Tigerwood Ensar Oud Pure Parfum

As a big fan of the Tigerwood oils, especially the Tigerwood Royale, I was more than hyped when I received the news that these almost "legendary" ouds would now also be available as a spray perfume, or as EO calls it; "PureParfum." Never before have I clicked the "Order Button" so quickly as in this case. 


For those who are not yet familiar with the Tigerwoods - these are wild vintage ouds from Malaysia that were distilled between 1990 and 2001. In this case, not by Ensar himself. According to him, he purchased the oils from a Chinese oud tycoon, and besides him, other bottles are exclusively owned by the Queen of Abu Dhabi.

What makes these ouds so special in my opinion is the absolutely extraordinary scent profile, which is among the most complex I have ever smelled in agarwood oils.

It is so complex that it is difficult to describe. A mix of mineral, earthy, leathery, woody, and mossy. One of the most fitting descriptions would probably be the term "petrichor," which describes the typical smell of the atmosphere just before a summer rain - everyone knows and loves that, right? "It smells like rain."

So much for the oud itself.

Ensar seems to be very aware of the significance of "Tigerwood Royale" among oud lovers around the world, and that is probably the reason why he decided to create a "spray variant" of it. The same strategy has already proven to be extremely successful with "Oud Yusuf PP." 


Now to the PP:
The notes sounded very promising to me. In my mind, the addition of coffee, vanilla, cocoa, tobacco, Kashmir musk, etc. created an extremely harmonious composition. The only thing that worried me a bit was the black ambergris, of which, according to the description, "huge amounts" were used. Black ambergris is by far the most extreme and animalistic variant and is therefore used rather rarely. 


Even during the first test, I realized: "Oh dear, this is not going to be an easy scent."… and I am anything but squeamish when it comes to fragrances.

 In the opening, you can clearly recognize the Tigerwood DNA. Although, due to the logically lower concentration, it appears somewhat more transparent. In the first few minutes, very slight nuances of coffee, tobacco, and cocoa come through. Here, the emphasis is on "nuances." This means that the notes are present but in no way steal the show from the oud. 

What follows is exactly what Ensar described: "A base-heavy blast, that ain’t pretty." 

Tigerwood has no heart notes, which means that the opening transitions directly into the base after about 10 minutes, and the base is more than intense. The black ambergris is so incredibly potent that, in my opinion, it completely overwhelms all other notes and mercilessly pushes them down. Here and there, you can still recognize the slight gasoline-like, almost heavy oil-like notes of the oud, but the main player after 10 minutes is clearly Black Ambergris. As I said, I am really not sensitive when it comes to animalistic and extraordinary scents, but the Tigerwood base plays in a completely different league here.

I wouldn't even call it animalistic but rather "swampy." It reminds me of the smell of damp moors and rotting wood. Someone else described the scent as "the smell of Mordor" or "Smeagol's Signature" from "The Lord of the Rings." Unfortunately, I have to say that I find that quite accurate. An acquaintance of mine, who works as a dental technician, even thought the scent smelled like "halitosis." Admittedly, I had to Google that myself, but in principle, it describes nothing other than "bad breath." 

In between, a trace of oak moss occasionally comes through, which, in my opinion, seems completely out of place, as it brings a strange chypre character to the composition and irritates more than it does any good for the scent. 

To me, the entire fragrance gives an impression of being unbalanced, immature, and unfinished. Like a rushed attempt to quickly crown the "Tigerwood hype." I would even go so far as to say that it is more of a "smell" than a perfume. 

The longer the scent stayed on my skin, the more unpleasant it became for me. Not just for me, but also for those around me. My girlfriend liked it at first, but that changed quite quickly. To make sure it wasn't just an unfortunate interaction between the scent and my skin chemistry, I sprayed the scent on a sweater for comparison - unfortunately with the same result. 


To illustrate this with a short example: 
If I had to choose between War&Peace II, which I greatly appreciate but am aware is light-years away from being "everyday suitable," and the Tigerwood PP for a job interview, I would probably choose W&P II.

My personal conclusion:
Ensar has not done "Tigerwood Royale" any favors with the PP in my opinion. Perhaps it is solely due to the opulent use of black ambergris, or perhaps the focus of the fixatives should have been more on musk or on the higher-graded white ambergris. I don't know; I'm not a perfumer. But considering that Ensar claims to have used the last remnants of this valuable oil for the scent, I can only say: What a shame for this wonderful exceptional oud.

It is certainly an extreme challenge to create a tribute to such a product, but free after the motto: Never Change a running System, some things should perhaps just be left untouched. After all, no one would come up with the idea of modifying a Ferrari F40. 


Admittedly, Ensar clearly communicated in advance that the scent would not be "pretty," and therefore I do not want to "complain" here but merely convey how the result smells to me. 

I also want to EMPHASIZE VERY CLEARLY that this is merely my SUBJECTIVE opinion and perception. I am sure there are people who find the perfume absolutely brilliant. I respect that 100% and am happy for anyone who appreciates this scent as it is. Perhaps the scent just needs to mature for a few more months; we will see. Personally, I will definitely stick with the oil.

With such a high price, a scent must meet certain criteria for me, and unfortunately, Tigerwood does not fulfill that in this case. As always, the rule applies: Test it yourself and don't place too much value on my opinion. Only then can one judge objectively. At least as long as the word "objectively" even exists in the world of fragrances.