Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir — A brief fragrance review
Classified as a gentelman’s fragrance, Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir is an oriental woody fragrance which was launched in 2013 by The House of Versace.
Let’s take this frag for a drive!
First spray and first sniff gives off tonnes of soft spices with a cajoling orange note — mind you this orange is not juicy but more synthetic. I suspect the presence of d-limonene that is giving off this ‘orangy’ vibes in the first sniff.
The fragrance itself is pretty linear and doesn’t change much but of course there are phases. In the top along with the orange notes (mild or sometimes even undetectable) you can smell soft spices almost like a grandma’s spice cabinet. I can smell the sweet Ceylon nutmeg all along the phases right from the top to the dry-down.
Although it is marketed as a ‘oud’ fragrance, I don’t get any of it. If they have included oud the it must be very synthetic such as the ones offered by IFF. I see it more of a spicy oriental woody fragrance with pronounced run-of-the-mill woody notes in the dry-down, namely cedar and guaiac wood. I also detect leather as we approach the middle notes. I would have expected leather to show up at the dry down. Leather leaves as quickly as it appears. It’s got more of a guest role in here.
Yes! Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir does smell pleasant to me and definitely there is nothing ‘dark’ about this. And, I love to wear it because, I in particular, like the soft nutmeg and whole spice box vibes that this fragrance gives off. Apart from that there is nothing interesting happening in here. Pretty linear with no surprises at all.
The staying power is pretty decent and I get almost get an entire day on my clothes and about 4 hours on skin. Projection is about 4–5 feet for the first 30 mins or so and then starts to recede. Sillage trail is about 6–7 feet for the first hour or so. After about 2 hours or so the scent starts to cool down and you are left with slowly retreating fragrance that settles as a skin scent with barely if any occasional wafts.
The bottle feels pretty sturdy and the atomiser dishes out generous sprays. So, no complaints out there.
Comparisons with Tom Ford’s Oud Wood is justified. Also, Oud Noir is a well made product with nothing to offend.
Tom Ford’s version is ever so slightly intense than this. But, around the dry down stage it might need connoisseur to pick up the difference. It is that similar.
Some reviewers on the Internet have called Oud Noir as having niche quality juice in a designer bottle. But, I would reserve my own opinion on that as I don’t agree to those statements. However, I believe this is indeed a pleasant fragrance in it’s own right and will have a place on my shelf.
A well made product with nothing to offend in Oud Noir but one word of caution, however, is that the genre in which this is made calls for a few sprays on your skin to see if you find the juice enjoyable.
So, test before buying a full bottle.
On the other hand, if you are an oud fan, then you will be clearly disappointed because there is no real oud in here.
My Rating:
1. Scent — 4/5
2. Sillage & Projection — 3.5/5
3. Longevity — 4/5
4. Presentation — 3/5
Overall —3.6/5
