Honey Oud
Floris (2014)

Honey Oud by Floris (2014) is the more-popular side of a coin shared with Floris Leather Oud (2014) released in the same year. Whereas Leather Oud is much drier and more about geranium and oud, Honey Oud is the sweeter, muskier, more conventionally rose-oud part of the duo; with vanilla and honey joining the ensemble, Honey Oud makes for the closest Floris would ever come to being fully within the "oud craze" trend many Western brands pursued into the 2010's. Now, Montale would also release Montale Honey Aoud (2015) on the heels of this here Floris, but it isn't a rip on it nor really anything like it, so the name is just coincidental. I find Floris Honey Oud to be far superior to the Montale offering, even though Montale has the greater track record overall with anything oud. My best comparison to those familiar with the genre would be some of By Killian's offerings or a few of the oddball ouds coming from Trish McEvoy or Lancôme from around this period, but better.

The opening is voluptuous honey, citrus, rose, and something almost pasty. Perhaps this is the way the labdanum is interacting with the rest of the composition, or maybe it's the somewhat chocolatey patchouli countering the vanilla. I'm no expert on reactions between materials, but Honey Oud nonetheless comes on smooth and sweet, then goes pasty, and finally musky but smooth, like all the usual phenolic tells of skanky barnyard oud have had their wrinkles ironed out so they fit like a brand-new zipper with the nicer bits. The sweetness is honestly much greater in the opening than in the drydown, where this stuff takes on something like Oud Satin Mood by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2015) quite handily, but will never be compared to it despite being more natural-smelling because Floris has no clout with TikTok influencers. Honey Oud is also much louder than your typical Floris, being louder than Leather Oud too, so a little bit of this goes a long way, astonishingly. Marketed for women by some outlets, this is officially unisex by the brand.

This is the closest thing any Floris in modern times has come to being wildly popular in the online fragrance community, because it has just enough name recognition (most people online are aware of Floris even if they haven't sampled any), and the right combination of big sweet musky rose oud notes to put it in runnings with all the usual suspects people go gaga over; and since it punches way above its own weight price-wise, ends up being what these guys get in place of something from By Killian, meaning that discounts are sadly not as heavy on Honey Oud as Leather Oud, or even other Floris fragrances. Online discounters sell a healthy amount of bottles not to need marking Honey Oud down much, and as a result it fetches designer retail prices, which is still cheaper than what Floris themselves want for it direct. If you bought either oud fragrance from them, it's almost $300 a take. For as much as I enjoy Honey Oud, if I had to pay that, I'd just stick with Montale. Thumbs up

Released alongside the magnificent Floris Leather Oud (which is one of the best modern leathers), Honey Oud borrows the same base but goes for something tamer, more versatile, and a bit more conventional in comparison: a honey-dipped floral-vanilla with a gentle, smoky-medicinal oud base.

The honey is bright and light, adding a unique, slightly funky edge to what might otherwise come across as just another rose-oud (nicely executed with some depth, but otherwise unoriginal).

In the air, it all blends together in a seamless floral and medicinal accord with a slightly chalky texture. It's unusual, but pleasant.

Not an all-timer, but nevertheless a reference fragrance for its particularly beautiful execution of honey.

Very nice and pleasant! I expected something dark and syrupy but instead was surprised with a nice light vanilla honey on a rose-musk, warm base. Clear cut bright honey notes in the opening and eventually it settles down to a very nice rose note that never gets soapy.

The longer I wore it the better the notes rounded out and the more I liked it. While it's definitely unisex, I can see myself wearing this more than my husband. Definitely a keeper!

Honey Oud - a modern release from the house of Floris. And a very nice smelling one!

The honey in this one provides with sweetness, which I like, but I think I'm having a harder time picking out the oud. Not that it matters, I get the idea of the fragrance. It's like a warm, sweet and ambery fragrance. But it also smells clean somehow. That makes it more versatile considering day or night time wearings. It's smooth enough to wear it at evenings but since it's more clean than stinky oud smelling it can be used in daytime as well. In fact, I even wore to the office today.

The performance is not above average. That might help with the versatility. You can wear it discretely and that is how I like it. Put on a couple of sprays more and I guess it will project. I have been wearing it from a sample which might make it harder to rate in terms of performance.

Maybe my favorite from Floris!

The Honey Oud opens with a distinct honey note, almost like sack mead, but already after a few minutes the oud and vanilla begin to dominate with a slight hint of rose and amber in the background. It starts off very original, but soon settles into a rather conventional (but elegant) vanilla, boozy rose and oud. After an hour, the boozy rose and a little oud is all that is remaining.

The base notes are fairly weak and both longevity and projection are average.

As clear as the name. A beautiful, strong but wearable honey, and oud. Sometimes I get the rose and think it's feminine. Sometimes I don't and I want my male friend to wear it. There's some saltiness in the dry-down.

I love it! I just don't know if I should wear it. No idea on how it projects. Longevity and sillage are both good.

EDIT a few hours later : There's a lot of sublime rose now! Definitely feminine. I keep it! Addictive.