Ottoman Empire IV
Areej le Doré (2023)

OE4 is a rich, slightly stuffy at times, balsamic floral from Russian Adam. By stuffy I mean the florals which are mostly comprised of jammy Turkish Rose and a somewhat tropical Frangipani create a floral marmalade or jam of sorts spread out over sweet woodsy notes. There’s not much in the way of Oud but you do feel it’s presence throughout the wearing.

The rose is pretty dominant to my nose and there’s a slight chocolatey backbone with some spices thrown in the mix. The far drydown is really special though as it takes on a more masculine, clean ouddiness with a vintage flair.

To my nose this is very much a “sexy grandma” fragrance and I know people hate that word but all that comes to mind when I smell this is an older woman curating an art gallery showing in Old Town Scottsdale. I haven’t smelled any of the previous iterations of OE4 but I’m always surprised how different my experience is with these fragrances verse they expectations.

For example I expected this to be a rugged, masculine Oud dominant composition with a vintage flair or maybe the aroma of a Czar’s fur coat after a long battle with winter but instead it’s a tropical leaning, jammy fruity rose concoction. It’s sweet, balsamic and feminine leaning but still maintains that ALD edge.