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Scarlet Oud 2011

6.7 / 10 25 Ratings
A perfume by Illuminum for women and men, released in 2011. The scent is smoky-earthy. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Smoky
Earthy
Spicy
Animal
Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Black pepperBlack pepper HoneyHoney
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Indian oudIndian oud BalsamBalsam VetiverVetiver
Base Notes Base Notes
CastoreumCastoreum CivetCivet
Ratings
Scent
6.725 Ratings
Longevity
6.521 Ratings
Sillage
5.620 Ratings
Bottle
5.926 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro · last update on 02/14/2022.
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Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Cravache

64 Reviews
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Cravache
Cravache
Top Review 0  
The Sexy Adventuress - Erotic Vetiver-Oud on Skin
Scarlet Oud is a vetiver-oud. Rather feminine, earthy, smoky, with green notes. And very, very sexy.

Scarlet Oud is the scent of a strong, erotic, adventurous woman who knows how to prove herself in everyday life. A woman who sheds her dress in the evening and, naked, which we men find particularly erotic, wanders through the apartment. Not yet freshly showered, no sticky body lotion to mask her body scent. The makeup perhaps a bit smudged. Simply wrapped in the olfactory aura of the day she has experienced. How sexy!

Michael Boadi has launched a whole series of rather affordable niche fragrances under the Illuminum label since 2011. Each individual scent is special in its own way, sometimes quirky, often sensual to erotic. Unfortunately, Illuminum now seems to be financially at its end.

Scarlet is a stunning natural beauty. Long dark natural curls, deep blue eyes you want to sink into. Distinctive cheekbones, well-shaped, slightly muscular arms and legs.

Scarlet lives alone in her lonely old homestead on the edge of a large dark forest. Her house has no running water; she washes herself at a nearby spring in the earthy woods. Cooking and heating are done with lichen-covered wood over an open fire. Scarlet hunts and catches her own food, preferring to go boar hunting. She also chops the wood for the stove and the old fireplace herself. Often and gladly, Scarlet rides alone on her stately, spirited horse through the dark forest, unafraid of wolf and bear. She steals some of the flower-heavy honey from the wild bees and snatches a few nuts from the quick squirrels.

Scarlet decides to visit the lively market of a nearby small village, which lies in a large clearing in the midst of the dark forest. Scarlet saddles her proud horse, packs her fire-red rugged cloak, in which the scent of the spicy, herbal, and grassy spices offered at the market has settled from many visits.

Scarlet sets off and rides through the dense fir forest. Lumberjacks have recently felled some balsam-scented firs along the roadside. Where the forest floor is damp and somewhat boggy, robust green, earthy vetiver grows vigorously. After a short ride, arriving at the edge of the village, Scarlet smells the scent of oud that is being smoked in the large market hall. Some branches of the felled firs are also burned in thick smoke.

After completing her errands at the market, Scarlet rides back to her lonely homestead. She removes her red cloak. Scarlet can once again reflect on the strong scents of the day experienced by sniffing her cloak. Smoky, not very animalic oud, deep green, earthy vetiver, balsamic green fir, a few drops of wild honey, and a few grains of black pepper.

Scarlet takes off her tight leather trousers and her leather blouse and sits naked in front of the smoking fireplace to rest. Her body is still warm from the experiences and exertions of the day. Her skin smells slightly of the sweet leather of her discarded clothing, her fresh sweat sweetly mingling with the smoke of the fireplace.

The top note of Scarlet Oud smells of honey with a resinous facet. However, the honey note is neither sticky nor girlishly sweet; rather, it is more like liquid wild honey. The top note is enhanced by an enticing spicy pepper note.

After a short time, the top note is overshadowed by the heart note, emphasizing smoky, dense, dark, almost non-animalic oud (not barn-like, not medicinal), very earthy, deep green vetiver, as well as green notes from the balsam fir.

After about 6 hours, the heart note fades, leaving warm, sweetly leathery, slightly animalic notes in the base. Soft, warm castoreum and a barely perceptible nuance of civet.

