Ladies and gentlemen
It’s Friday evening, you’ve made yourself comfortable at home, and your host Carpintero warmly welcomes you to Family Feud, this week featuring two very interesting candidates: Oud Wood from Tom Ford and Cambodian Oud from SweDorf. But before we start the duel, let’s have the two candidates introduce themselves, as it’s still not quite clear what their familial relationship is - are you twins, siblings, or just distant relatives?
[Both remain silent].
Alright. Shall we perhaps clarify this question at a later point?
[Both continue to remain silent].
Nice.
Let’s begin with the appearance, the wardrobe, if you will.
(Perfume aficionados would speak here of the BOTTLE or the PACKAGING):
Both are elegantly and chicly dressed. OUD WOOD comes in business attire: Smart, tailored, timeless, and elegant. Great, simple outer packaging, subtle yet striking lettering, flawless cap, beautiful detail with the silver, great shape, and overall a stunning bottle.
CAMBODIAN OUD, however, has really gone the extra mile; this suit is more than business attire, it’s more like a costume: A powerful and almost decadent outer packaging made of real wood (which smells incredibly good), a red wax seal on the outer shell, the wooden box filled with deep red velvet, inside a beautifully noble bottle, also decorated with a red wax seal, a large inscription, and a very interestingly colored spray head: Gold and silver! Is Cambodian Oud perhaps trying to prove something to its rival Oud Wood? And if so, does Cambodian Oud need to prove anything to Oud Wood? Well... it remains exciting.
Can one of you finally say something about your relationship?
[Both remain silent].
Alright... apparently not.
Let’s move on to the first round.
(Perfume aficionados would speak here of the TOP NOTE).
OUD WOOD immediately dominates the OPENING with its outrageously seductive and slightly medicinal oud note. It radiates a distant coolness while simultaneously exuding a comforting warmth. Cool, aloof wood with subtle nuances of oud. Soothing cardamom. Noble sandalwood. Rounded off by the warmth of tonka bean and the restrained sweetness from the subtly used amber. A dream.
CAMBODIAN OUD actually starts IDENTICALLY in the first two minutes. Seductive and simultaneously distant, a slightly medicinal oud note. Coolness and comforting warmth. A bit of aloofness here, a bit of Pick-Me there. But what is Cambodian Oud doing now? The audience watches the stage with bated breath, viewers at home hold their breath in front of the television: WHAT IS HE DOING? He simply refuses to become sweet... Tonka bean? Hello? Where are you? Cardamom is there, in abundance. The woods are also plentiful. But what happens now? The audience stares in horror at the stage; you could hear a pin drop, the tension is palpable: Cambodian Oud pulls out pepper! Pink pepper. And it works... instead of a sweet tonka bean, Cambodian Oud opts for spicy pink pepper. This, combined with the beautiful woods, cardamom, and the medicinal oud, creates a perfect melange of incredibly seductive scent notes.
You are definitely not twins, are you?
[Both remain silent].
Do you really not want to comment on this?
[Both continue to remain silent].
Well... we will get to the bottom of this!
We’ll take a break for commercials before we start the second round...
A murmur goes through the crowd.
Okay... haha... just a little joke for Friday. Lightens the mood a bit.
No? Nothing? Not even a smile?
Alright... no one is paying for comedy here, but for a hard-fought duel where the winner is far from decided.
Let’s move on to the second round, the heart, as the perfume aficionados call it:
OUD WOOD remains beautifully straightforward. It radiates such a perfect aura that captivates the wearer and everyone who comes near. The noble woods complement each other perfectly, the scent is beautifully creamy, perfectly seductive, and sweet thanks to the enchanting tonka bean, and the vetiver plays a subtle role, giving the fragrance its clean image. Oh, how beautiful you are. No... You are stunning!
The audience is in love, the host is thrilled, and viewers at home would all like to smell a bit of Oud Wood now.
CAMBODIAN OUD is not quite as straightforward; it develops a bit further. Here, the noble woods play a predominant role, yes, they dominate! Cardamom adds a distant coolness, the Cambodian oud contributes to its medicinal note, and the pepper plays a very seductive role in this wonderful melange. But now there is again tense silence in the audience: What the hell is Cambodian Oud doing now? The host is dumbfounded, the audience can hardly believe their eyes - PATCHOULI? Yes, really: It’s patchouli. And quite a bit of it. But: Just enough to notice it, not too much to dominate or disturb. No, on the contrary: the earthy, dry patchouli gives the fragrance incredible depth and darkness. Sexy? Yes. Risqué? Absolutely. Playful? Possibly. Sweet? No, definitely not. There are edges and corners here. And those are what make things interesting, sexy, and desirable.
Are you even related?
[Still silent].
Hmm, okay?
Let’s move on to the third and final round: The DRYDOWN!
OUD WOOD soon pulls back, becoming intimate. My batch B88 used for testing is less of a workhorse and more of an 80% job. Beautiful, seductive, cool, warm, distant, close - Ambiguity in a bottle. And even though it lasts longer than most current Oud Wood batches, which in my opinion (or better: in my nose) tend to fade quickly and become intimate, the B88 is also a candidate that only performs at 80% - after all, one works to live, right?
Still, it is a masterpiece in the drydown and simply beautiful: Along with the noble woods, medicinal oud, cool cardamom, and warming tonka bean, a beautiful amber joins in at the end, guaranteeing well-being. Ah, a dream.
And CAMBODIAN OUD? The host is beside himself, the audience is going wild: What is this guy doing?
Here, it’s not amber, but vanilla that comes into play! Is he crazy? What does that smell like?
Everyone pauses for a moment... and here it comes: noble, beautiful, luxurious vanilla - not sweet at all, rather bitter. But wonderfully, wonderfully beautiful! This note, combined with the previously mentioned patchouli, the noble woods, the distancing cardamom, and the medicinal oud, rounds off this artist of seduction completely - and that despite (or perhaps even because of) its edges. And it lasts... and lasts... and lasts! And more than just intimate.
Great applause.
So? What are you now? Twins? Siblings? Relatives?
[Both grin].
Well, dear audience, can you figure it out?
That’s all for this week’s Family Feud.
Have a great weekend and see you soon!
Your Carpintero!
Oud
Toreter
Floyd
Bastian
SchatzSucher
NuiWhakakore
Gandix
Danny264
Ergoproxy
Licorice
Chizza
