6
Helpful Review
A simple thing not made easy
A rather new trend in perfumery is purism. It makes sense to me: there are people who prefer empty modern houses equipped with only few selected pieces of Bauhaus style furniture, with big plain windows giving insights into sparely decorated Japanese gardens. Why not reflect this lifestyle with perfumery? Ironically, Ramon Monegal chose oud for such a puristic perfume – after all a note that stands for Arabian opulence and the romanticism of 1001 nights!
Agar Musk has no flowers, no citruses, it is strictly woody-ambery. It has a base note that dominates the fragrance right from the start, and this note seems to be a single one: bitter, tart, and dry like dust. It has a woody appeal, yet with some green and sharp undertones like fresh plant juices. Unfortunately, I am not aware how the announced Ambroxan smells on its own – but Agar Musk gives me the very strong impression that only a single note is at the core of it.
As for oud – I smell some in the top and maybe heart notes - just a hint of mustiness. It is different than the well known strong synthetic oud we find in so many perfumes that jump on the bandwagon. I want to believe that a small amount of real, natural oud oil might have found its way into this little work of art. Surprisingly, Agar Musk becomes quite campherous, even coniferous in the heart notes – also something one would not easily connect with the world of oud. But after all, that's it, there is not much more worth mentioning. The development is rather quick and by far not as distinct as in a traditional perfume.
Smelling Agar Musk for the first time, I instantly decided to compare it with one of my Arabic favorites: Arooq Al Oud. Both follow the same puristic path, being reduced to a woody-leathery-ambery appeal. Unlike Agar Musk, the inexpensive Al Rehab fragrance seems to contain synthetic oud, but in a highly tolerable amount. There, it lasts much longer – it seems to be a myth that natural oud oil has lots of strength and longevity. As a result, Agar musk misses lots of the warmth and liveliness that oud mustiness can provide. To me, it is sharp and biting, and its purism goes into extremes, whereas the Arab cheapie is much easier to wear, more attractive to me. I would like to regard Agar Musk as a piece of art, an idea put into scent. However, if you are interested in those puristic woody perfumes, such as Wonderwood and the like, you should give it a try. For me, it is too tart to feel comfortable with it.
A big Thank you to Florblanca for sending me a whole set of Ramon Monegal small testers!
Agar Musk has no flowers, no citruses, it is strictly woody-ambery. It has a base note that dominates the fragrance right from the start, and this note seems to be a single one: bitter, tart, and dry like dust. It has a woody appeal, yet with some green and sharp undertones like fresh plant juices. Unfortunately, I am not aware how the announced Ambroxan smells on its own – but Agar Musk gives me the very strong impression that only a single note is at the core of it.
As for oud – I smell some in the top and maybe heart notes - just a hint of mustiness. It is different than the well known strong synthetic oud we find in so many perfumes that jump on the bandwagon. I want to believe that a small amount of real, natural oud oil might have found its way into this little work of art. Surprisingly, Agar Musk becomes quite campherous, even coniferous in the heart notes – also something one would not easily connect with the world of oud. But after all, that's it, there is not much more worth mentioning. The development is rather quick and by far not as distinct as in a traditional perfume.
Smelling Agar Musk for the first time, I instantly decided to compare it with one of my Arabic favorites: Arooq Al Oud. Both follow the same puristic path, being reduced to a woody-leathery-ambery appeal. Unlike Agar Musk, the inexpensive Al Rehab fragrance seems to contain synthetic oud, but in a highly tolerable amount. There, it lasts much longer – it seems to be a myth that natural oud oil has lots of strength and longevity. As a result, Agar musk misses lots of the warmth and liveliness that oud mustiness can provide. To me, it is sharp and biting, and its purism goes into extremes, whereas the Arab cheapie is much easier to wear, more attractive to me. I would like to regard Agar Musk as a piece of art, an idea put into scent. However, if you are interested in those puristic woody perfumes, such as Wonderwood and the like, you should give it a try. For me, it is too tart to feel comfortable with it.
A big Thank you to Florblanca for sending me a whole set of Ramon Monegal small testers!
2 Comments
Coutureguru 13 years ago
Wonderful review Apicius ... RM seems to have launched quite a few frags simultaneously. Definitely worth hunting down for a sniff, but I'm a lot more into the true Arabics also ... even if the Oud is synthetic :).
ExUser 13 years ago
This sounds incredibly interesting, Apicius. I hope to find a decant to try out. Thanks for the great review!