TheBark

Stunning fragrance that reveals itself slowly. This has notes similar to two other Arabian Oud recent releases: Amiri and Al Fareed, both excellent fresh/spicy scents. This opens with a less noticeable pink peppercorn note than the other two and starts out similar in feel with Tangerine (found in Amiri) and Bergamot, but with the addition of a berry and mint note. It's very fresh and retains a good deal of that throughout its long dry down. On a side note, this is listed as an EDP, but the alcohol content by volume is amongst the lowest I've seen at 65% - this goes on pretty oily so be careful where you spray. This also explains why I don't feel this projects quite as strongly as the other two scents, as those are 80%; the higher the essential oil ratio, the closer to the skin GENERALLY is the case.)

As the scent develops, the floral notes come in seamlessly. Arabian Oud as a house in general tends to have very, very well blended scents and that's the case here. You don't really smell the individual notes and it never screams out "florals" more than just a soft dimension added to round out the sharp/tart citrus notes. About an hour to an hour and a half in, the Sandalwood starts to make an entrance and this is where this really blossoms into a first rate fragrance all its own. I can't compare this to anything else. If I tried, the closest I could come might be Aqua di Parma's Oud, but that does this scent absolutely no justice as this is far, far better than that offering and the sandalwood use here isn't as heavy as the oud note in that, nor do the citrus/berry notes ever come across as sour as AdP does (at least on my skin.)

Overall, the higher concentration of essential oils seems to allow this fragrance to reveal its depths over a greater period of time which takes you on quite a journey. The presentation, save the outer box, is first rate, as usually is the case for Arabian Oud (the box and bottle themselves weigh in at over 4lbs.)

A little analogy: years ago, when I first turned 21 and was able to purchase my first legal alcohol beverage, I chose Budweiser. Why? Well, because it's the king of beers (duh!). Oh, how young and naive I truly was. Want to know just how naive? Keep reading...

During my college years, I had the pleasure of taking a spring break vacation to Germany. Yeah, even a basketball coach I ran into at JFK Airport in NYC asked "Don't most students go to Florida?" Sure, but Germany has better beer! While there, I had the opportunity to try the original Czech Budweiser. I remember taking my first swig and making a sour face. Bleh! Wretched! This tastes nothing like Budweiser! Well, the water-down American stuff as I know it today.

See, my experience had been limited based on my, well, limited exposure. Budweiser was readily available anywhere in the US. Just like your designer colognes at Macy's, Dillards, etc. But, as I began drinking more and more beer, tasting different varieties and styles with the proliferation of microbrews, I developed a better sense of taste. Budweiser? The king of beers? Pfffftt. Let me make this clear as somebody with degrees in Psychology and Media Study: there's a reason why some companies resort to spending millions and millions of dollars on advertising and gimmicks (ohhh! Mountains on cans turn blue to prove it's cold! Side note: beer isn't meant to be drank ice cold - it dulls the taste). They NEED to spend it to CONVINCE you to buy it!

Oh, what I would give to have a Czech Bud right now. How ignorant could I truly be? There's simply no comparison - which brings me to this fragrance.

I mention "beer" as an analogy to fragrance, both being a hobby. Sure, I started out like most others. Designer stuff, though my first scent with Oud was 10 Corso Como which predated YSL's M7 by a few years. After M7, it seemed there was a lull until Montale released Black Aoud and even then, it still seemed to take a while before everyone and their brother making fragrances had Oud in them - even ones in the name that really didn't contain any Oud (here's looking at you, Creed Royal Oud. You're still a little gem, though.)

Along the journey, I've delved into attars and other stuff like Al Haramain's Obsessive Oudh and other authentic stuff like Arabian Oud's Blue Oud and Majestic Special Oud which is like a more refined, niche version of Montale's Black Oud. There's also Arabian Oud's ridiculously priced, but pretty-dang-close-to-worth-it Royal Oud that is about as well blended a rose/musk/Cambodian Oud scent as you could hope for.

And then there's Taif Al Emarat's UAE Oud (Black). This... This is what some of the designers could only hope to be. Dark. Sultry. Spicy. Love at first spray - when it hits your nose, you immediate begin to think about all those designer Ouds and think "book reports vs. thesis." It has a high concentration of essential oils for an EDP, the alcohol content at only 67% (I believe.) It seems to allow for the more gradual development of notes as it's quite a few hours into this when the vanilla appears adding another entire dimension to its wearing.

I could probably go on and on, but this stuff is truly in a class of its own. Extremely well-blended and long lasting and multi-layered. Wearing it is akin to going from drinking Guinness at 4.2% alcohol to something like Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout at 18% alcohol. Don't get me wrong; Guinness will always have its lovers, as will the designer world of perfumery when it comes to Oud, but for those looking for something richer and world class, this very well could be the elixir of choice. Cheers!

