Absolus Allegoria

Oud Essentiel 2017

Oud Essentiel by Guerlain
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.
7.6 / 10 249 Ratings
A popular perfume by Guerlain for women and men, released in 2017. The scent is woody-oriental. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Woody
Oriental
Spicy
Resinous
Leathery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
SaffronSaffron GeraniumGeranium
Heart Notes Heart Notes
OudOud Bulgarian roseBulgarian rose Atlas cedarAtlas cedar
Base Notes Base Notes
LeatherLeather FrankincenseFrankincense Gaiac woodGaiac wood

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.6249 Ratings
Longevity
8.4219 Ratings
Sillage
8.0218 Ratings
Bottle
8.3225 Ratings
Value for money
7.4113 Ratings
Submitted by OPomone, last update on 07/22/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the "Absolus Allegoria" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Bois Mystérieux / Songe d'un Bois d'Été by Guerlain
Bois Mystérieux
Nero Oudh by Tiziana Terenzi
Nero Oudh
Patchouli Ardent by Guerlain
Patchouli Ardent
Armani Privé - Cuir Majesté by Giorgio Armani
Armani Privé - Cuir Majesté
Oud Imperial (Eau de Parfum) by Perris Monte Carlo
Oud Imperial Eau de Parfum
Mana by Nishane
Mana

Reviews

8 in-depth fragrance descriptions
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
8
Longevity
2.5
Scent
Muotarek

51 Reviews
Muotarek
Muotarek
Less helpful Review 3  
Santal Royal cheap clone
Why did guerlain release this one?? it is almost identical to Santal Royal and i didn't like both, as a middle eastern i smell such stuff a lot anywhere so it is not unique for us, maybe westerns will find such stuff likable.

This scent is horrible, Synthetic and not even worth the half of its price, if you're looking for a good designer oud based perfume then it is Gucci Intense Oud, the best safe oud you can buy and it smells wonderful and has a beastly performance but this one is a huge PASS.
2 Comments
8
Pricing
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
9
Scent
Rodrigo23

7 Reviews
Rodrigo23
Rodrigo23
2  
A Pleasant Surprise
Today I’ve been to a department store and, of course, I had to go to the perfumes area to check some stuff I still don’t know. Went straight to the Guerlain point of sale, cause it has been a while I wanted to try this perfume. I sprayed 4 times, twi on each arm (yes, I was wearing no perfume). Oud Essentiel opens beautifully with a strong oud-leather-saffron smell for about 15 minutes. The opening is gorgeous, but it is ephemeral. I wish this lasted a bit longer. After that, the olibanum starts to appear, together with a subtle rose smell, not a feminine rose, a very masculine one. The leather is always there, but settles down. It’s a shame that the oud at this point is almost imperceptible but overall this is still a great fragrance. The opening is a 10/10 to me and the drydown is an 8. By the way, the drydown reminds me Songe and Nero Oudh, which I own both. That’s the reason I won’t buy a bottle, it looks too much to things I already have. But man, if that opening lasted a a couple of hours… I would definitely buy a bottle!
0 Comments
5
Pricing
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
PerfumeUser2

39 Reviews
PerfumeUser2
PerfumeUser2
3  
My 0.02$ about this Perfume
Love it, because of the quality of the blend, its longevity, its projection.
When I' ve bought it, the price shocked me, but after a long journey, I think it has a good price point.

Was offered to smell it during a big price reduction at a shop. I wasn't convinced at first, but I regretted it so much, that after half a year I ended up buying one (smelling the dry down made me fall in love with it).

The blend is top notch, the ingredients transition one to another very smoothly, not highly alcoholic abrupt type. It' s like a good quality song.

Longevity on my skin is 3 plus hours (which is huge for me) and on my clothes, the whole day, even 2 days after washing.
Projection is huge.
2 sprays is more than enough.

It' s a mature, unisex perfume. Starts very woody oud and quickly goes into the fresh spicy rose together with the wood.

I can only highly recommend it.

Earlier this year I tried the one in the new semitransparent bottles. It' s diluted, highly alcoholic, sour, no oud punch anymore- nothing like the original (bad reformulation, for my nose at least) .
0 Comments
7
Pricing
9
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Sparrinsky

34 Reviews
Sparrinsky
Sparrinsky
1  
Strange and enchanting
My review is for the Absolus Allegoria reformulation (? - I found conflicting information). I did not know the previous scent.

I tried this in the Guerlain store.

It opens nicely - hypnotizing, with an off-putting note that I could not help but come back to it, and the dry down is the oud that was promised with a leathery envelope ornate with a hint of roses.

