Velvet & Oud

I recently blind bought this perfume despite not being a fan of Oriental scents, at least not on me. I simply love it. The first spray is a blast of sourness, a little medicinal but it only lasts a minute if not less. After five minutes its warm, spicy and addictive. Deep, not too sweet, mysterious and sexy. I can not smell it after a short while but it's there, it comes back unexpectedly and makes me fall in love again and again. I think warm weather is required for the fragrance to blossom. It thrives on a warmer skin. I wished it lasted longer and is more present. I thought I need another rose oud fragrance to layer it with, I already ordered Monotheme Venezia Rose Oud with the hope it will be a match. PS My bottle is black, don't know if there is a difference in the juice. I guess no. Update: I got the "Rose Oud" by Monotheme. And no, not a match.

Without a side by side comparison it certainly isn’t an exact match with the original Jo Malone fragrance but I think this is nice enough that it stands on its own. The JM starts with a blast of gasoline and saffron which mellows to a softly rosey and velvet powdery woods that whispers gently to you. Whereas this really pulls quite jammy and rosey but gives the overall impression of JM quite well. I’m pairing this with Jurlique rose lotion and scented body oil and enjoying the soft rose aura around me today. I’ve ordered a JM sampler and will update when I can compare side by side.

Nose Note #178 It's from the realm of Dior Oud Ispahan, Lattafa Oud Mood and the like, but this one is indeed more "velvet". Very good performance On the verge. 4.5/5

A pretty good dupe! However I’d call it a bit watered down. Jo punches you in the face and then turns sour. This one starts off sour and mellows down. Smells both fresh and mature, which to me is a contradiction, but so is the OG. The sillage is either none existent OR my nose is fried by all my beast mode fragrances. Test it on skin, because on paper it remains linear and unpleasantly sour. In skin it develops to rose and incense combo. Currently testing it during a rather chilly autumn week, but I’m curious to see if it’ll fan out further with warmer temperatures.