Davde

I am relatively new to the Artisan direction, and OM is a house that has made me very curious. Small batches and handmade flacons sound quite appealing. The fragrance notes and the statements of Oudy Gluttony caught my attention, so I ordered it as a sample along with another scent from the brand.
The anticipation was high, the excitement immense. But unfortunately, the disillusionment was just as great, as the scent does not suit my taste at all. I had imagined a sweet, cocoa-like, coffee scent that is slightly fruity due to the pumpkin, with Oud as a counterbalance to the sweetness. However, the fragrance is unfortunately far too spicy for me. I’m not exactly sure which spices they are, but to me, it definitely smells festive, with cinnamon and nutmeg fitting well from the pyramid. However, I can only faintly detect the coffee and the Oud at the very back. In terms of scent, it also leans a bit towards this Indian chai direction; there are those packets from the supermarket if anyone knows them, just less sweet. Unfortunately, the name only partially resonates with me; there is too much gluttony and too little Oud. But after smelling it, I do actually feel a sort of gluttony in my nose and stomach area.
Conclusion: The fragrance is undoubtedly well made, and good, natural raw materials have been used, as it never smells artificial or cheap. However, as I said, it unfortunately does not suit my taste at all, which is why I cannot give more than five points.

My first comment on Parfumo - and then about a fragrance from DUA? The DUA-Fragrances brand divides opinions; some are pleased that they get an alternative to high-priced perfumes, so they don’t have to spend 200€ right away. Or when discontinued/reformulated fragrances are brought back to the market. Others, however, find it at least questionable when a brand lets itself be so “inspired” by foreign scents.

In the following, I would like to make a comparison of the two fragrances and address the question of whether the DUA dupe is really a substitute or just an alternative that has parallels but is not the same. Carpintero has already made such a comparison in a comment before me, but I want to look at it from a different perspective. His review is very worth reading; he compares the fragrances in great detail regarding the notes.

The opening of the DUA overwhelmed me a bit during my first comparison (on the wrist) of the two fragrances. A lot comes out of the spray head, and the scent is quite potent. In the first few minutes, I hardly smelled anything of the Layton. In a subsequent test, I applied only half a spray of the RCA. Now they are almost equal in intensity. The opening differs quite a bit from that of Layton. Layton simply smells much deeper. RCA just smells sweet to me with a menthol note. I can’t describe what it smells like. I’ll try to describe it: It smells somewhat like if you finely mix Layton and add a bit of menthol. I can’t make out any individual notes; it rather smells like a mush. At least a tasty one. It’s probably my fault because I don’t have such a trained nose.
RCA increasingly aligns itself with its role model over time. Vanilla is added, and the apple comes through better. But to me, Layton just doesn’t smell as flat. Both are sweet, both smell of apple, both smell of vanilla. But RCA doesn’t smell as high-quality and deep.

Just a small example regarding longevity: I sprayed RCA one morning, two half sprays on my neck. In the evening, we were still out with friends. We were sitting at the table, and suddenly someone asked: What smells so good here? It turned out that it was my perfume. I had it on my skin for 10 hours already, and he wasn’t sitting right next to me; there was a seat in between. H/S are just brutally good.

Now to the conclusion: When I first smelled RCA, I wanted to like it. I bought it blind; I only had a sample of Layton. And I liked it. Very much. It was the first truly high-quality fragrance I had smelled. But over time, I asked myself: Does RCA really smell that similar to Layton? And I compared them again, more consciously. And I thought: Are these supposed to be twins? No question, they smell similar. I claim that based on the sillage, you won’t be able to tell them apart or only with great difficulty. But for me, they are not twins but just normal siblings. They look similar and yet have their differences. But why did this fragrance receive a 9 rating from me? It smells very good, but indeed differently than Layton - when you compare closely. Of course, this is my subjective feeling; many people on Parfumo seem to see it differently. I certainly do not claim to have the universally valid opinion;) For me, RCA is more of an alternative than a substitute for Layton. I find MrPink's review of Bois Oudh, also from DUAFragrances, very recommendable on this topic.
Thank you for reading.