Dates Delight

Fragrances I love are highly evocative and I imagine them with their own setting. The House of Oud Dates Delight is a hug from your crush who just wants to be friends on an autumn afternoon. It is enticing, beautiful, intoxicating, but also full of longing, nostalgia, and fantasy. The description of this as an Oriental Vanilla fragrance rather than a gourmand, despite the key notes, is correct. Some sweetness is there, but not like comestibles or candles, though I definitely appreciate gourmands as well. I have the type of skin chemistry or texture that tends to soften fragrances in general, and this one is no exception. It becomes an addicting powdery scent on my wrist. The powdery phenomenon is quite common on my skin, but the urge to indulge in this luxurious and complex blend of subtle sweet spice is not. I do detect some dates and honey, but a bit more floral of the peony comes through for me than the votes on here would suggest. However, this may be more of a personal issue because my nose is sensitive to flowers and I typically find floral fragrances much too boisterous and irritating. I had to throw away the paper on which I sprayed a free sample of Omanluxury Flowerlush (only once!), for example. Dates Delight, in contrast, will find me inhaling the scent of my wrist several times an hour. So if the peony note gives one pause, I highly recommend a good sample of this juice before dismissing it outright or blind-buying it. This fragrance is also not super complex nor strong and should prove a versatile layering scent. Definitely plays well with others. Overall, 10/10.

Having sampled a good few perfumes from The House of Oud, I find that where this brand excels is in its creative gourmands. Dates Delight is another such scent, alongside Almond Harmony, Grape Pearls and What About Pop. I haven't come across many date-dominant perfumes, but this one is excellent. It is very reminiscent of the decadent, honeyed fruit, which I've only tasted once - on holidays in France. The dates are complemented beautifully by the rich gourmand notes, making for a comforting yet sophisticated scent. DD opens with the aforementioned dates, rich and caramelised, enhanced to perfection by the burnt cinnamon note, adding warm spice. Caramel brings it to gourmand territory, while tonka bean rounds out the soft spiciness. Honey emphasises the rich sweetness in the base, complementing the dates beautifully. The caramel persists, melding seamlessly with the vanilla and burnt sugar. A sweet amber accord emerges in the base, resinous and soft, but complementing the gourmand notes to perfection. Sillage and longevity are moderate. A feminine-leaning but potentially unisex gourmand, DD is a good-quality, easy reach in cold weather. It is well-blended, with little change as it develops. Rich, sweet and warm, it is deeply satisfying - both comforting and elegant. Who knew how well honeyed, caramelised dates could work as a perfume? 4.5/5.

It's delicious, it's delightful, it's delovely. As a sweets-and-gourmands sceptic, I still adore this beautiful scent ... it's got just enough grunt and dirt (and great heaping spoonfuls of cinnamon) to let it stay bewitching without ever cloying. This is an adult pleasure, not a kids' dessert. The pyramid above might make you think it's a sticky, syrupy, overwhelmingly rich, but no - it's terribly classy (just as well as it's also horribly expensive) and seductive. The dates, right in the middle of things and the lead of the chorus line, are certainly sticky and fudgy, but always somehow still natural enough - with notes of green and wood and life - to seem charming and real. Cinnamon and cistus add in just enough dusty, herbal notes to keep things honest. So - an unqualified love! This is what Zoologist's Camel aspires to be, I think. Surprisingly good longevity (I kept getting unexpected wafts throughout a day and kept deliberately sniffing myself to check it was as good as I thought it was - confirmed, every single time... projection's not massive, but I still got delicious puffs of distant dates as far as 9-10h in, almost unheard of on my skin) and a really rounded, solid feel to it overall. I could only ever afford this via a decant or a used partial bottle, but my good g'gosh it's gorgeous.

I cannot express in words how much I am obsessed with Dates Delight! It is so warm, soft, sweet, creamy vanilla with thick honey, cinnamon, tonka beans and coumarin. It also reminds me of Bianco Latte which I have and love. I have checked and they share some notes. But Dates Delight is the softer, warmer, nuttier, more refined, almondy version of that DNA profile. And it has dates which I think it’s what smells so divine and delicious in here. Don’t know how to describe what I experience now, it’s a scent that is so delightful. I love the fact that it is so sweet without smelling synthetic or tooth rotting sweet. It’s an addictive smelling scent, right up to my alley. I am planning on getting Dates Delight at some point. Maybe for the next fall season, this will fit like a glove during spiced latte season. Performance is the only downside of Dates Delight. It wears for about 5-6 hours with minimal silage. And it costs an arm and a leg. I bet some of the money goes into the cost of those weird looking bottles. I am not a fan of that design...

I really get the spiciness of the cinnamon and coumarin in the opening, with the sugared dates and fresh peony underneath. Leans more masculine at first, with an almost medicinal scent. Like a tiny hint of gold Listerine mouth wash, but that scent fades after a few minutes. Although this is a sweet fragrance, it never turns syrupy sweet. The date scent gets deeper, but the spice keeps it fresh, and there's a hint of powder in the drydown. A beautifully addictive fragrance. I only tested a small amount, and the projection is really great. I find myself sniffing my arm constantly, but also there's a wonderful sweet aura of it around me. I will not purchase a full bottle, but only because of the expense. If this was affordable, I would have already purchased the largest bottle. What I will do, is sit here in fragrance happiness until this scent fades. I still have three quarters of my tester left, so next time, I will slather this all over me, and spend most of the day simmering in this beautiful fragrance.