Ameer Al Oudh
Lattafa

Lataffa Ameer Al Oud (2014) is an inexpensive synthetic oud done in the Western taste of being medicinal and woody rather than musky or animalic, but made by a value-oriented Middle-Eastern brand that began popping up in the early to mid 2010's. Lataffa has become the darling of YouTube reviewers, but mostly because they've sent a boatload of free stuff to pretty much any channel with over 100k subscribers, so this brand gets around more than some others in the same price point like Rasasi or Al Rehab. This particular budget oud seem to target the kind of people that would wear Yves Saint Laurent M7 (2002) or Nasomatto Black Afgano (2009), especially in the way it has a scratchy woody note with some sweetness like the former but with a bit of petrol patchouli vibe of the latter. Overall, this is a less-popular and less-sweet sibling to Lataffa Raghba (2014), which was released at the same time and goes a bit more animalic in the oud presentation. This review may seem a bit unenthusiastic but there really is not much more to say about the brand or the presentation, unless you have one of the earlier bottles with the nice leather surround, as this looks and smells the way you'd expect something like this from a brand like this. That said, I like Lataffa Ameer Al Oudh, but it's not something I'm foaming at the mouth to run out and buy either.

The opening has a rubbery medicinal oud accord wrapped in saffron and cinnamon. At first, there are some chocolatey hints like what you'd experience in a real oud distillation of a less-musky form (think something like Feel Oud), which is a clever bit of faking authenticity that actual Western brands doing this style don't even attempt, showcasing that even with synthetic ouds, perfume brands from the Middle East know their stuff. This richness comes to and end soon enough but the sweet spice stays, with something like a sugary ambery mix coming in behind the medicinal oud and backed with labdanum, vanilla, and some form of woodyamber note. My best guess is we're dealing with something like the "amberwoods" used in many Western perfumes from the 2010's, but used only as supporting players rather than becoming the de-facto smell in the dry down like your typical Armani flanker. At the end of it all, the medicinal oud and sugary amberwoods mixture joins with a bit of that petrol patchouli you find in Black Afgano, the one that tries to make the "hashish" accord in that scent, but rounded much more here in Ameer Al Oudh. Projection is monstrous and wear time is forever. Best time to use this would be basically whenever, because it doesn't really have a context outside of "damn he's wearing some pretty strong cologne", and I don't need to explain how that plays out.

Keeping it short and sweet, Lataffa Ameer Al Oudh scratches the itch for a relatively easy-wearing and affordable oud experience that give people used to the Tom Fords and Gucci ouds but without the pocket change an alternative that performs every bit as goood and arguably smells more interesting. If you're already a fan of Western oud cheapies like Bogar ONe Man Show Oud Edition (2014), this one could slide right on in next to it as a sweeter, rounder, more complex alternative, replacing that bit of barnyard skank found in the OMS Oud for saffron, vanilla, and amber. This for me is a statement fragrance, and one you can wear without affecting your bank statement, like most of the good old 80's powerhouses still sold at discount prices; a real "cologne guy" fragrance that offers maximum attention getting for your discount fragrance dollars. The fact that this is a synthetic oud coming from a place where they know real oud makes it even more easy to enjoy, like when an Italian giallo director remakes his own film with an American cast speaking English without the "spaghetti Western" de-synced overdub nightmare of classics like Suspiria or House by the Cemetary, at the cost of some charm. Nothing stupendous, but at the price it sells, there is something humorous and endearing about a Middle-Eastern synthetic Western-style oud. Thumbs up.

A beautiful and different oud. Very oriental of course, with a warm and spicy sweetness and the bitterness of saffron.

A mild Oud with cinnamon and cedar notes that is a gem for the price. Nothing skanky, but it does start off with a slight medicinal note. That medicinal vibe last for about 10 minutes or so until the wood kicks in. Great for the fall and winter. 8/10