I totally disagree with the previous commenters which have said it smells like Santal Royal. Santal Royal's rose is way more prominent and much sweeter and smoother. This is a punch to the face followed by a woody caress.

Performance wise it is totally performing with long longevity and massive projection, very well blended - pricing wise, I would pay Spanish retail price (150 euros), but not the $240 of the online store. On discounters I see it at $130~. If it drops below 100, I would snatch this up, but I would rather take Santal Royal or Rose Amira over it.

Give it a shot. You may enjoy it.

0 Comments
9
Pricing
8
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
8
Scent
BobbyGee

229 Reviews
BobbyGee
BobbyGee
2  
Guerlain / Oud Essentiel
It would never occur to me that this is good old Guerlain, that Guerlain of discovery, primal, historical and unique, and not the one of recent years.
As a fan of oud, but the dark, masculine, strong ... with incense, wood, factory, workshop notes - I am enchanted by it.
I'm not a fan and I feel sick to the smell of a rose in men's perfumes and a combination with similar oud - for example black aoud Montale (I don't like me and for me it doesn't smell like masculine / something else on a woman's skin).
But I really like the smell of the unique dark aoud Montale, devoid of that sweet rose.
And here we have, among others, a rose with oud, wood, incense and leather, all seasoned with herbs. and here "surprisingly" I do not feel this rose too much, some delicate note, but served in a strange way (it does not make me sick, it does not smell feminine, flowers ...), even this smell inspires me and makes me addictive ... yes - IS ADDICTIVE.
The smell is very persistent, long-lasting and unique, specific (similar to dark aoud, LM black oud).
I recommend it to all fans of agar / oud served in a dark, mysterious, addictive, strong, workshop manner.
I got to know this smell thanks to a sample of my friend who gave me a smell and ... I lost it. I was to order a dark aoud Montale and I ordered a bottle (125 ml) of oud essentiel Guerlain. SUPER drug ;-)
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

13 short views on the fragrance
WusubiWusubi 25 days ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Powerful oud accord - leathery, oily and smoky.
Metallic geranium, medicinal, rubbery saffron.
A soapy, waxy rose laced with balsamic amber.
0 Comments
Jazzy76Jazzy76 7 years ago
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
7
Scent
A very powerful spicy-woody scent where the oud is maybe too strong and covers the other notes. Unisex, but not very adapt to women.
0 Comments
TheDunkPapaTheDunkPapa 10 months ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Slightly animalic, pleasantly abrasive oud intertwined with oriental rose and leathery incense. My description doesn't do it justice, though
0 Comments
Rodrigo23Rodrigo23 2 years ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
9
Scent
Man, what a beautiful opening! I just wish that the opening would last a a couple of hours… I would definitely buy a bottle!
0 Comments
Jbl775Jbl775 3 years ago
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Gorgeous bitter dark westernized oud scent, metallic, leathery and spicy. Seriously underrated.
0 Comments
JlundoJlundo 1 year ago
3
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
1
Scent
Smells ikke a airplane bathroom. 0/10 repulsive.
0 Comments
Zebra782Zebra782 3 years ago
9
Scent
Class, class, class all the way...!!!
0 Comments
HugoMontezHugoMontez 6 years ago
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
9
Longevity
8
Scent
This one is very similar to Santal Royal. There's no Oud here. I smell rose, a little bit of Saffron and a leather accord. It good though.
2 Comments
ScentedSalonScentedSalon 8 years ago
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
8
Scent
Piney non-medicinal oud without a lot of development. I wouldn't call it essential. Their Rose Nacree has a better oud note. Derivative.
0 Comments
GrandNezGrandNez 10 months ago
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
6
Scent
Henry 8th cutting after bulk, Grinch with a pump, Green Lantern, Ben 10 diamond head, heavy greenish oud, might injure your nucleus ambiguus
0 Comments
More statements

Charts

This is how the community classifies the fragrance.
Pie Chart Radar Chart

Images

7 fragrance photos of the community
More images

Popular by Guerlain

L'Homme Idéal (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Angélique Noire by Guerlain Cuir Béluga (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille by Guerlain Mon Guerlain (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Tonka Impériale by Guerlain L'Instant Magic (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Shalimar (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain L'Homme Idéal Extrême by Guerlain Habit Rouge (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain Mon Guerlain (Eau de Parfum Intense) by Guerlain Vetiver (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain L'Heure Bleue (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Santal Royal (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Bois d'Arménie by Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic by Guerlain Mitsouko (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain Héritage (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain L'Homme Idéal Cologne by Guerlain