PallasCC

The fragrance here was interestingly named after an Indian yogi. Somehow its creator thought it would carry something spiritual, perhaps even sacred. However, this differs from my own sensation of the scent. Instead of tranquility and balance, the Yogananda represents something wild. It is an untamable animal what lives in the bottle. After a few sprays, the animal, which has been dormant, is let out of its "cage". As soon as the barrier opened, it knew no restraint. The first moment after spraying reminds me of a scene from the movie "Highlander", when Mel Gibson screams "Freedom!" on his horse.

Now for the more technical description:
Although flowers were used in Yogananda's composition, you might not recognize them individually. Instead, the top note is where the coarse animalic comes into its own. Now and then this is rounded off a little by benzoin. Presumably, this is a high-quality Indian oud, which provides for this effect. The cedar gives the fiery beast a sharp edge, yet the whole is very balanced. The dance of the wild beast is the main theme of this fragrance, though it tames down a bit in the base. You could say the animal is lying down on a mossy forest floor, surrounded by old trees whose leaves have long since stopped being green. Here you can smell the moisture in the air, the resins and the wood of the trees with an animalic sweetness, but not cloying (presumably the civet cat). This phase is a bit calmer and not as dynamic as the beginning; here the fragrance reaches its equilibrium in the olfactory sense.

As with many MGOs, this is a one-off.... around an experience. However, one must have some patience so that one is not overwhelmed by the fragrance. For adventurous noses, it will certainly be an exciting roller coaster ride. However, if you are looking for something calmer, you should rather reach for "Tranquilla | Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur".

Prologue: For the past few months, I've been wearing pure oud oils exclusively, but it was about time for some variety. It's hard to find something suitable when you've spent a long time with natural fabrics. For this reason, you should avoid synthetic scents (for now). So I have reached into my MGO corner and - by chance - a small bottle of the "Pour Homme | Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur" out.

Pour Homme is for me a feel-good fragrance that reminds me of something "Pinaud | Clubman / Edouard Pinaud" series. Of course, it is much more complex and refined, but it conveys a certain "barbershop" aura. On the one hand, it's herbaceous and mossy with basil, lavender and oregano and a nice vetiver-patchouli-hay combination. It's the green, cold side of the scent, reminiscent of the old days.

On the other side, the scent is nice and spicy with lots of allspice, clove, and cinnamon. This warm thread reminds me of Christmas and speculoos. You get enveloped by a spicy and slightly creamy incense (rounded out by tonka and sandalwood). This is exactly the component that provides a certain sense of security.

The well done combination of fougère notes and "old-school" aftershave à la Bay Rum became a timeless classic.

The fragrance is certainly complex, however, he does not overwhelm. He is strong, but not penetrating. Two sprays have accompanied me throughout the day. The development takes place in the first 2 hours. After that, the fragrance remains rather monotonous, which is not to say that it becomes boring. Quite the opposite.

Who has overlooked this fragrance because of its not so imaginative name, should definitely try it.

Prehistory:
I have known about Agar Aura for a few years and read a lot, yet I never dared to try his oils. The way that led me to his oils were his perfumes. In February 2021, I decided to buy the 3rd new releases ("Java | Agar Aura", "Al-Arabiya | Agar Aura" and "Khmer Kinam | Agar Aura"). The blind purchase was worth it, but more on that in another post. Because of this purchase, I contacted Taha and asked him for his recommendation on the best way to get started with his oils. After some email, I decided to go with Blue Malay after all, even though I was looking for something "leathery," "dark," and "thick" at the time.

Now for the Blue Malay:
Oud oils from the region I have already smelled several times and knew roughly what to expect. After "Tigerwood Royale | Ensar Oud / Oriscent" and "Tigerwood 1990 | Ensar Oud / Oriscent" I had a pretty good idea how Malaysian Oud smells: jungle-like, dark green, deep, slightly smoky, mossy with facets of old wood and metal. But I was very wrong about my own "knowledge". When I first smelled Blue Malay, I couldn't find words at first. Yet I knew at that moment that BM had nothing to do with the above candidates. And since 123lole321 has described the "brain freeze" so beautifully, I would like to start at the point and talk a little about the fragrance.

