Top Notes 
Oud
Heart Notes 
Juniper
Cedarwood
Gaiac wood
Base Notes 
Patchouli
Vetiver
Meggi
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Meggi
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16
Pea Soup Instead of Oud
Oudh Noir is available as EdT and EdP. The fact that my sample reveals nothing but the name might be due to the fact that only the concentration varies. In the Angela Flanders shop on Columbia Road in London, the friendly salesperson also gave me no hint of deeper differences, and the information online points in the same direction. So let’s assume we are dealing with identical ingredients. Judging by its behavior, I suspect my sample is the EdT.
Oud is only mentioned for the top note. Aha...? It seems to me that it’s more of an idea than anything else. This might be intentional, as the accompanying text states that Oud “haunts the top notes...”. Is it perhaps haunting a little less? A clear commitment to the use of Oud in the top note sounds different. It sounds more like the HSV board expressing confidence in the coach.
Oudh Noir undoubtedly contains a lot of woodiness, but I am waiting in vain for the other common Oud aspects. In return, I had the impression that there was briefly more than just the promised “hint of tobacco” upfront. This is quickly brushed aside by - pea soup. Along with something fresh but bitter. Juniper fits. The tree has just been freshly cut here. After ten minutes, the ethereal notes have largely faded, but the aroma lingers significantly longer.
Regarding pea soup: This likely has to do with violets from the throat lozenge-leather corner. I remember Hystera by Gabriele Chieffo, which had a similar edible twist. The leather aspect would even fit, as it is explicitly mentioned by the manufacturer. Juniper may also be involved, possibly with the associative chain “juniper - bacon - pea soup”. While I’m at it: lovage? It smells a bit like Maggi. Hmm, “A desert camp at night…” is written. Well, there’s no cowboy-style bean stew, but rather pea soup.
A pot of hearty pea soup with bacon and spices bubbles lazily over a fire made of spicy wood. Fire? Campfire! My favorite colleague dryly remarked: “The forest is burning...”.
Soon I find myself in a skillfully mild-sweetened... Yes, what? It’s hard to categorize “Oudh” Noir. For a long time, I wait for the pea soup on wood smoke to take the path towards Interlude Man Opoponax (as it does in Hystera), but the shift doesn’t happen. Instead, it just becomes a bit milder, sweeter, and woodier. Only around midday can I shake off the thought of pea soup.
Gradually, the scent darkens, becoming bitter-resinous-dark-woody and somewhat tarry in the sixth and seventh hour. The sweetness has receded. However, it returns in a - well, I’m not exactly sure - amber-vanilla-labdanum-creamy-dark-wood-concentrate-soft-smoky second base around the eighth or ninth hour.
Conclusion: Somewhat Noir (at least over long stretches), just without Oud. I quite like it; others may call it unbalanced. Those who find Interlude Man fundamentally interesting but too strenuous might want to try this candidate. Unfortunately, it is very hard to come by. Off to London!
Oud is only mentioned for the top note. Aha...? It seems to me that it’s more of an idea than anything else. This might be intentional, as the accompanying text states that Oud “haunts the top notes...”. Is it perhaps haunting a little less? A clear commitment to the use of Oud in the top note sounds different. It sounds more like the HSV board expressing confidence in the coach.
Oudh Noir undoubtedly contains a lot of woodiness, but I am waiting in vain for the other common Oud aspects. In return, I had the impression that there was briefly more than just the promised “hint of tobacco” upfront. This is quickly brushed aside by - pea soup. Along with something fresh but bitter. Juniper fits. The tree has just been freshly cut here. After ten minutes, the ethereal notes have largely faded, but the aroma lingers significantly longer.
Regarding pea soup: This likely has to do with violets from the throat lozenge-leather corner. I remember Hystera by Gabriele Chieffo, which had a similar edible twist. The leather aspect would even fit, as it is explicitly mentioned by the manufacturer. Juniper may also be involved, possibly with the associative chain “juniper - bacon - pea soup”. While I’m at it: lovage? It smells a bit like Maggi. Hmm, “A desert camp at night…” is written. Well, there’s no cowboy-style bean stew, but rather pea soup.
A pot of hearty pea soup with bacon and spices bubbles lazily over a fire made of spicy wood. Fire? Campfire! My favorite colleague dryly remarked: “The forest is burning...”.
Soon I find myself in a skillfully mild-sweetened... Yes, what? It’s hard to categorize “Oudh” Noir. For a long time, I wait for the pea soup on wood smoke to take the path towards Interlude Man Opoponax (as it does in Hystera), but the shift doesn’t happen. Instead, it just becomes a bit milder, sweeter, and woodier. Only around midday can I shake off the thought of pea soup.
Gradually, the scent darkens, becoming bitter-resinous-dark-woody and somewhat tarry in the sixth and seventh hour. The sweetness has receded. However, it returns in a - well, I’m not exactly sure - amber-vanilla-labdanum-creamy-dark-wood-concentrate-soft-smoky second base around the eighth or ninth hour.
Conclusion: Somewhat Noir (at least over long stretches), just without Oud. I quite like it; others may call it unbalanced. Those who find Interlude Man fundamentally interesting but too strenuous might want to try this candidate. Unfortunately, it is very hard to come by. Off to London!
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