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7.9 / 10 150 Ratings
A popular perfume by John Varvatos for men, released in 2014. The scent is woody-spicy. It is being marketed by Revlon Inc..
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Main accords

Woody
Spicy
Oriental
Smoky
Resinous

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Clary sageClary sage HyssopHyssop Levantine cypress TobaccoTobacco Juniper berryJuniper berry
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Osmanthus absoluteOsmanthus absolute Egyptian jasmine absoluteEgyptian jasmine absolute Laotian cinnamonLaotian cinnamon Malabar pepperMalabar pepper Sri Lankan cardamomSri Lankan cardamom Zanzibar cloveZanzibar clove Persian saffronPersian saffron Turkish rose absoluteTurkish rose absolute
Base Notes Base Notes
FrankincenseFrankincense OudOud MyrrhMyrrh OpoponaxOpoponax AmberAmber Black leatherBlack leather Lebanon cedarLebanon cedar Spanish labdanumSpanish labdanum
Ratings
Scent
7.9150 Ratings
Longevity
7.0129 Ratings
Sillage
6.4132 Ratings
Bottle
7.7149 Ratings
Value for money
7.742 Ratings
Submitted by Michael, last update on 10/22/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Oud Couture by Carolina Herrera
Oud Couture
Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold (Eau de Toilette) by Molton Brown
Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold Eau de Toilette
Blue Oud by Lattafa
Blue Oud
Sahara Noir by Tom Ford
Sahara Noir
Boss Bottled Oud (Eau de Parfum) by Hugo Boss
Boss Bottled Oud Eau de Parfum
Oud (Eau de Parfum) by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Oud Eau de Parfum

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Darkbeat

386 Reviews
Darkbeat
Darkbeat
2  
Oud by John Varvatos
This perfume did not stop recommending me a good friend, and I never paid attention, I do not know, maybe the brand did not attract me enough, but big mistake ... at the end of so much tell me, I bought a 10ml decant on eBay, and here I am today to recommend it to you, lovers of woody orientals, because it is a surprising oriental, in the style of Amouage, but more bearable and westernized, beautiful.

From beginning to end the oud and the incense run through the aroma, with one exception, while the oud remains firm and notorious, the incense is ethereal and vaporous, allowing certain smoky nuances in a soft and mild way. In the beginning, it highlights the freshness of the cypress, the berries, the sage and a slight smoky let, a rough woody beginning, but fresh, balsamic and sweet. Then, the freshness is lost and the spices make their appearance, creating a very spicy and somewhat smoky oud aroma, with a slight touch of exquisite sweet tobacco, in which you can see an ethereal rose vapor that floats in the air and gives the floral counterpoint to so much spice, perfectly balanced. Gradually and coming to an end, the perfume is filled with nuances of resins, sweet, smoked, warm, on which rests an oud accustomed to a very elegant fineness.

The oud of this perfume is not the typical dirty and medicated oud, it is very well executed and it is an intense, spicy and balsamic woody aroma, very of the western taste, so it is a very good option to start to know this wood of East.

The duration has been a shame, having a spectacular aroma, perfectly passable by a niche, its performance is regular high, lasting about 6 or 7 hours in skin, with a moderate wake from the beginning, although somewhat more noticeable at the start. Nor should we be so hard on him, since, although the aroma seems niche, its price is not excessive, so you should not ask the elm pears. It is a night perfume of fresh or temperate climates, which has left me with a very good taste, I do not rule out acquiring a full bottle. I recommend your test.This perfume did not stop recommending me a good friend, and I never paid attention, I do not know, maybe the brand did not attract me enough, but big mistake ... at the end of so much tell me, I bought a 10ml decant on eBay, and here I am today to recommend it to you, lovers of woody orientals, because it is a surprising oriental, in the style of Amouage, but more bearable and westernized, beautiful.

From beginning to end the oud and the incense run through the aroma, with one exception, while the oud remains firm and notorious, the incense is ethereal and vaporous, allowing certain smoky nuances in a soft and mild way. In the beginning, it highlights the freshness of the cypress, the berries, the sage and a slight smoky let, a rough woody beginning, but fresh, balsamic and sweet. Then, the freshness is lost and the spices make their appearance, creating a very spicy and somewhat smoky oud aroma, with a slight touch of exquisite sweet tobacco, in which you can see an ethereal rose vapor that floats in the air and gives the floral counterpoint to so much spice, perfectly balanced. Gradually and coming to an end, the perfume is filled with nuances of resins, sweet, smoked, warm, on which rests an oud accustomed to a very elegant fineness.

