This is an interesting fragrance. Strangely, the only others in my experience that I can compare this with happen to have "Oud" in their names. This one claims no oud, but yet there is something about its combination of cedar/sandalwood, leather and rose that really evokes a clean, modern oud style. Curious, which one? You’ll find near the end of this review. Bottomline: Or Encens is a golden creation, indeed, The Golden. It does indeed smell like Armani Rose d'Arabie & Penhaligon's Cairo. The same oriental, rosey scent. I have Rose d'Arabie but I prefer Or Encens because of the more dominant incense note that makes it woodier and more masculine. All 3 are still amazing fragrances.

As the very long-lived, rose-heavy opening fades into its base, Or Encens takes quite a turn -- rose and leather give way to a brighter and almost effervescent cedar/pink pepper, combined with a spicy accord that takes it right into Creed Royal Oud territory. Wow! Beneath that joint accord, there's a sturdy but very pleasant leather. It manages to avoid both the raspy, herbal "russian" type leather and the weird, bodily leather of Gucci Guilty Intense, without getting soft enough to come off as suede. I am from Saudi Arabia, so I'd like to think that I know a thing or two about Oriental perfumes and this is definitely one, and although beautiful, it's not unique by any stretch of the imagination. It’s primarily rose + incense + sandalwood. The rose is prominent right out of the gate (if you dislike rose in perfumery, this is not the scent for you!) and I read it as jammy, tinged with what I feel are nuances of raspberries, but no more than a tiny bit sweet, and feels dark, as opposed to being pink and lighthearted. The incense gives the fragrance a lemony, yet lightly smoky lift and the entire thing is grounded by a gentle, modern woody amber and sandalwood. The rose never completely fades away, as one can sense it clearly, even as it it moves through all its scene changes and dries down.Blind buy: if you are under 30 just don't even bother, this is dark stuff for "mature" men, not a playful or sexy scent, but rather a classy upscale one, still better to test first, although beautiful this is an acquired taste that is not for everyone.

Thinking across all designers - is there a house who has had better releases than issey miyake over the last few years? The are making a strong argument for best designer house, in my opinion.Overall Smell: 7/10 -- Or Encens was more hype that reality for me and wasn't as unique smelling as anticipated. 🤣 Pour Homme Or Encens is like the tune of RED SPECIAL Guitar of Mr Brian May, while playing A Kind of Magic, in spotlight on entirely dark stage." Now if I'm being honest, I am not a huge fan of rose in men's fragrances -- but there is something about Or Encens that is extremely intriguing and not the least bit bothersome to me. I'm not certain I like it better than Royal Oud, but I do think this one smells even more "luxe" than the Creed does. As others have stated Or Encens is probably best suited for days or nights, during the fall and winter weather. However, I can see wearing Or Encens during the cooler spring weather as well. Due to the fragrances wearing a tad bit thin. Women that enjoy dark/resinous/incense focused fragrances could easily wear Or Encens. Despite Or Encens being more masculine leaning and focused. Fragheads and guys 35+ with seasoned noses will likely be more inclined to enjoy Or Encens -- as the fragrances doesn't have the "sweet/fresh/playful/blue" mainstream mass appeal.

Performance for Or Encens is best described as average. I suspect most people will yield 6 decent hours. After which, the fragrance will begin to sit very close to the skin and fade away. In the event you're curious the batch number I have is 8113EM which has a production date of 2018-04-23 not sure if the 2017 batches of Or Encens has better performance and projection.First act is opening that goes through sceens of magical transmutation, it is magical floralo~fruity play of shift change through olfactory resiny prism. First act is loud in projection. Overall, it’s robust but fairly agreeable as resinous fragrances go, and I could easily see it being a cold weather unisex staple, though it is of course part of the men’s collection. While 90% of Oriental perfumes are unisex by virtue of their notes, this is purely masculine, classy and for me, only for men over the age of 35, kudos to any woman who can pull it off but that would be really, really difficult in my opinion.

It's very rose-forward. On my first wear I found the rose too much, but over time the jammy rose just morphs seamlessly into the soft, clean, powdery incense, so that they are almost indistinguishable.It is a challenge but most times, truly hit or miss. Worth the money or total wastes. Or Encens is an example of a box office hit for me. Strong opening, less is more as once abused, it is lethal and offensive. Yes, beast mode in projection and scent trail. Definitely a summer villain and your darling to make you go cozy over winter/windchill/cold snap. But if you exceed 3 sprays, your dead to the noses near you. Be careful. Spray 30 minutes before you head out. Remember Interlude, A*Men, Dior Homme Parfum, Ambrarem, Sauvage, Le Male, 1 Million, CDNIM, Prada L’Homme Intense and other outright beasts?