O18è Extrait De Parfum

This is some proper, serious big boy niche fragrance right here. So much so, I'd suggest it stretches the credibility of the term "unisex". I dont know many women who could or would carry this off but I'd love to meet one! 018 Extrait is the second of two Maison Origines I own and they are absolutely some of the finest niche perfumes I've ever experienced. I am fond of the hyperbole sometimes but I do not say that lightly. I was walking home earlier thinking about how best to describe this one (I'll do a review on 01 Extrait later, which is the other one I have) but this a bit difficult to describe to someone who isnt into niche fragrances. There is such a lot to take in and appreciate. Without being patronising, I think a lot of people wouldn't "get" this as a fragrance to wear, although I think almost everyone would appreciate it as a fragrance on someone else. If you "get it". - this is a work of genuine perfume brilliance. Like 01, this is a massive opening salvo on first sniff and the bergamot, cypress and pepper are almost brutal. It is heavy. But as it dries there is this fascinating duality at play. You have a very, very faint floral note of rose, lavender and jasmine on the drydown I think not to add a floral note per se, but to brighten and sweeten without adding sweetness past the well-judged frisson of incense that runs through the high, middle and end of this. Against this you have a hard spine of three different types of woods to anchor this and serve as its guide. Almost to allow the floral notes and top bergamot, the sweetness of the incense etc to play. As you'd expect, the drydown is woody but very classy, not bitter wood. There is no smoke here. The spice and floral notes elevate it and add a super classy tempering to the intense woody accords. I spoke about TF's Oud Wood recently and how I love it but had grown out of it a bit, and it is fragrances like this (which is not a million miles off but nowhere near as sweet; its classier, more masculine and more self-assured) that make me realise that there is an awful lot more to woody fragrances than just the OG OW. Unlike Oud Wood or indeed its replacement in my collection, Ebene Fume, this is a much more powerful and longer-lasting scent and is on a different level entirely in terms of compliments. You get a solid 7-8 hours of this and longer once it goes to the skin. Like Ebene Fume, this is a formidable date night frag, but with a totally different character. If EF is burning hardwood logs at night in a forest in a far away exotic land, this is 30 year old Japanese whiskey in the nicest and most expensive log cabin in the mountains you could ever imagine. It isnt a jeans and a t-shirt wearer but I tend to dress more formally these days in Dubai anyway and this is absolutely at home in a suit, polo, casual shirt or business casual of your choosing. Scent - 9/10 Sillage - 9/10 Drydown - 8/10 Packaging / bottle - 8/10 Performance - 8/10 42/50

Morning to night - full day longevity Love all the transitions of this scent, from initial spray to dry down to base notes Spray on clothes and it'll become intimate but can be detected on a 2nd day- go light on sprays I love this.. works for both genders Very rose-prominent throughout, perfectly balanced with spices and a faint hint of incense, more floral but has a dark background depth.

This is a true niche. Was waiting for fragrantica for so long to add this brand. I never smelled anything like this it’s middle eastern vibe but not heavy oud. The performance is excellent.

This brand is really scamming us.