Sampling oud oils and animalics - Fragrance Updates ep19

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[00:00:03]Welcome back. I'm not really sure what sort of format this is because it's brand new. As you can obviously see, I have Luke with me. He came to visit. And today we're going to be not necessarily unboxing, but we're going to be sampling something completely new. So just to give you a little bit of context, Russian Adam, the perfumer and brand owner behind the brand Ariel, which is artisal, very well-known, decided to send me some oud samples. He's apparently a huge fan of my videos and he saw that I was getting into oud and he sent me a ton of his oud samples, which are very, very exclusive, very expensive, for me to take in. And I didn't want to do this alone because sampling stuff like this is already weird in itself. And also because down the road I want to have Russian Adam, as he generously offered his availability to on Frag Talk. And so today I'm going to be doing it with Luke. We're going to be sampling everything that he sent.

[00:01:02]We're going to go through these in a bit. And then I'm going to be giving my samples to Mo and Exxons. He's going to take them home. He's going to sample them himself. And then ultimately, yeah, we're going to have Russian Adam on Frag Talk to talk everything about and whatever else he fancies. So with Luke, first of all, welcome.

[00:01:23]>> It's always a pleasure to have you on.

[00:01:25]And today we're in a well lit studio.

[00:01:27]>> Mhm.

[00:01:28]>> Yeah. Absolutely.

[00:01:29]>> Wellish lit because again, this place is tiny and it's not really meant to be lighting two people, but it's okay. Let me go through what Russian Adam sent because he sent these two main packages and then he sent two unnamed fragrances which I really appreciate and in my head I designed this whole episode to kind of flow in a certain way. We're going to be sampling firstly the oud samples which are in here which are a ton. They're probably like 15 or even 20 very very small. We're going to basically sniff them from the vial. I think it's actually pure oud oil. Some of them are actually very very expensive. I'll show you guys in a bit. And then in here in this red bag, he has basically given me 10% dilutions of popular animalics. So there's, there's sevet, there's castorum, and possibly something else, maybe deer musk. Yeah. And then lastly, he sent me graciously two decants of two of his fragrances. These are completely unlabeled. I have no idea what these are, but the idea is that we're going to be sampling the ooze. We're going to be sampling the animalics, and then we're going to get back to these and see how Russian Adam kind of uh combines everything and to see if we grasp what makes artisal perfumemerate so special and so alluring. Anyway, let's get right into here. And we have a ton of these little things here. Let me show the camera quick. They're these tiny oud samples. And they're labeled with a number. And they're labeled because again this was in the foresight that Russian Adam would come onto the channel and explain what each of these is. So he could be like number 15 is this thing here that comes from this place etc etc. So we have one which is called Maropino.

[00:03:15]Again I'm just reading the label here. I have no idea. Then there's one is Cambodi dukana maro alazad taiwan aged. This is absolutely awesome.

[00:03:28]By the way, I feel so very privileged.

[00:03:30]This is Laos Blue Cheese. And it says that this one here is $100, I'm assuming, per gram.

[00:03:39]Then there's Oud Aisha, Patani Thai, Sumatra Breeze. This one here is $1,800, I'm assuming, again, per gram. So crazy expensive stuff.

[00:03:57]This one is Kenam Firewood.

[00:04:00]Again, we're going to be repeating all of these once we go through them, but I just want to give you an overview.

[00:04:06]Beautiful little bags, by the way. Then we have Cambodi Porsat, Sweet Assam.

[00:04:15]I kind of feel uh Luke's eyes just kind of rolling because it's like so much stuff. Maybe it's like more than you expected.

[00:04:22]>> Assam intense.

[00:04:25]So, here's the thing. I didn't really look at all of these. I thought it was less. In my mind, we were going to rank these, but I don't think the ranking is going to happen. It's just like >> too intense, too different.

[00:04:36]>> So, I think that the goal from this video is not only to get our first impressions on these various particular ouds, but also maybe to decide which is the one that we like the most >> straight up and how they compare. Maybe like the various notes if we can't pick up any difference. We're going into this from a relatively experienced point of view in the sense that we smelled a lot of fragrances, but when it comes to pure oud, I'm a complete novice.

[00:04:59]>> Yeah. So am I. So am I.

[00:05:00]>> So Oud Taiwan Noir, Burma SQ, Ken Bloom.

[00:05:09]So many. Cambodi SQ80s. I'm assuming this is from the 80s.

[00:05:17]Burma on fire. And last but not least, sinking dust. Very, very interesting, man. There's a ton.

[00:05:25]>> There's a lot.

[00:05:26]>> A lot. Yes. So, the good news is that when you sample these sort of ingredients, your nose doesn't really get that fatigued because there's no real aroma chemical to push the compound. Nothing that is blasting your nose. So, it's way more of a gentle experience in general. And I can attest to that because I've sampled um basically a whole Giant Discovery set of Bartnikov. It was like 20 plus fragrances and I was still fine.

[00:05:50]>> And sometimes I smell other stuff. For example, the Aaron Terrence Hughes you gave me.

[00:05:53]>> Yes.

[00:05:54]>> And it was like I don't it was still a lot like 11 or 13 or something like that. But my nose was destroyed after all of those.

[00:06:01]>> In here we have um as I said before these are animalics. So this one here is deer musk 10%.

[00:06:09]This one is cvet tincture 2%. I'm assuming it's because it's very pungent.

[00:06:17]Then we have Amberree absolute 10%.

[00:06:20]And last but not least, Castorium absolute 10%. Again, I'm so happy that I have this opportunity because it's super cool. And uh kudos to Russian Adam.

[00:06:31]Thank you so much for this whole thing.

[00:06:33]It's amazing. I love it. I love just exploring and broadening the horizons.

[00:06:37]Maybe because, you know, maybe we find that Kinam Firewood, I just randomly picked this up, is something so memorable that we're going to be able to identify it in fragrances, right?

[00:06:47]>> Maybe. Yes.

[00:06:48]>> So, in no particular order, uh, let's get into it. Do you want to do the animalics first or do you want to do the oud first?

