Aoud by M. Micallef
Bottle Design Martine Micallef
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7.4 / 10 130 Ratings
A perfume by M. Micallef for men, released in 2003. The scent is oriental-woody. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Oriental
Woody
Spicy
Sweet
Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
RoseRose
Heart Notes Heart Notes
OudOud SaffronSaffron SandalwoodSandalwood CinnamonCinnamon CloveClove
Base Notes Base Notes
HoneyHoney PatchouliPatchouli

Perfumers

Ratings
Scent
7.4130 Ratings
Longevity
7.7100 Ratings
Sillage
7.096 Ratings
Bottle
7.698 Ratings
Submitted by DeGe53, last update on 07.03.2023.

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
7.5
Scent
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5 Reviews
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Helpful Review 6  
Our office had to get through!
The fragrance Oud and I are not really good friends. What's the matter with you? Because I'm a branded kid!
Let me explain:
about two years ago I blindly bought the Dunhill Icon Absolte. He was cut 50% at a perfumery. Unfortunately there was no tester there and I thought I'd be fine. The bottle just magically attracted me. The next day, it was Saturday, I sprayed it on me for the first time. In my usual generous way. That was a mistake. A big mistake! Not only that it almost knocked me out, no, after half an hour I got such a headache that I suddenly went to the shower and rubbed and scrubbed for 20 minutes. Unfortunately the smell did not go away completely and mixed now with my shower gel smell. What a shudder! Still on Sunday I smelled the scent of the muddle on me and I didn't even taste my coffee for breakfast. However, the Dunhill found a new owner the following week. I hoped and wished that I hadn't sent him my headache. But there was never a complaint :) Since this booming migraine-like fragrance experience, I have avoided almost all oud fragrances. Apart from Tom Ford's Oud Wood and Aqua di Parma's Oud, I hated all the oud scents I had since then, although I hadn't smelled them at all.

Today however it was (again) so far and my nose should concern itself again with the topic Oud:
my charming colleague, who is totally into Louis Vuitton fragrances, brought me a sample of Micallef Aoud. "There you go. You're a man, he's probably nothing to me!" Curiously I took the sample, thanked her and when she was at her desk again, I had to take a deep breath at the sight when I read "Aoud". Immediately the memories of my horrible Dunhill experience were present again. Well, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. And so I sprayed myself also immediately courageously a strong sprayer on the hand pulse. My dear Scholli, what a force the opening was! "Did you spray yourself with the sample?" my donor asked. "That smells delicious." My other colleagues also turned to me and confirmed the fragrance that was smelling good for them, which had spread throughout our entire office in the meantime. I have to say, I'm the only cock in the basket. Blessing or curse, you can hold it as you like ;) Somehow it was after a cigarette and I went to untgen for a smoke. While I was smoking, I kept sniffing my hand pulse. Something if you smoke and sniff perfume at the same time ;) Back in the office upstairs, I was so absorbed in my work that I didn't even think about the scent, even though I noticed it. It's actually a good sign. A sign that I can handle him. No headaches. Towards the end of the day, I concentrated again on my hand pulse and was surprised. The fragrance developed into a gentle companion: rose accompanied with oud and the flattering sandalwood I could smell. Some patchouli was also present. I couldn't smell honey directly, but I think he is responsible for the fact that this smell has developed into a flatterer.

Now, after a good seven hours, the scent has become nice and quiet, but still full. That is, he has lost little in his multifaceted compositions, except that he is no longer so cheeky.
As I'm writing these lines here, I've been thinking all the time about what time of day, what time of year, and what occasions I'd wear it. I'll take a little break and be right back ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... So here I am after a cigarette length on the terrace again and me many spontaneously the Bregenzer Festpiele in addition. Outside, open-air stage, it's already dawning. Or Wagner´s Ring der Nibelungen, or his Siegfried. Dark and sophisticated music: Just like Micallefs Aoud.
This combination certainly has one advantage: it turns the musical experience into a flattering one. For me this would be an experience without headaches, at least concerning the smell ;)
0 Comments
8
Pricing
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
9
Scent
Apicius

222 Reviews
Apicius
Apicius
Very helpful Review 9  
A Stroke Of Destiny
Everybody has a story to tell about one's way to perfumery. For me, Micallef's Aoud Man was the booster detonation that threw me on that path.

I remember the day some 6 or 7 years ago: I was on my way home from my job in Munich. I wasn't in a hurry so I left the Autobahn for a short visit to Nuremberg – a picturesque city in southern Germany. I was strolling through the city center without anything to do in particular. I was window-shopping and, out of boredom, entered the perfume shop that I came by.

I soon noticed that they had more than the usual chain stores, and my interest was aroused. At that time, I knew nothing about niche perfumery. I had never cared much, not due to ignorance but out of sheer lack of opportunity. So – why not have a look and maybe find a sophisticated fragrance from Paris?

I tested this and that – there were hundreds of perfumes I had never heard of. It must have been destiny that without any deliberation, I got my hands on that funny shaped round glass bottle by Micallef.

It got me the moment I took my first sniff. In an instant, any other fragrance in that shop appeared to me completely ordinary and petty – Aoud Man proved to be the single gem that the shape of this bottle somehow indicates.

