Carved Oud

Today, I'm staying with the esteemed house of Thameen, turning my attention to their fragrance, Carved Oud. For me, this is the scent that truly put Thameen on the map, heralded as an ideal counterpart to Tom Ford's Oud Wood. Knowing Oud Wood stands among my top Tom Ford creations, the idea of another fragrance that wasn't a clone, yet could go head-to-head with it, was incredibly compelling. I'm eager to ascertain if it lives up to its considerable hype as a worthy alternative. Let's get into it. Opening The initial moments of Carved Oud unfurl a tapestry of rich woods, warm spice, and grounding earth. The leading notes that immediately register are oud, cardamom, patchouli, and cedar, with the oud and patchouli asserting the strongest presence. True to its name, the oud commands the early stage, presenting a dark, rich, and distinctly earthy wood tone. This oud is strikingly gentle, almost identical in its refined character to the oud found in Tom Ford's Oud Wood, adeptly bypassing the challenging "barnyard" or "fecal" aspects often linked with raw oud. Following closely, patchouli contributes an intense, almost moist earthiness, accented by subtle green nuances. Next, cardamom and cedar seamlessly integrate. The cardamom plays a supporting role here, yet it successfully imparts its signature warm, distinctively spicy accord, reminiscent of that found in scents like D&G's The One, though here it's notably smoother and more polished. Finally, cedar punctuates the opening with a substantial, dry woodiness, clearly distinct in essence from the oud, and notably free from the divisive "pencil shavings" quality it sometimes carries. Dry Down As Carved Oud evolves, the dry down settles into a sophisticated blend of deep woods, lingering earthiness, and a soft hint of sweetness. The primary elements I continue to perceive are oud, patchouli, cedar, and vanilla, with the oud and cedar becoming the most prominent. The oud, predictably, remains the central focus, maintaining the same dark, earthy woodiness from the initial phase. However, in this later stage, it develops a slight animalic edge – it's subtle, certainly not approaching the intensity of pure natural oud, but it does feel a fraction darker than the oud in Oud Wood. Concurrently, cedar gains prominence, offering a more pronounced measure of the dry woodiness that began in the opening. These key elements are then joined by patchouli and vanilla. The patchouli shifts to a background role, delivering its familiar damp, green earthiness, now softened and more understated. Lastly, vanilla emerges, enveloping the dry down in a comforting, gentle sweetness; it's subtle enough not to overwhelm the primary notes, yet sufficient to provide a nuanced coziness. Performance The initial projection in the first hour is remarkably robust, effortlessly filling a room. The scent's sillage demonstrates comparable strength, casting a discernible and ample trail. After approximately three to four hours, the projection maintained a solid presence, extending about six feet, with the scent trail remaining readily apparent. Around the 7-8 hour mark, the projection had died down considerably to about arm's length, and the scent trail was only faintly noticeable. The fragrance became a skin scent shortly thereafter, demonstrating respectable performance. When to Wear Carved Oud positions itself as an exemplary fragrance for fall and winter, equally at home during daytime and evening occasions. Its inherent sophistication and composed elegance make it an outstanding choice for a romantic encounter or any special celebration. It also possesses the refinement suitable for formal gatherings or an office environment. However, due to its very polished and reserved nature, I wouldn't typically opt for it in highly casual settings. Blind Buy Categorizing Carved Oud as a universally safe blind buy depends largely on personal preference. However, if you are drawn to elegant woody fragrances, and especially if you appreciate Tom Ford's Oud Wood, then this is unequivocally a 100% safe blind buy. It provides an exceptional and highly approachable entry point for exploring oud, particularly for those seeking its refined facets without the intensity of its more challenging forms, largely owing to its striking resemblance to a beloved classic. Final Verdict To be direct, Carved Oud offers an experience remarkably close to Oud Wood without being an exact replica. The oud itself bears a striking resemblance, as does the overarching structure of the fragrance. Carved Oud introduces a touch more depth to the oud, along with an added earthiness from the patchouli, but beyond these subtle distinctions, the two are remarkably similar. A significant point of contention for me with Oud Wood has always been its underwhelming performance. While I wouldn't label Carved Oud as a "beast mode" fragrance, it delivered marginally better longevity and noticeably better projection than Oud Wood on my skin. Ultimately, from my subjective perspective, Carved Oud emerges as the superior fragrance between the two, particularly considering its price point, which is typically around $100 less than Oud Wood. This is a scent profile I profoundly enjoy, and once my current bottle of Oud Wood is exhausted, I foresee myself reaching for Carved Oud as its dignified replacement in my personal collection. Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 7/10 Sillage: 9/10 Versatility: Average Mass Appeal: Average Gender: Masculine Value: Overpriced

