Oudh Lacquer Soivohle for women and men

Oudh Lacquer just does not rub me the right way. It smells sour at first, then a bit of burning leaves arrives, and then it is just gone. No rich chocolate. No exotic mystery. No burning, sensual secret affair. No afterglow. I guess I was wooed by its making-of campaign. I mean, hearing how long and involved the process was and then seeing the price tag on the final product, I really expected gold-in-a-bottle. Maybe it's my chemistry.

Hmm, very chocolatey but not a pleasant oudh. Wonder why so many rave reviews.

This is a shining example of brilliant perfumery - and love from the first inhale. I'm still too new to analyze this complex creation fully, but I will definitely update my thoughts here.

Theoretically I'm a good advocate for actually liking gourmand scents, but somehow almost the whole gourmand family has failed on me so far. This scent is not purely a gourmand, but the foody notes are distinct and carried beautifully with the precious woods, refreshed with a most beautiful chord of florals and sharpened with my favorite spice. The whole scent rolls open like exquisite silk carpet, revealing the complexity and simmering in the air.

Somehow the composition reminds me of (old) Coco (by Chanel); minus the distinct rose accord - the florals are very discreet in Oudh Lacquer - and adding the luxurious touches of oud and dark chocolate - and overall richness.

The experience is beautiful from all distances, the sophisticated florals refresh the woody-gourmandy sillage and my skin smells so good that I feel an urge to rub my head on my pulse points... ...like the cats do...

Edit. the only negative in this scent is the longevity - I get max 4 hours of wear from one application. That prevents me splurging on this one (until I win in the lottery). But it is a great, great perfume, still.

This is a perfume that I loved from the first sniff. It’s spicy, with lots of cinnamon and cloves as well as anise and cumin or coriander. There’s some citrus in the mix at first, along with unidentifiable woods and flowers. It’s a weird scent, but a pleasant one. It reminds me of my kitchen spice drawer, in which the fresh scents of new spices mix with the musty, woody scents of ones that probably should have been thrown out long ago. It has quite a bit of sillage. As the scent develops, it becomes sweeter and I can imagine that I start smelling the oud along with tonka, and the promised chocolate. There is a point at which the honey takes over and it's almost like toasted almond nougat, ending up smelling just like the Indian sarsaparilla absolute that I recently bought. I love the smell of sarsaparilla, and Oudh Lacquer manages to recreate it quite well. It lasts for the better part of a day.

Oudh Lacquer proves that all-natural perfumes do not have to be insipid and elusive. After trying several Liz Zorn perfumes, it is clear that she is a risk-taker who sometimes strikes out, but sometimes hits a home run. Oudh Lacquer is a home run. I just wish it wasn’t so damned expensive.

Whew Hoo, boozy! I thought I could get drunk off just smelling myself after first applying. I smell the cinnamon and cloves, less so the flowers. It's warm and exciting. Drydown brings patchouli and amber and more of the chocolate accord. I really really like it and it's a must try for those loving warm exotic fragrances. Too bad it's so costly but that's to be expected due to the expensive ingredients used.