Lao Oud Bortnikoff 2021 Extrait de Parfum

Wow this totally knocked my socks off! Creamy cocoa which I perceive as coconut, perfectly in balance with the dryer, darker tones of fermenting woods.
I’m usually very sceptical about oud. It’s either too medicinal or too barnyardy. But this… oh boy does it hit the sweet spot. Totally bamboozled. It’s like… it’s there but it’s your little secret. Only people who you’re comfortable with will join in on your high.
Sillage could be better but then again it would be overpowering. Maybe it’s my rose-tinted glasses right now but I find nothing wrong with the projection and sillage.
Even the price.. at 350€ / 50ml in the EU this aint exactly cheap. But I’m going to justify that by saying if it’s cheap, half of the world would be wearing it and it wouldn’t be this special anymore.

This one’s landing on my wishlist.

I can't believe it took me so long to try Lao Oud. Bortnikoff is probably my favorite indie house, because while most indie perfumers go in with a heavy hand when they use difficult materials, Bortnikoff is a bit more restrained.

However, there is the definite presence of agarwood in Lao Oud. The beautiful Laotian variety is the same as he uses in Sayat Nova Extrait de Parfum, and my first impression of Lao Oud was "this is Sayat Nova without apricot," but it is so much more. The cacao/coffee note is again restrained but smooths and complements the harsh tones of the agarwood perfectly. The honey and florals add a sweet powdery bed for the more bitter components. The agarwood is actually stronger in Lao Oud but it is somehow more wearable due to this balance. The overpowering apricot sweetness of Sayat Nova, which I do enjoy, makes it difficult to wear. And the florals are not overpowering either, but allow the other elements to shine, which is the main differentiator from Oud Monarch Extrait de Parfum, the brand's other cacao/agarwood creation. Oud Monarch is a floral fragrance first and foremost, with strong frangipani and rose. In Lao Oud the elements are better balanced in my opinion, though some might find even the relatively weak agarwood accord too strong. I think this is the pinnacle of Bortnikoff's work and something I think even seasoned oud-heads would enjoy.

A great agarwood with very good performance. I like it a lot, although some noses may perceive it slightly fecal at the very beginning. Agar plays first and last fiddle here. In between there are balsamic notes of sweetened cocoa and cinnamon coffee and magnolia flowers. A brilliantly blended creation and after the initial "harder for some" opening-mega comfortable to wear. In one sentence-top when it comes to ingredients, blending and longevity. For me, LOVE.

BORTNIKOFF
Lao Oud (2021)
Extrait de Parfum
Unisex

Bortnikoff’s ouds are quite easy to love but there are four which are more challenging than others. One of them is Lao Oud (others Sayat Nova, Oud Loukoum and maybe Triad for some).

The master himself says “the note of Oud has never been so strong and animalic” in his perfumes. I don’t think it’s so animalic (for beginners definitely yes) but it’s very dense, dark and mysterious.

Lao Oud is a blend of the exceptional Oud oil, the richness of Lao Coffee, and the Frangipani like sweetness (not listed here though) but it doesn’t remind me of freshly roasted coffee beans. It’s rather a some kind of the most darkest coffee syrap which has aged in the wooden barrels together with spices. There is a whiff of sweetness from which I smell honey and flowers with subtle animalic tones. You can smell a very dark Cacao, it’s not chocolate like but like that dark cacao powder which you didn’t wanted to be used in your drink when you was a kid.

The whole blend is extremely sumptuous and unforgettable, it’s complex and addictive. Lao Oud is very close to Indian but it is much softer. Actually earlier I was thinking Oud Monarch Extrait de Parfum to be like Lao Oud is. I was never thinking there is something that easy in Bortnikoff’s collection like Oud Monarch and I was thinking that Lao Oud would be too much for me. This is like a next step from Oud Monarch but there is a huge possibility that I’m just in the next level while exploring ouds, I love very animalic and edgy ones.

I enjoy a lot of this masterfully blended piece of art.

Top: Pink Pepper, Magnolia

Middle: Beeswax Absolute, Cinnamon, Chamomile, Peru Balsam, Cacao Absolute

Base: Oud from Laos, Tonka Beans, Crocodile Wood, Coffee, Oud from India, Vanilla Absolute, Birch Tar, Guaiac Wood

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This is, hands down, the best fragrance I have ever smelled in my life. Heaven in a bottle. Were I made of money, I'd never be without a full bottle. As it it, I have to console myself with discount bottles of OP Stercus.

The magnolia and pink pepper lift the senses in the first few minutes, before the combination of beeswax, chamomile, and coffee manage to tamp the growing, only slightly animalic oud assam.

So, so good.