[00:06:56]>> Um, I I think the oud first, maybe.

[00:06:59]>> All right. So, number 10. This is mostly for Russian atom for reference. This one here is Burma on fire. Again, these are absolutely microscopic samples for obvious reasons. This is a lot of money here. And some of these are very, very expensive. So, we're going to try to make the best out of it. And just to give you a better idea of how much is in here, I don't I'm not really sure if you can see it, but it's barely coating the inside of the thing.

[00:07:28]>> So, we might want to test these as we just uncap the thing and smell it and see if it works. If we're really enthusiastic, we can shove a strip in there or something like that.

[00:07:38]>> So again, this one here is number 10.

[00:07:41]Burma on fire.

[00:07:46]>> Do you know anything about Burma?

[00:07:48]Burmese Burmese stuff.

[00:07:50]>> No, no, I don't know anything about that.

[00:07:53]>> Very interesting. And trust me, it might not seem like much, but it's enough. So, how would you describe this in a few words? Let's try to break it down because otherwise it's all oud, right?

[00:08:04]>> Yes.

[00:08:04]>> This is clearly oud.

[00:08:06]>> It's Yes, it's clearly oud. It's a >> For me, it's quite smoky.

[00:08:10]>> Honestly, I don't really get a lot of uh barnyardiness from this, right? It's more like smoky wood.

[00:08:16]>> It's smoky. Yeah, I would say it's a bit like reinous as well.

[00:08:19]>> Yeah.

[00:08:20]>> Um I have like this sticky texture in mind. Is it me or there's like some something also like um like peppery like spicy almost like minty?

[00:08:32]>> You know what I'm talking about?

[00:08:34]>> Yeah.

[00:08:36]No. No. It's definitely not you. So, first of all, for those not in the know, oud, natural oud is one of the more complex smells out there. It's not a simple smell. It's not like vanilla.

[00:08:47]Although vanilla can also be complex, but this stuff here has layers upon layers to explore.

[00:08:54]And yes, you're totally right. This one here has this burntness, but it's almost going in the backbone now. It almost feels like it's >> green.

[00:09:04]>> Yes, there's a greenness in the somewhere.

[00:09:07]>> It's so strange because when I first smelled it, I was like, "Smoke."

[00:09:09]>> Yes. Yes. Me too. Me too.

[00:09:11]>> And now it's more the balsamic like mentilated green aspect. Right.

[00:09:17]This is kind of reminding me of the oud in something like Udzuhal by Ammoage. The Udzuhal in Ammoage, I already talked about this in my unboxing, is not a barnyardy oud. It's more of a smoky mushroomy oud. This is uh it's going to be quite overwhelming possibly because again, we're going to be smelling a lot of ouds that are very complex.

[00:09:39]>> All right, so again, we don't have any judgment on this, but let's try to say if we like it more than the previous or not. Let's try to like >> rank them in that sense. All right. So, let's go for Kenam Firewood. And by the way, Russian atom reference. This one here is number 12.

[00:09:55]>> So, maybe we can expect also something smoky on this one. Both are refer. Yeah, I I'm assuming that the names are not random, right?

[00:10:13]It's similar to the other one. I think that it's less green upon first impressions.

[00:10:20]>> Still not barnyardy.

[00:10:21]>> Okay. Yes.

[00:10:22]>> It still doesn't feel fermented in that way.

[00:10:24]>> You would say that it's less green than the previous one. I would say it's a bit more green. More green.

[00:10:29]>> Yes. more more green in the sense like herbaceious, you know, a bit more like a medicine sort of uh but yeah, you're right.

[00:10:44]Yeah, there is a little bit of this um how to describe it. It's almost like a cough drop. I've been having a cold lately. I'm having this cold and it almost reminds me of the smell of like the nose spray.

[00:10:59]>> Oh yes. Yes. Now that you mentioned that >> has a little bit of this um >> cough drop.

[00:11:05]>> Mhm. Mhm.

[00:11:07]Some kind of freshness >> like eucalyptus or something like that, right?

[00:11:10]>> Yes. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:11:13]>> It's not too crazy dissimilar from the other one.

[00:11:15]>> No, no, no, no. They are in the symbol.

[00:11:17]That's for sure. Yes.

[00:11:18]>> Which one do you like more?

[00:11:20]>> M I think this one actually.

[00:11:22]>> Yeah, I think so, too. less smokeoky.

[00:11:24]It's I would say it's more wearable as it is.

[00:11:27]>> All right, let's close this up. This is super cool. I mean, this oil here will stick around for a while. So, opening this little thing up, it's like a kind of like a little time capsule thingy.

[00:11:38]>> Mhm.

[00:11:38]>> All right. Uh, next one is Oud Aisha, number eight, Russian atom.

[00:11:47]>> Let's see. Oud Aisha. Do you expect this to be maybe more Asian? I mean, they're all kind of Asian, right? Oud is an Asian thing.

[00:11:55]>> I I imagine it to be a bit softer, a bit uh less rough.

[00:12:03]>> It is softer, actually. But it's But I'll let you decide. I mean, to me, it's very It's much more floral.

[00:12:10]>> No. Yes. Yes.

[00:12:11]>> It doesn't have that smokiness of the oud. It doesn't feel burnt, you know?

[00:12:17]>> No. No. It doesn't have like this smoky side. I still smell something green, but but way more tamed. Way more >> Yeah. To give you guys a comparison, this one here feels like it's an unburnt piece of oud >> and the other one almost feels like um like ashy.

[00:12:33]>> Yes. Yes. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:12:36]>> So, this is strange because when you talk about oud like this, we're smelling the raw thing, right? So, in perfumes, there's actually a very small concentration of real oud. Imagine something like MFK's udimood. Yes.

[00:12:50]>> I mean, yes, we could all doubt that there's actual oud in there, but let's just take for granted that there is, right? It doesn't really smell udy. No to me, >> but if it were, this is the kind of oud that is in there. Like smooth.

[00:13:03]>> Mhm.

