Muscat

Muscat from the English House of High Luxury Perfumery Ormonde Jayne is part of the 'La Route De La Soie' collection, it is an Oriental Spicy Amber Smoky Balsamic perfume. Inspired by the city of Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman. The perfume already starts by rejecting the usual citrus and floral springboard and instead opting directly for main notes of amber persuasion; sensual and fiery. It opens warm and spicy with a striking saffron and a juicy sweet date setting the tone, and tempered by cinnamon and cardamom, all well blended. I already liked it right away! The delicious dessert halwa, an Arabic sweet with sesame permeated by a mist, with the arrival of incense of excellent quality, begin to smoke the ingredients wonderfully and brings me flashes with a slight bitterness of an oriental black tea. A semi-gourmand fragrance. A smoky woody oud is present but without difficulties that with moss adds more depth, a very discreet rose supporting that removes any possibility of the fragrance becoming just another 'Oud & Rose' combo. A beautiful and delightful Ambaresco, Spicy, Smoky, Balsamic perfume; flirting with the gourmet without actually becoming; Perfect balance between sweetness, spices, incense and green wood. Excellent Quality and Great Performance!

Muscat was a total blind buy during the Black Friday sales last year, during which I secured a brand new bottle for just £65 - an insatiable steal. I did not know what to expect, but I was very surprised by what I smelled, for it was instantly recognisable - Oud For Greatness by Initio. It’s got the exact same overwhelmingly sweet saffron note, so much saffron it fills a room with ease and hangs in your nostrils endlessly. However whilst OFG goes in a slightly spicy direction, Muscat leans into the dry, incense-y facet with more prominence, as well as the oud accord being more noticeable. Oud For Greatness was a scent I used to own and love, but eventually grew tired of the DNA and sold it on. It feels good to own this scent profile again, but one that feels improved and more refined whilst still retaining its impressive performance.

I love this! The guy underneath the guy underneath me speak facts. The drydown is better than Haltane. To me Haltane dries down to a basic masculine shower scent. Muscat stays woody, incensy and unique. It doesn’t have the lasting power of OfG but it is a better scent to my nose, thanks in part I think to the halva note. It has a more animalic opening than OfG, which I like, but that only lasts for 15 mins. I also don’t go nose blind to this like I do with OfG.

A flaky, buttery, syrupy pastry stuffed with sticky dates and enlivened with a light dusting of cinnamon. The slightly smokey oud and rose accord at its heart manages to avoid generic banalities. Saffron and cardamom are used with a deft touch. The fragrance draws us by the nose into the tangled ancient alleyways of the souk where reality and illusion are magically entwined. I love it!

Very beautiful fragrance, it does have a strong resemblance with Oud for Greatness in the opening, but as it dries down, you can smell more of the incense and the sweet notes/vanilla. It starts spicy with the cinnamon and saffron, but that dies down after the first 30 min, and it becomes a beautiful oud, rose, incense and vanilla fragrance. I think it's a must try.

This is very different than what I imagined being compared to our for greatness or balance. It’s a beautiful fragrance and loaded with spices and incense. This is an incense fragrance to my nose. It’s a smooth incense. No citrus or sweetness just dry spice and incense but very regal. I love it

A true sleeper of a fragrance. Not the most unique DNA, but it provides a unique take it that is perfectly blended and the sweet, warm Halva note in the middle is incredible. This is a highly sophisticated and addictive scent that's surprising very versatile giving it has an oud base. 9/10

So beautiful! It has a regality to it and I always feel special when I wear it. For the quality of the fragrance, I do think it's reasonably priced - there will never be a need to overspray with this one.

Nothing about this smells cheap if you like Haltane and OFG but more natural and authentically middle eastern get this

Similar to OfG but nowhere near the nuclear performance and projection of the OfG formulation I sampled.

Oud For Greatness gone more authentically Middle Eastern and Gormound.

This is Oud for Greatness' rich and better looking twin brother

Guy underneath me speaks facts

What I immediately get in the opening, before I review the notes, is a minty, slightly fruity leather/suede fragrance. It's sexy and light, and reads as completely unisex to me. Now I've read the notes I'm surprised there's no leather accord listed - but I really get the saffron, the cinnamon, the rose oil and a little touch of oud. The oud here is very soft and beginner friendly! I don't really remember what halva smells like... I might have never smelt halva before so I can't really comment on that. This could really work for someone who does not want to smell too sweet, too feminine nor too masculine but they want to smell put together and professional. There is a nice inviting warmth to this scent that makes me feel like it might really shine in colder weather but I don't think it's inappropriate for spring or mild summer days. Solid perfume

I wasnt sure if I liked this at first. Theres a bit of sweetness but an unmistakable tabacco leaf and leather note. Unlinke the other scents in this line it felt much more male leaning. I own Levant and Damask and I find both feminine leaning, so Muscat is really different. Within 5 minutes it hit me, this has the same tabacco vibe as Amouage Sunshine. If you like a strong, sweet, tabacco-y perfume, then you might love this. The scent warms up to a comforting unisex sweet, spicy kind of tabacco. And its really pleasant after a while and stays on your skin the entire day.

I just purchased this after smelling it in store. It’s not an inventive or entirely creative DNA, but I think this is the best out of all of the Oud for greatness DNA’s. This is the smoothest, roundest, and most addictive one, while not being way too overpowering. Very good perfume, and this makes haltane, OFG, and other perfumes of that DNA redundant if you have this! My only complaint about this, is that I think the bottle is terrible. So ugly for such a beautiful scent

First impressions on paper: Shares a strong similarity to Oud For Greatness by Initio. At first spray, it is a little less "oudy" than the aforementioned fragrance. Tried briefly on paper, but perhaps a tad sweeter than OFG, dries down a little less sweet. All-in-all, a bit redundant to have both.

If Oud for Greatness took a trip to Oman, spent a few nights in a local hotel, had halva for breakfast, enjoyed Middle Eastern–inspired drinks, savored dishes seasoned with cinnamon and cardamom, and then returned to France to self-reflect, it would be this.

One of the few oud fragrances I really enjoy. The dates and saffron blend into a gorgeous warming and spicy blood orange to my nose. A great cold weather perfume, and super long lasting, it's like a better, slightly cheaper Oud for Greatness.

To those complaining about the quality — go get your nose checked. I can’t stop smelling my hand! For the record, I’m super sensitive to synthetic fragrances .This one’s a keeper. We need an intense version of it!