Exquisite! That one word could easily be the sum total of my review, but it wouldn’t be like me not to waffle on. The Santal royal in this collection has a very prominent, sharp and skanky, resinous oud note which is completely in contrast with this stuff, a pure tonepoem of luxury and perfumery excelllence. This is a purely indulgent smell with no one one note dominant, but a smoother resin, saffron and leathery oud smell of giant proportions but delicate and modest execution. I was told by the SA that sprayed me(with perfume;) at the Guerlain counter that it was made with access to ingredients other houses don’t (which I’m inclined to believe as it’s guerlain) and also he was big on the fact that I could keep it for years and years and it won’t spoil (again which is my experience of most perfumes ...kept correctly of course) Oh and also he was encouraging me to layer other scents on top of this, which I don’t do but I see how this emorphous, classy bed of woods and resin would enhance even the worst fragrance you sprayed on it. I love it. I think it’s incredible and an oud to get excited about, it’s not groundbreaking and I’ve smelled similar before but I think it’s a perfect storm this one, a perfect oud for ANYONE to wear and enjoy. It’s soft and retreats to a skin scent after hours of solid projection but then easy lasts 10+ hours and probably weeks on clothes. I want this.
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After getting card strips of all the Absolus d'Orient from the Guerlain boutique, I found myself obsessively sniffing the oud essentiel (but not exclusively). So I went back for a sample... I am torn between loving it and feeling like it's impossible to wear. I think I love it. Here's the thing... The opening is a horrible, agressive dusty old church lamp bashing you in the face, but then after about five minutes the rose starts to come through, then the whole thing softens and becomes a beautiful, warm envelope of charming oud and floral notes with a lovely leather spine. I'd say this is old school in terms of strength and performance, i.e. you barely want to spray it on your skin. Instead, spray in front of you and walk naked into the cloud. You don't want to gas everyone around you when in public.