Incense Oud (2011)
by By Kilian

During my discovery phase of the phenomenon known as oud fragrances, Kilian's Incense Oud was one of the first to catch my attention. From the fancy box to the gorgeous bottle, when I first saw it at a local Saks Fifth Avenue, I just had to try it.

I must say that Incense Oud resembles several other oud scents that I have tried, with its inclusion of pink pepper and Turkish rose. At this level of observation, Incense Oud - so far - is lovely and safe but not unique.

But, as others have pointed out, this has layers of character which sticks its head out over time. I find a luxurious smoky incense, dense spices, as well as the requisite band-aid-like oud note. It truly is a well-crafted niche fragrance worthy of inspection.

At first sniff this seemed boring, linear, safe, pretty, and almost completely inoffensive. Over time it's revealed itself to be a study in contrasts - an ethereal, light otherworldly incense on one hand, earthy wood and spices on the other. Grapefruit and a creamy rose bridge the divide, if it's possible to say that. It's more like etheric fields overlapping briefly to me. On some wearings it's cool and poised and on others it's hot, giving the impression of a sauna. After some time I've realized my own body temperature at the time of application determines this effect so I wait a few minutes after a really hot shower if I don't want that steamy effect.

This scent transports me and always puts a smile on my face. That first whiff affects my overall impression of the experience even though it dissipates quickly. Like the opening chord of Black Sabbaths "Paranoid" you only hear it once but your brain convinces you you're hearing it for the entire song.

People who reject this for its lack of "real" oud relative to its high price are missing the point-there's nothing else out there this good, this sleek and elegant, and downright beautiful that is so wearable on a daily basis. I have many other colognes and edp's in my collection but this negates the need to wear a lot of them, that have elements in common, but are not nearly as good. I definitely don't and probably couldn't wear this every day but I find myself reaching for it a lot!

Longevity from the original bottle is stellar, compared to other samples and decants I've owned. I can smell this on myself 12 hours later no problem.

Solid, consistent performer, versatile, enjoyable and eminently wearable scent!

The main focus is on the frankincense and the gorgeous opening adds oud and spices. These will fade leaving space to a dirty patchouli paired with a thick, sweet rose and a resinous base. The blend is addictive, classy, elegant.

By Kilian doesn't grab me, but Incense Oud is inoffensively wearable. It smells like rose with a modern, dark mix of incense, wood, and/or oud-like accords.

Incense Oud is a quality composition with incense as the main focus. The other most prominent notes are cardamom and rose, with oud somewhere there in the background. It is refined, polished and even a bit sophisticated. Any animalic element has been removed and instead it is quite elegant. Unfortunately it is only elegant, rather than being opulent - which would have been a perfect fit in this case. It stops singing on skin and performs a disappearing act in about four hours.

3/5