Essence N°4: Oud Elie Saab 2014

Magnificent work of Mr. Kurkdjian, with just three notes he has created a very mysterious and welcoming perfume, with a certain mystical air, that stimulates the senses.

The beginning of this perfume is almost exact to Bois D'encens from the Armani Prive collection, a very resinous, cold and balsamic spicy aroma, exquisite, perfectly emulating the sensation of liturgical incense, but not the smell of when it burns, but the smell of the unburned incense stones, it's like opening a bag full of this incense and breathing inside it, I love it. This start is long-lived, it stays at least half an hour or more, and little by little it becomes woody. A very spicy and warm wood begins to emerge, and together with the previous notes, they create an intense woody aroma, resinous, vibrant and balsamic, ecstatic. In the end, the protagonist is the oud, with a subtle resinous veil of very light vanilla, highlighting the many nuances of these woods. An aroma of marked character and not for everyone. The oud in this perfume is a very tamed oud, it is intense, but it does not have that dirty touch of some oud that I have smelled, here it is tinged with a smell of deep, turbulent, spicy, warm, balsamic and somewhat creamy wood.

As I said before, it is not a perfume for everyone, it is a scent with character and it needs someone who knows how to wear it, I particularly love it, but it is difficult for me to know what kind of occasions to wear it for, anyway, a beautiful perfume for cold or temperate climates and to wear at night, although as I always say, this depends on each one.

The duration has been greater than 9 hours, with a good wake for about 3 hours, then it declines to moderate, but not bad. It is not a perfume that I can openly recommend, but if you like this type of scent, it is a highly recommended perfume.

I bought a full bottle from Jomashop without testing, because I couldn’t find a sample. Though it is an interesting perfume, I don’t think I would have bought it if I had tested it properly. The price is moderate with 3.4 oz costing me $55. As the Essence line has been discontinued, the remaining bottles will disappear from the marketplace soon.

Elie Saab Essence line fragrances are simple, focusing on one dominant note. The perfumer, Francis Kurkdjian, accentuates this dominant note using a few other ancillary notes. If I may generalize based on the two Essence scents I own, this line thrives on the intensity of a single dominant note. Complexity and development are not part of the game. Now, use that same framework to create a Westernized oud with nothing else. You get a very boring perfume.

The three notes in Essence No. 4 Oud are listed differently on different websites. Basenotes lists black pepper, oud and benzoin, while Parfumo lists saffron, oud and cinnamon. My nose says oud and saffron with a tiny hint of black pepper and benzoin. I don’t detect much cinnamon here. Unfortunately, I cannot find the official notes from the perfumer. I can vouch that oud and saffron are clearly present in the opening, heart and base notes. There is no noticeable development in this perfume.

The longevity is very good as it lasts about 8-10 hours on my skin. But the sillage is mediocre, making this a good office perfume. It is a low intensity perfume as these notes do not typically project much. The bottle is attractive with its unique magnetic cap.

Essence No. 4 may be a good fit for those looking for a mild, inoffensive Western-style oud with saffron. There are no sweet or floral notes anywhere in this perfume. Though I do not layer perfumes, I can see why this could become a staple for those who do so. I don’t recommend Essence No. 4 Oud as I cannot see this as perfume. Maybe part of a perfume for those who layer.

This is a motto often quoted today, especially in the context of ambitious opera productions, attributed to Richard Wagner, on which heavy hopes often rest and which consequently tend to give birth to strange things. This can be - albeit with some reservations - transferred to the theme of oud fragrances, where perhaps a different sense organ is tortured by strained originality. In case of doubt, it is better to choose a variant that properly implements the familiar. Mr. Kurkdjian delivers a bit of both: an aberrant manifestation that is at least new to me, as well as something tried and tested and good in its own way.

Without any fuss, it gets straight to the point. A (initially!) subtle oud note opens, lightly ventilated. Pepper is fine, but more its freshness than aroma or even spiciness. Within seconds, however, a sour-woody impression emerges that immediately reminds me of Mr. Kurkdjian's own oud palette. Dull, almost astringent. "I am a serious fragrance!" it shouts at me. That fits, as I also found the oud variants from his Maison quite unfun, although I should add that I do not know them in detail.

After half an hour, the oud has taken on a woody-musty character. And not only that, the aforementioned wood also seems strangely frayed. By the end of the first hour, a smell of socks worn for far too long emerges from the must in conjunction with the oud sourness. With mustard. Medium spicy. So much for 'pepper'... After that, it's off to the hardware store. To the paint shelf. Test sniffing. Who chooses paint based on optical criteria? This is neither barn nor medical, but perhaps... kurkdjian-esque. I certainly hadn't experienced that before. Not entirely pleasant, to put it cautiously.

