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Black Aoud = "femme fatale"?

post #1 of 25
12/15/08 at 6:09am
Thread Starter 
After a good Ebay's deal (49), I received today a full 100ml bottle of Black Aoud.

I have tested the stuff before buying: medicinal-patchouli and a note of rose, with a great sillage and longevity also.

But suddenly the first time I wore my new acquisition, one girl started laughing: "you smell like a sort of FEMME FATALE!" and more people suscribe her opinion, making me think on the "Black Orchid girl's adv".

I know that gendering smells is a cultural question, but these reactions make fell as I was wearing something that don't match witth me, now I found too rose...

I would like to know your BA experiences.
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post #2 of 25
12/15/08 at 6:41am
I find rose, as a note in general, very difficult for me to wear. It is irrelevant what the rose comes along with, my body chemistry, amps the rose to super high levels, and it generally become far too feminine for me. Black Oud, is very nice but again the rose is too much for me. That's not to say that no man can pull it off, just not me. With all that being said Rose 31 has proved to be the most masculine rose I have found thus far.
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post #3 of 25
12/15/08 at 6:41am
I have the same issue with Black Aoud. On me, to my nose, it's just way too feminine. This is clearly highly subjective and may also have a lot to do with skin chemistry, but I just can't wear the stuff. Works great on my wife, though.

Other 'feminine' men's frags, such as Original Santal and Dior Homme, are no problem for me to wear. I suspect, as you mentioned, that it's the rose.
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post #4 of 25
12/15/08 at 6:48am
On my skin, it is the opposite. Half an hour after I applied BA, there is little to no rose to be smelled.
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post #5 of 25
12/15/08 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by irish View Post

On my, it is the opposite. Half an hour after I applied BA, there is little to no rose to be smelled.

Really, thats very interesting! Maybe I'm just very sensitive to the rose note in perfumes, but thats ALL I get, seriously. I wish I got more but even the aoud is just kicked in the mouth by the rose.
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post #6 of 25
12/15/08 at 7:22am
Agree it's very feminine. But to me it's not a scent of femme fatale. More like 90 year old widow countess, completely dressed in black.
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post #7 of 25
12/15/08 at 7:42am
If I were to put a feminine figure to Black Aoud it would be the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty who lives in a castle surrounded by thorns and set against a blood red sky. That's not to say that I feel it particularly feminine though I know for sure that I do get a little devilish kick out of it not being particularly masculine either and wondering what people might be thinking. Anyway, i don't think it's YOU that Black Aoud doesn't mesh with but rather your friends. I say wear it proudly and remember that the inspiration for Black Aoud is Eastern/Asian and that American and even European noses just really aren't accustomed to those concepts of what perfumery means. I feel like a bunch of people who are not into perfumery will not really ever get used to it so I think that's something to consider... They'll eventually shut up about it but I feel that a full bottle purchase of Black Aoud should come with the understanding that it's very different, very very, and that that shouldn't matter. I liken it to wearing a potion or elixir rather than a pefume/fragrance. Go for it! You liked it before, don't let them ruin it for you!
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post #8 of 25
12/15/08 at 10:46am
I would love to buy it from you at 59 euros without any question if you wanna sell it, just pm me (if it s the real stuff, of course !)
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post #9 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:01am
My impression is that it is definitely unisex I've experienced that when people smell it for the first time they don't what to think, it's definitely not mainstream.
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post #10 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:09am
BA has a cheap rose waterish note to it, which is probably why the references to being a femme fatale... with time, i grew to dislike the top to mid notes of BA...i wish i cud go straight to the basenotes.....alas, i found my rose oudh combination to perfection in L'Artisan Voluer du Roses...

However, if you still wanna enjoy your oudh (and a better one than BA), then go for Oudh Lime. it has managed to keep my interest (if that counts) until now...magnifiscent!!!
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post #11 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenson View Post

BA has a cheap rose waterish note to it, which is probably why the references to being a femme fatale... with time, i grew to dislike the top to mid notes of BA...i wish i cud go straight to the basenotes.....alas, i found my rose oudh combination to perfection in L'Artisan Voluer du Roses...

However, if you still wanna enjoy your oudh (and a better one than BA), then go for Oudh Lime. it has managed to keep my interest (if that counts) until now...magnifiscent!!!

Would you prefer Czech & Speake # 88 I tend to favor the Aoud Damascus over the BA anyway.
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post #12 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:14am
There's some limits to what I wear, and I think Montale is one of them. It just feels way too rich for my blood, literally. It's just too complex to handle, and it doesn't help that most scents they have are EdP (unless I'm mistaken.)

I would agree with the theory that Black Auod is "femme fatale". I get the same image. Femme Fatales are not simple and easy to understand. It's why in the movies, they always seem to betray. Like in Casino Royale, Vesper was the perfect demonstration: working for the enemy yet falling in love with James Bond. And then leaving out of nowhere. Entirely unpredictable. That's what I smell in Black Auod.
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post #13 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbullet View Post

Would you prefer Czech & Speake # 88 I tend to favor the Aoud Damascus over the BA anyway.

Czech & Speake # 88 comes under a different genre altogether....L'Artisan Voleur Du Rose is again a combination of Rose notes, Oudh and Patchouli...i'm sure you would have tried this already....i find VdR to be Black Oudh light with its Rose+oudh+patchouli combo...only difference? the rose note is done beautifully in the L'Artisan...

i never got a chance to sniff Aoud Damascus...but i did test Aoud Rose Petals...i do like the way rose is done in ARP and i do appreciate the scent overall...but since i already sniffed VdR...it slid down my list...but yes, with ARP, montale got the rose right(to my taste)...maybe Aoud Damascus is similar or better?

for me, from the montale Oudh line, it's all about Oudh(obviously!!).. and i found my Oudh woody heaven in Oudh Lime. a close second would be Royal Oudh for it;s delightful blend. Black Oudh is replaced by Voleur Du Roses for me....
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post #14 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenson View Post

Czech & Speake # 88 comes under a different genre altogether........

