Chizza

Thailand is generally known for good oud and, as in other countries, there are regions here that explicitly stand for quality in the oud world. In Thailand, for example, this is Trat. However, there are many more exciting provinces in this country. Royal Bengal Ouds publishes oud oils from these regions and one of its great releases is the one from SriChang.

A bright, resinous beginning, sparkling sun, dancing on dense foliage, occasionally breaking through it and falling onto dense foliage. At the same time, a woody lacquer note overlays this impression, including a cherry nuance. Wood workshop, shavings floating in the air, freshly processed tree trunks, glazes and varnish.

Golden oud, gradually mellowing, harsh to moderately resinous, stoic, persistent. Tree trunks become furniture polish, become freshly manicured wooden tables.
Resin rinds as viscous as syrup, like mana honey from Bulgarian forests; spicy, woody, dark, rich in olfactory facets; evoking numerous scenes; bucolic, idyllic, elysian, woody solar energy.

Royal Bengal Ouds is not an oud brand that shines through inflationary releases, let alone permanent posts on social media. Perhaps this creates an aura around the label; I generally prefer this to Instagram posts about breakfast preparations. But that's subjective. RBO's oils are priced in the upper segment, but the quality is exorbitantly good.

As a self-proclaimed leather connoisseur, new leather fragrances appeal to me per se. A few months ago, MGO released Tobacco Leather. Unfortunately - subjectively speaking - a rather harmless leather fragrance, just as generic. Then as now, I can't think of enough to write a well-founded and reasonably interesting review.
As I heard, this was to be revised. The result is now Dirty Leather. A - that's not too much to say - very different fragrance. Hence perhaps the independent publication.

But - I'll say it up front - it doesn't convince me at all at first and later on. What begins with overly present juniper, the bacon-like leather nuanced with coriander, unfortunately continues like this. Juniper in leather fragrances can be formidably crafted, I remember a creation by Maison Mona di Orio. There is a lack of subtlety here. You are not captured in a beguiling way, but rather in an imposing and brute way.

This is also evident in the use of civet. This is clearly present, giving the leather a distinctly animalic note, dirty is a good word here. You probably have to appreciate it, but I don't, quite the opposite. It seems too grubby to me, as if someone doesn't have it so good with hygiene.
Of course: nomen est omen. Dirty is a variable term. Dirty, in the sense of oil-stained leather, as well as this or myriad other variations. Every perfume enthusiast has preferences. I have different ones than those shown here.
As it progresses, the leather becomes dusty, drier and ultimately more pleasant. The berries gradually lose intensity and the civet also becomes more moderate. This is how I would have liked it right away, so the degree of "humanizing" facets is moderate, the leather finally becomes the protagonist.

One positive aspect is that MGO is once again venturing into less conventional fragrances. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to leather, he can leave it at works like Desperado or, for my sake, Sultan's Homage, which was also partly leather. Both contain ouds, here a lot revolves around the MGO leather accord. This seems to be a kind of Gretchen question or rather an answer to it. Or also: some say so, others say so.
I say: first part about 5.5/10 to 6/10, then definitely 7/10, maybe even 7.5/10, because the gently enveloping bee resin combined with dry tobacco and a hint of vanilla is then again very round and interestingly presented.

Valentine's Day 2024 in the home of a perfumer requesting anonymity:
"Shahaatz," whistled Eggo36, "Happy Valentine's Day! Unwrap the present once!"
"Is it Mon Cheri? But not already bitten into, please?"
"Much better. I've already eaten the chocolate thingies."
*Unpacking*
"Oh...a perfume...wow...great...Labdanum 4 Love. Sigh."
"Yeah, awesome, right? Labdanum because you smell like honey and resin, like Winnie the Pooh to me! So in female, with a different figure, pants and now not the one from Blood & Honey! You're so calm? So much in ecstasy? Let me be your piglet, that's enough thanks for me!"
"..."

Labdanum 4 Love actually has a very strong, palatable, resinous entrée; it immediately smells strongly woody, but also of tart honey. The woody notes seem very fresh, as if resin is seeping out of a freshly cut tree wound or mingling with it.
Cocoa makes an appearance: soft powder dusts the scene like a kind of homage to a white winter Christmas. The cocoa is slightly oily and tends towards earthy notes. Patchouli not only touches, patchouli penetrates the nucleus of the fragrance like a formidably thrust spear.

There is no question that Siam benzoin, often characterized by its chocolaty aroma and balsamic nuances, contributes to the effect of Labdanum 4 Love. What is also noticeable, but only after a certain amount of time, is the sandalwood. We are all familiar with the pungent and penetrating smell of cheap sandalwood. Here we are offered the high-quality version; pleasant, underlining the other olfactory facets. Noble, velvety-warm, soft-woody; the patrician among woods.

Only the oud needs to be printed on milk cartons. Indian oud, so powerful, aromatic, expressionistic Indonesian oud or leathery Thai oud - none of these have been seen. It may be that the relatively quickly emerging base may consist of these. Unfortunately, however, this would only amount to caricatures of these ouds, like part six of a movie series.

