The Aoud by Mancera

Hi there Posse! Today I’m going to go with a fragrance gifted to me by one of my besties, Alice, way back in 2012 or 2013. She had been home to England and gone to Selfridge & Co to search me out a brand new scent, hopefully from a company I’d not heard of or written about. It was all to be a big surprise. WHAT a surprise!!

The Aoud by Mancera

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Clove, White pepper, Cinnamon
Heart: Geranium leaf, Rose, Saffron
Base: Leather, Oud, Smoky woods, Sandalwood, White musk, Cedar

The 60ml bottle is hefty and simple. Fits beautifully in my hand and the screw cap is a nice touch; meaning the bottle is gym bag ready without the worry of cap loss.

I love the opening medicinal notes. The oudh is noticeable right at the start as a warm, earthy, horse apple, green and grassy waft that lasts through the fragrance but it’s not toxic or heavy like many of the Arabian style of oudh. It is airy and fresh. The geranium adding a bright counterpoint and the sandalwood giving its buttery smoothness almost immediately. Oudh, geranium and sandalwood are triumphant kings through the story of this fragrance for me, their characters working in tandem and against each other to keep The Aoud interesting and unusual.

Though rose is a featured note it doesn’t play heavily for me, more a light accompaniment with the leather, saffron and incense. Through the heart there is a lovely salty beach/sea water smell that I think may be The Aoud’s ambergris.

A fragrance of light and shade. Far from cliched; even with the completely overwhelming amount of oudh on the market this is different and extremely wearable. The Aoud has good sillage but is not a skunker unless you are extremely lavish with your application.Especially after the initial fireworks die down.

The Aoud by Mancera has the kind of freshness about it that makes me think of a sea journey and the ever present smell of salt water on the cool breeze, but on the deck it would be all warm woods and leather seats.

Surrender To Chance has a range of Mancera Samples.

So what is your Oudh?

Portia xx

 

 

 

Portia also writes for Australian Perfume Junkies

  • matty1649 says:

    I’ve not been a fan of Oud, it’s a bit too heavy for my taste.

    • Portia says:

      Hopefully one day you will get your sniff on one of the fragtrances done with a very light touch of oudh Matty, with some florals as the mainstay of the story. Maybe that will become your gateway?
      Portia xx

  • Brigitte says:

    Berdoues Grand Cru Collection Oud Al Sarrhaa which is a jammy rose mhyrr number to my nose…..an oud for wimps like me. But I did have a decant of MdO Oud which I really enjoyed. Today I am wearing Flux de Fleur which is gorgeous and my guess is has a bit of our in it?

    • Brigitte says:

      Oud. Blasted auto correct!!

    • Portia says:

      Hey Brigitte,
      I love the rose/oud combo. It’s such a perfect set. There are a few of them around here. Oud Ispahan, Midnight Oud, Yves Rocher Rose Oud and more.
      Portia xx

      • Brigitte says:

        Ha! you just reminded me of another one I like…Jo Malone Velvet Rose and Oud.

        • Portia says:

          OOOOH! Is it as cheer and ephemeral as most of the rest of the line Brigitte?
          Maybe Matty might like to find herself some of this to sniff?
          Portia x

  • Maya says:

    I got a chuckle out of your question since I’m not a fan of oudh. It did make me think. I love Areej Le Dore Indolis. It’s beautiful and the oudh is very subtle. I kept thinking that there was another fragrance too and it hit me while I was typing. Ex Idolo Thirty-Three. Many people say, *been there, done that* (rose-oudh) about it, but it really works for me and puts a smile on my face.

    • Portia says:

      Hi there Maya,
      HA! Yeah, it’s funny how polarising oudh is. Imagine if we all turned on bergamot or jasmine? Weird that something inspires such loathing and love.
      Every fragrance is different, and they all work magic when in contact with our skin and that byplay can result in someone else meh being your holy grail. Don’t listen to the haters, wear what you love.
      Isn’t that Are la Dore a total skank fest?
      Portia xx

  • Musette says:

    Like so many others on here, I never really had an Oudh Phase. Oudh is so polarizing, I think, in part because ERRYBODY and their mama jumped on that bandwagon and …well, there were some cackhanded oudhs out there. For my 2 cents, I think they do best (FOR ME, YMMV) in a jammy, rosy blend.

    Do love some ambergris, in moderation!

    xoxoxo

    • Portia says:

      Hey Musette,
      Yeah, there was some shit product being flogged , still is. That dark, woodsy, oud mix that became ubiquitous for a while. It was enough to turn people off. We have some oud fields in Australia now, they are doing some very pretty floral oudhs.
      AMBERGRIS! Yum. Never too much.
      Portia xx

  • Tara says:

    What a cool thing of Alice to do. Not easy to buy for a perfume junkie.
    I loved By Kilian’s Rose Oud back in the day. Actually I should hunt out my decant and try it in the heat.
    Today the only frag I love that has oud is Santal Nabatea by Mona di Orio.
    Have you tried the one by Dusita? It’s FILTH.

    • Portia says:

      Well, you’ve met Alice Tara. She’s fearless, even in the face of unbeatable odds.
      Santal Nabatea by Mona di Orio is on my radar. Loads of people whose noses I revere have sung its praises highly.
      HA! Aren’t all the Dust fragrances fairly naughty?
      Portia xx

  • Kathleen says:

    No oudh’s For me! I went through an oudh sampling phase, and although I appreciated the perfumer’s work, oudh’s were never for me as a personal perfume choice.

    • Portia says:

      Clearly not our regular readers and commenters note of choice Kathleen,
      Oh well, there’s so much else.
      Portia xx

  • MMKinPA says:

    I never had an oudh phase! I have sampled, but mostly things that came to me in swaps or giveaways (so never a researched choice) and I found everything so heavy. I’m sure there is one out there I would enjoy but I haven’t felt compelled to seek it out.

    • Portia says:

      Hiya MMKinPA,
      Yes, oudh can be a very dense note, and completely dominate a fragrance. If you don’t like it most of the offerings will make you gasp.
      Portia xx

  • Tara C says:

    I went through an oud phase but it’s completely over and I’ve sold nearly all of them off. The only one I’m enjoying lately is Hermes Agar Ébène which is a light and airy take on the note.

    • Portia says:

      AHHH TaraC,
      Agar Ébène is so good. I’ve not written about it yet but there’s a 15ml around here somewhere. Thanks for the reminder.
      Portia xx