Oud Alif Shay & Blue 2013 Fragrance Concentrée

Oud. This is fundamentally a polarizing topic. While lovers of warm animalic notes and oriental authenticity rave about it, the Oud deniers have clear words: "Cow barn, camel dung, and doctor's office."
For me, the word Oud is quite ambivalent. When I think back to my failed attempt with Oud Ispahan, my neck hairs instinctively stand on alert. Gucci's Oud Intense is highly appreciated by my husband, and I love this scent on him - there are even times when I quietly reach for this bottle myself. And then there's the magnificent London by Widian, of which I guard half a milliliter like the Holy Grail. It will surely be worthy of a bottle someday in the distant future - but I digress.
I appreciate Oud whenever it manages to give a fragrance a certain edge without pushing itself to the forefront and drifting into the realm of pungency.
About a week ago, I received a sample from a dear Parfumo, accompanied by a generous addition of "Oud Alif." I was skeptical. This could mean "All or Nothing." The name boldly flaunted the Oud and immediately evoked in me the association of a heavy oriental with an extra dose of cow barn.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained ... and so on. Two courageous sprays later, a question mark appears. Where is the Oud? It announced its arrival grandly, and now it leaves the eager guests out in the rain. While I wait for the Oud and honestly don’t particularly miss it, my nose perceives a woody-leathery scent, accompanied by a very fine fruity sweetness that makes it as unisex as unisex can be. But where does this fruitiness come from, which gives the herbaceous-woody leather accord a friendly twist and makes it wonderfully accessible? It must be the chocolate-saffron combination, as nothing else is allowed by the pyramid. Patchouli is present the whole time and harmonizes excellently with all the other protagonists. It is not cold, damp earth, but rather desert sand that significantly contributes to the cozy warm aura of the fragrance. Now I discover the Oud, who has quietly sneaked among the attendees and is trying to make the best of the situation. He apologizes, explaining that he had to quickly jump in the shower after feeding the milk cows and doing the stable laundry to rid himself of his - with all due respect - somewhat strong odor. Well, dear Oud, let’s forget about it. Take a glass and enjoy the evening. If you smell this good, you are forgiven.
The latecomers are usually the most beautiful anyway.
Oud was frequently complimented on his scent that evening, receiving praise from various ladies and gentlemen, yet he remained humble and reserved. It has never been his style to push himself into the spotlight.
He joked, celebrated exuberantly, and stayed for a good eight hours, even though he had to fight a bit against his fatigue in the early morning hours.