Friday, January 11, 2013

Perfume Review - Attar al Oudh and De la Forêt



Oud.
I know next to nothing about it. I know that another name is agarswood and that I love it! (If you are interested in this note, you can read more about it here.)

Both Attar al Oudh and De la Forêt contain this note, but in very different ways.

Attar al Oudh is all about oud. In the bottle it is a musty but sweet wood, slightly herbal and medicinal. On skin the true oud note develops, it is musty and pungent, woody and nutty, deep and resinous and probably not a scent that everyone will love. As it dries, amber emerges and the drydown is a gorgeous oud/amber.  This is a very simple scent, there are no surprises, nothing much happens... But if you love oud this is awesome!

De la Forêt is quite similar but a bit more complex. In the bottle this scent smells a lot like Attar al Oudh, but not as musty with more of a fresh forest character. On wet there is a flash of oud at first but then comes other exotic woods and a large dose of musk. This is a more delicate scent, not at all as musty and pungent as Attar al Oudh. The oud is still noticable but one of many notes rather than de dominant note. There are sweet notes of tonka and amber as well as sharper notes that I can´t quite place. This dries down to a gorgeous, but not very special, woody amber that at times morphs into something that smells much like fresh mushrooms. I get that mushroom note sometimes in various scents, I don´t know where it comes from, but I love it! My theory is that it´s a quirk of my skin, that turns some vanillas into this fungal note... There is no vanilla listed in the description of this scent, but it might still be there, so I´m not dismissing this theory quite yet...

Attar al Oudh has greater sillage than De la Forêt, but they both have about the same longevity, about six hours on me. I love both of these scents but perhaps not enough to get full size bottles. But I definitely want to experience more oud perfumes! Can you recommend any?

6 comments:

  1. I love Solstice Scent's Manor, where black agarwood is featured pretty prominently. I adore that scent, which my mind translates as "sweet dust". I must like that note, as I've liked every scent I've tried containing it. Or I just tend to like anything Solstice Scents :)

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    1. A pack of samples from Solstice Scents is on my list, I do want to sample manor, as well as the whole manor collection! I love the concept of that collection and anything with woods and spices are always a hit with me!

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  2. I have tried a few ouds but finally decided I don't love it. I'll send some for you with other things. De la Forêt sounds nice though :)

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    1. Oh, wow! Have I told you lately how awesomely generous you are!? <3 (Do check out my ScentBase stash, what with your SOD-project maybe you need some samples in return!? ;D)

      I get how oud can be difficult to love, that musty character is a bit... demanding...

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  3. I'm not really experienced with oud. I've always thought it was something really strong and masculine and it scared me off a bit. With my perfume review project I'm planning on throwing in at least one sample with every order I do that I wouldn't normally buy. I shall try something with oud in it!

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    1. Do! Oud is definitely worth trying!

      I have also recently tried to break old patterns and sample some stuff that I wouldn´t normally, florals, berries, anything feminine, green, herbal and mossy scents... ;D So far I still hate most florals, and feminine perfume just isn´t my thing... and berry notes are just a bit tacky... But green, herbal and mossy is right up my alley now, as long as it´s accompanied by something sweet or resiny.

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