SoOud is a new collection of 8 perfumes. The brand is the brainchild of Stéphane Humbert Lucas of niche line Nez a Nez, working in collaboration with Intertrade Europe.
Hajj (fresh woody) ~ "Created around noble notes, the appeal of Hajj reveals sweet fresh spices, such as star anise or ginger, associated with a stimulating background of warm notes. This fragrance with its original scent transmits all the richness of oriental perfumes. Enclosed by hints of various woods and succulent citrus, this balanced line gives the perfume a fragrance which evokes wisdom and spirituality." The notes include bergamot, mandarin, star anise, rosewood, osmanthus, licorice, ginger, patchouli, tolu balsam, tobacco and vetiver.
Burqa (shown, woody oriental) ~ "Like pure blood flowing, mystical and fluid, from every temple, with tones of Chinese ink and bewitched by essences of hard wood, this anthracite fragrance is a liquid incense with a notable prestige and elegance." With notes of jasmine, rose, black violet, cardamom, sage, leather, benzoin, myrrh, black ink, rubber sap, black amber, teck wood, patchouli and guaiac wood."
Fam (floral oud) ~ "An intense vibration of flamboyant red spices combine in perfect harmony with the warm woodland tones, in an embrace of powdery floral notes. Created by the genius of the Mughal emperors, this sophisticated fragrance exudes all the charm of Agar wood, associated with acanthus." Featuring saffron, chili, fresh rose, oud, cashmeran, rose powder, rubber sap, vinyl accord, sandalwood, cedar, milk and red musk.
Asmar (woody amber) ~ "Dusky scent, of earth and sun, of tanned skin and warm sand. A concentrated but pleasant amber fragrance, strong and delicate thanks to the careful blend of warm notes. A foray into the dreamy heart of a thousand and one nights. When Dorian Grey meets Scheherazade." With bergamot, honey, carnation, coffee, amber cigar, grape marc, amber, tobacoo, chamois, musk and vanilla.
al Jana (fresh aromatic watery-woody) ~ "An immersion into green naturalness. Aqueous watercolours, Bio-certified materials combined to form a translucent fragrance, characterised by an unprecedented refinement." The notes include thyme, lemon, star anise, helichrysum, ylang ylang, cypress, salvia sclarea, Virginia cedar, vetiver, sandalwood and tonka bean.
Ouris (fruity floral vanilla) ~ "A symphony of butterfly colours, including peach, blackcurrant and plum, mark the whirling flight into a vortex of light Turkish delights between notes of Jasmine and pollen accord which open onto fresh hints of white cedar. Iris butter and almond cream elevate this feminine palette to the most beautiful of their kind." With peach, plum, blackcurrant, honey, tagetes, jasmine, cedar, pollen, almond, iris, vanilla, sandalwood and tonka bean.
Nùr (dry balsam) ~ "Pearly powdery amber worked according to traditional perfumery methods, with loyalty and an unconditional love for the precious, elegant, refined ingredients." Featuring lemon, incense, artemisia, chamomile, amber, cedar, apricot, iris, tree musk, Russian leather and vanilla.
Kanz ~ "This perfume, black as coal, hard, tactile, with opaque luminous facets, is stratified with agarwood. Essences of nagarmotha, natural sandalwood and white roses make Kanz the perfume of Maharajas" With jasmine, rose, nagarmotha, oud and sandalwood.
The SoOud fragrances are available now at First in Fragrance in Germany, in 60 ml Eau Fine (110-148€) or 30 ml Parfum Nectar (125-175€). (via intertradeurope, first-in-fragrance)
Update: see a review of SoOud Asmar.
These are some pretty convoluted descriptions, but the scents sound interesting. Burqa sounds appealing dark and nasty.
I’d like to try Fam. Several of them sound good. On the other hand, I didn’t like anything by Nez a Nez.
That was my reaction too: several sound really great, but the Nez a Nez did nothing for me at all (besides make me vaguely queasy).
Same here – the Nez a Nez I’ve tried really left me cold. Can’t even remember which ones. I think I gave the samples away pretty quickly.
Yeah – I was fairly disappointed by the Nez a Nez line, and they sounded wonderful too. We’ll just have to see….