The Duftkumpels are not a jovial group of good friends, they are not even a group because there is actually just one man behind them. The products are usually sold via eBay, with more and more fragrances gradually appearing. Some of them, like this one, are very limited. The best-known works were created together with Hans Georg Staudt, while the more limited works appear to have been created independently.
Labdanum 4 Love is a success, but becomes increasingly flat towards the base and also quite quickly. All the ingredients around the balsamic, chocolaty part are strong. However, the transformation to a powerful and oud-heavy core is only partially successful. This is certainly not due to the raw materials themselves, which are of high quality. The transition itself is like the eye of a needle. The camel still comes through, the ouds only very idly.

Whether you indulge in the art of barista or not, it's like cigarettes and their smell: there are probably more lovers of the smell of coffee than of coffee itself, even though this hot drink is extremely popular in all its variations. I myself was recently on the verge of turning back on the highway after reading that the coffee machine in the office had broken down. These days, it apparently needs a technician to fix it and until he arrives... But I digress: a coffee smell that isn't driven by the sugary or milky element, that doesn't come across as sweet, well, I've very rarely had that. And when I did, it was in other places. Somehow, with Mocha Valentino, I insinuated that the process would be similar. I was wrong about the fragrance.

Mocha Valentino is perhaps the olfactory coffee creation I've been waiting for. From the very first moment, there is this typical aura of this drink, but without just smelling of the beans. No, the entourage is lavish, but there is no milk, sugar or caramel. Of course, vanilla is present. This completes the overall effect. Nothing more.
Not for nothing is part of the name Mocha. According to the coffee nomenclature, this is a coffee that is refined with chocolate, giving it a bitter-sweet aroma. That's what it smells like here too. But not only that. A balsamic, decelerating facet combined with a sublime, hesperidic freshness lends Mocha Valentino depth and diversity. It becomes pleasingly unpleasant, if I may describe the work in this way.

But the development does not end there. Full-bodied woody tones, almost like smooth oud, evoke warmth. The resinous melange is viscous, creamy and altogether palatable. This creates a harmonious structure in combination with the mocha aroma. Mocha Valentino is underpinned by soft green earthy impressions.
In a nutshell: Mocha Valentino is wonderfully composed, catchy and yet created in such a way that you have to appreciate resins and wood to love this coffee. Sfumato counteracts its own name here. Nothing is blurred here; Mocha Valentino is clearly arranged.

(with thanks to Floyd)

Robert, the Yeti, had a new business idea. He often heard (voices) saying that he had a nice smell. How could he manage to always emit such pleasant scents? So he became obsessed with the idea of releasing a perfume one day. It was just as well that he kidnapped various people during his last foray, only to cook them later and eat them with relish. One man, however, constantly lamented that the world had lost his talent for perfume creations. Let's call him Steorg Gaudt or Gaudi-Georg. In any case, the following dialog ensued:

"Me Rooobääärt. Yeti. You make perfume for me. Everyone smells like me."
"Uh, like blood from all the corpses here? Or like civet? That's what it smells like here...Did you put this in Duschdas bottles?"
"Do it or I'll eat you."
"Yes yes yes, it's ok, so normally I arrange a few appointments for a bespoke...so is it something along the lines of perverse Prin creations with urine, sperm, blood and so on? Or would you prefer something a little more pleasing? Something more traditional with an animal twist or something? Or rather a scent like a Robby Bubble sparkling wine? Something along the lines of Erba Pura?"
"You talk a lot, maybe you'd rather eat."
"Well, I'll get started. With both arms, if the shackles could come off? I have lots of ingredients in my little village where you could do some magic. Could we go there? You just pretend to be Babsi, my stepsister on my mother's side, nobody will notice. But then I'll be spared."
"Okay."

This is where two fragrances come together that I know individually, which are relatively diametrically opposed and, to put it simply, have been blended. Naturally refined and the like. The spectrum ranges from citrusy-fresh notes to directly smoky oud-animalic. You find yourself in an olfactory hidden object; in this case saffron, accompanied by musky notes and subtle almond. Then there is the oud sextet and various animalic additions. It smells leathery, tart, smoky. This combination with tangerine, orange and the like is extremely exciting. Hesperides wilt, burn up like the sun, impressions of deep reds and autumnal colors appear. This facet of Yeti is dominant and also very strongly constructed.

The ouds do not outdo each other, do not create too many edges, but like a kaleidoscope, they create a multi-layered unity, shimmering in all kinds of resinous and woody notes. Balsamic nuances also contribute to this. These round Yeti off, providing a kind of full-bodiedness, but you should not be put off. From time to time, the sublimely extreme style overflows, a hint of autumnal-animalic redness wafts past, the intensely fragrant citrus peel almost provides a harmonious and cozy overtone.

The citrus facets gradually fade away, Yeti becomes more racy and spicy, the moderately impetuous animalic and oud melange of the first few moments transforms into a peaceful, olfactory lake. The nucleus of this creation becomes apparent and remains so, the extroverted essence also becomes more mature and withdraws.

What is the conclusion? Two fragrances, which the perfumers thought were not good enough on their own, combined for whatever reason and the result is a work that finally brings out the qualities of the individual components. A perfume reminiscent of the archaic MGO releases. Sometimes it really does seem like a mosaic. Perfection through the big picture. Perhaps a plea for fruitful cooperation, for a fundamental togetherness.