[00:13:03]>> Refined. This is very It doesn't feel westernized, but it just feels more like it feels more attuned to the western palette.

[00:13:12]>> Without any edges.

[00:13:14]>> Yeah. Not bad. Not bad.

[00:13:17]>> Uh oh. Oh, and where do we rank this?

[00:13:18]>> Uh, I think second I think still the the the >> the kinam the kam more.

[00:13:24]>> Yes.

[00:13:25]>> Okay. All right. Now we have number four which is ud Taiwan noir.

[00:13:32]So I have a little bit of experience with Taiwanese oud in the sense that um I actually owned U Taiwan by Aror.

[00:13:40]>> Okay. And if that fragrance is anything to go by, this will be very green, very pungent.

[00:13:48]>> Okay.

[00:13:50]>> Curious now.

[00:13:54]>> Yeah.

[00:13:59]Very interesting. So, first of all, we smelled what, four now, and none of them were barnyardy. No.

[00:14:05]>> Is it chance? Maybe.

[00:14:08]None of them have that stereotypical barnyardiness of the oud.

[00:14:12]>> No, you're right. You're right. And to the layman person, if you say oud, they're going to think about the barnyardy oud. I think >> probably >> these are not beautiful.

[00:14:20]>> Really nice, huh?

[00:14:21]>> Oh, yes.

[00:14:23]>> This could be an Atar. But this is one is a is really darker. It has almost no floral whatsoever. I cannot smell of anything like that.

[00:14:32]>> Yes. Quite mature. No, it's it's really gorgeous. Oh, >> one thing that I'm going to be asking Russian Adam is um if these are worn on their own. I mean, I'm sure that they could. They're probably really expensive to wear on their own.

[00:14:47]>> It smells powerful. I mean, considering how little is in here, smells pretty intense.

[00:14:51]>> Yes.

[00:14:52]>> But maybe there's a way to enhance the smell of the oud without really contaminating it.

[00:14:56]>> Mhm.

[00:14:57]>> I love this. Number 15, Maropino. I have no idea what this is. Almost sounds like an Italian name.

[00:15:03]>> Yes, it does. But, uh, relying on you to be honest.

[00:15:06]>> Yeah. Again, it sounds like a weird Italianized name, but it doesn't mean anything.

[00:15:12]Unless it means something like marine pine, but why?

[00:15:16]>> Well, maybe.

[00:15:19]Maybe we're about to find out.

[00:15:24]Wow.

[00:15:27]Really different. Once again, [sighs] what is interesting is that this one here has a way lighter color and the scent feels lighter. It almost feels like the difference between um really dark maple syrup in the lighter one.

[00:15:40]>> Mhm.

[00:15:41]>> This one feels more like resin, like tree resin, at least to me.

[00:15:50]>> Oh, yes.

[00:15:52]Oh, that's very interesting as well.

[00:15:54]>> Yeah. This one I think is the one that smells the least like oud.

[00:15:57]>> Mhm. Mhm. It reminds me of Arso like from >> Yes.

[00:16:02]>> It conjures up like the same kind of of scenery, you know, like walking in this huge >> super dry uh uh pine forest.

[00:16:11]>> Are we conditioned by the name Arubino?

[00:16:13]Maybe, maybe not. I'm not really sure because I'm not sure if the pine can be infected by the the fungi.

[00:16:22]>> Or maybe the name is because it does evoke this sort of imagery.

[00:16:25]>> Yeah. For me, it really has like this uh this uh this association with with arro.

[00:16:31]>> Not stinky at all, though.

[00:16:32]>> Not stinky at all. No.

[00:16:34]>> Yeah. This smells like a like a woody tree resin.

[00:16:38]>> Mhm.

[00:16:40]>> It's a very sticky wood pine. So, even if you like brush your hand against a pine tree, you're going to get stickiness. You're going to get reinous.

[00:16:48]>> Yes.

[00:16:49]>> So, yeah, this is great. I like it a lot, but it doesn't really represent the ud in my mind. No, >> we still like Taiwan more.

[00:16:57]>> Um, yes. As far as I'm concerned, yes.

[00:17:00]>> All right. Now, we smell this one here, which is labeled $100, which I'm assuming at this point is the lowest price.

[00:17:09]>> If it has to make sense, this one here would be the cheapest, and the other one would be the most expensive, and everything else is in between.

[00:17:16]>> And this one here is Laos Blue Cheese.

[00:17:19]The name is a full program here.

[00:17:23]This one, by the way, for uh Russian Adam is number 19. I'm expecting this one to be Barnard.

[00:17:28]>> Yes. Yes. Me, too. Me, too.

[00:17:36]>> Um, okay. Not so much. So, >> no, I mean, it is barnyardy, but So, I guess I associate the smell of barnyardiness to rotten fruit. This one does not smell like rotten fruit.

[00:17:51]>> Okay. For me, it is it is I mean like not barnyardy, but I do have the the mushroomy aspect of it.

[00:17:58]>> Okay. It smells like blue cheese.

[00:18:03]>> Hard to say. Uh I mean, if my blue cheese were smelling exactly like that, I would throw it away to be honest.

[00:18:10]>> It does smell >> But it does smell like um that >> like old socks. I don't know. You know how like dirty feet?

[00:18:18]>> Absolutely.

[00:18:19]>> Yeah. You know how sometimes they say that your feet smell like cheese? This kind of smells like that.

[00:18:24]>> Yes, it does have. Yeah. Oh, yes. Yes.

[00:18:26]Yes. It does have something like that.

[00:18:28]Yes.

[00:18:29]>> It doesn't necessarily smell like a barnyard to me.

[00:18:32]>> No. No.

[00:18:32]>> I mean, I wouldn't associate this to horses or cows or anything like that.

[00:18:36]It's lacking the >> for something to smell barnyard to me has to have a lot of that hay note, >> like wet hay, something like that. It needs to feel fermented, kind of fruity, and kind of rotten. Yeah, you're right.

[00:18:49]This is pretty dry.

[00:18:50]>> Yeah, it's it's dry. It's acurid and it has that distinct old sock smell.

