N°03 Universal Oud Zara 2021

"Life is a mystery – mystery of beauty, bliss and divinity. Meditation is the art of unfolding that mystery." – Amit Ray.

Incense is a resinous preparation to which essential oils of vegetable origin are added. When burned, emit fragrant smoke to perfume spaces and create environments for therapeutic or meditation purposes. You can choose from an infinite range of flavours and different benefits depending on the aroma you choose. Create an atmosphere of complete well-being for your home, office or meditation centres and enjoy the moment. Although it is sometimes used purely for aesthetic purposes, it is also often used in religious or spiritual practices, including during meditation. There are many different ways of meditating. As long as a meditation technique offers the opportunity to calm the mind and relax the body, meditation has many benefits for health and relieving stress. A strategy that some people like is to meditate with incense.

Universal Oud is like a meditative incense stick. When you spritz it, it fills the room with a mysterious, soothing, and calming aroma of smoky rosy oud. The first thing that catches the eye is the bottle, which replicates those already used in the past for the collections created by Jo Malone, but which features a golden and knurled cap, which makes everything a bit sophisticated and gorgeous. Inside is a smoked pink liquid, and the association with the rose comes spontaneously.

As soon as the spray reaches the skin, a dark rosy, spicy, and slightly citric aroma spreads in the air. The aromatic notes of black pepper mix with something rosy, damask rose petals, with a balsamic and mentholated background. I imagine myself getting up early in the morning, opening the window to reach the terrace, and smelling the redolence of the dewy fresh roses from the lush garden. It is an intriguing perfume. I would spend hours and hours smelling this opening. On the skin, it is softer and more on the floral side, while on the paper strip, it releases almost medicinal edges typical of cough syrup. A wealthy, dark, and subtly mysterious base supports the top and heart notes. When I first smelled the perfume, I was overwhelmed by how rosy it was. There was something slightly citric and boozy in the background, but the rose was the overwhelming top note, with some mothball-like tints and perhaps saffron touches with its woody hues.

In the heart, we find the amplified rose, which mixes with powdery notes of violet leaves or iris root and the darker ones of oud resin. I don't think this perfume is old school. Rose is certainly no stranger to the world of fragrances, nor will it ever be considered outdated, and the spin that Jo Malone puts on this rose is the addition of the patchouli, pepper and oud that give this fragrance a sweeter earthy vibe. There is a handful of floralcy in the middle stage, and the first half feels very rosy to me.

As time goes by, Universal Oud becomes more and more like rose-vanilla powder with a hint of candied violets. Very late in the dry down, I get a light, clean patchouli. It's light compared to other blends made from these exotic leaves, but I like it. The earthiness shares the last stage with spicy vanilla. In the mixture, I detect both powdery and buttery nuances. I haven't seen vanilla listed as a note, but I get that sweet creaminess that peaks during the dry down. As it moves further along, the oud makes a stronger appearance yet is never overwhelming. Instead, it remains a rose-dominant oud scent.

Bottom line, Universal Oud is unquestionably a Middle East fragrance with two deeply iconic Arabian ingredients: Oud and Rose. It opens with a familiar rose aroma; however, it feels sweeter and dirtier than other rose scents. But that's what makes it so good. Smelling this perfume, I mainly take semi-medicinal oud, earthy rose, and bitter chocolate. These notes work together in perfect harmony. It smells opulent and elegant, with a little feminine slant from the rose, but men can also make it if they have style. The oud here isn't too overwhelming, not the oud of M7 (2011) for instance. It blends very well. You know it's there, but it's not centre stage. On the other hand, the rose is as if someone had slightly dipped it in chocolate.
Pure earthiness with a hint of saffron, rose, and vanilla comes together nicely. Sometimes, I can catch a whiff of dusty paper, a facet of the iris I cherish. As for the performance, I don't find the sillage to be that powerful. It is not weak, but neither is it intrusive. It stays on the skin for a few hours, the longevity is not bestial, but it is undoubtedly terrific. It is a unisex perfume, and nothing makes it an exclusively feminine fragrance. Anyway, I like to wear it in the cold, and I don't think it would be too successful for anyone in the summer. It is rich enough for any time or climate with too much humidity or heat. It's more something to wear for a night out, after dinner or a party. I warmly recommend testing and buying it while it is still available in-store because ZARA rarely keeps a continuous line like this.

I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since July 2022.

-Elysium

Imagine you are on the top of the mountain. The smoke arrives and it has this fresh but dirty smell.So you breath in and relax. The roses in this perfume is exactly like that; dirty but fresh. Honestly this perfume is my favourite rose perfume.
It also has a smell of a leather jacket. But not too much. Feels like someone wearing a leather jacket just hugged you and left. You don't directly smell the leather. But you want to smell it more to get the leather nuances.

Imagine the smell of petrichor, pink fleshy roses and rose powder and incense oud! This fragrance is one of the only rose oud fragrances I designate for summer and spring. It smells like a rich Aunty dressed in linens on holidays. There is no denying it. It was a fast love, but I cannot figure out how to layer this fragrance for the life of me.

Twilight, a piazza in Rome. She stands before me, the woman in the black dress. Red lips, flowing hair. I approach her, a kiss on the right, a kiss on the left. Her eyes sparkle and the sky... has the color of the bottle.
That's what I see in front of me when I smell this fragrance, when I apply it. Good perfumes are like doors to other worlds. And this one is a damn good one. Hats off to Zara, hats off to Jo Malone. A masterful oud, smoky and floral at the same time. Absolutely elegant.

Sometimes I have to wonder why some wonderful fragrances cost almost a fortune, while others in a similar "quality range" are hardly anything.
This one is a great example of an affordable top-quality scent! Composed by a well-known perfumer with their own label, but made for the fashion makers at "Zara".
A very nuanced and profound fragrance that rivals those from "Jo Malone".
A magnificent "ambivalence magician" that truly has depth. It can transform the perception of the nose. Because: At first, there is a very sparkling firework of peppery-lemony sky rockets, which gradually reduce to a minimum to reveal a dark glow of woody-earthy aromas that both loom like "gloomy clouds" and occasionally allow the red evening sun to shine through, creating a magical twilight where it flickers and shadows dance.
And yet "Universal Oud" is not really dark; it showcases the waning midnight sun at the end of the Arctic summer....
A fragrance for refinement enthusiasts at a very affordable price! ;-))