Pure Oud Kilian 2009

Bottle Design Carré Basset

Shop now

Search on

Shop now

6.9 / 10 112 Ratings

Pure Oud is a perfume by Kilian for women and men and was released in 2009. The scent is woody-resinous. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued. Pronunciation

Search on

Main accords

Woody

Resinous

Spicy

Oriental

Earthy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes	Saffron
Heart Notes	Oud Copaiba balsam
Base Notes	Cypriol Gaiac wood Labdanum Amber

Perfumer

Calice Becker

Ratings

Scent

6.9112 Ratings

Longevity

8.485 Ratings

Sillage

6.976 Ratings

Bottle

8.685 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 06.01.2023.

Rate
Collection
Classify
Notes

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

Popular
Latest
Oldest
Positive
Negative
Comments

05/19/2019

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 6
Longevity 7
Scent

Bakerscookie

Translated Show original

Bakerscookie

Lots of smoke, little oud - the typical western would-be oud scent.

I got to know Pure Oud by Kilian for the first time at the beginning of my perfume journey. Oud fascinated me from the very beginning, because for me (like for many) everything started with Tom Ford Oud Wood, due to several appearances of the fragrance in interviews and YouTube blogs. Relatively early I learned that TF-OW should not contain so much oud, which sent me on a journey to explore the ingredient
I quickly learned that Oud smells "somehow hot and smoky". Therefore, when I first sniffed Pure Oud by Kilian, I would probably have given it a 10/10. Because he's smoky, with a slight medical acuity. If the fragrance DNA were to develop over the course of the fragrance, it would have been able to perform very well even now, but unfortunately the (in itself quite beautiful) fragrance remains pretty much the same over its lifetime as after the first spraying on. On the positive side, it doesn't smell as sweet and spicy as "His Majesty The Oud" by Atkinsons, which reminded me more of a Christmas candle than of real oud. Yet the DNA here is slightly dull and flat.

Which brings us to the point: I doubt there's much oud in here. And what's in it doesn't come from an exquisite part pervaded by resin, but probably from a bright part of the tree. Under the "smoky" smelling roof I can hardly perceive the "main star". Sure, there's "something wooden"... but "something" isn't enough anymore. As a rule, oud distillates are bright, complex, long-lasting. It's a pity this is all missing.

Compared to other fragrances of this size (e.g. the XerJoff Oud Stars collection or Tom Ford Oud Wood Intense), durability and projection are moderate. I don't notice anything after two hours, it's four to five on the skin. I should mention that many fragrances feel weak to me today that didn't a year ago (Tauer's L'Oudh would be another example). If the durability were better, I would be a fan despite the linear fragrance. But that's not enough for me anymore (unfortunately).

Therefore, Pure Oud by Kilian may be worthwhile for those who like a smoky fragrance that shows this typical medical oud facet without containing much of the actual active ingredient. And those who want to get rid of the scent quickly. For the price I paid, I'm satisfied. But I wouldn't lay down full retail for it under any circumstances.

01/04/2023

5
Pricing 8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

Carlitos01
372 Reviews

Carlitos01

Helpful Review 4

People sometimes do strange things

Many of us have been daydreaming about a career change. We often talk to people who at first glance seem to be doing our dream job. Usually, it's a bold move that often backfires and fails. And the higher our position at the outset, the bigger the tumble can be.
Kilian Hennessy Jr. has been the CEO of Hennessy during the 70s and dealt with the creation of Moët Hennessy, which in turn became a part of LVMH (Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy). LVMH has been created in 1987 and is one of the most valuable companies in the world today. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $172.9 billion.
When you are born into a family that owns the biggest cognac brand in the world, and you have a stake in LVMH, can you judge that your future is already mapped out? Well, people sometimes do strange things. Today's Kilian Hennessy, a member of the powerful Hennessy family, and creator of the "By Kilian" brand, despite being offered a position at LVMH very early on, decided to forge his own path in life. After graduating, he then went on to train with the greatest noses in perfumery and worked for the most prestigious perfume houses such as Christian Dior, Paco Rabanne, Alexander McQueen, and Giorgio Armani. Training with some of the world's most respected perfumers gave him the knowledge he needed to start an adventure at the helm of his own perfume brand in 2007. Since then, Kilian became one of the most respected names in the industry.

