Top Notes 
Cardamom
Pink pepper
Almond
Grapefruit
Heart Notes 
Rose
Leather
Geranium
Jasmine
Oud
Base Notes 
Frankincense
Amber
Cistus
Moss
Musk
Patchouli
Sandalwood
02/24/2025
NicheOnly
85 Reviews
NicheOnly
1
Puzzling performance
Recently I blind-bought Kilian's Incense Oud and the amount of comparisons between the Kilian and the Fragrance du Bois would have you thinking that the scents were very similar. While the comparisons are indeed prominent, there still are moments of stark contrast.
Both Parisian and Incense Oud open with the same style of boozy rose that you recognize from various other scents in the market. For me, these "other scents" would include Nishane's Mana and Louis Vuitton's Ombre Nomade. However, relative to the Kilian, the rose in Parisian has more of a jammy & sweet structure at first, smelling more like a rose-amber, mildly comparable to scents like Xerjoff's "Astaral | XerJoff" or Roja's Amber Aoud Parfum. This rose discrepancy remains there in the initial drydown with the on-skin scent feeling more rose-forward in Parisian than in Incense Oud. The incense itself does begin to reveal itself over time and gives the profile a light spicy feel with the intensity not overwhelming either scent, that is to say the note doesn't have an Amouage-level intensity. In the final drydown, I'd say both Parisian and Incense Oud finish on just incense, meaning the evolution in terms of notes and accords is indeed very similar.
However, there are also some differences between the 2 as they evolve. To be more specific, with Incense Oud I never get oud - none is actually listed either, it's just implied by the name. With Parisian, I get moderate oud and leather in the top with a light cypriol-like note in the drydown too. Additionally, Parisian is more pronounced in its aromatic feel with the cistus being very prominent in the top.
Overall, I feel like Parisian is the superior product, leaning more into the rose note than Incense Oud does. A significant downfall of both products is the performance and that led to the title of this review too as Parisian feels like it could be a victim of regulations and reformulations, esp. since many who swear by this fragrance talk about it being closer to nuclear than to a dud. On my skin, we are talking below average sillage with longevity in the 4-6 hour range for both fragrances with the Kilian leaning to the upper end. Predictably, value is a big issue for the Fragrance du Bois as a 50ml bottle would set you back €419, a price that likely was north of 3x what Kilian was charging for Incense Oud when it was released and 2x what I paid for an essentially unused bottle with the lacquered box (at the time of the review). It can still be worth owning, esp. at non-retail prices, but the lack of performance and the insignificant level of oud aren't driving me to a purchase any time soon.
Both Parisian and Incense Oud open with the same style of boozy rose that you recognize from various other scents in the market. For me, these "other scents" would include Nishane's Mana and Louis Vuitton's Ombre Nomade. However, relative to the Kilian, the rose in Parisian has more of a jammy & sweet structure at first, smelling more like a rose-amber, mildly comparable to scents like Xerjoff's "Astaral | XerJoff" or Roja's Amber Aoud Parfum. This rose discrepancy remains there in the initial drydown with the on-skin scent feeling more rose-forward in Parisian than in Incense Oud. The incense itself does begin to reveal itself over time and gives the profile a light spicy feel with the intensity not overwhelming either scent, that is to say the note doesn't have an Amouage-level intensity. In the final drydown, I'd say both Parisian and Incense Oud finish on just incense, meaning the evolution in terms of notes and accords is indeed very similar.
However, there are also some differences between the 2 as they evolve. To be more specific, with Incense Oud I never get oud - none is actually listed either, it's just implied by the name. With Parisian, I get moderate oud and leather in the top with a light cypriol-like note in the drydown too. Additionally, Parisian is more pronounced in its aromatic feel with the cistus being very prominent in the top.
Overall, I feel like Parisian is the superior product, leaning more into the rose note than Incense Oud does. A significant downfall of both products is the performance and that led to the title of this review too as Parisian feels like it could be a victim of regulations and reformulations, esp. since many who swear by this fragrance talk about it being closer to nuclear than to a dud. On my skin, we are talking below average sillage with longevity in the 4-6 hour range for both fragrances with the Kilian leaning to the upper end. Predictably, value is a big issue for the Fragrance du Bois as a 50ml bottle would set you back €419, a price that likely was north of 3x what Kilian was charging for Incense Oud when it was released and 2x what I paid for an essentially unused bottle with the lacquered box (at the time of the review). It can still be worth owning, esp. at non-retail prices, but the lack of performance and the insignificant level of oud aren't driving me to a purchase any time soon.
NicheOnly
BeOrtega