[00:18:57]>> Mhm. Mhm.

[00:18:59]>> This is a bit more sharp, you know, as well.

[00:19:01]>> It's not bad, huh?

[00:19:02]>> No, it's not bad. It's not bad.

[00:19:03]>> It's an interesting smell.

[00:19:05]Would I wear this as a simple fragrance as is if I had the oud oil? Probably not.

[00:19:11]>> No.

[00:19:12]>> Yeah. But I would wear, for example, the utai.

[00:19:13]>> Yes. Me too. Me too.

[00:19:14]>> Or even the kinam one was absolutely beautiful. I've heard that the more refined the oud, the more expensive, the more it actually goes away from the cheesiness and it becomes more like smoky, dry, polite, and refined. That is at least what I've been told in Oman.

[00:19:30]>> Okay. In Muskat.

[00:19:32]>> So, this one here again is pretty cheesy. I'm not going to rank this. Uh, we're going to just put it kind of like bottom end.

[00:19:39]>> Mhm.

[00:19:40]>> All right. Sinking Dust number 17. This one uh I have no idea. I mean the name it could be anything.

[00:19:49]>> I'm wondering how a person like Russian Adam just decides to get a sample of one or the other.

[00:19:56]>> Like how do you do it just out of pure curiosity? You just you see something on a website and say, "Oh, that sounds interesting."

[00:20:02]>> And I wonder who names actually those those samples, you know? Is it like the the name of the oil that you buy >> or is has Russian Adam named those ones?

[00:20:12]I know that Russian Adam distills I think he distills his own oud.

[00:20:17]>> Maybe not for every type of oud or every perfume, >> but he does distill his own oud >> among other things like among other things like leather, musks or whatever.

[00:20:28]>> You like that?

[00:20:30]>> It reminds me of like this this alcohol this uh eager.

[00:20:34]>> Yeah.

[00:20:35]>> You know, like this very herbaceious very >> Yeah. Very very very >> It also has a little bit of a barnyardy thing like slightly.

[00:20:43]>> Yes.

[00:20:45]>> It has a little bit of this fermented thing about it.

[00:20:49]>> This is probably the most uh oud out of all that I smelled till now.

[00:20:55]It's the one that I would recognize as oud.

[00:20:59]>> Yes, you're right. You're right. Or if I were to describe oud to one person naming one variety, it's probably something like this that I would describe.

[00:21:07]>> Medicinal, green, herbal, but also a little bit funky.

[00:21:10]>> Yes, there's a definitely there is this funkiness. You're right.

[00:21:14]>> This the smell of rot. Discrete smell of rot.

[00:21:17]>> Yeah, it it actually might be kind of the smell of like mold.

[00:21:23]>> Yes, mold. Exactly. I was I was >> Because mold has a very pungent, powerful smell. Even if it's a little bit of it, right?

[00:21:30]>> Yes. Yes, you're right.

[00:21:32]>> All right. Uh, Mato Alvad number 14.

[00:21:38]Yeah. No idea. At this point, I'm wondering also if uh the Middle Eastern oud is actually from Middle East.

[00:21:45]>> Mhm.

[00:21:45]>> Or if it's just imported and distilled in a specific way and called Middle Eastern.

[00:21:50]>> Yes. Maybe.

[00:21:55]>> Very interesting.

[00:22:00]This is the lightest one for me.

[00:22:05]Woody.

[00:22:08]>> Oh.

[00:22:10]Oh, I like this one.

[00:22:11]>> You like this?

[00:22:12]>> Yes, I like it.

[00:22:12]>> I like it, too. But it's light.

[00:22:14]>> Yes, it is light.

[00:22:14]>> I mean, it doesn't have anything pungent. That's the thing.

[00:22:17]>> No, it's very clean. It's very smooth.

[00:22:22]Not not so much floral, but it has something like super clean, super woody.

[00:22:27]>> That one there almost has this um it brings to my mind the image of like freeze-dried fruit.

[00:22:35]>> Oh, >> like the freeze-dried raspberries.

[00:22:37]>> Yes.

[00:22:38]>> Freeze-dried cherries. Something like that. Like a freeze-dried red fruit.

[00:22:42]>> Yes, you're you're right.

[00:22:43]>> It has this like dusty crunchiness about it.

[00:22:47]>> It's very very cold as well. When you open your freezer, you have like this >> brush of very cold hair. Yes, you're right.

[00:22:55]>> Very intriguing. I like this one.

[00:22:57]>> This is nice.

[00:22:58]>> Yes. Yeah. This I would totally wear as a as a fragrance.

[00:23:02]>> Likewise.

[00:23:04]>> All right. Another one from Burma. This one here is Burma SQ number 11. So, our first one from Burma was actually very smoky. Probably the most smoky one.

[00:23:16]I'm pretty sure it was the the smokiest there. Yes. Burman fire.

[00:23:20]>> Yeah.

[00:23:25]>> It's smoky, but it's less intense than the other one. It's less burnt.

[00:23:31]>> Yes. Way less smoky.

[00:23:33]>> Smoother.

[00:23:34]>> Smoother. I wonder what the price is of these because if maybe >> I'm not really sure which one I like more. I mean, I like character.

[00:23:42]>> Mhm. Yeah. Me too. Me too. If this one here is more expensive, maybe it got smoothed out. It got more refined. I'm not really sure how oud is extracted. I mean, it's some sort of distillation, so I'm assuming if you distill it multiple times, you get a more pure oud.

[00:23:57]>> Yes. No, it's nice. It's a very nice one. Yeah.

[00:24:01]>> I don't mind this. This is um I think I prefer the more smoky one just because it had a little bit more character.

[00:24:12]>> Mhm. But it might be just me as a novice talking because I do like stuff which has a defined identity, right? And that one there just had this greenness about it and also that smokiness. It felt like almost a finished fragrance. This one here I could wear totally but it's much more subtle, more elegant.

[00:24:30]>> Mhm. I think the difference is like the Burma on fire now reminds me as Ter by London.

