Rose Oudh
Henry Jacques (2010)

Rose Oudh draws upon the power of geranium to fuel the full-bodied rosiness of the composition. Geranium also lops in a minty-herbaceous tingle, the bitterness of citrus peel, and a shiny boot polish note. Violet leaf sharpens the opening to a knife point. It smells rather like blood, varnish, and rose petals ripped from a thorny rose bush, lending the perfume an angry, even hostile edge. Saffron dominates in the far reaches, whittling the rosy geranium until it becomes a rose-oud in the style of By Kilian’s Rose Oud, minus the soft lokhoum note to ease you in. Bitter honey adds an animalic flavor but no sweetness or thickness. This is the sort of accord that fits with my idea of ‘haute couture’ Arabian perfumery – angular and uncompromising, a jutting chin chiseled in granite.