Pure Oud Kilian 2009

Bottle Design:
Carré Basset

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7.0 / 10 119 Ratings

A perfume by Kilian for women and men, released in 2009. The scent is woody-resinous. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Woody

Resinous

Oriental

Spicy

Smoky

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Saffron

Heart Notes

Oud

Copaiba balsam

Base Notes

Cypriol

Gaiac wood

Labdanum

Amber

Perfumer

Calice Becker

Ratings

Scent

7.0119 Ratings

Longevity

8.391 Ratings

Sillage

7.082 Ratings

Bottle

8.594 Ratings

Value for money

5.812 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 07/31/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection Arabian Nights.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Gao

Oud Cashmere Mood

Oud Velvet Mood

Nuvolari

'Ilm

Armani Privé - Oud Royal

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/26/2012

10
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 5
Longevity 7
Scent

Drseid
821 Reviews

Drseid

1

Real Oud, But Not Real Wearable...

A relatively positive recommendation on Pure Oud from me. It has a rubbery, slightly medicinal Gaiac heart mixed with real Oud that I find intriguing and is keeping me interested in smelling it throughout its development. Amber, and maybe a hint of musk join the Oud to form the base of the scent. I have to give By Kilian some points for using real oud in its composition, and keeping to the scent's name in spirit. Projection is above average here, but longevity is only average. This is not the easiest scent to wear, but still nice on the whole. I would say 3.5/5.

If this more straight Presentation of oud scent is too much for you, then the other By Kilian Arabian Nights oud scents may be more appealing to you... Rose Oud for a Rose dominant oud, and Incense Oud for a reference incense scent that may not contain much or even any real oud, but smells incredible nonetheless.

07/31/2025

ClaireV
958 Reviews

ClaireV

1

Not Pure Oud but captures some of the dark, smooth beauty of aged, woodier oud oils

Pure Oud is the racehorse of the Western oud-based fragrances; all sinew and nerve, and not an inch of fat to spare. Kilian could have easily named this Oud Noir or Dark Oud, because Pure Oud really does convey the inky, matte darkness of a moonless night sky. It smells like a black leather jacket tinctured into a pool of black tar and then vaporized into a mist of gasoline.

Pure Oud draws a line around itself and stays within it. Real oud oil has a smell that spills messily out over every line you've drawn for yourself; the brazenly-named Pure Oud (it is purely synthetic) is self-contained. But they do share a common denominator - both smell other-worldly and somewhat stark. For me, it is the Western-based oud fragrance that comes closest to mimicking the smell of real oud oil. Not a sour, fermented-smelling Hindi or Assam oud oil, but one of those aged, dry oud oils where you can pick out hints of leather, dried fruit, melting plastic lunch boxes, and smoke.

Caveat: Pure Oud is a minimalist take on a maximalist smell, i.e., it does not approach the complexity or range of aromas of real oud oil. Nothing this obviously synthetic can come close to copying something so rudely natural. But the experience of using oud oils and attars is not interchangeable with or comparable to using traditional fragrance; one is a quiet, more private experience geared toward internal contemplation; the other is a projection of oneself to the wider world. We shouldn't keep holding up one against the other in a race for authenticity. Prefer instead that benchmark of Guy Robert's: Does it smell good? And yes, Pure Oud does smell good very good indeed.

I find Pure Oud to be very quiet, but long-lasting. Sometimes, to turn up the volume a bit, I re-spray during the day, twice, or even three times. This way, it builds up on the skin in layers of translucent ink - leather upon rubber upon gasoline, until it finally pushes off the skin in a sulky swirl of woodsmoke.

05/01/2020

Ovaissaleem
61 Reviews

Ovaissaleem

Pure Oud

Notes: Saffron, Copaiva Balsam, Oud, Amber, Cypriol, Guaiac Wood and Labdanum

Perfumer: Calice Becker

I love Oud and really enjoying Pure Oud by Kilian. Yes, the Oud here is on the synthetic side. This is a pretty linear scent, Smokey, a bit Spicy oudy woody fragrance.

05/19/2019

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 6
Longevity 7
Scent

Bakerscookie
6 Reviews

Translated Show original

Bakerscookie

15

Lots of smoke, little oud - the typical western would-be oud scent.

I got to know Pure Oud by Kilian for the first time at the beginning of my perfume journey. Oud fascinated me from the very beginning, because for me (like for many) everything started with Tom Ford Oud Wood, due to several appearances of the fragrance in interviews and YouTube blogs. Relatively early I learned that TF-OW should not contain so much oud, which sent me on a journey to explore the ingredient
I quickly learned that Oud smells "somehow hot and smoky". Therefore, when I first sniffed Pure Oud by Kilian, I would probably have given it a 10/10. Because he's smoky, with a slight medical acuity. If the fragrance DNA were to develop over the course of the fragrance, it would have been able to perform very well even now, but unfortunately the (in itself quite beautiful) fragrance remains pretty much the same over its lifetime as after the first spraying on. On the positive side, it doesn't smell as sweet and spicy as "His Majesty The Oud" by Atkinsons, which reminded me more of a Christmas candle than of real oud. Yet the DNA here is slightly dull and flat.

Which brings us to the point: I doubt there's much oud in here. And what's in it doesn't come from an exquisite part pervaded by resin, but probably from a bright part of the tree. Under the "smoky" smelling roof I can hardly perceive the "main star". Sure, there's "something wooden"... but "something" isn't enough anymore. As a rule, oud distillates are bright, complex, long-lasting. It's a pity this is all missing.

Compared to other fragrances of this size (e.g. the XerJoff Oud Stars collection or Tom Ford Oud Wood Intense), durability and projection are moderate. I don't notice anything after two hours, it's four to five on the skin. I should mention that many fragrances feel weak to me today that didn't a year ago (Tauer's L'Oudh would be another example). If the durability were better, I would be a fan despite the linear fragrance. But that's not enough for me anymore (unfortunately).

Therefore, Pure Oud by Kilian may be worthwhile for those who like a smoky fragrance that shows this typical medical oud facet without containing much of the actual active ingredient. And those who want to get rid of the scent quickly. For the price I paid, I'm satisfied. But I wouldn't lay down full retail for it under any circumstances.

09/27/2019

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 5
Longevity 3
Scent

Scent
5 Reviews

Translated Show original

Scent

1

Welcome to the Pepper Hell

The moment when I had this smell on my skin for the first time, I will probably never forget it again. It was one of the first oud scents back then (when I didn't know exactly how it smelled) and I went to this test with a certain lack of need, which I would soon regret.

The scent seems a bit oriental to me at first, which I couldn't really grasp. After a few minutes I meet a force of ink, blackness and burnt rubber. Strangely enough, the durability on the skin wasn't outstanding at all, but I couldn't get it off my clothes anymore. It was just penetrating pepper! The jacket was washed three or four times, then it was off. I encountered this note even more often afterwards, and it triggers a kind of flight reflex in me.

For me personally there was no development, which I always find very unfortunate. The first minutes he changed a bit, afterwards he was completely linear for me. Too bad.

My rating:

Joy: 0 of 30
Quality, depth, vitality: 8 of 30
Shelf life: 9 of 20 (on the skin)
Portability: 0 of 10
Flacon, packaging, presentation: 9 of 10

Total: 26 of 100

Pure Oud Kilian 2009

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