Oh, I agree, no aoud there, mainly rose to me. My pure rose preferences lies with Ormand Jayne's Tai'f or The Different Company's Rose Poivre.
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post #15 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:35am
So thanks to this post I wore Black Aoud today and I agree, it has a Femme Fatale feel to it, which is kinda the great thing about it... So on one hand, your friends are very perceptive On the other, giggling about it isn't very productive
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post #16 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbullet View Post

The Different Company's Rose Poivre.

please don't get me started on Rose Poivree!!! all hail -> JCE!!
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post #17 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:57am
I have traditionally disliked Rose notes in my frags. But, I've tried, and I've tried some more. Post that, the only Roses I could handle come in the form of Domenico Caraceni 1913 and Rosine's Pouissere de Rose which is marketed to women but oddly enough, works just beautifully on my skin.

About the entire Femme Fatale thing, rose frags are worn by either sex here in India, so naturally I see Black Aoud as a unisex fragrance. I don't like it though.
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post #18 of 25
12/15/08 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Torvo View Post

After a good Ebay's deal (49), I received today a full 100ml bottle of Black Aoud.

I have tested the stuff before buying: medicinal-patchouli and a note of rose, with a great sillage and longevity also.

But suddenly the first time I wore my new acquisition, one girl started laughing: "you smell like a sort of FEMME FATALE!" and more people suscribe her opinion, making me think on the "Black Orchid girl's adv".

I know that gendering smells is a cultural question, but these reactions make fell as I was wearing something that don't match witth me, now I found too rose...

I would like to know your BA experiences.


i tend to agree with your friend...or that girl. Rose scents just smell poor on men, IMO....they don't smell right. Black Aoud totally made me smell like a wicked old lady when i was wearing....one of the biggest jokes in fragrances i've ever tried! quite funny though. Domenic Caraceni 1913 is the same..........WAAAY too old-woman-with-walking-stick-in-her-rose-garden smelling for me....i've tried these several times now, and find them waaay too feminine, in an unacceptable old lady sort of way.

i just don't think roses are made for guys like me.....i'd never wear a rose fragrance personally.
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post #19 of 25
12/15/08 at 12:07pm
I second Jenson on Aoud Lime. If I were a guy (next life) I would definitely go for the Lime, which I love. It's more butch that Black though I can't say I find BA too femme for a man.
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post #20 of 25
12/15/08 at 1:27pm
I love rose poivrée but it s just a bit too weak on me, disappears after 3 hours. It s an amazing frag though, i find it superb.

I ve tried tonight again the other montale roses, queen rose and rose petal. They are both quite similar, but queen rose is the most beautiful. I find it even more beautiful then BA, for me it s the most beautiful rose of the Montale line. I have not tried Attar though.

Aoud lime is nice but the aoud is so so so strong.. maybe too much for my taste. And btw, there s no lime at all
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post #21 of 25
12/15/08 at 1:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roc_Xel View Post

Aoud lime is nice but the aoud is so so so strong.. maybe too much for my taste. And btw, there s no lime at all

very true! this ones not to be applied under neck!! i just hide 2 mini sprays under my shirt...one to chest and one to torso......it's glorious this way...the sillage is just so deeply textured with lovely woody-oudh notes - resonating...
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post #22 of 25
12/15/08 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roc_Xel View Post

I ve tried tonight again the other montale roses, queen rose and rose petal. They are both quite similar, but queen rose is the most beautiful. I find it even more beautiful then BA, for me it s the most beautiful rose of the Montale line. I have not tried Attar though.

Queen Roses has perhaps the most beautiful Rose accord of the lot, next to Aoud Damascus. These two, and Rose Petals were designed for the ladies. Only Black Aoud, Aoud Lime and Attar are for men.
Quote:
Aoud lime is nice but the aoud is so so so strong.. maybe too much for my taste. And btw, there s no lime at all

That 'lime' is actually rose combined with something else, saffron? (I keep forgetting what - a perfumer's trick).

@ Jenson :
Quote:
....L'Artisan Voleur Du Rose is again a combination of Rose notes, Oudh and Patchouli.

. Oudh?? I cannot detect even a trace of oudh, and never saw that listed either.
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post #23 of 25
12/15/08 at 7:48pm
Do you like Black Aoud? I think you said that you sampled it, liked it, and bought it. Sounds to me like you like it. So, then wear it!

Forget about what giggling girls or anyone (including me) thinks about it. If you like it, that's all that should matter to you. Don't let someone else's opinion of your scent allow you to not enjoy any scent.
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post #24 of 25
12/15/08 at 10:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by narcus View Post

@ Jenson :. Oudh?? I cannot detect even a trace of oudh, and never saw that listed either.

Im no Scentemental ! maybe im wrong. however, imho, the progressions tht VdR goes thru, exudes the presense of Oudh (to me) hence i relate it to Black Oudh...it seems to have all the key elements of Black Oudh...only much more refined, clear and toned down than the latter...
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post #25 of 25
12/15/08 at 11:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by narcus View Post

That 'lime' is actually rose combined with something else, saffron? (I keep forgetting what - a perfumer's trick).

Yes, I believe that's what it is. Atleast to my nose anyway
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