Oud Imperial Perris Monte Carlo 2012 Eau de Parfum

Oud Imperial from the Perfumery House of Niche Haute Luxury Perris Monte Carlo of the Principality of Monaco is a Oriental Woody Dark Green Smoky Unisex perfume with a masculine inclination. It was released in 2012; and the nose behind this fragrance is the renowned Luca Maffei. Oud Imperial evokes a walk through a humid Southeast Asian forest, where rare Aquilaria trees hide their precious resin. A perfect sample of the fusion of the elegance of French perfumery with the arabesque tradition without those chemical bombs of Montale.

It opens with an intriguing blend of a narcotic green jasmine and a candied mandarin and the spicy warmth of cumin, but instantly the fragrance becomes dark and spicy. Soon after, a smoky and contemplative heart emerges with a ceremonial incense, a spicy red sweetness of saffron with the woody roughness of papyrus already leaving the composition a dark green woody. The perfume is somewhat linear but its nuances are admirable for those who appreciate this category of fragrances.

Towards drying, it becomes even more woody and obscure as woods and resins slowly glow at dusk in a steaming mabkhara burning splinters of 'oud and sandalwood... This is not a sweet or fecal 'oud, but a medicinal, earthy, moist 'oud. Woody cedar forms a dry woody accord with papyrus, and dense resins of labdanum and smoked birch with earthy vetiver accentuate the smoky dark character. As I said before, he doesn't evolve much, despite that, I found a western interpretation of an incensed 'oud quite worthy.

This is a scent built around the 'oud, which meticulously highlights some of the nuances that the 'oud can possess: dry driftwood, then a damp tree stump scent with an earthy truffle touch, charred and smoky trunks, and suddenly a soft amber emerges as a hint of golden honey over green leaves. Oud Imperial explores this dichotomy between wet, earthy and incense, dry. I liked it very much, Delicious perfume with great performance and excellent price-quality ratio.

Natural Oud at a low price?
The answer is Oud Imperial by Perris Montecarlo, created by Luca Maffei.
A perfume that perfectly respect the raw material, marking the oriental vibes with the Incense, the Cumin and the smokiness of Vetiver, but at the same time creating an elegant and sophisticated allure.
A very good fragrance.

剛上皮時就非常乾燥，辛香感強烈，甚至帶點苦韻！這應該是葛縷子所帶來的辛香與苦感吧？還伴隨著輕微的清漆涼感。

隨後進入中調時，濃郁的焚香感襲來，氣味依舊相當乾燥，彷彿自己就是一支行走燃燒中的線香，輕微的酸感與涼意點綴其中，蠻好聞的！整體香氣變化不大，走的是線性路線，是非常乾且完全不帶甜味與花香的木質煙燻調！

看官方宣稱有用天然沉香，但我個人覺得比例偏低，其實沒特別感受到。整體來說，味道太乾淨了，少了沉香迷人的騷臭變化！ 不過，香氣偏向還原沉香「薰燒時」的氣息，這點倒是還原得挺不錯的！我是還蠻愛的！

另外，嘗試跟 Ajmal Dahn Oudh Al Shams 疊香超讚！多了更沉穩的木質調，整體質感更上一層樓！

It opens up extremely dry on the skin with an intense spiciness and even a touch of bitterness! I suspect this spicy, bitter nuance comes from the Caraway, doesn't it? It’s also accompanied by a faint, varnish-like cooling sensation.

As it transitions into the heart notes, a rich wave of incense hits. The scent remains incredibly dry—it feels as if I’ve become a walking, burning incense stick myself. It’s punctuated by a subtle sourness and a cooling vibe. It smells quite good! The overall profile doesn't evolve much; it follows a linear path. It is a strictly dry, woody-smoky fragrance with absolutely zero sweetness or floral notes!

Although the official description claims it uses natural Oud, I personally feel the percentage is quite low; I didn't particularly detect it. Overall, the scent is a bit too clean—it lacks that charming, funky (barnyard) complexity typical of real Oud! However, the aroma leans more towards replicating the scent of Oud chips 'while burning', and it recreates that aspect very well! I actually love it quite a bit!

Also, I tried layering it with Ajmal Dahn Oudh Al Shams, and it’s amazing! It adds a more grounded, steady woody depth, taking the overall texture to the next level!

What is this? Immediately after spraying, cumin mixes with the evaporating transport alcohol. Along with it, a doctored oud note. First thought: bitter herbal liqueur. Second thought: Such a faux pas could only happen to a company that has 'Monte Carlo' in its name. This wouldn't have happened in Nörten-Hardenberg - scent is scent and schnapps is schnapps. After all, we are not in the village disco at four in the morning. Third thought: The initial alcohol is now gone and it smells like - bitter herbal liqueur.

