Ruby Red

Many people say when they smell a perfume that they think of a colour, other people think of a person with the characteristics that the perfume embodies, others think of situations, moods and places. For me a perfume transports me to a different universe. I can become so absorbed in it as to even ignore the world that we live in at the moment and focus on worlds that do not exist. My sister is an illustrator and writer of children books, she creates dreamy universes where characters are made of cotton, cloud, amphorae, tomato, You name the strangest combination of character, settings, plots and conversation and you land in one of her universes. Her universe elevates not only children but also adults up to a reality where poetry, music and visuals and lighting elements convey all sorts of emotions; all of them human; compassion, friendship, loyalty, humour, witchery, treachery, trickery, camaraderie contriving and conniving yet tender at heart. When I smell ruby red by the House of Oud Thoo, I am in one of these universes. I do not have to travel to get there. I am there. Perhaps I am made of crystal or I am a tree, or simply a passer-by. I might be a beautiful sculpture of Daphne or her before she turned into a tree. But I am beautiful and ethereal; the ginger and the tangerine perfectly balancing the white florals and the musk and vanilla giving it the presence of fairy, a witch, a forest creature, a tree. I can even imagine falling asleep inside a giant leaf after a long walk in her universe trying to meet every single one of the characters. The leaf is cosy and inviting just like the perfume itself enveloping you with the most care as if you were indeed made of glass. Bottle worthy scent; really bad for my pocket but really evocative, stunning and fairy-like.

Where do I start with this perfume? On first spray I get absolutely beautiful creamy tuberose and ginger. Smells so creamy and so intoxicating. As this starts to dry down the ginger remains and the tuberos softens a little bit, but you get this gorgeous cream candied ginger. The slight florals round this perfume off perfectly. This is not a full on ginger forward fragrance it's a very light and airy ginger not a spicy in your face ginger. It's one of them perfumes that once you start sniffing yourself you don't stop. This is another perfume I would repurchase for life it is absolutely gorgeous the longevity of it is really good on my skin and the sillage is really good as well. I would say this is more feminine than masculine for me. After wearing this for a few hours you begin to smell a lovely rounded floral and candied ginger that has a slight touch of sweetness. This is one of those fragrances that is really hard to describe. This might not be everybody's scent profile but this is definitely a 10 out of 10 for me.

Love at first sniff! Ruby Red is my type of spicy! Spicy and vanillic, and citrusy and white and yellow floral and woody. A mishmash of notes creating a very smooth, unique, at least for my collection, scent. Until trying Ruby Red I was convinced that I do not like heavy ginger leaning fragrances but this totally changed my mind! It’s warm and creamy and juicy and addicting! Probably the fact that it’s combined with 2 of my most favourite flowers: white flower, tuberose, and yellow flower, ylang ylang, had something to do with it. And it also a sweet, honeyed type of ginger. And I love sweet scents. I am not familiar at all with House of Oud fragrances but testing Ruby Red made me interested in giving this house a closer look when I will find myself around a place where they carry this brand. I always found these bottle a bit weird looking if I am honest! I need this ASAP in my collection!!

I love fragrances that are so well-blended that they take on a life of their own. Ruby Red is the perfect balance of sweetness, seduction, and coziness—creamy florals, gingered vanilla, and silky woods. On my skin, I do get a touch of smokiness from the woody notes, which I usually avoid, but I really love in this. I had an emotional reaction upon first spray, like an enveloping hug or relaxing in a hot bath. Ruby Red is a masterclass in timeless elegance. Edit: After wearing this a few times, my husband pronounced Ruby Red as being "too sweet", but I don't care because this fragrance is therapy in a bottle. Also, someone said it reminded them of Hypnotic Poison, and I agree. In the dry down, it feels like an airier Hypnotic Poison without the intense almond note combined with Loubirouge. Lovely.

Ruby Red is definitely a very unique scent, but you have to really like ginger to enjoy this. It's very spicy but delicious, it opens up with a very strong, spicy ginger note, in the mid you start to get the florals, and the dry down for me is a spicy, sensual vanilla musk. The ginger stays throughout the wear of the fragrance. It's not sharp or overpowering, and I do find some THoO fragrances quite sharp and heavy. This is a stunning release and I'm so happy it's finally available in the UK. If you like fragrances like Givenchy L'Interdit Rouge, there's a high chance you will really enjoy this. @Natalieex and anyone else who's interested, I have this available for sampling, message me :)