But it gets better. After two hours, the oud has become more compact and darker, and it has not only gained control over its wood escapades but has also rid itself of the old socks (with mustard). Finally, an idea emerges as to why it took so long. It simply wouldn't have suited Mr. Kurkdjian to just blurt out oud aromas - whatever they may be. The sour and woody directions must develop nicely and keep each other in check. They do this by scenting back and forth between both sides while gently unfolding from their stinky origin. That such a thing cannot spontaneously conquer anyone is something the master and his client openly accept. Hats off for offering a fragrance that remains so exhausting and distant for half the morning.

By late morning, the darkness has almost condensed into something tangible. The concentrate on the skin seems to exude a hint of sweetness. Cocoa powder and cinnamon have already been mentioned - as I have noted based on identical impressions. This may sound audacious now, but it is surprisingly noticeable when sniffing, without reaching a stage of complete clarity. Great class. Overall, Essence N°4: Oud is a fragrance of hints. No direction ever pushes itself forward in such a way that it knocks out the other.

Throughout the afternoon, however, the leathery aspect of the oud gains weight, while the woody part recedes. Moreover, the fragrance actually manages to create the impression of further densification. It persists deep into the evening.

Conclusion: Those who cannot appreciate Kurkdjian's own oud creations will likely be just as unhappy with Essence N°4: Oud - cautiously presumed (see above). It is for those who cannot get enough of this woody-leathery sourness.

As for me, my colleague said she imagines the fragrance more on other people than on thin, blonde business economists. Well, she didn't say it exactly like that. But she meant it.

I thank Gerdi for the sample.

Tennis fans here? Do you remember Anna Kurnikowa, who enriched the world of women's tennis at the turn of the millennium for a few years - not just in terms of looks? She made it into the Top 10 and stayed there for several years, reaching, among other things, a Wimbledon semifinal. However, she never managed to win a tournament in singles throughout her entire career.

Poker fans present? In Texas Hold'em, the probably most popular variant of poker, a starting hand of Ace and King - so both in German and English an A and a K - initially looks very good and promising. However, often nothing comes of it, which is why this combination - not only because of the matching initials - is also called 'Anna Kurnikowa'.

So: A and K = looks good, but rarely wins?

With - in montalesque writing - (A)Oud and Kurkdjian (A and K) it almost seems a bit the same way. Francis Kurkdjian's own Oud (in the blue-gray bottle) did not fully convince me - and a similar impression is given by Essence N°4 Oud, which he created for the Lebanese designer Elie Saab. I like Kurkdjian's fragrances, I still enjoy the character of the fragrance component Oud - accordingly, the expectations were high - especially since I also really like the bottle. The initial pepper sets a bitter, almost gall-like opening, and the resin that follows adds an ashy, dull sharpness to this bitterness. And both - bitterness and dullness - they dampen the brilliance of the namesake Oud and thus prevent its glorious, famous glow and give its bright bronze tone no echo. One can find this interpretation of the agarwood oil elegant or particularly subtle - this brittle, not uninteresting (A)Oud fragrance from Kurkdjian and Elie Saab. For me, it remains indifferent and strangely foreign - ultimately, it cannot win me over.

Essence N°4 Oud is not a bad fragrance. Anna Kurnikowa was also not a bad tennis player.

Conclusion: A and K, it looks good, but - let's say: not always.

I see an abyssal darkness, deep dark smoky black-brown... This is my first impression of the scent. It promises pepper, benzoin, and oud, and it delivers exactly that, no, it exceeds my expectations, excites me, pulls me in, letting me fall into a wonderfully soft depth. Yet there is no hard landing; rather, I am caught and enveloped in soft, black-brown velvet, woven from ground black wood and dark-vanilla, balsamic threads.

It is smoky, like freshly ground, dark fruity pepper, but without tickling the nose, falling onto the smoky, finest oud. After a while, individual veils of smoke lift, and the balsamic notes become denser, surrounding the velvet like a gossamer silk scarf. Notes of dark cocoa powder, clove, a hint of incense, and a delicate touch of cinnamon emerge from both, the scent gradually becoming softer and more caressing.

Essence No. 4 has just the right intensity, with a sillage that is distinct and present, yet not overwhelming, and it boasts long-lasting wear. A fragrance for evenings and dark nights.

No fragrance has captivated me, touched me, and painted such beautiful images for me in a long time. This heavy, dark, fragrant fabric can adorn an extraordinary woman. To me, she is tall, dark-haired, calmly self-aware. I see her gliding by, the flowing fabric on her body and her fluid movements like in slow motion...

This woman seduces without provoking, simply by her being.

Essence No. 4 is a sensual fragrance that also suits men incredibly well. And I - I could hardly resist this man...