Oud Occult

Well let me be the first to say (I quite literally am) that this fragrance is 'meh' at best. You know when you were a kid and you did something wrong and your parents said "We're not angry...we're disappointed." that old chestnut? Well this is that, personified in a fragrance. I looked at the way it was presented and the name, and made certain assumptions and judgements that were clearly in error. Oud....before anyone else can say it ....WHAT OUD?!?!? I'm normally devils advocate to those who expect artisan oud in every scent that dares to have oud in the name and this time I don't care either. I'm more miss led by the 'Occult' part of the title, this stuff is far from occult especially after a week sampling NOT perfumes...now that's occult! Anyway back to oud, I perceive of a woodiness which is transparent and a bit like Tom Ford Oud wood, not very 'real oud' like and not even synthetic either. However now that it's dried down I get a characteristic synth oud smell, of liquorice and ebony/rosewood emerging and again it's not unpleasant. The opening has definitely got a candied orange smell and it's reminiscent of a much better fragrance in Hope by Agonist. Then there's the vanilla or more accurately a vanillin smell, quite custard like and not overly cloying or anything, I like it and I'm not a snob about 'real' vanilla particularly, although I do concede it is more faceted and complex smelling. This stuff reminds of a panna cotta, it has a creaminess but it's also a little gelatinous and see-through.

Fragrance In Three Words: Tangerines Incense Sawdust. Solid opening of sweet tangerines and black pepper. It doesn't contain actual oud, but it has a dusty incense (reminded me a bit of Terror and Magnificence), creamy sandalwood and a slight sawdust cedar. Drydown is quite sweet with some peach and vanilla amongst the amber woods. Price in the UK is £98 for 50ml. That would make it the equivalent of £196 for 100ml. This puts it on the expensive side, but cheaper than Prim Parssana and a few others. Score 7 out of 10. Source: 1ml decant sample.