Lancôme has launched L’Autre Oud, a new unisex spicy woods fragrance inspired by a journey to the gates of Arabia.
L’Autre Oud was developed by perfumer Christophe Raynaud; notes include saffron, clary sage, rose, amyris, gurjum balm, myrrh, gaiac wood, patchouli, vetiver, cypriol, oud accord and cistus labdanum.
Lancôme L’Autre Oud is available in 75 ml Eau de Parfum, €120.
Is Oud the new Calone?
To my knowledge, there were never perfumes with Calone in the name, so to me it has already taken that sort of trendiness to a new level. In fact, offhand cannot think of a single raw material, synthetic or natural, that has ever been this “in”.
Terrible name. “The Other Oud” is the best they could come up with? Although I must admit, it sounds better in French! Having never warmed to oud myself , this addition is of no interest to me.
Agree on both counts — stupid name, sounds fine in French.
I’d have liked The Outre Oud, myself. 😉 I like anything that’s “out there”. lol
Actually, it doesn’t sound better in French. It’s tricky. It can be pronounced L’Autr’Oud, not sounding the ‘e’ at all or L’Autre Oud, sounding the ‘e’ with a tiny hiatus between the two words. I haven’t decided yet which sounds better. Both pronunciations are awkward.
What I meant is that it sounds better to me in French — like most perfume names! — because I don’t speak French. When I read the name in French, it has virtually no meaning unless I consciously translate. Thus, like many other names that would sound ridiculous to me if they’d used the English, it sounds vaguely romantic rather than utterly stupid.
Perhaps the next flanker can be “Encore un Autre Oud”… followed by “J’en ai Marre de l’Oud.” 😉
I think the name is rather amusing. I can imagine some sort of “Who’s on First” scenario if someone tried to ask for it in a boutique…
“Is this the oud you wanted to try, Madame?”
“No, I want The Other Oud.”
“Which other oud?”
“The Other Oud!”
Oud’s on first?
you’re on to something here. tuck it away for the prix eau faux contest. 🙂
I’m ouded-out, l’autre or not. But a different look for Lancome. I’d be surprised if it ever made it to my crummy Macy’s.
I have no idea what the planned distribution is, but I’m assuming I’ll never see it either.
I’ve only seen that Estee Lauder oud online, never in a store. Probably and judging by the price, this will be the same.
Lancome, Lauder, and Mugler all must have shared marketing research regrading what bottle design appeals in the MidEast market.
Daft looking.
For some reason a French giant like Lancome naming their foray into the Middle Eastern market “L’Autre” suggests some weird colonialist vibe.
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
It doesn’t. L’Autre Oud just means The Other Oud, not The Oud of The Other. No such vibe at all.
Yes I know, but it also sounds like a flanker, like the Oud version of an original scent called ‘L’Autre.’ The way in Hello Kitty Oud, the Oud modifies Hello Kitty and not the other way around. It sounds like “L’Autre: Oud,” in perfume-naming parlance.
I agree with everyone, but I like the look of the bottle and would like to see it in person.
My interest is piqued. The last several releases from Lancome have been anywhere from bland to noxious for me, but this sounds the most promising in years. I do hope distribution is wide. I haven’t heard that this is an exclusive or geared to a certain market.
Spicy woods are my thing and I do like the bottle, but I’ve never liked any Lancome fragrance I’ve tried.
Me too. There can never be too many ouds, I love them. I’ll take oud over pink peppercorn or rose any day, just me. But there is something about Lancome frag chemistry that does not agree w/ mine.
Basia,
Have you tried Sikkim by Lancome? Beautiful bone dry leather.
This sounds beautiful and hits all the right notes for me (hell-o vetiver, patchouli, cystus, oud and labdanum). I wasn’t enamoured by their last release, but will def. have to try this one!
I’m afraid “oud accord” implies some nasty synthetic wood blend, not quality, true oud. I also dislike de-clawed ouds of all kinds. I do love the bottle!
Robin, I heard it directly from a top exec at L’Oreal (the parent company of Lancome) that since Oud is always equated with Arabia, Lancome wanted this Oud to be a combination of wood essences and other spices from the Far East (Thailand, India etc.)
The gold imprint on the bottle is that of the door of the Lancome main headquarters on the Faubourg Saint Honore’ in Paris ( I guess 29 Faubourg was too risky from a legal perspective so they captured the door this time!).
So in a nutshell the name “L’autre Oud” is a bit justified to suggest that it’s not an Arabian oud this time.
I’m not impressed, just trying to clarify…
Thanks!
I want to see that bottle in person. Probably never will though. 🙁
Judging from the picture, looks like it’s the same bottle they used for the re-releases of O Oui, Climat, Miracle Homme …with golden paintings on it
MCocteau, sounds like an easy and efficient way to streamline costs, make all the bottles the same.
The bottle is very un-Lancome.