[00:24:37]>> Yes. Um definitely a lot more along those lines. Oh, by the way, there was number one. Here it is. Sweet Assam.

[00:24:45]So, I guess sweet Assam number one. I'm not really sure if these were intended to be smelled according to the order.

[00:24:51]Hopefully not. Uh, but Assam Oud apparently is the most popular oud there is and some of the cheapest. I think that it's Indian maybe. Maybe. I'm not really sure where asam where Assam Oud is from.

[00:25:08]Yeah, this one also smells typically like stereotypically oud.

[00:25:16]Yeah, this is like the oud in I don't want to say this in a derogatory way, but this [snorts] smells like the oud in the cheaper oud fragrances by like Azal or by Swiss Arabian. I see.

[00:25:36]It's the type of oud which is super wow >> if you've never smelt oud.

[00:25:40]>> Yes.

[00:25:40]>> But it's a little bit lacking >> detail like resolution. But it's good.

[00:25:46]It's interesting. It's oud. This is like straight up oud. Oh yes. Yes.

[00:25:51]Absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:25:55]This >> it's that type of oud, right?

[00:25:56]>> Yes. It smells like a as you like a cheap atar that you can you can buy >> and not cheap in a derogatory way.

[00:26:03]>> Not not cheap in a derogatory way. I like this one. It's uh it's rough.

[00:26:08]>> Yeah, I I don't mind that at all. Again, it's not a bad oud. It's just very oud.

[00:26:12]And I guess it at this point, again, everything considered, considering what we're sampling, it's the most unsurprising to me.

[00:26:20]>> Mhm. Yes. Yes. I was expecting this as well. Something like that.

[00:26:24]>> Yeah. It's the one that is uh the most basic. And I guess that's the reason why Russian Adam labeled it as number one.

[00:26:31]Possibly because it was a starting point.

[00:26:33]>> We have number two. [laughter] if you want to try.

[00:26:36]>> Yeah, let's go. Number two, Assam Intense. So, this one here might be a more fermented, more elaborate version of that. Who knows?

[00:26:44]>> Yeah, I'm starting to think that we should have sampled them in the specific order.

[00:26:48]>> Trying to see if the >> at this point I'm wondering the very expensive one. What number is it?

[00:26:54]Breeze number 17. So, yeah, probably.

[00:26:57]>> Anyway, wow.

[00:27:02]Yeah, the name says it all.

[00:27:06]It's that but more.

[00:27:08]>> What was the name again?

[00:27:10]>> Assum intense.

[00:27:11]>> Okay.

[00:27:15]>> I like this. I just like oud.

[00:27:20]How much of a fan of oud are you in general?

[00:27:23]>> Um, not so much to be honest. I mean I wear that but I need a good occasion I think.

[00:27:29]Is oud in a fragrance an added value to you or not? I'm saying not necessarily oud in the note list or ingredient list.

[00:27:36]I'm saying more like oud in the smell.

[00:27:39]>> Yes.

[00:27:40]>> Because you could argue that oud can go with everything because it has been put on everything.

[00:27:45]>> Yes.

[00:27:46]>> And later I'll have you smell. Are you familiar with this van?

[00:27:51]>> Uh I think I smelled it because you sent me like a discovery set.

[00:27:54]>> Yes. So basically there is uh Mo. He sent me a little sample of the cord.

[00:28:00]>> Okay.

[00:28:01]>> It's amazing. And there, for example, adding oud to something like that, in my opinion, it makes it better.

[00:28:08]>> Okay. Yeah. No. No. I >> So, are you a proponent of oud in that way?

[00:28:11]>> Yes. In that way, yes. Okay.

[00:28:13]>> In that way, yes.

[00:28:13]>> Because it adds I think that it adds a little bit more complexity. It adds density.

[00:28:18]>> Mhm. Let's say that it's a cheap way and not again cheap and raw cost but more like um idea wise to add complexity definitely because this even if it's only number two and and now I'm probably being >> biased by this.

[00:28:34]>> Yeah order but I really like it and I and I still sense [clears throat] some complexity is a bit cheesy to me.

[00:28:40]>> Yes. This the asam ud is very much the definition of barnyard. It's like cheesy, fermented.

[00:28:48]It's not as fruity as I thought it would be.

[00:28:52]It's more that Yeah. the oud, which is basically in front of a fragrance like the Spirit of Dubai oud, >> which again is a great fragrance, but it smells like this. It's interesting though. I like these. Very, very cool.

[00:29:05]>> Nice. This one like does not smell fruity like almost at all for me. It's It's really like cheesy, dense, heavy, woody.

[00:29:13]>> Fungent. Yes. All right, next one is Cambodat number six. So Cambodia oud is usually touted as it's listed as Cambodia oud.

[00:29:25]So I mean I guess it's a little bit more premium or maybe it's a little bit more stinky because I don't know. I think that I have a fragrance with Cambodian oud and it's pretty intense. I think that Maxim uses it.

[00:29:39]Oh yeah, definitely still in the barnyardy concept. Okay, maybe less cheesy, less uh less mushroomy, less moldy, and more possibly a little bit more fruity.

[00:30:00]I can't identify any specific fruit that's not like it's giving me banana or anything like that.

[00:30:07]It just smells um it has a little bit of the smell of just forgetting a basket of fruit in the fridge.

[00:30:16]Yeah, this is uh interesting. I like it, but not for the faint of heart.

[00:30:21]>> Yeah, >> I'm not sure.

[00:30:25]>> You're not sure you like it?

[00:30:27]>> It is. It is very kind of like rotten fruit, huh?

[00:30:30]>> This is very like like rotten fruit.

[00:30:31]Yes. Yes.

[00:30:32]>> It almost smells like garbage.

[00:30:34]>> Almost like a garbage. Yes. After after cooking or it smells like you know the the the green garbage the one where you put like everything and you have forgotten about that.

[00:30:42]>> Yeah. The green scraps.

[00:30:43]>> Yes. The green scraps. Exactly.

[00:30:46]>> It's quite fruity. It's very pungent as well. This one is this smell is the reason why when I clean a melon I put them in a separate bag because the melon rind when they merate especially in the summer smells kind of like this.

