London Oud

I placed a small order on their site after reading the Fragrantica article about their shop in Leeds. Out of the attars mentioned in the article I found on the site Royal Blend and London Oud. For those looking for this, know that they also stock Amouage attars and Amouage pure oils that they decant (I also took a 3ml of pure frankincense from Amouage and it is divine; and for those looking for Hommage, they have it also, but it comes at a price). Now on London Oud: I am impressed by the quality of both London Oud and Royal Blend. I am not an expert but own a few ouds and attars from other popular brands like Arabian Oud and Swiss Arabia and some nameless ones also and except for the pure ouds and musks from Arabian Oud, I haven’t seen yet an attar that has the longevity and projection of these two ones. Next morning it is still there and on the clothes. London Oud seems to me a very concentrated bergamot oil in the beginning on a cedar base and ginger, which moves then into a very pleasant ginger-vanilla-amber dry down. It’s called oud but I don’t smell any. Lovely and of a beautiful quality. However the oud is totally present and massively so in Royal Blend which has an even higher power and projection to the point that despite loving pure ouds, this one is almost too much for me. Also because it is a blast of Indian oud so be prepared for the whole barn coming along with it rather than the more vegetal and easier for me Cambodian or Laos ouds.

Now this is a very lovely fragrance full of incense and spices with ginger, vanilla and a powdery sweet ambery sandalwood to finish. This scent projects well and lasts for over eight hours. This fragrance smells like a less complex but a more agreeable version of Interlude Man by Amouage. Take out the oregano and kitchen spices from Interlude Man and add vanilla to go with the amber and you have this scent. The Sweet Sandalwood finish in the basenotes just seals the deal for me in that I would take this over Interlude Man any-day. Big thumbs up!

The initial smell I got was a fruity essence of berry and spicy citrus, but without smelling like a fruit juice. The amber makes the fruitier smell more subtle and gives it an edgy yet classy. In the dry down, the fruity smell retreats, and the sandalwood starts to become more noticeable. This is where it becomes more of a skin scent. I didn’t notice the oud explicitly, but I suppose it contributed to giving the perfume the elegant vibe it gives off. Overall the blend is very sophisticated and easily pulled off in any setting. No one will be offended by you wearing this. Longevity was pretty good, I could still smell it off my skin a few hours after standing by a BBQ. The projection on a hot day was large, I applied a generous amount on pulse points and it was noticed by most people in the room. I’m giving this perfume top marks for value, class, and being unique.

I first smelled this on a trip up north, I found the shop in Bradford and was curious as I love fragrance. I sampled a lot of the fragrances in the store, but this one really stood out at the time as a unique masculine scent. I could picture mentally a confident man striding through the bitter cold of the London metropolis with this spicy/ amber/ Oud scent. It has a strong almost sour feel to it. It's earthy, with a sweet edge. I had two bottles of this and gifted one to someone at work as they liked it. Scent Salim have high concentration oils in their fragrances, and they know their stuff when it comes to Oud. They were out there fighting the good fight before a lot of western designer brands started jumping on the oud band waggon. This is a projecting fragrance, it's loud, and unapologetic. If you want to stand out, this is a good shout.

I got a small bottle of this and smells nicely, didn,'t expect it like that, is way more classy that i though. Deep and slightly mystical, very lineal. Opens sweeter in the open but starts becoming darker in the dry up. The smell makes me think in warm wax and candles with some kind of incense, a little bit churchy... This review is for the Attar Oil version, not the Spray. Cost me 7,5 pounds while in offer, wich i think its a very good price.