ColinM

Velvety, sweet, slightly soapy woody notes (sandalwood, maybe cashmere wood), mellow aromatic herbs (sage?), a rose breeze, a whiff of incense and a subtle rubbery-medicinal whiff on the base – the agar wood – which smells really discreet, also somehow sugary, blended with a leather note which is “tiny” but rich, somehow like in Dzing! by the same house. Basically Al Oudh smells like a sort of transparent, “clean” rewriting of many Western oud scents, particularly those on the sweet-woody side, just much more tamed down and with a more discreet, posh, light appearance as per style of L’Artisan Parfumeur (for me it’s just a consistently repeated flaw more than a style mark, but to each his own). I appreciate in particular the refined complexity of the texture, which smells initially thin but solid, and the nice bright counterpart of powdery notes which perfectly balances the cozy woodiness. So what’s the issue? The evolution. Not because of its persistence, but because in a matter of minutes it all becomes in my opinion a close-to-skin, completely negligible synthetic woody incense with a vague spicy feel (tonka above all). Somehow oudish, but yawn. Something fades away, something just becomes duller, it all lands on a “woody designer from the 2000s” territory. I am even a moderate fan of the genre actually, but they cost a third of this - for a reason. The opening phase is nice, but then, meh...

5,5-6/10

Bouquet Ideale opens as a sweet, dusty Oriental woody-gourmandish blend with burnt sugar vanillic notes, balmy woods, something like cashmere wood, and a whiff of powdery notes (violet?) which are more sweet-talc than flowery, and finally a hint of fruity-candied notes with exotic spices (cinnamon, perhaps saffron too or something similar). Dusty, warm, cozy and refined, effortlessly pleasant. Like other users apparently, I also thought of some Arabian fragrances: here you get quite the exact same kind of woody-spicy-fruity-gourmand stuff, with that peculiar roasted-incensey feel. Here it’s just all a bit more “refined” (which means only less powerful and more tamed down), and it smells undoubtedly nice; but the price is ridiculous. Unless you’ve some really dirty money to spend quickly before the FBI catches you, just browse among Arabian Oud, Al-Rehab or Lattafa offerings, get one of those and apply it sparingly – same results, a third of the cost.

5,5-6/10

Forest Walk opens with a beautiful pine-woody coniferous blend enriched by thick resinous nuances, amber, something candied, a medicinal feel. The key word is “balsamic”, with a sort of baroque gloomy touch. Slightly “caramelized”, too. Oriental and smoky (I think I get some incense too), several Lutens scents come to mind, filtered “the American way” like for many Slumberhouse scents – to which in fact Forest Walk does resemble a bit style-wise, with that same sort of darkness which smells both contemporary and post-industrial, and natural, almost “archaic”. A walk in a shady forest – Twin Peaks forests, if you want. Dark, balsamic, with a dense and thick, almost oily texture, made denser and juicier by a subtle sort of boozy-licorice whiff. Although as I said it reminds me a bit of Josh Lobb’s scents, Forest Walk smells actually a bit better than many Slumberhouse fragrances; more delicate, more natural and less linear enough to smell more “wearable”, less haunting, and in the end, less boring after some hours (don’t expect any particularly dynamic evolution, though). The powdery-floral touch of violet is brilliant, providing a glimmer of light and grace which brings Forest Walk from “good” to “really good”. Recommended.

7,5-8/10

The opening of Daimiris is centered on a really unpretentious yet compelling buttery-rooty iris note, camphorous and dusty, quite on the “earthy” side, with a hint of bergamot, a subtle ambery-sugary breeze and perhaps a light, lively floral note or accord which provides a bit of brightness, well contrasting a really light but perceivable leathery-boozy undertone. Austere and rooty, rich but gentle and discreet, Daimiris evolves then on a violet-amber scent on light suede, with a pleasant velvety feel all over. Basically something like Dzonghka, just more simple and lively, less complex - and less charming. And once violet, amber and leather start to dominate the sillage, you may also think of Jil Sander Man for a while. Not the most original scent around, but well made, solid and refined, and pleasantly understated without smelling dull. Another good one from Laboratorio Olfattivo, albeit not among their best ones.

7,5/10

Original Musk by Kiehl’s is a really nice soapy-indolic musk scent, rich and straightforward, with a palette of grey-dusty nuances on the base and a luscious, exotic touch of tonka: fairly “chypre-sque” to some extents, as it makes me think of the drydown of many classic (mostly feminine) scents – mostly for the juxtaposition of musk and flowers, and the overall feel of dusty, slightly moldy nostalgia. More soapy than animalic though, so personally I didn’t think of other heavier musk scents. Powerful yet not tacky, on the contrary much pleasant and even quite refined. I find it intense and compelling, fairly dark, much versatile if you are into musk-soapy blends – otherwise it may be soon exhausting given there’s not much else apart musk and some flowers. The evolution is there, though: still musky, but progressively dustier, drier, silkier, always pleasantly “retrò”. I am personally not a fan of musk and this type of scents, but this is really nice and clearly a quality fragrance, so well worthy a try if you’re into musk.

7/10