I guess it's not surprising that
Francis Kurkdjian decided (or was persuaded?) to release more agar wood perfumes. His
Oud was easily one of the best scents of 2012 and a genuinely original take on what has become a tiresome cliche. Sadly, his
Oud Mood trio is less impressive.
Silk,
Velvet and
Cashmere aren't cuddly - I will give them that much - but they're nowhere near as interesting as last year's release. The eponymous mood in each of them is created by a combo of an agar facet with an overdose of a strident chemical note: in
Velvet it's paint, in
Silk it's glass cleaner and in
Cashmere it's glue. Needless to say, other elements come into play too - plums, raisins, rose, smoke, tar et al - but even though they're all strident and assertive, they ultimately fail to sustain interest. I'm sure there are still several great oud-based scents waiting to be made, but until they come along, I suppose we're going to have to keep putting up with this sort of highly-competent-yet-forgettable stuff.
[Review based on samples of extrait de parfum provided by Maison Francis Kurkdjian in 2013.]
Persolaise.