Review and comparison to TF OW. The batches being compared are - TF OW - B81 21257 (2021 September batch) & the batch on my Thameen CO - WMD23511-2 (no clue when it was made) First off, the presentation is quite nice. I have the 100ml bottle, and from what I can see, the 50ml is identical, only smaller. The box is quite solid, with good detailing & a drawer style opening, similar to Nishane. The padding inside is solid, but velvety to the touch. The bottle itself is somewhat bland, in my opinion. Not that it looks bad, but it’s a basic blue cube with the name of the house & the fragrance on the front of the bottle. It comes with a magnetic cap with the logo of the house on the top. The cap is almost rubbery to the touch, but it’s made of plastic. The cap also has a polarity wherein it corrects itself when you close it, similar to Dior, Chanel, Amouage, etc. the sprayer is excellent in terms of distribution, and creates a mist. It’s a pressurized atomizer similar to Dior’s, and one can control how much one sprays; but I think even with a full spray, it sprays a bit lesser than one’d imagine, so one will want to spray two sprays where usually it would be a single spray. Presentation wise it’s a 9/10. I only wish the bottle would’ve been a bit better decorated. Now for the smell. I don’t know what people saying this doesn’t smell like Oud Wood are smelling, but having spent enough time using both on different hands & separately, this is 99% Oud wood. The only minute differences I can pick are that in the opening, there’s a lack of pepper, which I liked in OW, but this is smoother, making it more versatile and usable (not by a huge margin) & In the dry down, the cardamom is quite a bit more prominent on my skin (this is the same type of cardamom note in YSL LNDL EDT), while in OW, the woody notes are more prominent (OW does not change beyond this). In the far dry down, they smell exactly alike. Essentially, CO has an extra layer of development from the opening where it smells like one has layered YSL’s La Nuit De L’homme edt with TF OW, before going into the final dry down, where it smells exactly like TF OW. In a blind test, if you’ve spent enough time with either, you can MAYBE pick out which is which in the opening and mid, but ONLY if you put your nose to it and really look for the differences. In the air or from one’s memory, there’s no way anyone is telling which is which. It’s quite hard to rate this fragrance in terms of smell, as it is clearly ripping off someone else’s work. However, the ingredients and blend being used are sublime, perhaps, even better than the original. At the same time, it is copying, pretty much with dead on accuracy, one of the best scents ever made. So for the smell, I’d give it a 9/10. Had this been an original composition, or even some kind of a twist to the DNA, I’d have given it a 10. Lastly, the performance. This is not a beast mode fragrance. Longevity is decent on my skin. Between 7-8 hours (which is double than that of OW), but it sits close to the skin after about 2 hours. Of course, OW is long gone by then. In the performance department, it gets a 7/10. Closing thoughts - In my eyes, this is certainly a clone of OW; only a very good quality clone with excellent ingredients and blend, done by a niche house in the form of an extrait, but a clone nonetheless. Generally, I don’t condone clones, but seeing as how OW has abysmal performance with an exorbitant price tag that just keeps rising, I have no issues with recommending this over OW, as the quality is just as good, if not better, with double the performance, at the same price, or even cheaper. Overall, I’d give this an 8/10.

