Oud Velvet Mood (2013)
by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Oud Velvet Mood differs from its brethren in the Oud Moods series by virtue of a striking copahu balm note, smelling of cinnamon bark, rare metals, medicine, and sweet rubber all at once. The texture of the fragrance is balmier than Oud Cashmere Mood, which is comparatively smokier and (it has to be said) more interesting all round. But what I love about Oud Velvet Mood is that it is unafraid to present an oud oil note that is authentically Indian in profile: creamy, nutty, and very, very sheep-cheesey.

Yes, Hindi or Syoufi oud haters need not apply. It fairly explodes out of the bottle, this rudely unapologetic aroma, ripe and falling apart at the edges – and proceeds to stand there proudly, completely alone on a ledge, with no sweet rose at all to soften the blunt force trauma of it all. I happen to love the sheer unloveliness of animalic oud oil, but I will admit that to the uninitiated, there will appear to be some disturbing mind associations that come up, like oil, rubber, cheese, tires, melting plastic, and the like. In this respect, Oud Velvet Mood has a similar oud note to that of Oud Cashmere Mood – but it is perhaps easier to swallow in Oud Cashmere Mood because it comes neatly wrapped up in smoky labdanum. Here, everything else seems pared back, minimized, to allow the full glory of the oud to shine through.

Apart from the cinnamon-medicine accent from copahu balm, what’s very notable in this fragrance is the use of saffron. Here the gold-metallic, dusty leather facets of saffron have been harnessed, and it adds an overall tone of brightness to the composition that brings Oud Velvet Mood further away from the dark smokiness of Oud Cashmere Oud and closer to the sunshiney, yolk-yellow smile of the original Oud. This was a surprising development, and one that I was able to confirm only by wearing it side by side with Oud Cashmere Mood and then again with the original Oud.

So, if you want an oud fragrance that is halfway between the bright, sweet, saffron-dominated original Oud and the dark, smoky, industrial Oud Cashmere Mood, then Oud Velvet Mood might be what you’re looking for. Personally, though, I love the original Oud and Cashmere Mood far more than this. I’m at a loss to say why, but there it is.