Harrods Swarovski Limited Edition by Bond No 9

Eleanore

Wow-Kankuro-I cannot add anything after your splendid review. It is a toss up which oud is better this or By Kilian. I prefer the By Kilian Oud-but this lasts longer. Another thing, i LOVE this flacon more than the boring By Kilian. I won't even bother to talk about the price tags-both are horrendously expensive. But with By Kilian you can buy the refillable 100 ml bottle for $150 plus the price of the bottle.

All in all this very well done.

Kankuro

Yesterday I finally received my sample from the scented court. I have experienced my liking for Oud in perfumes, so I tested severals. Kilians Oud is stunning, but something in it bothers me. I tried Bond No. 9's Signature Oud, but it was a BIG disappointment. After I've read that Harrods Oud is far better, I tried it:

Harrods Oud starts with familiar notes, woody and dry. It reminds me of Cruel Intentions by Kilian, but without all the fruits and flowers. Everything that was toned down in Cruel Intentions is the center of attention in Harrods. The oud is detectable right from the start. It blends well with the cumin and pepper. The cumin adds a dirty, almost animalic feeling to the composition. This fragrance smells very opulent, like a luxurious palast. After that, the fragrance gets even more woody and earthy. I can smell the myrrh, which smells great in combination with the amber. Balmy, woody, earthy... I think I've smelled it before. It is very similar to Pure Oud by Kilian. But intead of the oily note in the Kilian, Harrods has the already mentioned dirty something in it. It is like walking over a big field, like you can smell the earth and the incense, which comes from far away! Harrods is Pure Oud's evil brother. A cigarette smoking brother which wears a leather jacket. After some time, the oud enfolds more and more and gets all the attention. This is an very edgy eau de parfum! I can't smell any obvious synthetics, they're well blended. Harrods Oud is stunning, like an arabic market. The perfect balance between dirty and luxurious makes this scent unique!

The first edgy Bond fragrance! All the other fragrances from Bond are lovely and soft compositions, but Harrods Oud is really dirty and woody. I never thought that Bond could produce something like this, some would think it is a perfume from Kilian or Montale. Unfortunately, it's just a limited edition and not available in germany. Why? This eau de parfum is gorgeous and everything I wished Bond No. 9 Perfume would be! The lasting power is OK, at least 4-5 hours on my skin and more than 10 hours on my clothes. After a strong start, Harrods Oud wears very close-to-the-skin.

mariotgomez

I would like to mention before trying this scent, I believed that a Bond No. 9 Swarovski Limited Edition bottle had the same juice in it but only decorated with Swarovski crystals. I was wrong, Harrods Swarovski Limited Edition (HSLE) is a completely different fragrance than Harrods for Him or for Her.

With oud (Agarwood) being the "It ingredient" I have tested out several EdPs& Perfumes containing this note, I would have to say I found my oud perfume choice with HSLW.

This scent can only be purchased (as far as I know) via Bond No.9 directly or Harrods in the UK. I was lucky enough to get a sample of this sensual and amazing scent.

It opens up with a nice woodsy and spicy mixture of accords. As it develops you will imagine yourself in a Moroccan Bazaar exploring different spices.

"Quality & Sensuality" will come to mind as you continue to sniff your wrist through out the day. the Dry down of HSLE is a melody between the oud (spiciness), amber (sweetness) and vetyver (woodiness).

Congratulations to Laurice Rhame and Laurent Le Guernec with their collaboration of this masterpiece.