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Black Oud Zousz 2020

8.1 / 10 73 Ratings

A popular perfume by Zousz for men, released in 2020. The scent is woody-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Woody

Spicy

Oriental

Earthy

Resinous

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Black pepper

Cardamom

Heart Notes

Patchouli

Cedarwood

Oud

Vetiver

Leather

Sandalwood

Base Notes

Tonka bean Amber

Amber

Vanilla

Ratings

Scent

8.173 Ratings

Longevity

7.466 Ratings

Sillage

7.166 Ratings

Bottle

7.768 Ratings

Value for money

8.255 Ratings

Submitted by Sniffer, last update on 11/19/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Oud Wood Eau de Parfum

Carved Oud Extrait de Parfum

Oud 31

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/18/2023

8.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

Minigolf
2518 Reviews

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Minigolf

2

Dark-toned wood with spicy sweetness..

The nose and the "smell brain" seem to play tricks on their owners on some days! Or is it REALLY so? Or is it just an illusion?? It will become clear. Tonka bean, amber, and vanilla seem to reverse the ratios in the top notes! Instead of the expected "bright" scents, spicy-sweet winter warmers emerge.
Gradually, it builds up gently with woods of all kinds, cardamom, and pepper riding along. It's actually strange, but strangely interesting and unique!
Hardly any other fragrance goes from "bottom to top" and collects its "companion scents" in reverse!
Nevertheless, it is not a "backwoods" scent, even though "wood" is part of it. Right in the middle, first at the top, then also at the bottom. Where "earthy tones" reside, the brighter nuances of citrus fruits unexpectedly join vetiver and patchouli, which were NOT detectable in the "top note"! Well, as "quirky" as it reads, "Black Oud" is not that at all. But unexpectedly unusual. By the end, when all the notes have come together, each of them is probably "in the right place." Yet the fragrance experience up to that point is indeed VERY RARE!! ;-))

12/03/2021

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Oldfactive
66 Reviews

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Oldfactive

Top Review 20

Licorice Oud

You might be tired of hearing this, but there’s another "Oud Wood"-inspired fragrance out there. And in China, a sack of rice has fallen over. However, the Black Oud by Zousz is actually worth a few words.

The independent brand from the UK is primarily known for men's grooming products (beard care, etc.). However, they couldn't avoid creating their own perfume, and thus the fragrance Black Oud was launched in 2020.

We don't need to beat around the bush, as the Black Oud makes it clear right away who its inspiration was. However, the fragrance is not a simple 1:1 copy of the well-known Oud Wood DNA from Tom Ford; instead, it expands on this basic idea and comes with a nice twist. The scent opens with a prominent dose of pepper, which remains quite noticeable for the first few minutes before receding to make way for cardamom. Here, you can probably see the biggest parallels to the original from Tom Ford. The oud (certainly a synthetic accord) then slowly takes its place between the creamy sandalwood (without becoming lactonic) and a soft, velvety leather. This "cozy" leather gives the Black Oud enough contrast compared to the original to avoid being seen as a mere copy. The leather is relatively softly defined in this case, remaining quite pleasant throughout and never feeling demanding or exhausting. With the patchouli, Black Oud gains a slightly earthy-chocolatey note. In the drydown, the fragrance becomes a bit sweeter, with vanilla and tonka bean providing enough warmth for the colder season to feel secure with this scent.

In the middle phase of the fragrance, another note emerges that piques my interest and somehow captivates me. It feels like a sweet licorice note that reminds me of my childhood. Additionally, there’s a faint "plastic" note lingering deep in the background, which also reminds me of something from my early childhood. Whether it was a type of toy or candy, I still can't quite define it.

With about 8 hours of longevity, Black Oud holds its own. For the first 2 hours, it projects quite strongly before becoming a bit more intimate.

The bottle fits comfortably in the hand with its rounded shape, is relatively heavy, and is equipped with a decent sprayer. However, those with "fingerprint phobia" should steer clear of the bottle.

In the end, Black Oud is a clearly Oud Wood-inspired fragrance that brings enough of its own ideas to the table with the pleasant leather note and this slight licorice vibe to avoid being considered a boring copy of a popular DNA. It is priced relatively fairly (around €55-65 for 100ml EdP) and impresses not only with a good price-performance ratio but also with decent longevity.

11/30/2021

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Kianoush
27 Reviews

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Kianoush

2

Wood at its best

This is how Oud should be! A fantastic creation and a must-have for all lovers of woody scents. Superbly balanced with cardamom and pepper, which are clearly prominent in the top notes and then subtly recede. Vetiver plays a harmonious background role, while amber and a very subtle sweetness from vanilla, which is only hinted at, round off this wonderful experience. I'm not usually a fan of blind buys, but this one is definitely a winner for fans of spicy Oud fragrances. The only downside is that the sillage could be a bit better; otherwise, it would easily be a perfect 10.

02/28/2021

9.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

AKlopp
1 Review

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AKlopp

Helpful Review 7

Clean Performance!!

Hello dear ones,

I got the beard balm and beard oil from the brand Zousz and was already surprised at how good both grooming products smell. However, the perfume was not particularly well rated on Amazon. Accordingly, I decided against a purchase, for now. After being triggered by Tom Ford - Oud Wood 2 months later, I acquired a collection of Oud fragrances to get an overview and find out which directions I like (in combination with rose, amber, or so). Among them was also the scent from Zousz. After a lot of sniffing, I actually decided on this perfume, as it smells identical to Tom Ford Oud Wood (velvety, soft, clean, warm) but the longevity and volume are significantly higher and above all only costs 1/3. In my opinion, one of the best alternatives.

Statements

31 short views on the fragrance

Floyd

4 years ago

7Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

26

21

Pure purple blacklight lamps
Shimmering scales of cardamom
Fall onto earthy cellar floors
Tonk-colored wooden shelves
Full of dark roots

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Licorice

4 years ago

8Scent

22

21

Casual on the wooden chair
at the barber, boots crossed.
The bag of flavored licorice
is shared while chatting.
+Fresh take on OW

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Bastian

4 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

19

18

Zousz impresses throughout its entire scent duration!
Great dark oud expertly blended with wood, leather, and patch...
Price/value is TOP!

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Ergreifend

3 years ago

7.5Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

18

11

Herb spicy,
with a hint of
aftershave, then -
rich leathery, warm earthy,
dusty resinous.
I like it,
but only when a man wears it.

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Chizza

4 years ago

6Scent

17

12

It's just as Oud as other Oud fragrances, but those are more dominated by patchouli, sweet notes, and other moderately green notes. It's okay.

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ParfumAholic

4 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

10

2

Beautiful wood scent, not too light, not too dark, finely spiced, with light leather notes, vetiver brightens it up, tonka-vanilla adds a subtle sweetness.
Great!

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