[00:30:59]>> Okay. Good to know.

[00:31:02]Again, I'm talking about it as if it's horrible, but if you smell it in the context of a oud, it's interesting.

[00:31:09]>> I would not wear it as a fragrance, per se.

[00:31:11]>> No, >> but diluted into something else to enhance maybe some fruiness.

[00:31:16]>> It can it can Yeah, it work can make things beautiful, I'm sure. Yes. This one is a Oh, I remember I forgot the salad once in the fridge for a couple of not a couple of days. I'm lying. For a couple of weeks, maybe. And uh the smell is slightly reminiscent of that.

[00:31:32]>> Yeah.

[00:31:34]>> All right, let's go back to Thailand.

[00:31:36]Patani Thai. So I'm assuming once again green, woody, smoky.

[00:31:43]>> So I guess that there's sort of a pattern in terms of um country of origin. And this again, I'm not necessarily sure if it's the actual plant itself because I've heard that the humidity levels, the wetness of the plant has a lot to do with the smell of the thing itself, but also maybe the type of distillation practices that they use.

[00:32:03]>> Okay? And that's why basically any synthetic oud will never have the complexity and the detail of these because these are they have so many things to it. They have so many factors to it.

[00:32:14]>> Mhm.

[00:32:15]>> Yeah. All of them that have a lot of depth actually. It's really really impressive.

[00:32:20]>> This is really nice. I like this.

[00:32:22]>> It's green. It's a little bit smoky kind of like the other tide, the Taiwan, but it's way more It feels more full body.

[00:32:31]It feels more fruity to me.

[00:32:35]>> M.

[00:32:36]This Yes, very rich.

[00:32:39]This one has also like a vibe of some uh some very strong alcohol, but you have also like the the the the nutty very very heavy almost syrupy.

[00:32:49]>> It's very rich. That is very rich.

[00:32:51]>> I like this one a lot a lot.

[00:32:53]>> Yeah, this is this is high quality.

[00:32:59]It's so interesting because not every one of these ouds can be in everything because some fragrances demand a more I mean they don't necessarily demand it but I think that they work better with a more fruity barnyardiness and some other ones work nicely with this burnt smoky green thing.

[00:33:19]>> This one here is Yeah, this one is really nice. This one could be in something like um you have not smelled it but Maxim's Yeti.

[00:33:27]>> Okay, >> that one there is a great depiction of a forest. You can smell it later but I think that the ud in there is more like this something more green more foresty rich kam bloom.

[00:33:41]>> You're right by the way my my nose is not toasted. [clears throat] It's uh it's kind of okay and we are what two?

[00:33:48]>> Yeah, we smelled a lot. Yes, doz. Yes.

[00:33:52]This one here is Kenam Bloom number 13.

[00:33:58]Wow.

[00:34:02]I think this one here is the one that I prefer. Oh, really? A super nice. Holy crap.

[00:34:10]This one is super It's very very smooth.

[00:34:14]It has the It has the dryness of the ashy ones, but it has a lot of like florals. There's something giving it a lot of color. It feels more saturated than the other ones. It feels more vibrant.

[00:34:33]Oh, it has a almost the first sniff like a Play-Doh.

[00:34:39]>> Yeah, it does have a little bit of a Play-Doh vibe. Yes, it does.

[00:34:44]So weird that you mentioned it.

[00:34:46]>> Oh, it's >> I grew up with a Play-Doh. It's like now it's like stuck in my head. Yeah. Like the smell of the Play-Doh on your hands once you're done playing with it.

[00:34:53]>> Exactly. Exactly.

[00:34:55]>> It's I love this.

[00:34:56]>> It's kind of dirty, but you want to keep it, you know? [laughter] >> But I do not associate that with oud at all to be honest.

[00:35:04]>> No. No. Exactly. Yes. In a vacuum, I probably not even think that it's >> Mhm. No. But I I really like this one. I still think I like the uh Taiwan.

[00:35:15]>> That one there is more like masculine, dry, woody, >> but this one is the one I am the most curious about, you know? Like this one is the one I prefer, but this one is I I am really intrigued by this one.

[00:35:26]>> Oh my god. Now that you said the Play-Doh thing, it's like so specific.

[00:35:35]And you know, people say that Play-Doh smells like a negative.

[00:35:38]>> A lot of people say, "Oh, it smells like Play-Doh."

[00:35:40]>> Yes. like it's cheap, it's plastic.

[00:35:42]>> I think it's interesting. Again, it's not a simple synthetic smell. It does not smell like that at all. It smells like nature just kind of came together to give you something different smelling. I like it a lot. This is really nice. Right up there. So, this one here is Cambod.

[00:36:00]I'm expecting this to be an absolute beast in terms of like funkiness.

[00:36:04]>> Yes. The 80s.

[00:36:06]>> Also, Cambodia one was probably the most funky one out of the bunch. Probably >> it was the one that smelled like a rotten fruit, right?

[00:36:12]>> Yes. Yes. Fermented salad in the fridge.

[00:36:15]>> Fermented salad is great image.

[00:36:18]Disgusting.

[00:36:21]>> Yep. It's that it's that kind of oud, but it's not worse. I mean, it's not more intense or more pungent.

[00:36:33]It actually feels um God, it's so difficult to describe.

[00:36:44]On one side, I feel that it smells more like vinegar. As crazy as it sounds, it feels more old.

[00:36:51]But on the other side, it smells more smooth.

[00:36:55]And you would think that vinegar and smooth. Like, how how does it work? But >> I'm curious now. I'm hyped.

[00:37:02]It's still pretty pungent, but Oh, >> yes. It's I I know what you mean by by vinegar. It smell to me. It smells like an empty vinegar bottle.

[00:37:16]>> I forgot.

[00:37:16]>> Yeah. So, here's the thing. I'm not a wine connoisseur.

[00:37:20]Despite that, this smells like what a vintage wine would >> how a vintage wine would translate. It smells to me now that you you put that imagine membrane like the cork of a very old wine bottle because you have like this also like this woody. Would I want to smell like that? I am not so sure.

