Sand Aoud

I first tried Mancera Sand Aoud back in 2013 and, finally, just got around to pulling-the-trigger on a full-bottle purchase this evening. I love Sand Aoud so why the five year delay? Well, Sand Aoud is certainly a unique oud fragrance. The feeling I get is sweet, dry, desert sand when wafts of this fragrance reach my nose. The oud is noticeable but it is certainly not the pungent, dark, medicinal (e.g, Bandaid) or overly smokey variety, so it is safe for the office and significant other. Moreover, Sand Aoud is a little spicy (warm) combined with that light sweetness. I was drawn to this fragrance, which I really enjoyed when I first sniffed it, but decided not to purchase a bottle because I didn't quite love it enough. You known the feeling! Yep, really unique...and interesting...and the type of scent that I keep sniffing my arm. Alas, it's just difficult to find an appropriate time to wear this one and I had enough of these "for myself" fragrances. Plus, I had more than a half-dozen samples so what the heck. Over the years I would occasionally wear one of my samples and find myself loving it more with each and every wearing. Sand Aoud is a quality fragrance and there is just something ultra unique and interesting about it. Sand Aoud is a perfect name and I am so glad that my bottle will be arriving shortly after wanting a bottle for so long.

I can't comprehend how this fragrance is so low on the top rated Mancera fragrances on Fragrantica. Of the 12+ Mancera fragrances I own this is easily one of the best. It strikes the perfect balance of what makes the other more talked about Mancera fragrances so good. Sand Aoud will always work. The longevity is not in your face but is easily 8-10 hours. The image I get in my mind is like aging wine in a wooden barrel to get the aromas from the wood into the wine, this is what Sand Aoud reminds me off, almost like a sweet port wine matured in oak barrels. Not to say the the fragrance smells like wine and woods, but the class of Sand Aoud can not be mistaken. Don't sleep on Sand Aoud, get it. On the days you don't feel like Instant Crush or Red Tobacco this will slot in perfectly. If I was forced to, I would easily let some of my more well known Mancera's go to keep this gem. Matt's review from Questioning Scents on YT describes Sand Aoud perfectly and ultimately made me pull the trigger. 10/10 in every aspect.

#629 in my "Tour de Fragrance" This is a mild, spicy, incense and oud scent. It is reminiscent of Amouage XXV but spicier and better longevity and sillage. Priced right. Car pool, elevator and office safe, but more of a date night scent to me. I'm beginning to think I should just stick to Mancera and Montale since the majority of their scents I've tried so far have been a hit with me, but I think that's because they're pretty much all variations on the same theme and I like the base notes they so frequently use. Sand Aoud, Wind Wood, Hindu Kush, Saharian Wind, Gold Incense all have the same basic character with a couple of note variations, so they're all likeable in the same way, but all pretty much interchangeable. You could have thirty of them on the shelf, but which one you reach for doesn't really make much difference. But I'm a stockpiler (kind of a 'hoarder lite') so I may end up with thirty of these on the shelf by the time I hit 800 trials.

Having owned this a week I've had a couple of unsolicited compliments and I can smell this stuff for hours..one of the few perfumes I can smell shafting around after 6-8hrs. I thought it smell slightly feminine at first but it's more masculine for me now. I think that saffron comes across slightly feminine, I've always struggled with saffron. Either love or dislike in any perfume it's in. This stuff smell great and quite unique. 8/10 - losing a point for versatility and for feeling slightly overpowering... Worth a sniff I totally under this is a love or hate type perfume. I really like it but not a love. This is more of a guilt pleasure at home perfume. Although having twice compliments in the first week hasn't happened in a long time with a new perfume. Would love to know how this smells in the air, ladies clearly love it...

Very underrated and beautiful Oud fragrance. It is quite unique, and it does match the name as it's evocative of a night in a desert tent. The black currants and spices at the opening are highly complimented as it evolves. They give a crisp, sophisticated and exotic scent that meshes into the Oud, Incense, Saffron and Musk. The Vanilla is there but not cloying or loud, but just enough to give some sweetness to those other notes. It smells "expensive" and luxurious, but in a different kind of way. Very suitable for a more mature man who wants to make an impression, in a formal or elegant setting. The performance is quite good. I go noseblind quickly but it lasted over a night into the next afternoon for me. It's my favourite Mancera and I'm going to definitely buy more of it.