Oud 27

I have been a hobby perfumer and perfumista for 20 years and my first few encounters with oud did leave lasting impressions but not especially favorable ones. Being in love with natural ambergris, deer musk, and orris to an obsessive degree I was beginning to feel I was just doomed to love all those things that cost the most and then I heard about agarwood. Of course I HAD to smell it and low and behold I too was taken back to an old Dodge Dart my dad had thats wiring harness burned up and while probably equally as costly the smell as to me equally as unappealing, so a but later fully in denial there could possibly be something out there I couldn't afford that I didn't have some burning obsession to have, I obtained some tiny samples of some REALLY expensive ones. All I could say is that I had NO difficult time believing I was smelling a years old defense of a tree against a fungal infection, just unpleasantly sickly sweet and pungent sort of like freshly spread mulch. But now some 20 years later with all the types of oud hitting the market I see the whole range of types depending on all kinds of factors I still have only begun to learn, but the oud in this perfume whether natural or synthetic seems to be one of the kinds that I have grown to like. Yes, it does have a bit of the harsh burt wires character but I see it more as a very heavy strong more bitterly intense wood smell. Now the great thing about this perfume is that the perfumer knew just what he was doing when he added cedar and civet because both of those serve to add warmth and fill in the thin spots in the fragrance profile of the oud and gives us a nice rich oud note which is the focal point of this perfume from the moment you spray it on until you bathe. The pachouli, amber, vetiver and rose are so well blended that they really do all their work behind the scenes where they provide a solid and deep base to support the star of the show, the oud. So, if you like the ouds that are not the sweet barnyard, or mulch sweet fungal infection types, but rather a bit like a heavy dark rich, slightly sweet wood with a hint of the burnt wires, then this is a perfume that you will really like. I feel that it showcases oud in a easy to get to know and get to love way, but still unless you are really in love with oud I would never recommend this as a blind buy. Definitely get a 5ml decant or at the very least a sample and give it a few days because the first day I tried it, it was a no go and by the end of the third day, I was online looking for the best price for a full bottle. It has nice sillage but you are not going to fumigate the whole room which with oud is a good thing because not everyone is all that enthused with it. It lasts a good while on your skin so you can put it on and not have to reapply at lunch.

Le Labo Oud 27 Oud 27 is notorious. On perfume forums, not a single thread about animalics goes without mentioning Oud 27. It is one of the most debated and polarizing modern fragrances. Oud 27 is deceptive. Reading about it, you will find little truth. Half the people will say that it is repulsive, and another half will tell you that is is gorgeous. What is even more deceptive is that there is no oud, synthetic or natural, in this perfume. You have to experience it for yourself. Perfumes promise to delight. When one first smells a fragrance, they expect to be pleased, not challenged, and definitely not offended. For a common person, Oud 27 is a sucker punch straight to the nose. First breath, and it feels like you had the air knocked out of you. The civet reeks. It is stale, unsettling, pissy, and dirty. It overpowers everything and leaves you shocked. However, you notice something strange behind the civet, and instead of recoiling in horror, you sniff on and find a strange, sweet, synthetic berry accord drawing you to inhale deeper. Here you find that pleasure which you expect to get out of a perfume. Here lies the art of Oud 27. I can't say that it is well blended yet. As it develops, the dusty, dirty, earthy, pissy animalic accord does not go anywhere. It stays there like Quasimodo, in an old suit, holding a bouquet of stale flowers and a box of dried fruit candy. Oud 27 is a juxtaposition of tenderness and repulsion. Oud 27 is triumphant in the drydown. The dust settles down. The dirt grows on you, flowers bloom, and you learn to love it. Oud 27 is an antihero. The audience is presented with something unmistakably flawed and human. At first, there is more to dislike about Oud 27 than there is to like. However, something about it is promising. There is a glimpse of beauty within the character, and the audience is gripped by an inner conflict of the ugly and the good. In the end, you learn to, if not love, then at least respect Oud 27 for the complexity of its nature. Rating: 10/10 First experience: I received a broken sample from the perfumed court, and the envelope was permeated with Oud 27's dry down. I knew it was bottle worthy there and then. Veteverian.wordpress.com

