Harrods Oud Patchouli by Bond No. 9, 2012

I was lucky enough to have a friend traveling through London and she was kind enough to visit Harrods and bring a sample back to the USA for me (although a very generous friend int the UK also offered to send me a sample ;-).) My nose is so different so I can only chime in on my perception of this. I had no idea what to expect, but I was definitely in LOVE at first whiff. I get a burst or sharp, exotic smelling floral right away. Then smokey incense notes that take me back to my days as an altar boy at St Clements School in Florida. Maybe that's the myrrh. There is a lovely sweetness that connects with what smells like amber to me next. The oud is there too, but not as "in your face" as TF Oud Wood or Bonds Harrods Swarovski Limited Edition. I can't really find the patchouli, which is the only thing that I am disappointed about. Maybe it's in there, and I am just so used to the street grade patchouli oil that people I work with wear every day. I spayed on probably 10-12 spritzes from the sample on Thursday and it lasted over 12 hours on me. The next day it was still there close to the skin, and the oud was very nice at that time too. I give it a big thumbs up. I actually splurged for the 100 ml bottle, since my partner loved it too, so want to have plenty.

I want to put it out there that I love agarwood and I also like patchouli as well, and that this review does not in any way reflect their entire catalog, but this has got to be some of the worst smelling stuff out there. I went into Bond No. 9 in New York really excited to have an olfactory spree as I was not entirely familiar with the brand and was surprised at all of the oud options they had. This was the first one the service woman sprayed on my arm. At first you get a slightly sweet, dirty, musky oud. The oud they use has some of the more fecal qualities you can sometimes get from Cambodian agarwood (Im assuming its usage here) so this one may not for those who dont like a more rural smell in a fragrance. As the evening went on things took a turn for the worse as this started to smell more and more like body odor. Just to make sure it wasn't just me, my friend who had accompanied me there was (forced into) smelling my arm every time I did. I would assume that these more "human" aspects here are coming from the leather that is mentioned in the notes list as well as the earthy myrrh, but both cant be detected individually. By the end of the evening my arm smelled as if I had aggressively rubbed it under someones funky armpit that for whatever reason had sprayed it with Aquanet hairspray. The silage on this one is thankfully low and the longevity is mediocre. Sorry Bond No. 9.