I was proud of myself that I didn’t automatically hit the buy button on the new LS sample bag.
Oh, I am contemplating that one. But good grief, how FAST! My dear friend just shared with me the Fall sample pack and I haven’t had a chance to try them all, and here we are, the Winter one is coming! Yikes! How to keep up???
all brand-names are arabic-I just want to know that why on earth a german company is catering the fragrance delights (with equally allurring name-tag) of Middle-eastern likes.
Oppsyyy-French and not German-“So Oud” also have an intriguing and aristocratic website as well
I would love to try these. I hope they’re available somewhere for sampling soon (ahem Luckyscent. Pretty please.)
Betcha we’ll see them in the US.
Overwhelming.
Quite! 2 or 3 would have been plenty.
I know – that really is a LOT! But a few sound promising.
They all come in two different concentrations, so it’s 16 scents. And what IS “Eau Fine” and “Parfum Nectar” anyway? Bah, this whole launch feels so gimmicy. I will stick to Mecca Balsam, I think that’s a more heartfelt attempt to capture the Middle Eastern spirit.
Sorry, I don’t know the concentrations…assuming they’re something vaguely like EdT & Parfum.
Is it just me, or is Burqa a horrible name for a perfume? Isn’t the point of a burqa that it’s something unattractive to cover up and obscure your tempting erotic beauty?
The notes do sound really interesting, though!
Not just you. I really recoiled from that name.
It is awfully weird. I can’t comprehend the creative process behind that name.
Not only that but the name and the description don’t jive, at least to me. Though it is one of my favorites, notes-wise. If any of the decanting websites gets these, I think I want to try the whole set!
It probably depends on your opinion of burqas, which in all truth is something I’d rather not debate here.
I saw these on fragrantica yesterday, and was curious. Nice timing with this article. Those bottles are really 60 ml huh? The size of the cap make them appear to be about 7.5ml. Kanz and Burqa caught my eye.
The picture shows the 30 ml bottle, but you’re right, it looks tiny.
Several of them, especially Hajj, Burqa and Fam caught my eye.
I do wonder if Luckyscent will get them…
Hugs!
We shall see! And hugs to you too
The perfumes sound good – but whoever wrote the copy is Fantastic!
And whoever named these scents is…crazy? Using “Hajj” in this sense is disrespectful, and “Burqa” as the name of a perfume is absurd. The names are designed for shock value, I think, rather than artistry.
And.. tree musk?
Why yes, I am in rather an argumentative mood today. Why do you ask?
Of course they are HOPING to provoke and get some attention and press that way. Saves the ad budget you know
*snort* I totally missed the “tree musk”! Omg, I’m totally lol with tears! I don’t know why but that just hit my funny bone like a hammer. Images of Treebeard from “Lord of the Rings” being told to put on some deoderant when he lifts one of his branches. I know stupid, but I never said I had intellectual humor!
I agree with Merlin—whoever wrote the copy is pure evil-genius.
They ALL sound good….but not a single one from the Nez a Nez line was the least bit interesting. Betcha Luckyscent offers them in one of those little muslin drawstring bags in one of their specials.
Would I order one? nah, probably not….not after the Nez a Nez disappointment….and the price!! holy cow! 148E ≈ $200 for 60ml? 175E ≈$237 …..for that much they’d better be special.
Eight at once?
Sorry, but my eyes just glaze over.
yep—I start to get impatient around the notes of the fourth bottle…get to the end, get to the end…..by the time I DO get to the end I can’t recall which ones sounded the best. I think they’d do much better to give us a few weeks in between!
I actually tried all eight of them, last week, at Selfridges. The verdict? Don’t believe the hype. Fam was the most impressive but the drydown was a bit dubious.
Btw, the Eau Fine are in white bottles and the Parfum Nectar are in black-ish bottles. I don’t know… There seems to be a sudden trend in white bottles (Huitième Art, anyone?).
Asmar sounds really good to me, but everyone’s comments about Nez a Nez keep me on my toes.
When Dorian Grey meets Scheherezade? WTF? I’m with Daisy. I started to go cross eyed reading the guff, sorry, NOTES at about the fourth one. Too many. Too much.