Altholz

After the fragrance is described here at Parfumo as Royal Oud Dupe, I had to have it. Not so easy... I have nowhere found at the usual suspects perfumeries, so directly ordered from the manufacturer.

"Royal Oud | Creed" belongs next to "Cedar N' Pepper | Birkholz" for me to my absolute favorite fragrances. That just for the info...

Great was the expectation, but also with a healthy skepticism, whether it actually creates another company to cover this great Creed fragrance halfway reasonable.

Already at the first spray I knew it: operation succeeded! The combination of pink pepper and cedar is unmistakable, even if the lemon shines through here a little stronger than in the original. Of the oud, just as with Royal Oud, almost nothing is recognizable, but is also not missed. Angelica and sandalwood do the rest to it and ready is a beautiful overall composition.

Is there any difference at all? Yes, even if only a small one. While in the original the individual substances interweave more with each other and represent an elegant unit, it is here the individual notes that you can perceive better and the whole does not seem quite as deep and noble as in the original. The H/S is also not quite as with the Creed, at least not as far as my 2016 batch is concerned, but definitely in the green zone.

Who Royal Oud is too expensive, but basically like the fragrance, can access here for a quarter of the price blindly!

This review is for the 2021 version.

Admittedly, the ingredients are pretty much the same. However, there are also in the Aventus big differences, depending on which batch code he has, or from which year he comes, everyone knows by now. So I approached the extensive and long test cautiously, in the background always in mind to consider this fragrance as a standalone. OK, this is very difficult...

The same citrusy prelude as the all-round, whether the initial note hated "Club de Nuit Intense Man (Eau de Parfum) | Armaf" , which goes through here almost to the end, paired with some grapefruit. Pineapple can only be made out after a few minutes with a little imagination, joined by a strange character that could be a mix of jasmine and Clearwood. Clearwood is a substance that can be described as very light patchouli with a slight minty touch. Kind of a mismatch. After a while, it becomes a bit more (er)wearable as a bit of oakmoss embeds itself in the drydown. From smokiness I notice here nothing, at most still some woodiness in the finish. From the scent of a forest far away.

From the initially strong sillage is also almost nothing left after a few minutes and the durability on my skin... after 3-4 hours, everything was over. Beastmode? With me definitely not.

Personal conclusion:
Considered as a dupe: by far the worst clone. "Club de Nuit Intense Man (Eau de Parfum) | Armaf" and "Supremacy Not Only Intense | Afnan Perfumes" are miles ahead here.

Considered as a standalone fragrance: does not go because of the similarity.

Can not understand the euphoria and am glad to have received only a sample and not immediately dared a blind purchase.

Normally I like incense very much. An incense as it occurs, for example, in "Full Incense | Montale" and "Cardinal | Heeley".
This one is different and much lighter. I think it's because of the combination with lemon, elemi resin and pink pepper in the top notes. However, the incense is also gone relatively quickly and the other ingredients come out.

Cedar and vanilla play only a minor role here. Primarily, this is here the white musk paired with cashmere wood with lavendeligen hints, which makes the fragrance.

I don't know why, but somehow it all reminds me of a combo of "Le Mâle (Eau de Toilette) | Jean Paul Gaultier" and a creamy and citrusy aftershave.

H/S in the lower mid-range. Not mine and therefore no new happiness!

After the review of Val I had to have the fragrance too. Yesterday arrived and extensively tested. Before: The holy "Aventus (Eau de Parfum) | Creed" Grail it is not. Admittedly, today's Aventus version is no longer as good as in the beginning, but to the old batch codes also this fragrance comes nowhere near.

Since I also own the "Club de Nuit Intense Man (Eau de Parfum) | Armaf", I did the test left arm - right arm.

The Armaf is more citrusy than the Afnan at the beginning, which somehow seems a bit rounder. After about 30 minutes, I then noticed the main difference: Armaf is 90% similar to Aventus, Afnan goes more in the direction of Aventus (70%) meets "Baccarat Rouge 540 (Eau de Parfum) | Maison Francis Kurkdjian" (30%). The projection and the sillage is almost the same with both... so really a lot of power!

However, the Armaf lasted longer with me on the skin than the Afnan, which I no longer perceived after about 10 hours at all.

The packaging is a real sensation with both fragrances and look both really cool, the flacons also!

At the prices called so real alternatives and worth testing.
Conclusion: both great made fragrances, although I personally like the Armaf a little more, because he gets along without the BR540 components.

Recently smelled at a buddy and immediately asked him about it. "Was a sample and liked me!"... Me too, so I immediately treated myself to a 50ml bottle.

Great opening with cardamom, apple and mango paired with a pinch of pepper! Then it becomes woody-citrusy, but still very fruity and sweet. The often cited Sauvage DNA is fortunately only very distantly recognizable, because the Ambroxan plays here only in the background a small role and is barely perceptible.

In the drydown it becomes a little mossier with very light vanilla and minimal patchouli. Vetiver, however, eludes my nose completely. Too synthetic? No. Can't always follow the comments about synthetics in general either...almost all of the fragrances available today are synthetic, but that's a different issue...

An overall pleasing fruity - woody scent with a fabulous H/S. Two sprays are enough for the entire evening. Had it been released by a haute couture fragrance label, this would be a mega-seller!