In 2009 By Kilian was still in its infancy. In 2009 he launched his eighth and ninth perfumes, more precisely Back to Black Aphrodisiac Perfume and Pure Oud which generated initial brand recognition in the perfumery market.
Bearing in mind that M7 (2002) Eau de Toilette had been a sales flop, By Kilians' Pure Oud was probably the second commercially successful western Oud fragrance after Oud Wood Eau de Parfum launched in 2007. Currently, I believe that hundreds of western Ouds are launched every year. But that wasn't so in 2009 and there was an early bird market heist to rush the novelty note fragrances to the market. A lot of experimentation was still going on and scents derivate from Middle East unknown fragrances seemed not to be the answer. Tom Ford's Oud Wood has been a shot in the dark (literally) and it is still a success today. Unfortunately, that's not really the case with By Kilians' Pure Oud even if the perfume can still be purchased.
Killian partnered the Pure Oud creation with Givaudan, using the "nose" of Calice Becker. Both parts end up creating 41 perfumes together. The perfume stands for a linear dark scent that relies mainly on gloomy balsams and resins to achieve the somber side of agarwood and guaiac wood. It is spiced solely with saffron, it's quite dark and smoky, and the oud note has a slight medical acuity. It doesn't smell sweet or spicy which permitted Kilian to undeservedly name the scent as "pure oud". On top of it, I don't consider there's enough oud in here, or at least, quality oud. Agarwood is a strange ingredient and it works properly only when the whole of the 'alquilaria tree' wood pieces are 100% fungus infected and the distillation process is perfectly achieved. Not doing so may result in a "poor man's oud" lacking some of its features and resulting in behaviours like bad performance, medicinal scent twists, or a skanky smell. As far as Kilian Pure Oud is concerned, I noticed an unexpected only average performance and an oud note with a medicinal facet.

My assumptions are easier to understand if I picture them in numbers:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
- Scent Opening: 8.0 (Dark resins, balsams, and woods).
- Scent Finish: 8.0 (Dark resins, balsams, and woods).
- Longevity: 8.0 (Up to 7 hours with 3 sprays).
- Sillage: 7.0 (Up to 5 feet with 2.0 hours of projection).
- Versatility: 7.0 (Cold environments, events, or a night out; If you are a dark burnt wood scent lover, like me, you may use it at leisure as well).
- Usability: 6.5 (Winter and cold days or nights during fall and spring).
- Compliments: 6.0 (Acceptability or even enthusiasm by dark fragrances lovers only).
- Uniqueness: 8.0 (Some expensive perfumes have trailed the same type of scent but with better results in my opinion. Examples may be Oud Stars - Gao, Oud Cashmere Mood and Black Tar).
- Quality: 8.0 (I am not convinced about the oud quality).
- Presentation: 8.0 (the usual design of By Kilian).
- Price: 4 (1.7 oz Eau De Parfum Refillable Spray for $315 at FragranceX; way too much).
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
- Average: 7.14/10.0
between 7 and 8 => barely above average;
between 8 and 9 => recommended;
greater than or equal to 9 => do not miss;

My opinion about this fragrant dark oud shadow:
It became a collector's item. It pleases the wearer that surely is a dark fragrance lover, and other night vampires (myself included). I would never recommend a blind buy even with an affordable price. I may suggest a somewhat similar scent type but for a small fraction of the price with Maahir Black Edition. People sometimes do strange things and I confess that my flask of By Kilian Pure Oud has been a blind purchase. What a waste!
.
The music: Simon & Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence"

09/27/2019

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 5
Longevity 3
Scent

Scent

Translated Show original

Scent

Welcome to the Pepper Hell

The moment when I had this smell on my skin for the first time, I will probably never forget it again. It was one of the first oud scents back then (when I didn't know exactly how it smelled) and I went to this test with a certain lack of need, which I would soon regret.

The scent seems a bit oriental to me at first, which I couldn't really grasp. After a few minutes I meet a force of ink, blackness and burnt rubber. Strangely enough, the durability on the skin wasn't outstanding at all, but I couldn't get it off my clothes anymore. It was just penetrating pepper! The jacket was washed three or four times, then it was off. I encountered this note even more often afterwards, and it triggers a kind of flight reflex in me.

For me personally there was no development, which I always find very unfortunate. The first minutes he changed a bit, afterwards he was completely linear for me. Too bad.

My rating:

Joy: 0 of 30
Quality, depth, vitality: 8 of 30
Shelf life: 9 of 20 (on the skin)
Portability: 0 of 10
Flacon, packaging, presentation: 9 of 10

Total: 26 of 100

12/26/2012

10
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 5
Longevity 7
Scent

Drseid
819 Reviews

Drseid

Real Oud, But Not Real Wearable...

A relatively positive recommendation on Pure Oud from me. It has a rubbery, slightly medicinal Gaiac heart mixed with real Oud that I find intriguing and is keeping me interested in smelling it throughout its development. Amber, and maybe a hint of musk join the Oud to form the base of the scent. I have to give By Kilian some points for using real oud in its composition, and keeping to the scent's name in spirit. Projection is above average here, but longevity is only average. This is not the easiest scent to wear, but still nice on the whole. I would say 3.5/5.

If this more straight Presentation of oud scent is too much for you, then the other By Kilian Arabian Nights oud scents may be more appealing to you... Rose Oud for a Rose dominant oud, and Incense Oud for a reference incense scent that may not contain much or even any real oud, but smells incredible nonetheless.

05/01/2020

Ovaissaleem
61 Reviews

Ovaissaleem

Pure Oud

Notes: Saffron, Copaiva Balsam, Oud, Amber, Cypriol, Guaiac Wood and Labdanum

Perfumer: Calice Becker

I love Oud and really enjoying Pure Oud by Kilian. Yes, the Oud here is on the synthetic side. This is a pretty linear scent, Smokey, a bit Spicy oudy woody fragrance.

More reviews