Black Aoud

Yes I love this fragrance, yes I love Montale and yes I do still hate those aluminium tins. Black Aoud is a very heavy, very resolute fragrance that has an atomic half life on the skin. It is dark, but has a well-judged wearability that may surprise some people expecting to go full on Sauron Darth Vader Genghis Khan on first spray. It has a reputation as a sledgehammer play on the oud and rose theme but there is a lot more going on here than that. The first thing you notice is how woven-in the rose is relative to a surprisingly medical and aromatic patchouli. There is some quite regal labdanum in the heart as well and the rose accord is further complicated by a really unexpected and very delicious orange blossom note in there too. Together, the fruits, aromatics, incense and florals combine in a way that has a charm and appeal that takes this well past just another dark oud. The noble wood herself in this is an accord that is Parisian clean oud vibe if that makes sense, rather than being animalic and fusty as we are more used to here in the Middle East. In fact the whole enterprise feels very Parisian in the way it is blended and the way it shimmers and glides on the skin. I enjoyed it on first spray but it really comes into its own as it warms up on your skin in the drydown. The patchouli stops just short of being difficult but I can see where the observations about a synthetic, rubbery feeling come from. Personally I am fine with it. The rose extract grows in prominence as it settles. It is a jammy, heady rose accord not a fresh, dewy floral one. It is as wearable as Ombre Nomade and comes alive in the heat here, and so it is probably not a big shock that I enjoy this one as much as I do. It is weird because it feels like it should be fresher and sweeter than the other ouds I own with the same profile, but the patchouli and rose are a bit mischievous, almost sticky. It is darker than it feels, but not because of the oud if that makes sense. You could absolutely rock this to the office but obviously go easy on the nozzle as this would be a bad one to go too heavy on. This is one to wear when you are kicking ass and taking names. Three Word Summary - Wearable, fun darkness. Layering suggestion - I don't think you or anyone else should be layering this one. But if you do, Lord of Misrule by Lush over the top would turn this into a patchouli powerhouse. Just be gentle. Outfit suggestion - black cowboy boots, the good jeans, black shirt, black jacket, black RayBans for when people who take you for granted need gently reminding of their responsibilities. Scent - 8/10 Sillage - 9/10 Drydown - 9/10 Bottle/packaging - 5/10 Performance - 10/10 41/50

I just ordered a bottle of this and it should arrive later today. But I'm wearing it right now. I ordered some Bois De Yuzu and a restock of Versace L'Homme yesterday and I always get to choose two samples to go with my order so I came here and compared the available ones with what I read in reviews and decided to give Black Aoud a try. But it seemed so scary lol. After what I read here I was nervous AF as to what it would be like. You guys... But it's not nearly as scary as I thought it would be and I like it a lot, like a LOT, so much so I ordered a full bottle. I'm fully into chypres and light classic scents, always have been, I rarely if ever go for the darker heaver ones but this is sublime on me and is going to be perfect for colder months for my darker side and of course for extra special occasions like the opera or premieres. And yes it is very strong, you all got that bit right, it only needs a couple of light sprays and you're done so this 100ml eau de parfum bottle is probably going to last me a lifetime . Two words which come to mind when describing this scent would be 'power' and 'sex'. EDIT: 14 hours or so later and I can still smell it occasionally pleasantly wafting up from my chest where the heat is under my v-neck t-shirt, this is amazing. When I smell my forearms up close it's quite faint now but still there so I would have thought it was almost gone everywhere else too, but every now and then I get a good whiff of it floating up still. I will add something I learned about this fragrance, and that's that I sprayed the paper a half hour before putting it on my skin and I still have the paper on the table in the kitchen. During the past 14 hours it has mellowed and traveled a beautiful journey on my skin, the patchouli, the oud and the rose mellowed a lot and melded into one sensuous cohesive smell, whereas the rose started off front and center and almost too much and overwhelming everything else. But the paper now smells exactly the same as it did when I first sprayed it, very very strong rose and not much else. So this behaves very differently on paper, in a way I have not seen from other fragrances which do go through some kind of change to a degree (just not as good as on your own skin), and I do not recommend anyone just spray it on a tester paper and decide only on that, it has to sit on your skin (well they always do), but in this case it just doesn't move out of the initial stage on paper at all from my experience so you have no choice but to use your skin. This fragrance is totally sublime. I'm in love with it.

