Carmine to me smells undoubtedly like a much more affordable version of Aoud by Roja Dove. It opens straight away with that iconic combination of geranium, lemon and saffron which is sharp and captivating as it is smooth and seductive. From here a smooth leather, oud and rose sets in to darken the scent. It definitely smells like there is ambergris in here, although not listed. That for me is what brings it closer to Aoud, the soft and salty ambergris is incredibly addicting and works perfectly with the oud and saffron. For the price I am very impressed with this fragrance, it is undeniably close to Aoud and so you can save a lot of money by getting this instead. Of course the quality doesn’t quite match up to the Roja, and the blending isn’t quite as impressive but it still smells beautiful and considering the difference in price you really can’t complain.