The Aoud by Mancera

Bergamot, Clove, Cinnamon, White Pepper, Rose Petals, Geranium, Saffron, Oud, Smoky Wood, Cedar, Sandalwood, Animalics, Leather, White Musk.

For all the listed notes in The Aoud by Mancera, it comes out of the sprayer almost completely developed. The interplay between Clove and Cinnamon is very "sniffable" and lends a slight burnt quality to the accord. With the exception of Musk, all the culprits are blended very well and interact in such a way as to smell as "one". However, If you put your mind to it while sampling, you can pick out all the contributors.

The Oud is easily detectable, but is restrained from completely dominating the composition. I like this more each time I wear it. What's not to like about slightly smoky woods with floral and leathery accents?

For whatever reason, the Musk doesn't integrate, on my skin, like I would anticipate. It may develop better on yours or it could simply be that I can't detect it. After all, there's quite a bit going on here in this dense brew.

Once the base and drydown commence, The Aoud morphs into a sensual leathery-woods that still has smoke ingrained in its DNA. This tilts masculine to me, but we all know the gender line has become more blurred each passing decade. Sillage is perfect with longevity approximately 6 hours on me and then longer as a skin scent. Thumbs up from Aromi for Mancera's The Aoud and as always, a sample wear is highly recommended.