• About
  • Login to comment
    • Bluesky
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Archives

Van Cleef & Arpels Precious Oud ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 28 March 2012 13 Comments

Van Cleef & Arpels Precious Oud

Van Cleef & Arpels launched Precious Oud last year; it’s part of the Collection Extraordinaire and was created to honor the “legendary ingredient, oud wood.” If I had been advising Van Cleef & Arpels on this fragrance, I would have suggested two alternate names for the perfume. Alternate Name No. 1: “Semi-Precious Oud.” Alternate Name No. 2: “Precious Little Oud.” My thought progression as I sniffed Precious Oud was: ‘So this is Precious Oud…Really?…No way!’

Though it bears the name “oud,” I don’t detect any oud in Precious Oud. Has the oud perfume trend degenerated to the point of simply including the word “oud” in a fragrance name and no longer worrying about having oud in the perfume? That’s pretty amusing, if it weren’t pathetic, too.

Perfumer Amandine Marie developed Precious Oud, and its listed notes include bergamot, pink pepper, incense, jasmine, tuberose, patchouli, sandalwood, oud, vetiver and ambergris.

Precious Oud goes on smelling sugary and creamy, like the scent of caramels (and not expensive caramels either, but the type you get in plastic bags from the drugstore). As Precious Oud develops, “flavorings” appear: vanillin liqueur, persistent/syrupy/too-sweet jasmine, patchouli-lite, and coconut (to approximate sandalwood?) As for “oud,” the only oud-ish scent in this concoction smells like a “fresh” fragrance note riding piggyback on white musk. Having just completed a rigorous spell of oud-perfume testing, Precious Oud fails the oud test.

With or without oud, Precious Oud smells bland, and it doesn’t fit in with the Collection Extraordinaire idea of exclusivity and luxury. To me, selling Precious Oud for $185 is outrageous.

Van Cleef & Arpels Precious Oud does not smell “unisex” (it’s a very feminine fragrance); it has very good lasting power and decent sillage. Precous Oud is available in 75 ml Eau de Parfum, $185.

Possibly of interest

Imaginary Authors Whispered Myths ~ fragrance review
Eric Buterbaugh Floral Oud Orange Flower & Floral Oud Lily of the Valley ~ fragrance review with an aside on luxury
The Different Company Oud Shamash & Oud For Love ~ fragrance reviews & a quick oud poll

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: amandine marie, collection extraordinaire, oud, van cleef arpels

Advertisement


13 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. ladymurasaki says:
    28 March 2012 at 3:33 pm

    Thanks for the review Kevin. They sound like a no-no for me. I suppose some people will like them considering the fact that they were given the green-flad in focus group trials, etc.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      28 March 2012 at 7:28 pm

      Lady M: I’m trying to imagine a Paris focus group! HA!

      Log in to Reply
  2. Omega says:
    28 March 2012 at 3:44 pm

    Haven’t tried any from VC&A…would like to though.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      28 March 2012 at 7:29 pm

      Omega: so far, none of them have blown me away.

      Log in to Reply
  3. Jared says:
    28 March 2012 at 5:06 pm

    I felt the same way about Creed’s oud offering. Having smelled a sample and mistaking it for Chanel’s Allure Homme, I cannot help but think of the outrages price tag for such a travesty. Well said, too – the idea of the oud trend degenerating into it’s presence on the label and nowhere else.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      28 March 2012 at 7:30 pm

      Jared: agree on the Creed!

      Log in to Reply
  4. Tama says:
    28 March 2012 at 6:01 pm

    This seems to be popular with folks who don’t like or are scared of oud. Sounds like they needed to jump on the bandwagon, but didn’t know what they were doing.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      28 March 2012 at 7:30 pm

      Tama — thus: Oud on the label suffices!

      Log in to Reply
    • nozknoz says:
      28 March 2012 at 9:03 pm

      You’ve hit the nail on the head, Tama!

      Log in to Reply
  5. mals86 says:
    28 March 2012 at 9:37 pm

    “Precious Little Oud”! I love it.

    I think someone told me that this one was a good substitute for the lovely & discontinued Tom Ford BLack Orchid Voile de Fleur. I said, are you SURE? and she said Yep, big white floral. Huh.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      28 March 2012 at 10:09 pm

      Mals: sorry I can’t help…never smelled that Tom Ford fragrance!

      Log in to Reply
  6. mitsouko says:
    29 March 2012 at 10:15 am

    Got a sample but haven’t bothered to try it yet…..
    EVERYONE is doing Oud .

    Log in to Reply
  7. Rappleyea says:
    29 March 2012 at 10:42 am

    None of the VCA fragrances have worked for me, so I won’t be trying this one. It sounds like more of the dumbing down and sweetening up of perfumes. No thanks!

    But thanks for the review and taking one for the team. 🙂

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

15 March ~ swapmeet

3 April ~ damage poll
26 April ~ splitmeet

3 May ~ spring reading poll
17 May ~ Haiku challenge!

 

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2025 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.