Blue Malay is a cold oil, which makes you feel like you're coming out of a warm forest cabin and breathing in the fresh air at -20C. That's how cold it feels to me. The sun is shining, but the cold is not to be underestimated. On the snow you can see the reflection of the sun's rays coming through the overhanging tree branches. That coldness accompanies the scent as it turns brown-woody, with sweet resins in the background. It's as if a tree has been melted and poured into the small bottle. The resins become thick honey, the sweetness of which you can almost taste. Now comes the earth, dark earth, but you can smell it very clearly. You can imagine it exactly, in high resolution. After a while, you leave this depth through the blueberries, which seem a bit tart. A layer of golden amber slowly forms on the blueberries, acting like a prism. Now the rays of the other notes are broken and the scent becomes more turbulent. In an instant, you smell everything described above again, but me 10 times faster. The experience is simply beyond words. After about 9-10 hours on the skin, the scent becomes calmer, with a pleasant "woodiness" and crushed violet flowers.

It wasn't what I expected, but I fell in love with the scent. The studying is still not over, but I wore it every day for a month and every day it surprised me anew! It was the Blue Malay that led to other oils from Taha. However, this one is unique for me!

Oud from Laos does not have a good reputation, at least in the West. It is often associated with cow steel and unpleasant animalism. Even, Ensar himself once wrote that he would not wear Laotian oud in public or private.

Laos is also where many niche producers import their oud from. Xerjoff would be a case in point. Many are familiar with his oud stars and many describe some of them as 'unwearable'. Here, however, we are talking about a fine oil distilled from a wood of much higher quality. Without reading the name, no one would guess that this is oud from Laos.

Lao Gold is a "hot" oil, which covers all tones from yellow to dark brown in its life. It starts off slightly animalic and very spicy. It really tingles when inhaling. Is it black pepper with a hint of nutmeg and habanero chili!!! It's just fiery, but with no smoke. After that initial encounter, which certainly grabs attention, the scent swings in another direction: it becomes medium brown, woody. It's not a tree, but a processed wood, which nevertheless smells very pleasant. It could be a table in a forest cabin with wooden walls and old leather furniture. There is a honey pot on this table, which adds a dark sweetness to the scent. The old leather adds to it, helping the scent to develop all of its brown facets. But before you are completely surrounded by this color, you detect a light, dark green smoke from the sage. It's not too penetrating, but strong enough to create a balance. Smoked tea and rosemary are also noticeable. And so the scent swings between the brown and the dark green and the brown. As it fades out (after about 12 hours), the scent turns into dried cocoa beans with a light spice.

For its price range, it is an excellent oil, which clearly shows that not every oud from Laos must be unpleasant and unwearable

Ertugrul Gazi is no ordinary oud, as you can tell just by its list price. Unlike oud oils in its price range, it was its history that intrigued me from the start. Actually, the wood was never meant to be used for distillation (at least according to Ensar). But still, the temptation was too great. And thus Ensar has graced us with this wonderful oil.

After applying, you can already tell that this oil is in its own league. It is very powerful, natural and evocative. You are immediately transported to the jungle. Black earth, dark damp tobacco leaves, tree bark, pine nuts and lots of greenery. You can't see the sky at all because there is a heavy mist on the treetops. However, this is not white, but green. The scent itself oscillates between dark green and dark brown. One wanders through the primeval forest, where no human being had set foot yet. The rampant shrubbery makes it difficult to follow your way. From time to time you get caught in this green mist. This then turns to brown, coarse leather and dark wood in the next stage. And then you're back in the jungle, but even deeper than in the early stages of the fragrance. This scent journey goes in circles. Hours go by and you can't find your way out of the green maze. The green smoke/mist accompanies you the whole time; sometimes more, sometimes less, but always present. And despite this loneliness in the wilderness, you find your inner peace.

Those who like ouds from Papua will appreciate the oil. The performance is hard to beat. One would also expect for such a price