Your child or a young member of your family comes up to you during the giving holidays. They know you love art, and they say “I have a gift for you - I know you like art!” “Wow, thank you!” You’re expecting a print of Klimt, Picasso - The Kiss or maybe Guernica, you’ve wanted to hang those for a while - maybe a Monet even though you’re not that big of a fan of Impressionism. Instead, the young’un hands you a watercolor they did in their art class. Are you disappointed? You will be disappointed if you’re the type that dislikes Montale’s Black Aoud. If you’re not the type to be disappointed, you will chuckle and smile at the completely forgivable, rudimentary and puerile nature that warms your heart. The latter describes Black Aoud for me. In an era of fanatical-bordering-on-cult like devotion to oud, where to be at least acceptable the perfume needs to be utterly superfluous, the oud rose perfume has a lot of upper echelon entries. Black Aoud does not fit into that echelon or anywhere that close, but it has heart and magnetism like that child’s watercolor. The oud is properly oud - funky, barnyard-y and animalic, woody, and all - yet it doesn’t have the depth and the fullness that connoisseurs assuredly identify in the real thing. The rose is similarly defined; it’s a candied rose that smells cheap, but not overly synthetic, and yet very cheerful. The materials chosen and the proportions with which they are married just simply work. Oud that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but oud nonetheless, and rose that has a fruity and giddy laugh, not a significant amount of drama or histrionics as the rose in many rose ouds can have. The rose is more forward in latter stages than the oud thanks to the addition of musks. Let’s not forget, it’s cheap. Don’t go scoffing at that, either. We all moan and groan about the price of perfumes these days and yet perfumistas are the first to see a low price tag and pass - “it must be bad.” Black Aoud doesn’t smell expensive, but it doesn’t smell cheap; it smells good. Period. If you like it, it’s an everyday oud rose perfume that will get you positively noticed and not break your wallet doing so.

WARNING: Story/Poem + Review (for those who are in search for reviews only 🙂) ~ Black Veil's Essence 🌹⚫🥀~ Strolling down the alley and into the woods you find yourself next to a lake. Shadowy corners at every step merge with the damp dark soil surrounding the water. A fragrance so wispy emerging from beneath your feet is rising in mid air, dancing with the trees. The smell of her thorns drowning into your presence. A photorealistic rose behind a black veil's essence. She is hidden, yet her presence, emphatic. You inhale her smell afeard, it's sharp, but ecstatic. Of life and death she emerges. From black soil she was risen and into the black earth she'll take you. Wrapped and safe, in her black veil's essence. - That, is the story of the rose from Black Aoud. REVIEW: In my opinion, one of the best roses for fans of darker rose accords in fragrances. An unapologetic, fully grounding scent with a punchy and extreme projection. A truly Gothic composition portraying all of the facets of a darkest and undead, rose. Undead, because she is thriving despite still carrying traces of the thick and heavy, black soil she emerged from. The scent is first making itself known with a note of oud which starts off sharp, to later unfold it's slightly jammier side. It's a kind of rose you'll find during the night time, under a full Moon. At the same time pushing you away but pulling you in. All of the background notes including patchouli, labdanum and mandarin orange are there to "shape" the rose and give it depth. A timeless and elegant creation exuding sophistication. Suitable for both ladies and gentlemen, be it a femme fatale vibe, a mysterious or collected and reserved type, or simply, a lover of darkness.

I received this as a dabber from Luckyscent. Immediately after opening the cap, I recoiled at how strong this is, not a bad thing. I absolutely love oud rose fragrances, and this is no exception. Upon first applying it, the oud does stand out for a little bit in a slightly animalic scent and then calms down after a minute and blends in with the rose, creating an almost clove-like scent with the patchouli. If you have ever smelt Portrait of a Lady by Fredric Malle, you'll find some striking resemblances. The rose and patchouli combo instantly reminded me of POAL, and I will consider purchasing this based on the insane price difference, strength, and similarity. This perfume is an absolute beast with projection, so spraying lightly is recommended, similar to POAL, that fragrance is also a beast as well. I would also say POAL is slightly more complex compared to this, but the differences are not inherently noticeable in the air. As I said, in POAL, the clove really stands out, creating an almost animalic spiciness to it in the opening, along with the dry, but slightly jammy rose; in Black Aoud, I get a similar vibe. Instead of clove, you get a slightly animalic oud along with the dry and jammy rose, followed quickly by the patchouli, creating a similar dusty but serene landscape of a quintessential oud and rose. I know POAL does not have oud in it, but I can't help but make that resemblance. All in all, this is an absolute belter of a fragrance, and considering you can find it for under 100$ on some discounters makes this remarkable. This is also my second Montale fragrance, and I am really enjoying it.