The oud of this perfume is not the typical dirty and medicated oud, it is very well executed and it is an intense, spicy and balsamic woody aroma, very of the western taste, so it is a very good option to start to know this wood of East.

The duration has been a shame, having a spectacular aroma, perfectly passable by a niche, its performance is regular high, lasting about 6 or 7 hours in skin, with a moderate wake from the beginning, although somewhat more noticeable at the start. Nor should we be so hard on him, since, although the aroma seems niche, its price is not excessive. It is a night perfume of fresh or temperate climates, which has left me with a very good taste, I do not rule out acquiring a full bottle. I recommend your test.
0 Comments
Leimbacher

2869 Reviews
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Leimbacher
Leimbacher
Helpful Review 9  
John Varvatos goes Oud
You walk past great, expensive, rare perfumes, some of which have been on your testing list for a long time... and in the end, you test the new John Varvatos Oud? Yes, exactly, that can happen. And the fact that I leave Bois d'Argent, Al-Khatt, or Blue Hope for the new scent of the T-shirt master says it all. I consider the brand to be underrated, highly recommended especially for those under 25, there is even a consistently recognizable company/fragrance DNA & I was very pleased when it beautifully stood on the table at Beauty Affairs in Düsseldorf. €115 for the chunky golden 125 ml king bottle.

What a gigantic fragrance pyramid... probably the most extensive one here on the site. But don't worry, the scent is a very gentle, unremarkable Oud fragrance. In a way, it is the original John Varvatos with a typical, Arabic Oud-saffron touch. The rest of the lengthy list seems to consume each other. Perhaps one could say in the final stages of the fragrance that it has a resinous finish. Before that, there is Oud, saffron & John Varvatos chic. It reminds me a lot of the Kurkdjian Oud, also slightly of M7 or Calligraphy by Aramis. Anyone who is not yet familiar with the often-mentioned John Varvatos DNA should quickly read my comments on Vintage or the original JV - in short, it is a fresh-aromatic youthfulness that always works & never annoys, with a bit of leather & a touch of vanilla.

Bottle: unfortunately not as beautiful in hand as in pictures or from a distance... that was definitely not metal, the beautiful golden chainmail.
Sillage: very subtle. One of the gentlest & most modern Oud fragrances.
Longevity: 5-7 hours is above the JV average, but little for Oud.

A pleasant Oud-saffron all-rounder. A good John Varvatos. A good entry-level Oud. Unfortunately, not much more & a bit too expensive.
2 Comments
Somebody

227 Reviews
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Somebody
Somebody
Very helpful Review 0  
Gentle Giant in Chain Mail
By chance, as she passed by, her gaze lingered on this large, somewhat clumsy-looking bottle in golden knight's armor on her way back to the escalator. "Oud" was written beneath it on the shelf, which piqued her curiosity. However, spraying it quickly was not so easy when you have small hands...

Nevertheless, she managed and was pleasantly surprised that a very delicious, spicy-warm scent greeted her. Oud, as she knew it from the namesake of some fragrances in a medicinal or agricultural-fecal form, she could not identify.
Instead, for the next few hours, this captivating blend of tobacco, spices, and balsamic resins occasionally brushed against her nose, gently and quietly embedding itself in such a way that it wouldn't leave her mind.
Individually, she couldn't filter out any of the noble ingredients that, in their entirety, created a perfect, rounded, soft scent aura, suitable for all genders.

Her imagination took flight and transported her to mysterious exotic places, where she felt protected and secure by the side of this oriental fragrance. This was how she wanted to smell-now and in the future. Varvatos Oud had sneaked into her heart with its subtly gentle nature.
Her former love for Idole was forgotten, which now seemed almost rough and distinctly more masculine in comparison.
Instead, she saw a kinship with M7, which she also loved very much.

