Ideal Oud

Ideal Oud is the most classical of the ouds in the Mizensir range, because it pairs the oud with rose and saffron, a model deeply emblematic of traditional Arabian perfumery. But if it’s traditional, it’s because something about the marriage of these particular notes simply works: the animal sourness of the oud oil gaining sweetness from the rose, the leathery Iranian saffron lending a spicy gravitas to the florals, and so on. Everything is held in perfect balance: the Arabian “ideal”.

In Ideal Oud, Morillas innovates on the model in a couple of surprising ways. First, he adds a humid ylang, which moistens the dry, woody feel of the scent, giving it a lush, semi-tropical feel that works surprisingly well against the traditionally arid setting of the rose-oud. Second, he uses the inky dryness of papyrus to underline the medicinal facet of the saffron, tuning the scent more towards leather than wood. Every note in Ideal Oud is cleverly placed to provide counter-weight to another. The tart, peppery saffron lends a winey sparkle to the dusty woodiness of the oud, while two different kinds of roses – a winey Bulgarian rose and a fluffy, citrus-tinged rose de mai – contribute miles of plush floral depth. The dial turns from lightly sour to leathery to creamy, the rose-oud-saffron heart tilting in and out of the custardy lushness of ylang and bourbon vanilla. A knifepoint’s edge of papyrus gives the scent a lightly smoky feel in the base, as well as a papery texture. If you take your rose-ouds as dry and as sparkling as a glass of champagne, then be sure to put Ideal Oud on your test list.

Bulgarian rose, rose de mai, pink pepper, ylang-ylang, saffron, Laotian oud, bourbon vanilla, papyrus, labdanum