Maison Francis Kurkdjian has launched Oud, a new oriental fragrance:
Because oud wood is one of the richest and powerful raw materials, it seemed to us evident to glorify it without any other qualifier.
The bottle is capped with a golden dome. It belongs to a marble palace engraved with gold, set under dark-blue star-studded night.
It is set in an exquisite box embossed with gold and protected with a sleeve that is hot stamped in gold, like a projecting Arabian latticed window open to all the paths to sensuality.
The notes include saffron, elemi gum, oud, cedar and patchouli.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud is available now for pre-order at Neiman Marcus, $300 for 70 ml Eau de Parfum.
(via neimanmarcus)
I was so looking forward to this, then the reviews started coming in. Looks like I am headed to Neimans next month in Vegas for a quick test. I figured it be a easy blind buy, glad I waited until some reviews came in.
I have not read a single review, & admit I don’t much care — I understand why the brands keep doing oud, but I’ve reached saturation — I don’t need to smell any more of them.
I have one more person I want to see take on Oud. Then I will be happy. Serge Lutens has been playing with it for years. Just hasn’t released any. Now once that is done then I can be content with what is out there. Oud has so many facets to it, not one that can be pinned down to one perfume. I think that is why I sort of groove on it.
I’m sure you’re not alone — I bet many people want to try the FK *and* would love a Serge oud!
Have you smelled Memo Shams and Van Cleef & Arpels Precious Oud? If you haven’t, let me know and I will send you samples. Before you say you “don’t need to smell anymore of them” – these two are a must to smell. Both use oud as a supporting player — not OUD in your face for the sake of Oud in your face.
I have a sample of the VCA but haven’t tried it yet. Haven’t tried the Memo. But it is not that I assume that nothing new or great can be done with the theme, I just don’t care! It’s overdone and I’m tired of it.
And should have said — thank you so much for the kind offer, that really is sweet!
I love your ‘please no more oud’ tag and can’t agree more! 😀
Surely MFK does a nice job with it, but it is not a note I can wear despite trying it again and again. If the flood of oud perfumes were to return to a drip tomorrow, I’d be set with my little sample of Montale White Oud indefinitely.
Please no more oud indeed!
I like it, and I can wear it, but there is enough for me too!
I’m sorry, but that cap is not a dome!
I am okay with oud – I have great-smelling ones and have tried total armpitty ones and soapy ones, so with that kind of diversity there is usually something interesting. I think mostly we are tired of Oud being trotted out in the names of everything. I mean pink pepper is a common note, but there aren’t many perfumes that use it in the name.
Tama – didn’t even notice it wasn’t a dome until you pointed it out! Too busy wondering what “hot stamped in gold” was.
But also, pink pepper doesn’t tend to dominate the fragrances it is in 🙂
True, I was just using that as an example of a note that is in everything. Could have been bergamot or vanilla.
I agree. It’s a rectangular or square gold-colored cap in the photo.
I sure don’t see a dome. The juice color is very pretty.
The box it comes in sounds much more interesting. Maybe I can just buy the empty box.
“Like a projecting Arabian latticed window open to all the paths to sensuality”? Overuse cliched imagery much? That quote is Prix Eau Faux material right there!
As to oud… I don’t think the trend can be counted as overdone and dead until Bath and Body Works use it in a scent 😉 Can you imagine what a BBW oud would smell like? Berries, vanilla, cheap musk, and oud, garnished with whatever fruit is momentarily popular, mayhap?
NP
BBW Oud might be my holy grail. Seriously.
I’ve always said it would be over when Avon comes out with one. Actually, Avon might do a better job than BBW.
I don’t know if you have already seen this, but there was a recent interview of FK on Grain de musc regarding this fragrance. I’m not sure I’m allowed to paste links in here. So feel free to delete the link it if it’s against your commenting policy, Robin.
From the interview:
‘He was asked to, plain and simple, he finally admits — even an independent perfume house has got its financial backers, and the Middle-East is still the market to court. The tricky bit for Francis K. wasn’t so much that he was asked to work on a specific product, since that’s what perfumers do throughout their career. It’s that he never uses a raw material to spark off his inspiration: he starts off with a story or a person….’
http://graindemusc.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/francis-k-goes-hollywoud.html
Absolutely fine to quote and to link, but the quote was too long for “fair use” so I’ve shortened it.
And I had seen that, yes — sort of funny & sort of sad!
Why call this fragrance oud, if there is seriously no oud in it. Or am I anosmic?? It smells like a lollipop fragrance from L’Occitane. Please somebody comment on what you smell.