and retreats to a skin scent after hours of solid projection but then easy lasts 10+ hours and probably weeks on clothes. I want this.

WOWIE !!!! OUD HEAVEN!!! Had this thrown in as a sample vial and gave it a try at work!!!! OUD AND WOOD BOMB!!! I had to try it a few times before it grew on me because it was soon strong it was almost too pungent. It inspired me - I went on an Oud spree and hunt and tried about a dozen including Commes De Garcon WonderOud (CDG never fails me), Cartier, Creed et al and they were either too weak or went on tangents on the dry down presenting a layer or note that was just as prominent (except I think Wonderoud). I'm not sure what constitutes a technical Oud scent but for me this one won me over. It smells like strong damp OUD WOOD - thats it! Its linear, the smell combined with cedar given body with JUST ENOUGH leather smoothly blended (not so as to make the leather a discernible scent of its own) and sweetened with Rose JUST ENOUGH to round the smell rather than present an actual rose smell and take the dryness away and a touch of spice to add a tiny kick at the end. Now I see it as perfect - damn hard to find - I've been buying all the samples I can get - what a shame. Seriously don't get powdery, rough or frankincense references as per some reviews. Perfect, bold, strong, long lasting and smooth. Buy it and smell GOOD!

Les Absolus d'Orient is currently my favorite line of fragrances. Oud Essentiel is my fourth bottle joining Patchouli Ardent, Cuir Intense and Bois Mysterieux in my collection. This is surprising to me. For a while I couldn't justify buying OE as well. But I just spent a month abroad, and on my spare time I tested closer to a hundred scents. Then there was this one fragrance that I had tested on the airport on my flight there. I had kept the tester strip and it lay on a coffee table in my temporary flat - and that was the one my nose and my heart kept getting back to. It was Oud Essentiel. It's surprising because I never was a lover of oriental scents. I couldn't relate to them: maybe they were too far removed from my olfactive memories and surroundings. So admitting Les Absolus d'Orient is now my favorite line is a revelation for me. I guess one could say they are, at heart, French perfumery, just inspired by oriental notes and style, but for me Les Absolus is a game changer. Thank you Thierry Wasser for expanding my horizons. About the smell: I get why the flacon is dark green. OE has a dark green, almost camphorous forest breeziness to it. I even wear this beauty in the summer!

This is as close to a single note oud that I have ever experienced. There are many oud/rose scents, which create the olfactory equivalent of a wall of sound, but this one is refined, as I would expect from Guerlain. The other notes probably soften the overall impact of the oud, but are not discernible to my nose other than a mild hint of leather. Guerlain also has a Santal in the same collection and the leather overwhelms that scent. Longevity is all day and sillage is strong which is why lighter application is very important. I would never wear this to the office, to dining out, nor to any social indoor gathering out of consideration for others’ sensibilities. You won’t find oud based scents at fragrance counters. It is very unique and comparatively far fewer people will be wearing this than wear florals, citrus, marine or fruit, at least in the US. This will definitely attract notice which is fine with me. This is one of those scents which require personal presence; a confident demeanor. Having said all this I love it and would wear it to outdoor venues where I am walking about.

This is a beautiful scent for lovers of wearable ouds. It's not harsh or challenging as some synthetic or higher-end real ouds can be - no 'Barnyard' or 'Skank' here, to my nose. It's not cheap (but not exclusively elitist) so there may be some real oud in it but this is tempered by a touch of rose, saffron, and resins. A reasonably strong leather note reigns in the harsher elements of the oud also, as well as the presence of Cedar, another wood note perhaps diluting the potential of Argarwood to overwhelm. I love Guerlain's perfumes. This particular fragrance's sister, Santal Royale, is equally good, but quite similar in many respects, but I ended up going for this one out of the two. It lasts for a long time on my skin and has a continual billowing energy wafting it around, although this does not fill the room or cause folk to edge away, at least not in my experience. Having said that, it would be easy to overspray with this. Overall. a lovely, quality blend for the cooler months and/or special evenings. Captivating.

Notes from Guerlain website: Top notes: Saffran notes, Pelargonium. Heart notes: Agarwood, Rose, Atlas Cedarwood. Base notes: leather note, incense, Gaïac wood. I like this one pretty much. It hits most of my favourite notes and is blended intricately as known with Guerlain perfumes. Incense is quiet heavy here and lasts throughout the perfume life. Saffron is very prominent on dry down, and rose is there to add sweetness. Oud and cedarwood are very prominent as well. This leaves the leather accord, which is overshadowed by all the above. Its very Eastern type but the edges were trimmed, making this western-nose friendly. This type of perfumes have been done for decades, so its nothing new, but Guerlain manages to re-do it elegantly. Excellent performance and I cant complain about longevity or projection.

