Night Aoud

(A review originally posted on MakeupAlley in 2006, I wanted to re-post it here now because I do not use MakeupAlley anymore [but have many fond memories of using it] and I am trying to get back into writing reviews, using old 'work' as inspiration...): Ah, my first aoud perfume (in my collection full bottle wise), this is a hard review to write because I am in love. How can one write about such a gorgeous perfume where the mustiness of aoud is so beautifully done? If I didn't know better I would claim this was a soli-bois ;)(instead of a soliflore). Some have called aoud medicinal, and in the line of Montale parfums it has that tendency (which I ADORE)--but in Martine Micallef's line aoud is given an elegant treatment, I haven't had the chance to sample Rose Aoud from Micallef or her original Aoud perfume, but I am guessing they have the same refinement that I smell in this creation. This is a powdery, fungal wood bending under hot sun, but making for a fragrance which to me is like skin oozing with pheromones--its like a hot snake slithering in the sand to me. This is a hard review to write because I am unable to pick out the notes except that I know there is a high concentration of aoud, the other notes and spices would be just guesses...cinnamon? How embarrassing. Maybe someone above can help me? Simply a holy grail for me and a beautiful bottle (light blue swarovski crystals!), beautiful packaging and a BEAUTIFUL scent. Thank you Martine Micallef.

I want to add to my review below, with the distance of time and age and with those perspective, that there is something in the combination of sweetness and woods that I find akin in texture to "10 Corso Como" the first perfume, where a raisin-like sweetness (from sandalwood?) meshes with oud in a delightful way. Here it is peach and ylang which mesh with oud and sandalwood. Both perfumes are for me elegant and girly / womanly / just gorgeously feminine at the same time, in a way I find positively fetching. It's like the sweetness "floats" over the woods, as fluffy fruity marshmallowy clouds float over beach and dunes and sea. These are perfumes of vastness which can conjure up visions of things, better times to come, beyond horizons which I suppose makes them eminently "uplifting".

Wonderful clean, crisp, woody and fruity perfume. Another great oud-y gourmand. Micallef seems to be exceptionally good at this! I wonder if they still produce this perfume, as there is no Night Aoud on their site anymore, neither Aoud Gourmet appears to be there. The opening is woody, spicy and smoky, however the initial blast does not last too long, and in 10 minutes Night Aoud transforms into a sweet, powdery, somehow "clean" perfume (white musk?). I feel a lot of ylang ylang here, and of course the peach note - ripe and sunny - is the most prominent in the composition (at least to my nose) apart from aoud and sandalwood. The drydown is all amber to me. Lasting power: around 6-8 hours, sillage: just right, won't kill anyone ;)

I love Night Aoud, it's gorgeous. And the bottle is the most beautiful thing!! Such a lovely ethereal spiritual colour, it makes me melt looking at it, and holding it is a pure pleasure. It's a very sensual (in a spiritual way), warm and mysterious perfume, and has a depth and sweetness, quite a beautiful gourmand element, combined with a really rich and soft oud, juicy delicious fruit and sweet herby spicy patchouli, and a strong galbanum. It's a wonderfully complex fragrance, and it's like a spiritual adventure, going along unknown paths of mystery and delight for the soul. It goes on for a beautifully long time too, never getting dull or boring, and has the best most warmest dry-down! I really really love it.

Am I the only one thinking this is not only a night perfume? On me it settles downn to a soft and gentle aroma that I could wear it during the day without problem.