FRAGRANCE DU BOIS
OUD ROSE INTENSE

2013

PERFUMER
Hamid Merati-Kashani

Fruity Notes
Bergamot

Rose
Sandalwood
Geranium
Amber

Oud

‘Oud Rose Intense is a sensual, sweet and intoxicating perfume. Its heady scent captures the excitement and intrigue of a romantic rendezvous. Fresh bergamot is one of the top notes of this rose oud perfume that form a complex, aromatic and fruity beginning, giving way to the essence of rose and geranium, before melding into the heart of sandalwood and amber, with the nuances of exotic Oud in a long-lasting base.’ – Fragrance du Bois

I get a lot of the fruits in the opening, mainly cherry or raspberry, but there’s also a healthy dose of bergamot and citrus. The fruits linger for quite a while, before succumbing to the florals. In the first two, maybe three hours of the wear, I found it to be pleasant and bright, rather feminine leaning, but not all too exciting. It reminded me almost of a cherry popsicle.

Then the magic happens and Oud Rose Intense does a 180. A lot more woodiness comes through and the scent becomes deeper and darker. The fruits take a backseat and this becomes a warm spicy woody and floral fragrance, with a lot of musk. There’s a some smokiness to it and in my mind it conjures up a picture of a dark red rose left in a cozy bar at night. It has a sensual and mysterious quality to it and it’s very much unisex, as opposed to the more feminine opening.

There are some similarities to Oud Noir Intense & Tom Ford Oud Wood and they come in the later drydown.