BORTNIKOFF
LAO OUD

2021

PERFUMER
Dmitry Bortnikov

Magnolia
Pink Pepper

Cacao
Chamomile
Peru Balsam
Beeswax
Cinnamon

Oud
Indian Oud
Vanilla Absolute
Coffee
Tonka Bean
Birch Tar
Guaiac Wood
Woody Notes

Lao Oud has a strong, but very pleasant chocolate-oudy opening. It’s not fecal to me at all, as some Indian ouds can be; I have no experience with ouds from Laos as far as I’m aware of.

Dark, slightly bitter and sweet cacao reigns supreme in the first minutes and I love it. In the air, you do get a more acidic touch as well; like chocolate covered flowers.

After some minutes it becomes a tad more daring, with a slight animalic smokiness and woodiness (perhaps the oud, perhaps birch tar) starts taking away from the sweeter and more forgiving chocolate scent.

It has that sort of headiness from beeswax coming in and for me Lao Oud becomes increasingly hard to pull off; it’s dry and heavy with a loud projection. It’s not necessarily that the scent is unpleasant; up close I mostly get chocolate still, perhaps like chocolate powder on top of a cup of coffee. It’s just a lot to take in and I think I would have to go very light on the application to really enjoy it.

After a while there’s a slightly sour tinge to the sweetness and woodiness that I can’t really appreciate. Every time I think this fragrance ‘isn’t too skanky’, it throws something skanky at my nose. Then in the late drydown, it gets more soothing and I really enjoy it (and that seems to last for ages). Great to try, but I would need to sample this 10x more times before considering a purchase.