I was hardly able to describe what I had smelled. I had no concept of oud – I just admired the grandeur, the physical intimacy and the warmth that evaporated from it. At the same time, I felt that it was something more serious, more respectable that the mass marked fragrances that I had come across over the years.

I instantly bought it and continued my way home in a kind of daze – avoiding the Autobahn and driving through beautiful scenery instead.

Today, I am able to give a record about Aoud Man. At that time when I found it, the oud hype had not quite started. Montale and Micallef were the first who engaged themselves with that Arabian topic – and their approaches differed a lot from each other.

We know Montale for their dark rose–oud combo's: Black Aoud and numerous similar ones. They had success. Soon, many niche perfume houses launched their own more or less diluted Black Aoud dupes (including Micallef with Arabian Diamond). However, the original Micallef approach to oud (Aoud Man, Aoud Gourmet, Night Aoud) was considerably different: it is less dark, sunnier, warmer, friendlier – and very, very sweet!

It is no less Arabian – they just focused on another of the several facets: sweetish (some kind of musk?) honey notes and certain spices combined with oud, and this is exactly what Aoud Man is about. It is full of honey, and presumably one of the sweetest gent's fragrances one can get. Next to the honey, the delicious mustiness is not so much provided by the oud (substitute) but by a good portion of saffron. Some clove balances the fragrance by providing a darker aspect while the rose is hardly discernible. The oud is by far not as prominent as in the famous Montale ouds – however, the way it is blended is unmistakably Arabian as I have found that style among the “real” Arab perfumes as well. I'd say, Aoud Man is actually a Mukhallat.

I am not sure if the unusual flacon is an eye-catcher, but the fragrance itself is definitely a nose-catcher! It has the power to attract, it is very loud and opulent, and a few spritzes of it will displace any other more faint fragrance around. That is why I see it as a true beginner's perfume.

Aoud Man is a fragrance of expressive colours. If I was to design an ad campaign for it I would chose a spectacular evening desert scenery: warm air, high sand dunes, the corrugated sand surface in strong black and blond and orange contrasts, due to illumination by a glorious sunset.

Whereas Montale's approach to oud has become a hype, Micallef got away with almost no dupes. So, do not claim to know oud until you tested Aoud Man, Aoud Gourmet or the lighter Night Aoud.

I don't want to end this enthusiastic review without setting one thing straight: the more I have got acquainted with other great perfumes, the more Aoud Man has lost its miracle. I can now file this fragrance among others – it is still a very good one but at some point, I have begun to develop an objection: Loud fragrances may attract you, but can you wear them on a daily basis?

In case of Aoud Man, for me the answer is no. It must not be spoiled, it must be kept for special moods or occasions. Only once in a while, I take it out from its remote corner in my wardrobe.

I guess I owe it to the Micallef's that I am here today writing this.
0 Comments
5
Bottle
10
Sillage
5
Longevity
6
Scent
Drseid

819 Reviews
Drseid
Drseid
4  
Et Tu, Micallef?...
Homme Aoud is primarily a synthetic oud and patchouli combo scent with rose and mild spice accents. It, like Rosam from Histoire de Parfums, has a more than passing resemblance to Black Aoud from Montale. Projection is superb, and longevity is average. Very unisex despite its name.

Similar to Rosam, while I like this scent on its own merits, I find it hard to recommend when it smells so much like Black Aoud that is less money per milliliter and was released ahead of it, while smelling equally as good. I like Homme Aoud by Micallef, but it is more than a bit superfluous, IMO. A 3 stars out of 5 and a very mild thumbs up rating accordingly.
0 Comments
5
Bottle
5
Sillage
5
Longevity
2
Scent
Flaconneur

49 Reviews
Flaconneur
Flaconneur
Helpful Review 6  
AOUD by Martine Micallef
Have you even hosted one of those parties that was so exhausting, none of the cleanup happened until late the following morning? If you have, you'll be familiar with one particularly nauseating scent. That scent is warm, flat beer. Now, if the smell of warm, flat beer is to your liking, I have some great news for you. That smell has finally been translated into a niche fragrance called Aoud by Martine Micallef. And who said the fragrance world has covered every possible theme?

Aoud starts off with a slightly boozy but sticky-sweet honey and woody nutmeg brew. This staid combination was pretty harmless and somewhat enjoyable until a healthy dose of resinous oud was tossed on top. Aoud goes from brew house to barn house in no time flat. Unfortunately, this fragrance didn't even make it out the barn door before it turned bad on my skin. While the spices were prevalent, I found little evidence of floral notes until I heard a faint plea from a tiny little rose suffocating under a deluge of sweetness, and dusted with just a bit of sharp saffron. The tail end of the heart of Aoud turns smoky, which ends all probability of a reprieve for the pretty rose. An overly earthy patchouli clumsily wanders into a sandalwood and spicy cinnamon base to seal the deal. Regrettably, the honeyed barnyard scent still lingers on.

The one redeeming quality that Aoud has is terrible longevity. I hardly ever sample fragrances that I feel are scrub-worthy, but Aoud came very close. It's a good thing it perished before I had to resort to drastic measures.
2 Comments

Statements

1 short view on the fragrance
GeorgemanGeorgeman 1 year ago
European, delicate and sensual. Saffron, patchouli, rose, sandalwood and a little honey - a cozy office perfume in a beautiful bottle
0 Comments

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