A scene in Monte Carlo forms in my mind. Bored with the everyday noble idleness, the crème de la crème (or rather, the schmarotz de la schmarotz) sits together in the late evening. Silently, because the connecting topics around current relationship personnel and recently acquired luxury items have been exhausted for today. Then Ernst August simply passes around a bottle of Wolfenbütteler Hörner whisky from home as a little mood lifter. Caroline takes the thing straight to her throat, possibly in hopes of quick forgetfulness...

By the way, the Lower Saxons are quite thick-skinned in this regard. The lowlands are certainly not lacking in percentage. I've already mentioned Nörten-Hardenberg and Wolfenbüttel. And in the town of Haselünne sits Berentzen AG. Their annual general meeting is well attended because at this yearly shareholders' meeting, the company's high-turnover products are served. Their business is booming (and surely many a head is pounding the next day), as I know from a reliable source. In contrast, our AGM only offers rolls and cake, ever since a salmon gift brought us to the brink of a brawl years ago. As our in-house product, we only have the current issue to offer, unfortunately a trade magazine. We have very few visitors.

Back to the bitter herbal liqueur, which initially lingers on the skin like a wounded Jägermeister in the woods. On the second test day, I still needed about four hours before I managed to uncover the beauty of the scent beneath the herbal liqueur. It wasn't until the third test that it finally went quite quickly.

And then Oud Imperial indeed becomes really beautiful. Dreamily dark, almost. A deep, malty, compact wood note emerges, thickened to a syrupy consistency. Leather-sour and almost fruity at the same time, of course dark fruity, like old dried fruit. In the afternoon, it additionally becomes patchouli-dusty. Musty. Old. Asbach-uralt, so to speak. Nevertheless, classy. Very stylish. If this scent had a color, it would be an almost black, refined dark red-brown. In the evening - the scent lasts long - endlessly aged, not too sweet port wine, slightly dried out. Well: And a shot of bitter herbal liqueur.

The keyword "graveyard" has already been mentioned. That's fine. A dark one, if you like. But it's cozy there. To sum it up pointedly: We are not dealing with the "Night of the Riding Corpses" in Oud Imperial. But merely with the "Night of the Suffering Rich" at the front.

Conclusion: The... hmm, I wouldn't exactly call it a dry spell... bitter herbal liqueur phase simply has to be endured. This is easily manageable, as the scent apparently can be learned well and thus the strenuous time can be significantly shortened. After that, one is richly rewarded. I therefore unreservedly recommend a personal test.

Many thanks to MisterE for the sample! I feel sorry for the next interested party, as I will only be able to pass on a tiny drop. However, Oud Imperial simply cannot be grasped in one day.

The old dirty leather bag stood there in the corner. Earth crumbs stuck to the worn leather.

What a curse, the deep drilling in the old zone. Our team constantly unearthed strange things from the ground. On the bag, barely legible, engraved on a nearly black brass plate: ErrisMnte Calo. A relic of old days? Ferris? When there was still human-spoken music? I laughed hollowly to myself at the thought. Or the decadent city-state from the history books? I opened the bag.
Brimming with charred papyrus. Real paper. Unbelievable. Yellowed pages. Writings from the Patchoulier era. My internal search function had already scanned the script and was translating. Apparently dated before the great war against the Vetiverans. What a dense, dirty scent came from this bag. I was thrilled.

After the essential oil ban in 2164 (all of Schwizerlandia had only cultivated essential oils, forests were cleared for air-conditioned oud plantations, mountains were hollowed out for underground breeding grounds of the Patchoulier, lakes were drained for Calone raised beds and sea fennel fields) so-called chemtrail perfumes had seized world domination. Artisan perfumers were accused of essential oil smuggling (AÖS) and were taken to the secret laboratories of the Pirouettenmann. There, they were sprayed with chemtrails for testing purposes and were only given cheese to eat.

What a blast came from this bag. I remembered the old stinking rag I had found during the last drilling. I kept it in the relic chamber. For fun, I had named it "Tauerlumpen." It reminded me of a 6-D documentary about the junkyard of Zürichia that I had seen during my training. I took the "Tauerlumpen," which smelled strongly of turpentine, scrap metal, and petroleum attar, and set about scrubbing the leather bag. The leather remained dirty, as expected. Damp dirty. And now it also smelled of the "Tauerlumpen." I unpacked the dry papyrus and found a box between burnt birch tar and dried resin. "Private Label" was engraved. Inside the box was a bottle of Wolfenbütteler Hörner whisky. On a note around the neck of the bottle: "for Ernst August. Your Meggi. 26.03.2015"

Smiling, I folded the note together. Bitter. That I get to experience this. I look around. None of my colleagues take notice of me. And I am happy. For the schnapps.