After getting card strips of all the Absolus d'Orient from the Guerlain boutique, I found myself obsessively sniffing the oud essentiel (but not exclusively). So I went back for a sample... I am torn between loving it and feeling like it's impossible to wear. I think I love it. Here's the thing... The opening is a horrible, agressive dusty old church lamp bashing you in the face, but then after about five minutes the rose starts to come through, then the whole thing softens and becomes a beautiful, warm envelope of charming oud and floral notes with a lovely leather spine. I'd say this is old school in terms of strength and performance, i.e. you barely want to spray it on your skin. Instead, spray in front of you and walk naked into the cloud. You don't want to gas everyone around you when in public.

My one and only Guerlain - The bottle is dense and dark, hinting at what’s to come. It starts off in medicinal fashion as most natural ouds do, yet in my opinion nothing uber skanky like Silver Oud as an example. Pungent is how I describe it. Some might find it too much or offensive; but you have to be patient with it. And oh my, it’s worth the wait - the dry down is so enjoyable and complex, constantly evolving into a beautiful finish. Stays on clothes about a day, and skin for the most part of it. The leather/ saffron combo works wonders like salt and pepper, with the rose lingering in the background without being too much - giving it a sophisticated softness that balances the dark resinous oud. Good any time of the day any weather but it’s gonna slap hard and long in the winter nights of course.

Oud Essentiel is basically Santal Royal's image in the mirror. Instead of a blast of rose and sandalwood supported by a medicinal oud, here you have a blast of barnyard-ish oud that always stays on the clean side, with a subtle rose as support. Despite its predominance and quality, it is very well balanced and very wearable in public. While both are labeled as unisex, Santal Royal is the most feminine-leaning of the two. Depends if you look for a fragrance with oud (SR), or an oud-focused fragrance (OE). Both beautifully blended, and my preference goes to Oud Essentiel for its masculinity. 30+, cold evenings, in formal settings Edit: one Paris stay and 200+ sniffing later, this one seemed nearly bland. Out of my to-buy list, but still, an ok frag now decently priced at ~$100

First sampled this on paper at the airport & it quite literally is eternal - the perfume remained on the paper tester for a solid week & all that time I was addicted to smelling it, so much so I went & ordered a bottle when I got home. When you first spray this, it’s dark, sensual, smoky & screams luxury. Heavy on the oud wood & spice, it then lightens up for the middle & base with rose to become a bit more feminine. It’s definitely an evening & winter/autumn fragrance, you don’t need a lot & it’s powerful. This is my first dabble into the oud fragrance world, which has so much choice, but I’m very happy with my pick!

I got this today and it's blown me away. 4 hours after the first spray I'm sitting here sniffing my wrists - not because I need to get up close, it still smells as strong as it did at first, but because I can't get enough of it and want to be wrapped in a cloud of its magic. I adore fragrances on the dark side and often buy men's to avoid the cloying sweetness of some women's. For me this is the best combination of oud, leather, smoke and spice that I've found so far. It will be perfect when I prowl through a goth club in black velvet; it conveys exactly the right impression.

I was so in love with this I almost bought it on the spot as I am into woods in my perfume journey. But sensibility and practicality took over as it leaned more on the masculine side, although the SA said it is unisex. Imagine this, your guy working in a wood shop with all the wood shavings, right next to cade oil, turpentine cleaner and gas fumes wafting somewhere in the room and his leather apron or tool belt gets warmed up and still gives off that leather smell. Add a touch of flowers just for a contrast and bottle this and you got Oud essential. Totally manly and sexy.

Oh this is a gorgeous creation. In the top with my other oud fragrance (batch from 2017). Unisex. I am a woman and love this one. Shares the throne with Oud immortel byredo, MFK Oud velvet mood, Sisley soir d'Orient, Gucci intense oud and Dior oud rosewood. This one is the most lethery oud compared to others I mentioned. But also without any rose sweetnes, which I prefer. I don't like sweet rose sents, they give me a headache. Oud Fleur from TF is also nice, and the only one I prefert to use during summer months.

