Papyrus Oud 71

Let me start off by first saying I have Gucci Pour Homme 1 since it came out. Before that I had CDG Man 2. I recently acquired Bentley Absolute and Papyrus Oud. Let’s put CDG man 2 to the side as it’s a wetter version of this DNA. GPH1 is dry, woody smokey, peppery. Bentley Absolute is even drier. And out of the hundreds of fragrances I’ve ever smelt, it was the first time ever that I felt the need to scrub a fragrance off my skin. That stuff is bone dry. Now to Papyrus Oud. Obviously if there is any oud in here it’s synthetic but it’s very hard to detect. You have to really go looking for it. But that’s not the point of this fragrance. It was supposed to be a remake of GPH1. And it excels in that department. It is 99% the same. The only differences I can detect is that it is not AS dry as GPH1. And it is only a very slight difference. This could be the oud note providing it a light resinous quality. I do get the slightest hint of sweetness in the dry down coming from the vanilla which is a welcome introduction. It stops the scent becoming to stuffy which I think Bentley Absolute suffers from. Papyrus Oud also smells less synthetic and better blended than Bentley Absolute. Papyrus Oud is the true successor of Gucci Pour Homme 1. Yes it is expensive. But it’s cheaper than what people charge for GPH1 online. This is your best bet if you want this DNA. Performance is better than the others too. Don’t waste your money on a 15+ year old bottle of GPH1. The King is dead. Long live the King.

This was another unexpected revelation, and a fragrance I fell in love with immediately. I received a sample alongside a full bottle of Orris Tattoo, and it took exactly one wear for me to order a large bottle of this as well. It’s intoxicating in the most refined, elegant way, deeply comforting, but never lazy or dull. I reach for it constantly, especially at night. It’s warm, dry, and impeccably clean, and in my opinion it’s quite simply the best woody fragrance I’ve ever encountered. It’s also hands-down my favourite woody scent from Parle Moi de Parfum. What really sets it apart is the balance. Despite the extensive list of ingredients, nothing juts out or feels discordant. Every element is perfectly integrated, working in harmony to create a hyper-realistic, enveloping woody scent. It wears beautifully for seven to eight hours, projecting to about arm’s length for the first five before settling closer to the skin in the most comforting way. Even the following day, I can still catch traces of the oud lingering softly, warm, refined, and faintly bitter in a way I didn’t expect to enjoy, but absolutely do. That subtle bitterness adds character without ever tipping into harshness. Of all the woody fragrances in the Parle Moi lineup, this is the standout. Confident, polished, and utterly addictive. Frankly? It’s the tits.

I have never smelled Gucci PH, so I can't speak about that association. If you drenched Encre Noire in sunlight then maybe this is what it would smell like, but I still don't think it's a fair assessment of what this scent brings to the table. On first spray I thought 'Gee whiz, who thought that Oud could smell so fresh, light and green?'. Then I checked the notes and it's not even listed... so this is an oud accord which makes sense for the price. The incense and green notes are dry, lush and super aromatic. If the florals play any role then they only serve to smooth out the rough edges and bring balance to the main notes. This is a great blend of young and mature, aromatic enough for the day yet dark enough for the night. I could see myself wearing this very, very often. The longevity and projection are solid, projection is good enough for people to notice and longevity is good enough to see you through the whole day. The person who wears this is not trying to be bombastic, but deserves to be taken seriously. I'm a huge fan, I actually think this would be great as a daywear/ warm weather option. Edit: I tore through the sample and have ordered a full bottle. This is a real chameleon on my skin, about 12 hours in it morphs into a dry tonka/ musk heavy skin scent which I'm in love with.

SEASONS: Definately suitable for cold and cooler weather but I won't vote on seasons yet. I am in South China and the hot, sticky summer hasn't started yet. I will try this on a hot day though, see how it goes. It's spring now and has worked fine in the evenings here. Hope it works in the summer evenings too. SCENT: I was actually looking for a summer fragrance for high humidity but was curious about PO (a seasonal distraction). Basically I finished off a 2ml decant and loved it. I ordered a 100ml bottle that turned up today. I showered and sprayed 6 times. This full bottle is 10 times better than the sample. I LOVE this. The olibanum is perfect, so pronounced. And the cedar makes it incredibly sexy. I notice a dark chocoloate thing later in the performance. The vetiver is nice and dry, the whole thing is dry. I enjoyed Private Label by Jovoy and this shares some of the same qualities, but this offers much more. Papyrus Oud has quickly becomes a top 10 fragrance for me. PERFORMANCE: I can smell myself without trying for a solid 3 hours, after that it stays closer to the skin. Not sure if other people can smell me or not. Will update this review at a later date.

Got this off from Mr. P’s recommendation. Never smelled the original GPH so can’t comment on its similarities. This stuff is incredible, though. ATH also has a review, and its spot on. He rationalizes this creation as “geometric”, which I feel is a perfect representation. The formulation is sterile, clinical, geometric, with infinite precision and technical balance. Papyrus oud is a very poor name. My feeling of this scent is that this should be an modern architect’s scent. Obsessively perfectionist, everything in balance, harmony. Clean, geometric angles, natural materials, but their wildness tamed, wrestled under human control. Man’s supremacy over nature, over entropy. Wood prints in concrete. Supreme scent. Office safe, leans mature. A bit disappointing in its lack of meaningful development, but the scent profile itself is immacculate. A man in control.