Oud 27 (2009)
by Le Labo

I just received the 4 ml sample I ordered of this in the mail and I think that djolney hit the nail on the head in his review. The oud and saffron mix are very prominent in the opening and the combination is a little odd, overwhelming and medicinal. Maybe I haven't had enough experience with oud, except with Montale's Aoud Roses Petals. In ARP the oud, while odd and strange, is absolutely gorgeous. But Oud 27 smells very weird and synthetic for me at the beginning. 15 minutes later you can detect soft woods, but then the scent suddenly disappears. I was very disappointed as I expected Oud 27 to be as rich and lasting as Patchouli 24. It isn't. This really needs to be sampled before you purchase a full bottle.

Le Labo’s Oud 27 starts off as equal parts smoky saffron, aggressively medicinal oudh, and animalic leather; somewhere between Alan Cumming’s signature fragrance and Montale’s Oud Cuir d’Arabie. The oudh soon softens to reveal a more conventional conifer wood accord that smells to me both of juniper and cedar. The animalic component drops out almost completely with about a half an hour of wear, so that for most of its life on my skin Oud 27 is a surprisingly crisp, cool, and translucent fragrance centering on frankincense, saffron, and woods. Unfortunately that life is abruptly truncated at close to the two hour mark, after which a very faint, dry, woody base note (the guaiac, I presume,) is all I can detect. Anticlimactic and disappointing after such a distinguished start. My advice: don't buy this without trying Oud Cuir d'Arabie first.

This has a wonderful, animalic oud wood opening. It reminds me a bit of some really skunky mid-east oud fragrances which I have smelled. I adore this smell personally, although it might be too much for some this smell which resemblances the smell of mould cheese and glue. This is it how well aged high quality oudh actually smells. Deeee – licious.

I have heard some comments in which some people have had difficulties to detect any oud in this scent. For these people I recommend to get some more exercise with oud – you know, there are more to it than oud in M7 or in Montale`s. Oud oils smell very different in their complex variations.

Oud 27 smells like oud wood more than anything else. Those “supporting” notes aren’t very strong; they just back up nicely the pungent tone of oud. They are also blended very smoothly and at least for me it is very hard to separate these notes.
Out of those notes apart from oud, I certainly get Atlas cedar most clearly.

Oud 27 soon dries down for a subdued aromatic woodsy scent with subtle animalic vibe.

I really like the way this smells but I definitely wish it was little bit stronger. I also think the lasting power is not appropriate for the scent that has a massive price tag to it.

This is odd stuff.

The opening is strange and sickly. It is as if the aoud and saffron have brought the worst out in each other. I like to wear aoud, and I like saffron and aoud together when Montale does it, but something is sickly rather than medicinal here.

The incense is neither the intense kind found in a fragrance like Tauer Incense Rose, nor the soft unlit kind like in Montale Louban: it is hollow and becomes lost under the wood.

The dry down is so soft that there is nothing to speak of.

I sampled this fragrance at Barney's in Chicago and was blown away. An initial boozy bourbon and tobacco cedar blast won my heart from the first spritz, since I am a pipe tobacco and wood fragrance lover. So I backed my way out of a sale by telling the lovely salesperson that I'd need to live with it on my skin for a while to decide.

Walking for an hour on Michigan drive, I smelled my hand and wrist and couldn't resist running back to Barney's. This fragrance is the quintessential mix of tobacco, wood, booze and a whisper of skank that drives me wild. Each of these elements are in perfect proportion so that they interlock and present themselves almost in whole fashion rather than a dissectable composition: tobacco becomes oud becomes civet (almost a parmesan cheesy, cat box funk) with enough white birch to give a camphorous lift and an ambrox envelope to hold everything in perfect synch.

I was forward enough to justify the extra 10.5% sales tax ($23!) by asking the saleswoman if she would get in trouble by adding some extra base to the custom blended alcohol-juice bottle. She smiled and said, "there is some margin for error."

I can see not wanting to wear this fragrance every day; it is quite a sturdy, austere scent that stays close to the skin. But I give it a huge thumbs up.

Oud 27 roaringly starts right off the bat in an animalic fecal fashion that is both deep, dirty, and compelling -- overwhelming the olfactory system with labdanum, amber, patchouli, cedar, saffron, and of course, that hip note of the moment, oudh. The dirty note then gradually retreats, revealing the scent's other more sensual and oriental-esque facets along with faint traces of tobacco, rose, and a tiny amount of fruits. It lastly dries down to a musky, but clean and smooth blend of cedar and gaiac, a very pleasant and subtle finale like a soft meow.

The first hour or so is the stage that may be too much for most people. I've read many comments where people mention that the beginning is close to being repulsive, with the drydown being heavenly. Personally, I find the first two hours to be much more enjoyable and far more interesting than the drydown, which is just as I wrote earlier, a "pleasant meow."

Hardcore fans of MKK and such would be disappointed that Oud 27 just shows its fangs then wimps out, while lovers of sensual woody orientals would be put off by the initial scarefest before arriving at the heart. Regardless of what category you fall into, Oud 27 is a strange beast indeed and should at least be sampled. Admittedly, it IS flawed and would most likely be a let down for many who expected something more different and distinctive. As for myself, it's something I enjoy and would happily decide to purchase again.