This fragrance makes me happy. It is a frankincense smoky leather rose saffron oud which most definitely leans towards the masculine side. Forget the tired debates about the fact that this isn’t traditional Guerlainade, about whether this has too many aroma chemicals, about whether it’s too harsh in the opening, about whether it has enough oud in it to be called an oud fragrance and all the rest. Bottom line is this is an exquisite powerful fragrance worthy of its name. It just makes me happy when I wear it.

This fragrance requires that the person wearing it have personal “presence” as it is so unique and out of the ordinary zephyrs of currently best selling perfumes. You can’t get away with wearing this if you have no self regard. You have to wear this or it will wear you. The projection is very good and longevity is 8 hours with two sprays. I think it would be suitable for men or women. I like Habit Rouge and Yatagan and this is a member of the same memorable, unusual tribe.

Woooooooooow punch of oud & wood in your face surrounded with rose and saffron Makes you smell really EXPENSIVE around people and gives you 10h+ longevity (so u r good all day) Reminds me with gucci oud which i have already but without raspberry that gucci have (give it a sweet touch) The only thing that you smell is oud/wood/rose really perfectly blended by Thierry wasser (god i love this man) Rating 9/10 I also have santal royal which's 10/10

Powerhouse blend from Guerlain. I love an oud fragrance that actually showcases the oud instead of just having the name on the bottle. The oud is front and center, but never overpowers the rest of the ingredients. It's just masterfully blended. The ingredients are high quality and it shows. Really strong performance. Longevity is 10 hours-plus. Projection and sillage are high average. This one is a love for me. 9.5 out of 10.

I smelled this on an Arab neighbor of mine, a good looking, very masculine guy. Hairy and muscular. Just walking into the cafe I could smell this gorgeous perfume around. He didn't know what he is wearing, said he got it as a gift from a friend and just keeps the bottle in his motorcycle. He was nice enough to let me try it. It's a very good Oud, well balanced, elegant, not too harsh and not too sweet. A very good perfume.

Love this rose oud. If you look through my listed perfumes on Fragrantica i have alot of rose ouds and this one is right up there with the best. Really quite similar to black oud by Montale but Guerlain version is a little more smokey. I was originally wanting Santal Royal by Guerlain but prefer Oud Essentiel. A real strong rose oud that doesn’t disappoint. Performance is solid 8-10 hours and sillage moderate.

Ah this is gorgeous 😍 wood + leather yeah I'm in Just a slight whiff of oud nothing crazy but that saffron in the transition between the opening till the drydown man ... this weirdly give encre noir vibes....imagine encre noir but instead of that smoky vetiver you got this wood x saffron x leather combo... this is the best description i can give u.... Lemme know if this gives u encre noir vibes

Luxurious and indulgent experience, the right amount of smokiness to cover up some of the harshness of the oud + leather combo, and the teeny tiny touch of rose is just 👌🏽 chef's kiss 😘 this is an interpretation of middle eastern perfumery done right, salute 🫡 Thierry Wasser, you definitely know your stuff. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I fell in love with this perfume as soon as I first smelled it! The price is quite high but it matches the quality. Definitely for someone who is not afraid to make a stand. Warm and spicy. I would say that it's more suitable for evenings, but I love it so much I wear it during the day as well.

I'm really enjoying this one. Each waft brings a smile to my face. I typically shy away from ouds accompanied by rose but in this case, it's not enough rose to run me away. The leather here is dry (non-sweet) and the saffron isn't present enough to make the leather spicy.

Beneath the endearing smell like grandma's dusty old attic, full of ancient curios and 78 rpm records, there underlies an insidious note of putrid corruption. Perhaps water from a vase of roses that has long gone bad, or a mouse that has joined the choir invisible.

It's starts as a harsh herb smell as later it develops into a beautiful dark oud leather. I like it so far but I need to give it more time to grow on me. I would wear it all year around but definitely a summer night out would be perfect.

Medicinal, not in a bad way. Dries down to a more prominent rose note. Longevity is really eternal on clothes. The cap can be better. The bottle was kind of loose in the packaging. Very invigorating for cold winter days. It's a love.

Sprayed it on my wrist the other day...loved it! Excellent and powerful oud and saffron with a hint of rose and leather. I loved Santal Royal, and I also love this one. A must try for all oud lovers out there!