Scarlet Oud is an oud fragrance characterized by earthy vetiver, smoky and balsamic green notes. The scent is lightly animalic in an erotic way, but not exhausting or challenging. Scarlet Oud is rather blessed with feminine genes, yet it is certainly suitable as an evening and comfort scent for men, whether by the fireplace with wine - or without.
13 Comments
Leimbacher

2873 Reviews
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Leimbacher
Leimbacher
5  
Scarlet Oudhansson
I had often noticed Illuminum on the sidelines, but I was never tempted to test specific fragrances or even the entire range. If I had known about the very fair prices, perhaps my opinion would have changed. However, I received the first sample of the brand, and since the day started rather darkly, I thought it would be fitting for an oud fragrance, despite the muggy warmth.

Moreover, an unusual vetiver/oud combo and the delightfully aggressive color - it looked promising. However, it barely met those expectations and reminded me somewhat of MFK's Absolue Pour Le Soir in its character, also animalic, resinous, and honey-laden. Scarlett Oud might be a big hit for oud fans, but I had hoped for much more vetiver and got hardly any of it. Just resinous, earthy prickly oud, honey soap on top, and a hefty dose of animal instincts courtesy of balsamic civet, reminiscent of Luis Suarez. Therefore, the fragrance receives a scarlet "yes and no" from me; a second test in cooler temperatures might be advisable.

Bottle: Do it yourself - Style
Sillage: it seemed resinously penetrating to me.
Longevity: 8 hours is average for an oud.

Caution: the liquid stains extremely. My wrist was yellow for hours. I don't even want to know how dangerous this can be for white shirts, for example.

For some, too sweet; for me, rather too resinous-scratchy-animalic - but I am also known not to be the biggest fan of pure oud, which comes across here very undiluted.
4 Comments
8Scent
Terra

646 Reviews
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Terra
Terra
Helpful Review 1  
Best Price
Even with very beautiful Oud interpretations from the big and renowned fragrance houses, I sometimes feel a bit deceived. There, I pay €3.4 per ml for something that is called Oud but mostly smells of synthetic substitutes.
This certainly has several reasons. Real Oud is more expensive than substitutes, harder to source, and a very important factor: It probably doesn't appeal to the taste of many average perfume buyers and is subject to quality fluctuations!
Thus, we are bombarded with "Oud fragrances" that actually have relatively little to do with the topic. Some are fantastic, while many should have simply been created without this Oud idea.
Illuminum has done it differently and exactly right. Here, we find what I perceive as real Indian Oud. However, we are not dealing with a heavy or old-fashioned scent. The Oud is only slightly animalic, and I somehow detect faint fruity notes; perhaps that's just an illusion due to the color. Yet the fragrance smells a bit like it looks - but quite natural. The Oud is wonderfully natural and lightly animalic, but never too dominant. Vetiver also joins in, but it too is not sharp or piercing, instead remaining very soft. Overall, it is a very soft scent that is absolutely not heavy or overwhelming. It is lightly sweet, which provides a good contrast with the animalic notes that become even a bit too subtle for me over time. A bit more would have created more balance for me, as the sweet tones are somewhat too dominant.

In my opinion, we have a fragrance here that can definitely compete with the very big names - and that for £100/100ml. Definitely a test recommendation.
1 Comment

Statements

3 short views on the fragrance
5
4
straight on; the epitome of a naked body
Initially almost Leni Riefenstahl
strong & supple.
Then soft and delicate, beautifully faint
Fragile we are
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4 Comments
2
1
Captivating rose-oud composition, woody oud + slightly animalic + smoky hints, leathery-sweet and intoxicating. Pyramid changed after the test.
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1 Comment
6
1
Sensual feminine Scarlet
Pepper & honey in the back
Oud in front of the hut & it's a little beast
Makes my cheeks flush (unfortunately real, with spots)
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1 Comment

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