When people first encounter oud and find it unpleasant, the reaction often comes from the slightly “funky” character oud can have. It may remind some of damp wood, animalic nuances, or the fermented quality of aged resin—sometimes even slightly sharp or pungent. Part of the reason lies in how oud is traditionally used. In many Middle Eastern oud perfumes, the materials or accords employed are quite powerful. They can contain prominent animalic, leathery, or even slightly fecal facets. These elements give oud its depth and wildness, but they are also what many people refer to as the “smell” of oud. In Carved Oud, however, that aspect is almost absent, which is likely one reason it receives such positive reactions. Rather than presenting oud in its most raw form, the fragrance places it within a modern Western structure and interprets it differently. The opening features cardamom and pink pepper, which create a sweet, gentle spice without sharpness. Cypress and cypriol follow, introducing a dry woody tone. The opening does not feel heavy; instead it resembles wood that has been dried by the wind, carrying a warm touch of spice. At this stage, the scent almost reads as a spicy woody composition, with the oud itself barely noticeable. By the time the oud appears in the heart, it has already been placed within a very clean woody framework. As a result, the oud smells more like dark polished wood rather than fermented resin. Cedar and patchouli continue to extend the dry woody character, while a faint powdery hint of iris appears. The transition between the opening and heart remains quite smooth. In the drydown, sandalwood, amber, and a touch of vanilla slowly emerge. The fragrance becomes warmer, yet still maintains its overall dry woody character. The overall impression is a clean, spicy, woody interpretation of oud. The oud is present, but it has been reshaped into something softer and easier to approach, without the animalic qualities that often intimidate new wearers. For many people, it works well as an introduction to oud.

I have a 2ml sample, and after wearing it and really testing it. This is what i come up with: Yes. This Is basically almost TF Oud Wood. Although not exactly the same, it's no question about it being Very inspired by Oud Wood. But honestly, i like Carved Oud better. I have only tried Oud Wood in a store once, and wore it on the arm for a day. So take that part with some salt. but, when i smelled Oud Wood on me, i got an "old dusty cabinet in an old cabin in the woods" smell. Not that great, and not very appealing. I never really loved it because of that (again, it was a tester in a store, so remember; "salt".) I'd give the scent of Oud Wood a 7/10. Carved Oud on the other hand smells like more freshly cut wood. It's spectacular. Sillage and longevity is great too. I can't help but love it, and i will be getting a full bottle at one point This is such an attractive, manly, rough and tough scent. Yet, it's gentle, fresh, clean and sexy at the same time. If this is what a good bottle of Oud Wood smells like, i now get why people love it. But for me, Carved Oud is the superior scent. It lasts all day. It projects nicely, but not room filling. Anyone passing you Will smell you though. Pretty linear through out. It keeps that fantastic scent from start to finish. Smells of quality and like an "old money" kind of guy. From what i've heard, this was supposed to be the old version of Oud Wood, before the reformulation that a lot of people dislike about Oud Wood. I can see this being great for Autumn, winter and spring. Day or night. Work safe if you're the boss or are closing deals. Could be work safe in general, but people might think you're planning to take over the whole operation. This is a Boss's scent. Score: 9/10. Very little i can complain about or want fixed. The only negative is that it is an "Inspired" fragrance. Blind buy safe if you like Oud, woody notes and mature scents. This is Not for the teenager looking for his first fragrance. This is an established, grown mans scent. And there is Nothing wrong with that.

No one is going to care about this story - but i want to immortalize it by putting it on the internet :) So around 2007 or so, I was in chicago for a long weekend with my girlfriend. We were walking the magnificent mile and stumbled into a saks - or something like that. There was a SA pushing the new "tom ford private collection" - first, i didnt know a thing about fragrance. I didnt know who tom ford was - and when she told me the price, i didn't care. She ended up giving me a sample set of the original scents - which included tobacco vanille, oud wood and tuscan leather. A few weeks after i returned, i remembered that i had been given the samples, and decided to try them out. I went back and forth between tuscan leather and oud wood - ultimately landing on oud wood. I spent a quarter of my paycheck and got a bottle. it was my pride and joy. It was the first "niche" or high end fragrance i had ever even heard of. I didnt know there was a whole underworld beneath the Macy's counter. i cherished that scent so much. I kept it in my car (yeah, bad idea) - so that i could spray it before i went somewhere. A few years later, i traded in my car...and i left the bottle in it. It was gone. The original release of tom ford oud wood was lost forever. I could get a new bottle - but i'm sure it's reformulated. fast forward to present day - i'm hearing carved oud smells like oud wood? i must try it. Well i'll be damned if this is not a dead ringer - nostalgia and everything - for the original oud wood. I thought this was gone forever. but ...alas...here it is again! From what i recall, i don't perceive any difference between this and oud wood. That can be good or bad, depending on how you view it. For me, it's good - because it smells just like my OG bottle. while this isnt tom ford, it may as well be. I'm happy. 10/10 best scent in existence.