My husband doesn't wear cologne, but if he did, I'd spring for a bottle of this for him. Unisex, but I think I would get a heady rush if I smelled the Buglarian Rose in such a lovely Oud on his neck.

I bought online but not sure if it 100% original, my bottle is transparent, you can see the juice through although the smell is the same and performance tho, can anybody advise please?!😇

Very common oud scent, it is good not bad, but nothing ground breaking, althought it got noticed positively. There are many cheaper middle eastern brands that can easily replaces it.

You don’t need any reviews to go buy this perfume... just buy it and you won’t regret it at all! It’s classy, luxurious and fantastic! You will get compliments wherever you go to

After two solid releases.. truly look forward for Guerlain intepretration of Oud.. I hope they will nail it again this time.. highly anticipated release..

Just received it this evening, I love it! It’s like Magie Noire went to church with L’Autre Oud and brushed the frankincense on her way in.

For the price this and Santal Royal are the best fragrances you can buy in my honest opinion!

جربت العديد من عطور العود ولكن هذا العطر يعد افضلهم على الاطلاق

I LOVE IT REALLY ... Amazing luxurey blend (Spicy+balsamic)

Class, class, class all the way...!!!

Wow, a powerful barnyard and dry, dusty expired rose potpourri opening that softens up in 3-4 hours to a sweet incense, leather, oud and amber scent. Lasts 16-18 hours plus. The rose becomes much less dominant, sweeter, (no candy here) and oud more skin like and cashmere like. Definitely an evening and Winter scent. Put it on two hours before going into public or to bed, but it’s a real winner after that opening! I may try and add some sweetness and vanilla layering to it with intense Café from montale or another vanilla scent... however, with caution, as it is already complex. If the layering of sweetness works, I will add it here. I spoke with a US Guerlain flagship store, they have done to recent repackagings of the “Orients” range, and they will plan to re-house in a see-through bottle with the signature honeycomb top much like the Aqua Allegoria range. Not all of them will make it into repackaging, but he believes the Oud essential, Santal, and Patchouli ardent will make the cut. No more of the “spice” , “mysterious woods/sange” , or ‘anciens mythic’. Didn’t mention ‘Cuir’. Which means... old packaging inventory will be sold off, great news for a collectors looking for a bargain. Nb the boxes and font has had a change or two, so smelling it (and knowing it) might be the only way to know it’s authenticity Bisous, Le Parfum Parler

Disclaimer: I only tested this once on my skin. This perfume tries to reproduce the natural oud smell. It has a prominent oud note rounded by an animalic leather note, made smoky by the olibanum note, given that burned rubber leathery smell by the saffron... All of this to try to replicate that multifaced and complex smell of the natural fermented oud note. The same strategy was used in Montale Oud Edition, but they smell different. This one is better quality imo. The olibanum note gives the perfume an ambery feel also, and the rose is detectable. The cedar note is blended well, not really detectable. This perfume smells a lot like Mukhallat Shams by AJMAL. Mukhallat Shams has natural oud, has more of that sour fermented oud feel, more oriental, harder to wear and more unapologetic. In contrast the Guerlain is more wearable, more western and more refined. Personally I would buy the AJMAL (already have it) for the better price and for the natural oud but this one could make more sense for a western nose (people won't give you that many bad looks in public - no promise). Overall, I won't buy this one but so far is my favorite that I've tried from this line (still many to go).

I'm worried about some reviews. Maybe COVID is responsible for altering the capacity to identify odors. You may not like Guerlain's Oud Essentiels, as it is very powerful and very "oriental", but if you confuse this oud scent with that of eucalyptus, melting plastic, rubber, you should urgently see a doctor. This oud is nothing like Tom Ford Oud, which I love and am currently wearing, but is very sophisticated, warm and fresh, light and subtle. Guerlain's Oud is about wood, incense, leather, with a very light note of rose (by no means rose-dominated), it is intense, powerful, persistent but as far as I know it is, in the Western perfume industry, the closest scent to the oriental oud. It's not for everyone, and there's a learning curve to appreciate it. I like it, but my only concern is the comfort of others, as it fills the room and I know more people who can't stand it than appreciate it, let alone love it. Guerlain's Santal Royal is maybe easier to wear with a more present note of rose. I find it less original though, but definitely a great fragrance to consider as an alternative to Oud Essentiel.