[00:37:40]>> It's still the Cambodia one. Huh. So don't so don't get us wrong. This is still fermented.

[00:37:44]>> Yes.

[00:37:44]>> But >> it does smell like a cork. Like a wine cork or something like that.

[00:37:49]>> All right. Three more to go among which is the very very expensive one. So, u Taiwan aged. This one here might actually be your favorite or our favorite given the fact that for now we're still preferring Oud Taiwan.

[00:38:06]>> Again, aged oud maybe has a little bit of that old wine thing or vintage wine.

[00:38:19]It's definitely in the oud Taiwan genre in the sense that it's smoky, it's green, but I'm not really sure. Maybe it's more medicinal. Uh I don't know why I immediately got back to what you said before, the Jagger Meister.

[00:38:35]>> Mhm.

[00:38:36]>> It smells like there's something burnt sugary about it.

[00:38:44]There's something about the texture of Jagger Meister, >> like the smoothness, but it's also harsh. Jagger Meister is pretty bitter.

[00:38:52]>> It has a herbalenness to it.

[00:38:54]>> In the Utwanada, I got two distinct pieces. There was the smokiness and then there was the greenness. And in between there was some sort of a woodiness.

[00:39:02]>> This one feels much more like one wave of smell. It feels more >> It kind of has this like molasses coating. Yes.

[00:39:11]>> It smells more oily, >> a bit like a licorice. That >> Yeah, like a licorice leour or something like that, right?

[00:39:19]>> Exactly.

[00:39:19]>> Almost smells like coffee.

[00:39:21]>> Yes. Yes. There that's the bitterness. I think the the extreme, >> but but very very spicy. Very still.

[00:39:29]Yes.

[00:39:31]>> You like this more than the ud?

[00:39:32]>> Uh, no. No. I don't I don't think so. I I need to have a ref that one. But >> this one is really good though.

[00:39:38]>> Yes, it is very good.

[00:39:41]It's so particular.

[00:39:44]>> Wow, this is super cool.

[00:39:45]>> Mhm. I really like this one as well.

[00:39:48]>> Yeah.

[00:39:49]Uh, you know what? Again, for as far as detail, as far as resolution goes, the more smooth, the more detail. I do feel that there's more layers to it, but it's um possibly again to noviceses like us, when it's more easy to pin down, easy to break apart, >> it's more impressive. like the Taiwan Watt. Maybe it's cheaper than this. I mean, this is aged, so probably. But yeah, really nice. All right, two more to go. This one here is Cambodi Dukan.

[00:40:21]And by the way, the previous one was number three. This one here is number five.

[00:40:31]Barnardy. Yes.

[00:40:35]fermented but much more woody than the other one.

[00:40:41]This one feels more woody. It feels more earthy.

[00:40:47]It almost has a little bit of a pachuli smell like um wet.

[00:40:55]>> Oh yeah. Yeah. I was going to say like Yeah, like the soil. Exactly.

[00:40:59]>> Fermented soil like the thing that you would add, you know, like fertilizer.

[00:41:04]Exactly. So, so when you buy a bag of soil, when you open the bag of soil, it has that like um >> this one also feels very complex. It feels very layered.

[00:41:13]>> It's really nice.

[00:41:14]>> Yeah. You you can you can feel that it has so much depth. It's it's really interesting and really amazing as well.

[00:41:23]>> Yeah. I have to admit I'm a little bit overwhelmed right now. There's so many things.

[00:41:27]>> A lot of them are distinctly ooed. I'm trying to remember the ones that I like the most and I we pushed them over there on the table. So, it's the Uta Wanoir and also the Kenan Bloom. I really like the Play-Doh one. That one's super nice.

[00:41:40]And also the Cambodia from the 80s. That was great.

[00:41:44]>> All right. Finally, this one here apparently is the most expensive.

[00:41:48]>> Mhm.

[00:41:48]>> And is it the best? I'm not really sure, but >> let's see. It should be the best.

[00:41:54]>> Yes, it should.

[00:41:55]>> Otherwise, why the hell is it even expensive?

[00:41:57]>> Mhm.

[00:41:59]Sumatra Breeze number 17. Might be actually the last one.

[00:42:10]By the way, this is not easy at all.

[00:42:17]I'll pass the ball for a sec. So, what are your impressions?

[00:42:26]For me, it's quite discreet. It's not as pungent as the other ones I was expecting.

[00:42:32]>> Yeah, there's no sharp edge which is coming out.

[00:42:35]>> There's nothing uh specifically moldy, barnyardy. Again, I'm I'm working with uh I understand that I'm working with a relatively limited lexicon here, but I'm basically evaluating this comparing to the others. Yes, >> that's what I'm doing. So, I'm trying to pinpoint >> if there's other things from those in here, but not really.

[00:42:56]There is I don't know if I'm being influenced by the by the name but there is something like a bit marine like the smell of irod or something like that.

[00:43:09]>> It feels way more airy. You're right about that. I mean it's a it's a least uh oily one.

[00:43:14]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:43:19]>> Before I was about to say that it smelt like um it smelt a little bit floral.

[00:43:24]>> Mhm. but floral, not in like a rose sense, more in a I don't know why I picture small mountain flowers, something like the like the stuff that you find again in the fields here in the mountains. And I'm saying that because you don't really smell the bloom of the flowers per se.

[00:43:46]It's more about the green air.

[00:43:50]It's so odd. It's so difficult to describe. It is very difficult to describe. Maybe that's that's what makes the quality of a food, you know, like >> you think it's also very resonous. It has a little bit of that. So, we smelled what it was that Maropino.

[00:44:04]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:44:05]>> It has some of that in here.

[00:44:06]>> Mhm.

[00:44:08]>> It doesn't stink at all. There's nothing stinky about this.

[00:44:14]>> If they were to give you this in a vacuum, what would you think? Somebody got my hand, by the way. I guess it's my scent of the day. [laughter] All right.

