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DrB1414
Helpful Review
4
Bakhoor-like Woody Affair
Oud Zhen from Areej Le Dore.
Now that Winter is near I can enjoy this smoky oud concoction more often. I wear whatever I crave, all year round, yet some perfumes just shine under the right conditions. This is the case with Oud Zhen. It blooms in the cold.
It bears the "dark oud perfume" DNA of the house, being part of the same family as Oud Picante and Russian Oud. It's my second favorite among the three, behind Russian Oud, but ahead of Picante. It is smokier and not as sweet as the former and less spicy than the latter. Not a complicated scent by any means, it's quite a robust and straightforward olfactory piece, but it delivers what promises. A beautiful woody scent profile, with plenty of bakhoor-like smokiness, and smoldering resins. These are the main players whereas in the base some musks creep in, mostly castoreum. You need to like smoky perfumes to appreciate this one as there is plenty of that. I'm not too fond of this genre but in this case, it blends well within the composition.
The opening is quite a burst of smoke. Fumigating wood it's how it comes across. Dense, with a strong woody aroma. Once it settles down, the woodiness comes forefront in full display. Not funky by any means, more akin to old wood, think of an ancient wooden cabinet or chest. Later, the resins support the oud with the myrrh lending a nice toffee, nutty, and boozy-like quality, like someone spilled a fine cognac on the wood. Once the labdanum kicks in, the nutty and toffee-like facets become more apparent and slowly melt over the wood's profile. At this point, it transitions to a more resinous affair, with the emphasis shifting from the wood to the latter. Later in the base, a beautiful chewy, sweet, and smoky castoreum adds warmth, alongside a slightly daring civet-like accord. At this stage, it wears more like a smoky-resinous perfume with musky nuances. It's very long-lasting and will send beautiful wafts throughout the day, cutting through the cold and warming you up. It wears well in the heat but it'll truly make you appreciate its presence in the freezing air.
Much like Russian Oud, it is quite a simple composition that delivers. A bakhoor-like woody experience topped with molten resins and sprinkled with the right amount of animalics to keep you warm during the long Winter nights, or to make you stand out in the hot climate of the Middle East, as it will overshadow any other scents around with its presence.
IG:@memory.of.scents
Top Notes 
Oud
Heart Notes 
Indian saffron
Indian oud
Base Notes 
Civet
Myrrh
Castoreum
Sandalwood
Tolu balm
Vetiver
ChavezDing
Holscentbar
BoBoChamp
