Oud For Greatness is a very long-lasting perfume with 12+ hours of longevity and around 3 hours of great projection. It doesn’t take long for the oud to come through. Any oud fragrance, especially a relatively pricey niche one, inevitably leads to the question: but is it real oud? The brand claims to use both natural oud wood and agar wood oil in this composition.

But what is really frightening is how precisely and accommodatingly the fragrance Oud for Greatness performs this tightrope act.Many reported that Oud For Greatness smells very similar to Baccarat Rouge 540 because it also contains the dominant note of the saffron but I personally would never say that these two fragrances smell similar. Yes, they both contain saffron in their opening, but the structure and the vibe are totally different. Proof of that is that some say that this fragrance smells like a more expensive Baccarat Rouge 540, while others say that it smells like a cheaper version of Baccarat Rouge 540. If they did use real oud, I wish they used a bit bigger concentration as that would most certainly give Oud For Greatness on heaviness. On the other hand, if they used aroma chemicals, they most certainly did an amazing job in blending it to the point where it can’t be figured out not even by the experts. The fragrance begins in the first second with a very abstract sweetness. One could say it is the smell of sugar in its pure form. It is as if every particle has been taken out of the sugar until only fibres can be recognised, which consist of nothing but messenger substances that create a feeling of happiness in us. There is little room for interpretation and associations are categorically rejected by the sensation. It is almost as if the reaction is the only indication that something can actually be smelled. It is this sweetness that gives the fragrance a beguiling character: It arouses curiosity, it fills; it is addictive. Immediately afterwards, the oud joins in with all the other scents that support the overall work. As I already mentioned, Oud For Greatness can be very easily over-applied and if it happens, well, things can get pretty nasty. Because of the intensity, too many sprays will cause the fragrance to become aggressive, too pushy, and even offensive. The bottle also has a rubberized feel to it and also contains the “sign of Illuminati” or should I say “golden eye ornament” and it looks phenomenal. The cap also has Initio’s name on it and the atomizer does a good job.

As someone who smelled natural oud multiple times and the fact that I have a 100% natural oud oil in my collection, I personally wasn’t able to detect and verify they used real oud. A maximum of 4 to 5 sprays of Oud For Greatness is more than enough for achieving optimal performance. As this is a very potent perfume, make sure not to overapply it. Oud as a note has a very unique scent and it dries down like no other note. It’s difficult to describe it because it’s a matter of feeling, not just a description of the scent. The oud is woody and very fine, not a trace of animalistic and the smoky character it gets only in the later course. But there is always only one nuance and the smoky character never drowns out the woody part of the oud. There is a certain depth, or rather another layer, given to the fragrance by the oud, with the ostentatious sweetness providing the base note and the rest filling in the highs. The lavender provides a balanced freshness and nutmeg adds a bit of pep, so the fragrance finally becomes a bit more tangible, and they not only make the overall picture a bit more fruity in combination with the sweetness, but with the patchouli-musk base they also take responsibility for the masculine vein that is inherent in the fragrance. It should be mentioned that no note plays by itself, but all notes are well coordinated with each other. That makes all the notes individually recognizable, but if you concentrate on something else, even for a split second, the boundaries blur again and everything becomes one. After a few hours the oud gives way and becomes smokier and smokier, the patchouli takes up more space for itself and slowly comes to the fore, but without completely displacing the oud. As a result, the fragrance becomes increasingly velvety and grainy as time goes by, until it reaches the base note, which is surprisingly much more classic than the top note would have suggested. Once you get to the base note, the fragrance has shed its fruity character and appears somewhat drier and spicy, perhaps even a bit leathery. The oud no longer steams, the freshness fades away and it gets a bit cooler. One is left with a still image that doesn't change much in the picture, but only decreases in intensity. The projection also works great — I get around 3 hours of projection and after that, the scent sits closer to the skin but it’s still detectable. I know that for some people it can be a red flag but with the longevity being so great, it’s hard not to make a compromise.

#Product Details#

Less costly but just as good on the designer side, there’s Chopard Oud Malaki EDP, Gucci Intense Oud EDP and Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir EDP to sniff out. For the record, none of these contain real oud but they still capture its beauty using synthetic and natural materials. Personally, I do not find Oud For Greatness as an aggressive and in-your-face type of fragrance. Yes, it is strong and it leaves a powerful impression, but it still smells sexy and rich. When To Wear Oud For Greatness?

Unfortunately, no. Oud For Greatness is not the best oud fragrance. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good, it just means that there are a lot better oud-based fragrances out there.In my personal opinion, for a fragrance to be called the best oud fragrance, all the magic, power, and “colors” of oud need to be presented — it has to be a story about the oud, not a story where oud serves as a tool to bring it up. At the end of the day, this truly is a beautiful fragrance many will enjoy, and it’s best if you manage to tie it to memory — gifting it for a special occasion to your someone. It’s part of our best winter fragrances for men in the 2021 list, and it truly is among the best ones out there. I usually wear it during night-time, for dinner dates, or for drinks with my friends, but it can be wearable during the daytime as well. It comes with a slipcover wrapped around the box and it contains the name and the concentration of the fragrance, the brand name, and one, very interesting, designer, goldish detail that reminds many people of the sign of the Illuminati. Weird, right? However, it does look luxurious. The good thing is that you pull this cloud a long way behind you and it is big. After 12h I was asked about it. You can only get it out of your clothes by washing them.