Imagine a strong smokey, boozy, zilty Islay scotch in ancient old (atlas) cedar wooden barrels. That’s what I mostly get from Oud 27. I have been testing and wearing it for a long time now. It took me a couple years to decide to buy a full bottle, but eventually I ended up getting a set of three 10ml bottles and later a 50ml bottle. Both from very different batches as the three smaller bottles have brown liquid and the bigger bottle transparant white. In scent pretty much the same, but perhaps in strength and longevity there’s a difference. I believe the animalic character comes from the synthetic oud from the company Firmenich, like another reviewer mentioned. I own a dilution of the aroma chemical, it’s called Oud Firbest. The whole scent is build around this material. They might have added synthetic civet to enhance the animalic character and to add more depth. I don’t get any outstanding rose note which I am happy about as I am not fond of this combination, I have smelled it in many mainstream oud fragrances and find it a bit boring. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not in it, they might have added it for it’s effect. I do get the aldehyde, which gives the scent transparency and enhances the musky side of the composition. The musks used most likely are rounding off the rougher, sharper edges of the fragrance. Unfortunately it doesn’t last very long on my skin. It could be that I get noseblind though. It’s not a scent to smell up close. I believe it works best to smell in the air. Having said this I mostly where it for myself on my wrist and one spray on my chest when I spend time alone. My wife hates it. She does like the body lotion variant which isn’t so skanky and more woody-spicy. Performance differs per season. It really doesn’t work in warmer months, it bcomes sharp, sour and unbearable. Definitely for the colder months. From the many oud fragrances I’ve tried this is one of the few I really like wearing, hence I bought a fb. That said, I don’t think I have ever smelled real oud, just to keep perspectives straight. Oud 27 brings memories and gives me a pleasant olfactive experience.

I first came across this scent about 2 years ago... At first, I remember being shocked by it. However intrigued and repulsed at the same time. It was polarising. I didn't dare to have it on and felt very self conscious that it may offend others. This is not an easy scent to appreciate immediately. I suppose as you age and your taste develops, you no longer find what you thought was funny and entertaining, entertaining. And you develop intrigue and appreciation for things more complex and sophisticated; in all aspects of life. So this happened with my taste in perfumery. I revisited this scent during a time of nihilism. For whatever reason, Oud 27 spoke. It is confident, gutsy and honestly gives no fuck. And for that, I love it. I gave it a test wear... Whether it's the attitude of the wearer or not, people seem to appreciate the scent and I started receiving compliments. It's so beautifully original, balsamic, and so mysterious. This work has integrity. I applaud Le Labo for conceiving such a concoction. It is unlikely to appeal to mass market but for those that's 'smelt it all', would be excited by this. Please don't ever stop producing this.

In my honest to god opinion, this is the only Le Labo fragrance worth the money for a full bottle, albeit having mostly nothing to do with its namesake Oud, and everything to do with a truly beautiful, slightly skanky civet. To my nose, this is primarily an animalic (again, civet) and aldehydic woody musk scent with a touch of rose for levity. While I understand that animalic perfumes are polarizing, I genuinely don't see a world where Oud 27 could be perceived as offensively fecal or inappropriate for daily wear - I've received more blind compliments wearing this than many other objectively "safe" perfumes. There is a slight barnyard style funk, but nowhere close to compositions that heavily feature real, natural oud, and the barnyard in this image is clean and quite welcoming. I really don't like to give Le Labo my money, but I love this perfume. This could easily be my signature, but between the absurd price, the truly poor longevity (I'm lucky to get 3 hours from this on skin, though I've heard that age is a friend to Oud 27 in this department), and the Estée Lauder of it all, I reserve my small bottle for special occasions.