BUTERBAUGH
OUD orange flower

2017

PERFUMER
Dora Baghriche-Arnaud

Champaca
Frangipani
Orange Blossom
Bergamot

Oud
Patchouli
Vetiver

Vanilla
Oakmoss

I have quite a confusing journey with Oud Orange Flower, so bear with me. I first tried the spray-version and fell in love instantly. I bought a bottle of the older dabber-version (in the photo below) and… I received the wrong fragrance (not from the brand, but from a third party seller).

Turns out that these old dabber bottles don’t have the name of the fragrance anywhere on the bottle itself; it’s only on the box and a tag around the neck, so there’d been a mix up. After some testing via samples from a friend I found out I received Oud lily-of-the-valley.

Now I did also have a new sample for the dabber version of Oud Orange Flower, but also smelled different than the spray one I had worn the year before that. I say that to say that I’m a bit reserved in giving my opinion on it, as your experience may vary.

To my nose, at its best this gets beautifully sweet, like honeyed. It’s essentially a straightforward orange blossom scent and the most beautiful one at that, however the version I have now is considerably less sweet. I guess the earlier version I tried had gotten sweeter due to aging.

There’s not noticeable oud in this (or any of the oud flowers I’ve tried from Buterbaugh), but that doesn’t make them less interesting. It’s a highly slept-on house in my opinion and I hope to one day add a (correct) bottle of Oud Orange Flower and 1947 Dahlia. Unfortunately, as of 2023, the brand seems to have stopped producing new fragrances after switching ownership.