Oud you like to try some?

I find the whole subject of oud and its uses quite fascinating, but I also find it quite irritating. The reason for this is the exclusivity associated with genuine oud. What I am really saying is that I yearn to try some proper ouds but the price point is insane and my wallet barely stretches to sampling niche fragrances, let alone  a wood prized by Arabian Sultans and Oil Sheiks. To date I have sampled a lot of oud-based fragrances by Le Labo, By Kilian, Montale and Micallef. However, I am led to understand that none of these (possibly some of the Montales do) contains any real oud and that they are all based on oud accords, which is a synthetic recreation of the note. Please correct me if I am wrong, or go read some of the oud threads on Basenotes, some of which date back three to five years and are scores of pages long. I am toying with the idea of ordering some samples from suppliers such as Arabian Oud, Al Munnawarra, Oriscent, Ajmal, etc, but as I already said, the price point is staggering for what you end up getting. I understand a lot of this stuff is highly concentrated, but still folks, my daddy is not an oil baron and I am not the love child of Bill Gates, so I might need to seriously reconsider.

While on the general subject of oud, is it just me, or is there a lot of snobbery surrounding the whole real oud/fake oud debate? I find especially on Basenotes a school of oud lovers that sneers at people's appreciation of oud-accord perfumes such as those I mentioned above, just because they are not the real thing. In the next breath, some of these people then go on to brag about how they are going to "drop a couple of $350" this weekend on a tola or two of whatever insanely expensive oud is on offer online. If these guys are speaking the truth (and why should I doubt them, I'm not jealous - goddammit yes I am!) I still struggle to understand how they could spend these sums of money regularly on what amounts to a few millilitres of juice. To be fair, one person's $350 could be another's $3.50, who am I to judge! In any event, I still wish they would be able to accept that a lot of us just don't have access to these "exalted" ouds, or don't have the cash, plain and simple, and start losing their oud attitude. Actually, that would make a good rap line, don't you think?

Anyway, lets move onto the main subject of my post today, Micallef Oud Homme and By Kilian's Pure Oud. The Micallef opens very bright, with plenty of sweet rose. The oud is evident and is quite similar to the accord used in Czech & Speake's Dark Rose. There is a slight medicinal edge to the oud, but nowhere near as intense and forceful as some of the Montales. As the top fades, we are left with a fairly straightforward oud-rose combination, but a very well done one at that. I find that oud can often be quite a sombre affair, but in Micallef's case, the effect is bright, zippy and happy. It's a bit like Montale's Black Oud on happy pills! The heart notes contain a lovely, fresh rose accord that is on the sweet side and for some reason this phase makes me feel like I am being soaked by rays of bright sunshine, streaming in through a window - radiant, is how it makes me feel. In the dry down all the notes fade and smooth out, with that overall feeling of happiness and sunshine never leaving me. To my mind  this is a great example of an all-year-round oud fragrance. It isn't too forceful, yet it isn't bland either and would make a great introduction for someone looking to try an oud fragrance for the first time.

Pure Oud is a strange one. It opens with no sweet or citrus notes to speak of. It's a severe, woody oud from start to finish, with little embellishment. There is a hint of the barnyard, but overall it feels very woody, not resinous, but quite dark and brooding. I'm reminded of the elementalness of raw wood for some reason, but also of old, decaying wood, slightly mouldy and dusty. There is a slight camphorous note in there, not really detectable unless you sniff really closely. As it moves through the heart to the dry down, the woodiness becomes more complicated, with a mushroomy note and a vague hint of something sweet, but its hard to pin down. The fragrance remains quite severe, earthy, a little decaying right to the end. I would say this is one for the hardcore oud (or should I say ord-accord?) fan. I think quite a few people might struggle with this one and although I did find it quite compelling, I wouldn't say it is an easy perfume to wear. Again, I would recommend trying this one, although it has to be said that By Kilian is hardly the cheapest niche line in the world. Definitely one to sample first before purchasing.

Le Labo Rose 31 and Oud 27

I am a relative newcomer to Le Labo. Although I have known about the line for some time, it is quite hard to access in the UK, unless you happen to be in London, where their line is carried at Liberty. I understand their flagship store has recently opened here too.

I ordered some Le Labo samples from Luckyscent a while back, and two that I've tried a couple of times now are Rose 31 and Oud 27.

Created by Daphne Bugey and released in 2006, Rose 31 has received a lot of favourable reviews. I am a fan of rose scents, but like them quite dark and broody. I went through a phase last year of trying lots of rose dominant scents, including Un Rose by Frederic Malle, Voleur de Roses by L'artisan, Amouage Lyric, Dark Rose by Czech and Speak and Rose Poivre by The Different Company. You get the picture - roses and then again some. Rose 31 opens with a quick blast of citrus and a faint rose smell, more like a crushed stem (but not green) rather than the flower. It soon becomes a lot more rose-focused, reminding me slightly of Voleur de Roses. As the rose note strengthens, it loses that initial freshness and sweetens up, becoming richer. At this point I am reminded a little of Malle's Un Rose, with its truffly richness, but only briefly, because then it veers off on an interesting path as it becomes spicier, when I start to notice the cumin. Cumin is not a deal-breaker for me and I've always associated the note with cooking rather than the dreaded body odour. In any event, it is so well blended here that it never becomes overwhelming. I do get a hint of pepper in the mid-phase and the spiciness is appealing as the scent loses some of the sweetness and becomes dryer and dustier to my nose. I wish this lasted longer because soon the scent becomes quite linear and the rose returns, brighter than before and stays like this for the duration of the drydown. I do get little wafts of cumin weaving in and out from time to time but by this stage it has become a skin scent and is mild and pleasant. I think it is a good scent; I'm just not blown away by it, but its well-constructed and well-executed, just not terribly daring in my opinion. 

What about Oud 27? Released in 2009, I find its opening surprisingly dry, with only a hint of sweetness, which I interpret as a honeyed note. If you like your oud accords to lash your senses with Montale-like ferocity, then you will be disappointed. I don't get that medicinal/band aid note and I'm glad. There is a slight synthetic feel to the opening, reminding me for some reason of new plastic, like the dashboard of a new car. After a few minutes the scent darkens and becomes woodier, plusher and more oppulent. The honeyed note fades and I get more of the oud accord. I have read other reviews that describe the oud note here like wood that is charred on the outside but still raw and sappy inside. I don't know if I quite interpret it like that, but I sort of know what is meant. The scent does become more resinous in the middle and then in the drydown stays woody and then sweetens, not cloyingly, but enough to keep it feeling quite rich, yet in a close-to-the-skin type of way. For some reason the overall feel of Oud 27 reminds me of polished wood - not the actual smell of polish, but the shininess of old wood that has that sheen of polish. Its hard to explain, but that is the mood it evokes for me. Of the two scents, I find Oud 27 a bit more daring and interesting. Its not an oud accord I've personally encountered before and definitely is not in the same mould as the Montales, M7 or the By Kilians, Pure Oud and Cruel Intentions.

Would I buy a bottle of either of these two? I'm not sure - at these price points a perfume has to pretty much knock my socks off. Rose 31 is nice, but doesn't really move me. Oud 27 comes a lot closer - it is interesting and it is different. Perhaps time will tell.