Despite its regrettably restrained sillage, the scent still boasts decent longevity.
Depending on temperature and humidity, further enhancements are certainly possible.
The bottle, as mentioned, is difficult to handle for small hands, with the "chain mail" made of plastic. It may not give a very high-quality impression when viewed up close, but it does protect the glass bottle underneath.
The outer packaging is very elaborately designed and also tactilely appealing, reminiscent of the velvety surface of Moleskine notebooks.
When considering comparable fragrances, this one does not need to hide in terms of price/performance ratio.
2 Comments
Minigolf

2506 Reviews
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Minigolf
Minigolf
4  
Oriental and "sandy" spicy Oud fragrance with "biblical companions"
I recently tested this "men's fragrance" in my perfumery, as a special recommendation from the perfumer I know well in the store. My first impression of this Eau de Toilette: Oriental and spicy, with a distinctly "sandy" undertone for me. Why sandy? some might ask (even I myself). Perhaps the answer lies in the clearly peppery afterscent, which appears to my nose as coarser powder or fine sand. Desert sand??? Despite all the interesting speculation about the origin of the "sand," John Varvatos' Oud is quite a gentle fellow, subtly reminiscent of Jil Sander's "Scent 79 men." It may be due to ingredients like myrrh and incense, the "biblical ingredients," that create this impression. A fine coniferous "pencil scent" occasionally surfaces from the depths, giving the fragrance an aloof elegance, only to remind one of adventurous foreign landscapes with rocks and sparse, yet resilient, long-lasting vegetation in the next moment. Of Bedouins in tents, smoking tobacco and water pipes, men and women in a rough and hot environment. Sand, spice, balsams, tobacco, yes, even gentle green and floral??? components seem to "serve" this fragrance. Nevertheless, its presence is not intrusive and loud, as the fragrance pyramid might suggest, but rather reserved despite its clarity. Since the perfume is made by "Estee Lauder," it guarantees the best quality. A scent from a good, reliable house. ...... Now "Oud" becomes independent and awakens in me memories of typical spicy "Christmas scents," but not in the "living room" under the Christmas tree, rather embodying the historical Christmas story. An adventurous odyssey of two young people in antiquity, which finds a fairy-tale ending. ...The wise men from the East with heavenly-earthly, spicy-balsamic gifts.....
0 Comments
Dennis1104

991 Reviews
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Dennis1104
Dennis1104
Helpful Review 2  
The Name is Deceptive
The Oud by John Varvatos does contain the term Oud, but with all due respect, this is not a true Oud fragrance. I honestly expected that.

What we have here is primarily an oriental-spiced scent with a pleasantly light freshness at the beginning, which gradually reveals more resinous accents over time.

The fragrance opens with a gentle tobacco note that is freshened by the sage.
Over time, it gains more spiciness. It becomes peppery, and hints of cinnamon, clove, and cardamom join in.
Additionally, a wonderful resinous component is added.

Overall, it is a spicy fragrance that does not overwhelm anyone.
It is somewhat shy, does not project much, and feels like a very small cousin of Oud Wood. Why small and why not a brother?
Because the fragrances are simply too different for that.
Nevertheless, they do the same thing in one respect: they come across as pleasing and do not reflect a classic Oud.
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Statements

34 short views on the fragrance
2
Synthetic oud packed with kitchen spices, it really doesn't have to be there. Hard to use
0 Comments
1
Smooth, sophisticated blend, niche quality. Alluring tho oud doesn't stand out much but mostly incense. Avg performance. For cooler days.
0 Comments
1
Despite its naming, the front-runners are actually rose and other spices. Oud takes a backseat, making the overall ensemble work. I love it!
0 Comments
1
Like a church on Christmas Day. Wooden benches, incense in the air. Not that much oud.
0 Comments
19
16
Short pepper cough
Big tobacco stalks
Clove greeting
Wood accompaniment
Cardamom's warmth
Barely leathered cedar
"Warm-spicy Oud Oriental"
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16 Comments
17
13
Masculine, very spicy scent. I can clearly perceive woods, tobacco, and flowers, but I couldn't find the namesake oud.
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13 Comments
17
9
Everything is there
Beautiful woody oud
Gentle spice
A hint of tobacco
Soft, quiet
Perfect for leaning on the shoulder
And sniffing at the neck...
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9 Comments
16
11
Spectacular scent pyramid culminates in a pleasantly subtle oriental with a bit of oud, a bit of resin, a bit of incense, a bit of wood, a bit of tobacco, etc.
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11 Comments
9
7
Well-made oud scent. Woody, oud, smoky, tobacco - but everything is subtle and harmoniously balanced. Sillage not too strong. Successful.
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7 Comments
7
Warm oriental scent, with a light smoky note.
Subtly resinous, distinctly sweet and woody.
Not bad, but I miss the punch!
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