Another sweet oriental blend from Obvious (I think I'm starting with the "High Standards" portion of my sample set, previously tried Malfa Walls), Himalayan Spell is essentially comprised of two accords: a Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum-style raspberry/leather, and a sweet saffron-y oud like in Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum. Calling the oud in here by its actual variant name (especially Oud Assafi/Assam, which is one of the most precious ingredients in the world) is laughable, it is clearly just an accord, with the cypriol actually more prevalent than any oud note.
The sweetness pervades throughout and is a bit too much for me, and in the base, it's not a complex ambery sweetness but rather just ethyl maltol, maybe with vanillin as well. I had the same complaint about Oud Save the King Eau de Parfum (actually another similar scent to this one), its drydown is just so boring. Which is a shame because the peppery raspberry leather opening of Himalayan Spell is rather complex and engaging. Other than the bland drydown I don't really have any complaints, it's a great scent with good blending, but just doesn't wow me.
Edit: on subsequent wears, I'm getting a lot more smokiness and less fruitiness. Decent leather frag, comparable to C: Woody Leather in my book.
