ENSAR OUD
HOMEROS SQ
2022
PERFUMER
Ensar Oud
Neroli
Hinoki
Blue Cypress
Civet
Musk Motia
Georgian Rose
Orange Blossom
Osmanthus
Elderflower
Khmer Musk
Tibetan Musk in Wild Cambodian Oud
Sri Lankan Sandalwood
Maroke Agarwood
Bourbon Vanilla
Patchouli Musk
Tolu Balsam
Oakmoss
Tobacco
Cacao
70s Mysore Sandalwood
Borneo Oud Resin
SQ Ambergris
Tonkin Musk
First of, I like the story of how Homeros came about; composed (in 5 different variations) by Ensar during lockdown and while being anosmic. He let a group of people test them and give feedback and moved from there to create Homeros as it was released. This SQ is a newer, revised version.
Homeros SQ opens as a more traditional, smoky, woody masculine leaning fragrance to my nose. It sets off rather smoky, but in a nice, dry, sweet tobocco-esque way (not the slightly barbecued smokiness from Iris Ghalia for example). There’s a fresher woodiness from hinoki and cypress, but almost instantly it’s more on the warm and sweet side. Some greenness remains. No daring animalic touches here to me.
When it comes to the inclusion of ambergris and florals; Whereas Ensar speaks of a cool seaside and zesty qualities, you have to place them in the frame of reference for a musk and oud loaded fragrance. Compared to most of the fragrances that I have or have reviewed, this is a thicker, sweet scent.
I do get some of the ambergris for sure; a scent hard to describe unless you’ve smelled it. However, I think I may get more of a chocolate scent here than in Tibetan Musk and combined with the tobacco and slightly boozy vanilla, this might be the more mass appealing and familiar of the Ensar Ouds for the average niche-enthusiast. Especially in the (everlasting) late drydown.
As far as the florals go, I mostly get jasmine in here that I really enjoy. I kind of wanted the florals to be even more pronounced, but they do occasionally push back against the sweetness, which adds a lot of depth to composition.
The sandalwood and musk once again deliver on providing a creamy texture that I’ve only encountered in Ensar’s work and what elevates them above anything I’ve smelled in that regards. When I first sprayed Homeros SQ, I thought it was less intriguing than some of the other Ensar’s, but in my two wearings so far, it has grown on me a lot.
