L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Or Encens

Classy Oriental Delight. I am from Saudi Arabia, so I'd like to think that I know a thing or two about Oriental perfumes and this is definitely one, and although beautiful, it's not unique by any stretch of the imagination. The immediate impression I got upon spraying is : "oof, this is classy" I was greeted by a thick, almost oily cloud of sweet, velvety rose, absolutely beautiful, the incense and leather kept it in check to give the fragrance it's classy masculinity, the dry down was equally as impressive. While 90% of Oriental perfumes are unisex by virtue of their notes, this is purely masculine, classy and for me, only for men over the age of 35, kudos to any woman who can pull it off but that would be really, really difficult in my opinion. Now I don't know if this was a special tester or something, but Or Encens stayed on my skin for a DAY, yes you read that right, a whole day where I could reach to my inner elbow and still get a whiff of it, silage was monstrous as well. Notes detected by my nose: rose, incense, soft spices, leather, and sandalwood. Blind buy: if you are under 30 just don't even bother, this is dark stuff for "mature" men, not a playful or sexy scent, but rather a classy upscale one, still better to test first, although beautiful this is an acquired taste that is not for everyone. This is classy, special occasion classy, thick, dark, sweet and velvety stuff that will last for a long time, I haven't smelled Noir Argent or Noir Ambre which are praised a lot here, but to me Or Encens is already the best Issey Miyake creation since the original L'eau D'issey pour homme, and I am not exaggerating. An absolutely incredible release by one of my favorite brands, 10/10.

Wow this is good stuff. I’ve never smelled Gucci Intense Oud, but I’ve heard it was also really good. This does however remind me of Oud Satin Mood at times, but this doesn’t have the vanilla sweetness of OSM. This actually has more of the mineral quality of MFK Oud edp... there’s more of an aquatic freshness here, smooth leather, incense and rose, with some spices like pink pepper and cumin, but not too much cumin, everything is very well blended. I think this is a very sexy fragrance. I love incense and the MFK Oud line is one of my favorites so at around $75 this is pretty amazing quality for the price. Notice how I’m making comparisons to Oud fragrances when in fact there isn’t any Oud in this composition. Shocking how they were able to create the allusion of Oud. The perfumer did a really great job here... Impressive. I’ll admit when I first got this I wasn’t as impressed... Maybe because it doesn’t have a heavy base, nothing like strong woods or amber to anchor it. It’s quite airy and opulent, almost elusive... It took me owning this for a while and possibly allowing it to macerate to really appreciate it. The performance is excellent, too. It’s not exactly beast mode but still quite strong. I see majority find this more of a winter frag but I have no problem wearing this throughout the year. In fact, because there’s a freshness to this I find it to be an excellent transitional fragrance. I’m wearing this today on a cool, windy, sunny, spring afternoon and it’s magical and it’s going to transition perfectly into the evening, adding a bit of mystery and seduction. The silage is quite alluring. Summer evenings work very well... This is a keeper. Well done Issey Miyake, well done.

Very good stuff from Reynaud, the same nose behind the legendary Noir Ambré. They are both deep masculine masterpieces for the cold months. So about Or Encens, this one is all about the rose and incense. If anyone told me a rose scent could be masculine before I got into collecting, I would have laughed, but here we are. It opens with heavily macerated rose over a dark smokey frankincense and smokey resins, as it dries down it becomes a bit sweet and ambery with a beautiful dark wood and leather base. This is a smooth somewhat sweet incense, not a cold dry incense like you would get from Montale Full Incense or Liquide Imaginaires Lacrima. Longevity is outstanding with over 10 hours on skin, huge projection in the first 2 hours, slowly receding to a skin scent for the last 2 hours This is for ages 30+ and definitely for a more mature person. This is as masculine as you can get with rose being the main player. I could see certain types of women pulling this off, but it also takes a certain kind of man to pull this off. It's a challenging wear, not because it's a challenging scent profile, but it's such a serious composition. Deep, dark, and resinous, best reserved for cold dark nights in the Winter and Fall. I have had several opportunities over the years to pick up bottles for cheap, but never pulled the trigger. I do have several decants that I have worn on occasion, but it has never earned a spot in my collection. With that said, If anyone wants to trade or get ride of a bottle (full or partial), let me know! Send me a PM, I'm very active on this website. I have several other rare IM frags I can offer as well as several other discontinued frags on a separate page.

Opens with a luxurious rose, thick, syrupy, and spicy. It then gradually transitions to a woody, animalic oud. In the dry down, I get a sweet and smokey sandalwood with a little bit of the rose still lingering. This is an absolute masterpiece. A gorgeous and dark scent that gives feelings of comfort and danger at the same time, as if you are being seduced by a vampire. This is the Issey Miyake take on the ubiquitous rose & oud combination. I know that oud is not listed in the notes, but there definitely is oud there, and the skanky animalic kind. Great for oud connoisseurs, not so much for mass appeal. I know that Issey Miyake (RIP) was a fashion designer and as a result his fragrances are considered "designer", but this, along with Noir Ambre, are two of the best niche quality fragrances out there. The richness, complexity, and quality of Or Encens are up there with the likes of Initio, PDM, and Xerjoff. I would not consider this blind buy safe, as it takes an experienced nose to truly appreciate this masterpiece. Definitely a night time scent, and very sexy; It needs a confident wearer to pull this off. I wouldn't consider this a masculine fragrance, despite the marketing label, but it is certainly very bold, be it worn by a lady or a gentleman. In case you're wondering why it's so difficult to find this available for purchase anywhere, sadly it has been discontinued. TF's Noir de Noir is the closest fragrance I could compare it to, however, Noir de Noir is more smoothly blended and has zero hint of animalic notes.

L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Or Encens is quite special in few aspects. Roughly it has two acts: First act is opening that goes through sceens of magical transmutation, it is magical floralo~fruity play of shift change through olfactory resiny prism. First act is loud in projection. Then the second act is like the olfactory memory of the first act, plesant rasiny echo of it, until it fade completely. It's 9 ingredients are all adhered in 10th highly viscous wood secrete resin. The stage long before it becomes amber... 😊 Or Encens is intelectual not masculine, dark but not black, not sharp but plesantly higly viscous,almost exotic, it is not juice (physically): "It is all his ingredients adhered in one resin transmuted in air around you. Visually & tactually: Intelectual deep blue color and big deep blue moist serpentish shape with warm sparkles and gliters on it... are recalls that came to me smelling this edp. L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Or Encens (poeticaly): "Is like resiny rose in the midle of whirlwind of incoming storm." Soundtrack: A Kind Of Magic by Queen 😉 ENJOY L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Or Encens! p.s. I know this is briutal to other 'fumes... but it is true, and it goes Sonorous: "Pour Homme Or Encens is like the tune of RED SPECIAL Guitar of Mr Brian May, while playing A Kind of Magic, in spotlight on entirely dark stage." So, May you smell, listen and feel, to play out happines! (As I do right now.)