When first sprayed, this is a beautiful woody oud. The saffron is especially obvious during the dry down process, which I personally am a fan of. Immediately after dry down, the leather becomes more prominent and the overall fragrance morphs to become drier and even less sweet. The mature fragrance is really lovely, but it does come super close to Bois Mystérieux in my opinion, so much so that I'm not sure I could justify buying it as I already own a bottle of Bois Mystérieux. I suppose the subtle rose note of this is different from the herbal/medicinal laurel note in Bois Mystérieux, but for that reason, I actually like Bois Mystérieux better. However, if that herbal, bay laurel note is just not your thing and you would prefer the slightly traditional rose/oud/leather combo, I recommend this fragrance instead.

Found my Oud fragrance! This is incredible!!! I have tried so many Ouds lately that I was really starting to think I’d never like an Oud fragrance. I’ve been wanting an Oud that smells like an Oud but doesn’t have overpowering harshness or too much feminine rose in it. I’ve tried almost all the Montale Aoud, and I can’t handle them. TF Oud is nice but it’s too subtle and boring (although I do want it), MFK Oud is gorgeous but a bit too elegant and can lean slightly feminine because of the saffron (which it’s heavy on) but this, this dries down to a really smoky, dry, Incense Oud and it’s incredible. As elegant as MFK Oud but with a darker masculinity in it and it really is well done. Will be wearing this all day tomorrow and updating with my full thoughts.

Good to okay. Not bad at all, but honestly, not memorable either. Smelly oud, fermented and in your face. I struggled to get any amber. That oud smell hangs around like dinner guests that haven’t got the clue yet that it’s 1:30am, Wednesday and you have work in the morning. Honestly this reminds me a lot of Ombre Nomade by LV, but not as good (by no means a dig a Guerlain) I love smelly oud! Found this to be not quite my style. I was hoping to pick up on the rose, but this was just a one trick pony. I would wear this for sure, but I don’t see myself buying a bottle again. If you’re a fan of smelly ouds, pick up a decanter, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this one.

Warm, woody, and a bit sweet. i was expecting it to be very strong but it is quite wearable. It smells very similar to the others from this line, but the spiceness really makes a difference. It is a well blended scent and it has personality without being overbearing. I think it is my favorite from this collection. In our store it doesn't sell very well and i think because of it they're taking it out of the shelves. I understand. These are not everyday fragrances and no safe blind buys. Anyway, i will gladly take the tester bottle home when the last one is sold =) Sillage is soft (but my skin drinks perfume) and it is long lasting. Final note: 8/10

guerlain fan here. oe does not share the mellow guerlain vibe but it is pleasantly sharp and scratchy. good stuff. on me it works like many rose/oud combos. intriguing and somewhat comforting. i am sure all the notes and other fragrant elements make this a coherent statement, but i get rose/oud that has glimmers of incense-like leather, maybe its the nip of cedar. i imagine this projects a definite statement because wearing it does. a bit of "smell me." it makes me curious about the super high end ouds and whether the addictive quality of oud is worth the splurge. but nonetheless it's a good place to be.

First Impressions: Warm, cozy, woody, slightly sweet, incense, opulent, syrupy. Oud. Not my style, but high quality and reminds me of being in a dark asian monastery during a snow storm. Or next to a fire place in the Scottish manor of an adventurer who came back from Asia with incense. Drydown: 9 hours later, I still get whiffs of this cozy, comfortable fragrance. I like the drydown and it's softer sillage better than the first impressions. Still not my style, but I can see myself enjoying this on cold winter nights at home with a good book. Scent: 8, Longevity: 10, Overall: 8.5

This sht is NUCLEAR, sprayed once on my hand and could smell it next late afternoon after morning shower, has a very strong projection to the point that could fill the small room. Too powerful, be careful how much you spray it (1 or 2 max). The scent itself to my nose is very strong oud and less of sweetness. Overall not my cup of tea with that rough oudy smell, but people who like it, i think you can't get better in term of performance.

The opening is very similar to Armani Privé Oud Royal - a true "agarwood chip on hot coals aroma" aroma. However, this effect is quite brief, and it is replaced by a growing leather note, followed by a rose note. Within an hour, the aroma is similar to the many "oud rose" fragrances out there. I would say oud essential is one of the better ones.

nothing out of this world, a decent oud rose combo with touch of saffron, opening is very unpleasant, drydown is nice.longevity issues are there, meant for semi cold weather, much better options can be found for this quality in middle eastern fragrances at the 140 usd price range. pass for me 7/10