Al Oudh (2009)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

To me, this smells powdery at first. It's the iris. I also smell pink pepper and orange blossom. Then, saffron. Incense and rose creep in. There is an underlying smokiness - a balsamic tone. Individual notes are many; hard for me to pick out, for the most part.

The powdery vibe leaves after some time. Incense and myrrh kick in for the rest of the journey. This, is a very calming and meditative fragrance, for me.

Al Oudh

Al Oudh is a spicy, musky, warm oriental fragrance. Despite the name there's no oud - at least oud oil. It might give the merest hint of oud wood - however that's by a long stretch.

Al Oudh is primarily an assortment of spices over a musky base with woody notes, and with a slight edginess. Cumin is the leading spice, together with cinnamon and cardamom. This is amply supported by a musky accord of civet, castoreum, and honey. The florals are there in the background, with rose being discernible. This lends a good balance to the composition.

At first there is a striking accord driven by cumin, and supported by animalic notes of civet and castoreum. The honey immediately comes through. Once this calms down, one can pick out the floral elements. The final dry down is more musky, with hints of wood, and a balanced spicy sweetness. The fragrance is not too dry, and only very slightly smoky initially. There are leathery (mid phase) and resinous (dry down) elements in the composition, but to me musk is the dominant theme.

This would be in the same group of fragrances as Absolue Pour Le Soir, Salome, MAAI, Kouros, and by a stretch Arabie (because of the warm spices).

Sillage is average, and longevity is good at around 8 hours on skin (based on a generous application). The other notable point is that despite the notes and the structure, this is more of a middleweight composition. This makes it an ideal everyday scent, more so in cooler weather. The great aspect of Al Oudh is the harmony and balance, and how the different elements interact without dominating one another - typical of Duchafour's compositions, though the interplay is not as dynamic as in, say, Dzongkha. This only adds to the abstraction of the composition.

3.5/5

I own a decant of this thanks to the kindness of DuNezDeBuzier, who completely understands my love of rough, leathery, woodsy, sweaty cumin scents. And this one promised everything I crave: cardamom, leather, woods, pepper, moss, castoreum, et al. And yet... I'm baffled by it.

Am I the only person to whom this smells exactly like the amyl nitrate poppers that were popular as club drugs and sex enhancers in the '80s? So much so, in fact, that seconds after applying it my heart began to pound and my face started flushing. (And not in a good way!) I felt as though an anesthesiologist was prepping me for surgery.

But since Bavard also found the top "punishing", I tried to tough it out for the promised carnal base. And two hours later I did get a bit of the hoped-for sweaty skin scent -- just nowhere near enough of it to justify the torture that preceded it.

A Vintage 2011 sample of this charmer.
Notice the capture of a Mentholated top note of Cardamom.
This stuff smells like I've eaten a Curry made for a Monarch, Cardamom Yeast Donuts continuously for days, without bathing.
Glorious stuff!!

There is an interesting carnal aspect to the base of this, but the top is punishing.