Oud Ispahan Dior 2012 Eau de Parfum

Call me morbidly curious. When a close friend with an adventurous and tolerant nose tested Oud Ispahan and found it repellent, I had to see what the stink was all about. To cut straight to the chase, look no further than the oud, or pseudo oud (psoud?), since we all know by now that what passes for oud these days is just another aromachemical.

The specific "oud" found in OI smells to me like the same one that Montale has been using for years. If you find scents like Black Oud appealing, you will probably enjoy OI. In fact, I would rate OI higher than Black Oud because underneath the massive, hulking agarwood is the ghost of a beautiful perfume. The tiny waft of it that manages to escape being smothered is reminiscent of Dior's gorgeous Dolce Vita sans the big peach note. I can just barely detect the same harmonious combination of rose, sandalwood and cardomom that I adore in DV.

I can only surmise that the reason oud is present here in such a high concentration is to justify the large price tag. Apparently, someone at Dior figured that more "oud" would equal more dollars. I will say that OI is good value for money in the sense that the sillage is positively intergalactic. I put some on this evening and a short time later my husband inquired from the foot of the stairs, "Dear God, what did you spill up there?" Unfortunately, I can't comment on the longevity because I was forced to scrub, but not before the fragrance had fully developed. It is fairly linear in any event. To compare the experience to something relatable, it was like being in a surgical suite that had been scrubbed with an industrial cleaner, and then being swabbed with that orangey-brown antibacterial solution -- I think it's called Betadine. The anesthesiologist had just eaten a delicious dinner of Moroccan food and I could still smell it on her breath. She was also wearing a dab of very nice perfume. It probably goes without saying that this is not a good candidate for a blind buy. Big thanks to Dig for an interesting fragrant experiment.