Secrets d'Essences - Rose Oud Yves Rocher 2016

I am blonde and rather petite, a newbie to perfumes, and I haven't thought much of oud fragrances until now. To be precise, I didn't know oud before I recently got to know Parfumo. Relatively quickly, I came across posts about the highly regarded as well as critically scrutinized oud fragrances here, educated myself on what it is supposed to be, and soon came to the conclusion that oud does not suit me. Never! I'm just not that type. And my nose is sensitive anyway.
But the curiosity remained. I stumbled upon discussions about the new oud fragrance that is not available in Germany. Such things challenge my pride. Why can't I have this scent? That made me even more curious. Then the offer in the souk, a sample! I went for it. Deep breath in, breath out... ha! I've got it!

Today I found the muse to dedicate myself to this fragrance. A bit anxiously, I inhaled the scent that was still subtly emanating from the sprayer. I expected everything. A soft scent greeted me, soft but also profound. Bitter, but not off-putting. And rose, a lot of rose. OK - that can go on my wrist.

The scent is intense, warm, spicy, bitter, and radiates with its rose. This is how a proud rose smells. Dark. The scent is somewhat coarse, but not as "animalistic" as I imagined oud to be based on various descriptions. Yes - interesting. But no, it really doesn't suit me. Too heavy, somewhat coarse - despite the beautiful rose. However, I can very well imagine it on other women - basically also on a man - just not on me.

After 20 minutes, the scent becomes closer to the skin, it doesn't radiate as strongly anymore, and the coarseness fades. My nose keeps seeking out the wrist where the scent unfolds. I am unsure, trying to fathom why it intrigues me so much. It really has something. Less coarse and now smelling really good on the skin, it has become warmer. Rose, warmth, I even smell vanilla. Vanilla is supposedly not in it, but I smell it! Yes, really - this scent is interesting.

Now the scent has been on my wrist for about 3 hours. Now it is a scent for me, as if made for me. Warm, slightly woody, sensual, lightly sweet, a bit vanillic, and a hint of rose. The rose itself no longer dominates the scent; you can still feel it. The coarseness - which I originally interpreted as the oud - is gone. The scent is still not very close to the skin. With my arm movements, a scent banner dances into my nose again and again. Beautiful. Yes, really beautiful! I like it! I'm surprised...