FREDERIC37

A beautiful, fresh, citrusy, slightly animalistic amber scent that reminds me of Chinese Oud, but with less Oud notes. It opens with citrus fruits, orange, and animalistic amber, with a few flowers and vanilla. The scent on the skin is different from that on clothing; on the skin, it is more animalistic amber, while on clothing, it is more citrusy with vanilla and amber. I did not find Oud in the perfume, perhaps due to the strength of the amber. The scent, in general, is beautiful in this summery atmosphere. But I assume it will be much more beautiful in winter.

Amber Aoud begins with a lemony rose with a hint of freshness, likely derived from the citrus notes that are not perceivable on their own but have an uplifting effect. Following this is a honey-fruity fig accord, to which a rich, sweet, floral ylang-ylang note later joins. In the dry down, saffron and a bright salty amber accord accompany the rose; it also becomes a bit powdery, but I'm not sure at which note exactly, as musk, iris, and patchouli are listed, and the three notes can lean towards a powdery direction. I couldn't identify patchouli and iris individually, but I could recognize the musk contributing to the overall sweetness. In my nose, there is no oud, but there is a sharp, dry, woody cashmeran-like accord that might be intended to represent oud. There is an ethyl maltol-like sweetness that I would have preferred to be toned down, and I was surprised to see that vanilla and benzoin are not listed in the notes, as the fragrance is quite sweet. In the late dry down, I discover a hint of oakmoss, as in most Roja fragrances.

Oud Bleu Intense is one of my favorite summer fragrances and probably my favorite offering from Fragrance du Bois. The scent opens with a beautiful combination of mandarin and cardamom, the start is fresh and creamy. Then nutmeg joins in to add some spiciness to the fragrance. I get a hint of oud in the opening, but it is not prominent and is only in the background, smelling of natural oud. In the dry down, the mandarin fades away, and a lovely olibanum note appears along with ambered labdanum and myrrh. You might think that the fragrance becomes resinous and heavy at this stage, but that is not the case at all; the scent remains light and airy, yet it becomes warmer and spicier. Overall, Oud Bleu Intense has a very unique scent profile, starting fresh and creamy and drying down to a warm, resinous base while maintaining its airy quality. What I like best is the lovely cardamom note and the creamy texture of the fragrance.

Nawab von Oudh is one of my absolute favorite fragrances, a favorite from Ormonde Jayne along with Montabaco. The scent starts fresh with citrus fruits, mainly orange and bergamot, there are also aldehydes and green notes in the opening, this combination of orange, bergamot, green notes, and aldehydes makes the opening sparkling, reminding me of orange Fanta. In the heart, the fragrance does not lose its freshness; the heart consists of a combination of flowers and spices, the floral part is mainly rose, but alongside the rose, there is magnolia and orchid. The spices are cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, and allspice. The fragrance is so well blended that individual notes cannot be recognized, but you can feel, for example, the warm cinnamon or the sharp allspice. In the base, I do not discover any oud; I find amber, which gives a salty feeling, vetiver, which adds a green, bitter note, and musk. Overall, this is an excellently blended fragrance that contains everything you want: citrus fruits, flowers, spices, amber, musk. It is complex but very well mixed.

It has a bright sparkling, sweet, green, lemony opening, which to my nose smells quite similar to Nawab of Oudh, what I get are bright aldehydes and a combination of sweet orange and mandarin notes, immediately followed by a predominant, intense, aromatic combination of sweet notes. Slightly fruity and almost leathery juniper berry together with fresh herbal clary sage. After some time, I can perceive a diffuse floral accord with a spicy note featuring nuances of fresh rose, spicy clove, and jasmine. I think there is a large dose of Hedione in this fragrance. The scent then moves to a beautiful woody base, which mainly consists of creamy sandalwood, dry Virginia cedar with sweet amber and musk nuances, and a chypre accord with the characteristic pink pepper note of Ormonde Jayne. I do not get any oud from this fragrance. Overall, I find this scent very elegant and refined.