EDIT: After owning this for several months now, there's something about the opening I couldn't put my finger, er, nose on. It wasn't until I wore Arabian Oud's Aqua Royal Oud recently that I finally figured it out: Ambergris. There's a very prominent Ambergris note through and through in UAE Oud and I was surprised to see it listed here as a note as it's not on their website or written material.

That's not surprising, though, considering Year of Zayed has differing notes listed on their packaging vs. website vs. included printed material (the back of the box lists Coffee and Frankincense which isn't listed anywhere else.) Everywhere else, "Amber" is listed as the note in UAE Oud, but there's a distinctive difference between Amber and Ambergris. As in Aqua Royal Oud, in UAE Oud, it has a very addictive salty accord.

EDIT #2: Having purchased Octavian by Electimuss and sampling Nebulous from Boadicea the Victorious (along with Midnight Degree), I can provide some additional information comparing it to those fragrances. Yes, there are similarities; I bought Octavian because I was looking to purchase a backup for UAE Oud, but I found a great deal on Octavian and thought it was tough to beat for the price and volume. UAE Oud is, to my nose, the darkest and most animalistic of the scents listed. Octavian is similar but more rose-centric and airier, with pink pepper and frankincense. UAE is closer to Nebulous but still darker, as Nebulous has a brighter rose note though it smells like there's a heavier emphasis on the oud.

Midnight Degree has some similarities but lacks wood/oud altogether. That being said, there are moments when it does manage to smell close, though I don't really get the POAL comparison too much; the orris note completely differentiates Midnight from the rest of the field and, at least on my skin, smells the least rosy of them all. The four fragrances would make for one heck of a battle royal as they're each outstanding in their own rights.

...and, wearing it again today, I'm struck by how authentic this is.

If you're rating this upon its opening, it's going to score low. It's discordant, cheese-laden funk is not the highlight by any means. But hang in there, this puts anything with the words "Tom Ford" and "Oud" in the same sentence to shame. I have several Tom Ford Oud scents and have owned a number of the private line - and I don't mean to pick on Tom Ford as one could easily substitute Maison Francis Kukdjian or any other house charging an arm and a leg for scents that contain no real oud - but I can't understand when somebody looking for an "Oud" scent looks for these and pays the prices they do rather than something like this that is often found cheaper (though comparable to grey market pricing per ml.)

That being said, the scent itself, as noted, opens up rather animalic and funky. After a while, the amber begins to round out the edges and gives it a resinous, almost incense-like vibe. At this point, if you stick your nose where you sprayed, you're still going to get animalic-funk'n'cheese to a lesser degree because the charm in this is in its sillage. Its projection is pretty noticeable, but its sillage is deceptive. Walk out of a room you've been in, go outside and come back into the same room 20 minutes later and you will be struck by the most ethereal, incense and woody accord hovering in the air like an invisible mist.

Stellar, top shelf stuff. It's an utter shame that some people see Al Haramain as a "clone house," and forego these unique offerings, along with some of their exclusive (prestige) attars such as Sheik, which are far, far, far better than most designer stuff out there. While it's still available on their website, other offerings from the same prestige line appear to be discontinued (I have Amazing Mukhallath and Ode of Oud, both of which deserve a wider audience but may no longer be as readily available.)

...they would be like the Nissan 300ZX from the 80's and the recently announced 400Z prototype. Polo is a classic staple from its time with an aura that is instantly recognizable. What Polo Cologne Intense manages to do is much like what Nissan has done in debuting its 400Z concept: it pays homage to the car's history and lineage, keeping the backbone of its DNA intact while updating and modernizing its overall performance with modern touches to fit the current market.

Gone are some of the heavier components of the original Polo: the smokey frankincense, the leather, artemisia and tobacco leaving behind the fresher, "green" components with some modern touches of ambroxan and grapefruit. I don't get anything pine-wise, but there is an effect with the addition of spearmint that gives something of a similar vibe overall. Make no mistake, this is a scent that is all its own, yet, it remarkably keeps one sniffing because the Polo DNA-effect is, well, unmistakably still there.

The use of ambroxan gives this a fresh base and while it does have an almost shower-gel feel, it never quite ventures into the "blue" category of aura that now can come across as rather generic (let's face it, there's a lot of "blue" scents out there, but this manages to keep a green feel about it.) If you're an ambroxan-hater, a huge fan of the OG and on the fence with regards to sniffing this out, I'd still recommend it. I was pleasantly surprised.

Now if I could only pin down a date for when that 400Z will be released, I'd be all set getting my Marty McFly on and heading back to the future...