Very pleasant Rose/Oud combination with a creamy drydown. Oud Palao starts of with a suave nudge towards Oud Ispahan before showing its individual character. I'm not an Oud expert by any means, but I can tell the utterly synthetic (Montale) from a better crafted one, and Palao stands somewhere between MFK Oud Satin and Oud Ispahan. The opening is a deep red rose with a smoky leathery Oud. It's not medicinal, nor does it have that band aid smell so typical in other Oud combos. Instead the smokiness perfectly combines with the rose to produce a very nice opening that lasts around an hour on my skin. Slowly but linearly evolving towards the heart, the labdanum adds a piquant animalic warmth without overshadowing the main notes; instead it enhances them. The drydown arrives 3 hours in, and I mostly detect the earthiness of patchouli with a very creamy and slightly violet tinged vanilla. This lasts for the rest of the day on my skin, with sudden whiffs of Oud and rose. The sillage is above moderate, persistent without being excessive, giving of whiffs during the day, along with a very long lasting longevity. It doesn't feel new, but given the fact that it is well made, it's an excellent introduction to Oud for a beginner as well as pleasing someone more into this genre. Sillage and longevity above average for Diptyque with nods to other well crafted fragrances and with attention to detail and ingredients. If anything, it feels like a middle eastern perfume seen through a gauze, without falling to western cliches. Right now I'm wearing both Palao on one arm and Leather Oud on the other, and I'm smelling Palao. Unfortunately the clearly reformulated Dior is nowhere to be found. Thumbs up Diptyque; late to the party but attending with an ace up your sleeve!