[00:44:26]>> I think I would like it. You know, they they could probably sell me that it's a very very elaborate um construction of something that is resonous and eerie, light.

[00:44:37]>> I have to say I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because of the price.

[00:44:40]>> Yes, >> it's not not impressive, but it's I think that it's really good at hiding its complexity.

[00:44:48]>> Probably. Probably. I think that I don't know this might be expensive because it's one of those that you need to use in high percentages because otherwise it would be completely diluted into the into the stuff and you probably wouldn't even smell it within a a normal fragrance. Uh I have to give this a go again. It's good. It doesn't even smell like oud compared to the other ones. It doesn't have that wow sharp stinky factor at all.

[00:45:16]>> That purgency? No, >> not at all. It smells way lighter. It smells almost like a perfume.

[00:45:22]>> Yes.

[00:45:22]>> Not really sure. It's great. Is it warranting the $1,800 price tag for whatever unit of measure?

[00:45:30]>> Not really sure.

[00:45:31]>> Is it u 18 times better than the Assam, the base one?

[00:45:37]>> Not.

[00:45:38]>> Well, first of all, they're completely different. So, the asam udud is your typical oud, right? This is not. It's way different. But yeah, I probably would not spend that kind of money.

[00:45:48]>> No. Maybe my nose is just not refined enough. Not in the top five. If I would have to look at this objectively without considering the price, it would probably not make it in my top five.

[00:45:56]>> Yeah, me neither. Me neither. Which is a very good news for my wallets to be honest.

[00:45:59]>> Yeah, it's great. I mean, not that I'm in the market for any of these because honestly, I wouldn't even know where to buy these. So, it's okay. You ready for the animalics?

[00:46:07]>> Yes, I am.

[00:46:08]>> The animalics are way more different one from another.

[00:46:12]>> So, I think we start off like what do we want to start off with? Again, we have the musketeer. We have the castorium. We have the sevet. And then we have the amber.

[00:46:22]>> I actually like this uh this order that you randomly put.

[00:46:26]>> So musk deer it is.

[00:46:28]>> Let's start with this. I think that this we're going to have to dip a strip in if possible.

[00:46:34]>> Okay.

[00:46:35]>> Because it needs to be kind of soaked in.

[00:46:40]>> Oh wow.

[00:46:44]You go. You go first.

[00:46:50]I'm really surprised. I was expecting something much more vile. No, >> this.

[00:46:56]>> No, no, no. I knew that it was pretty nice, actually. I mean, it's definitely animalic.

[00:47:00]>> It's definitely animalic, >> but it smells more like fur, right?

[00:47:05]>> Yes. It's It's quite soft.

[00:47:06]>> Yes. You know, when they do musk musk fragrances, right? A lot of them have this like clean towel feel.

[00:47:12]>> That's true. Yeah.

[00:47:13]>> They're trying to replicate this.

[00:47:15]>> Oh, I see. Okay.

[00:47:16]>> Really interesting, huh?

[00:47:17]>> Yes. Fluffy.

[00:47:18]>> Fluffy. A little bit of of of citrusy that gives like some sharpness.

[00:47:26]>> That's nice. That's really nice.

[00:47:33]It's so unique. It's so unique smelling because again, it's a very simple scent profile, but it smells like an animal.

[00:47:42]>> Mhm. Yes, it does. I always say that this kind of stuff here smells like digging your nose into a cat.

[00:47:50]>> Mhm. Yes. You know, >> absolutely. Yes.

[00:47:52]>> Again, a cat doesn't really smell like much because they're fairly clean animals, >> but it has this warmth about it. And I think that it's a combination of the texture of the fur, >> the warmth of the cat itself, and just the fact that you know that you're hugging an animal.

[00:48:07]>> Yes. No.

[00:48:10]>> This is like the perfect combination of those factors. Again, knowing what this is coming from, you know what?

[00:48:17]>> Yes, I know. Yes.

[00:48:18]>> Okay. So, I mean, it's >> gross.

[00:48:20]>> Pretty gross, but it's interesting at the same time.

[00:48:24]>> I wonder who was the first one to >> Yeah, give it a try to be like, you know, let's make fragrance.

[00:48:32]>> Just take the musker balls and kind of like grind them up.

[00:48:34]>> Exactly.

[00:48:36]>> So, yeah, this is uh surprisingly not horrible.

[00:48:43]Not bad.

[00:48:43]>> No, it's not bad at all. It has a very vintage feeling, you know, because probably like the old fragrances had real musk here.

[00:48:51]>> So, for for me, it does have like a vintage >> I like it a lot.

[00:48:54]>> I'm a huge I mean, I'm not a huge proponent for natural musk per se, but I'm a huge proponent for the smell of it in fragrances. I really like it. It adds a nice base which is complex, but it's not heavy. It's not something that you >> know. I smell it from here.

[00:49:09]>> It's super potent. I mean it's like it's like animal ferommones, right? They were just like >> Mhm.

[00:49:15]>> Well, this is Castorium. Castorum is also very pungent. And the sevet is so I mean I've smelled all of these. These are the only ones that I smelled. So I know what you smell like. All yours.

[00:49:28]I know what this smells like. So go first.

[00:49:33]>> Okay. Okay. It's not bad. Huh?

[00:49:37]>> No, it's not.

[00:49:38]>> It's not bad. It's not, >> you know, it could pass for oud actually compared to the ones that we smelled.

[00:49:44]It's >> great point. Yes, it does smell a lot like I mean, not a lot, but it smells more like the oud than you would think it does.

[00:49:51]>> Mhm.

[00:49:52]>> It has this uh greasiness about it. Like it smells like greasy leather to me.

[00:49:57]>> Exactly. Yeah. It's also like animallike, but more like a dog, you know? Not not because you said like this one was like the fur of a cat. does not smell as like a dog per se, but like it's more more animalic, more more wild.

[00:50:14]>> I don't think it's I don't think it's much of a dog. Dogs have a very distinct smell. You know, like when they say the smell of dog.

[00:50:20]>> Mhm.

[00:50:20]>> This one smells more gamey. It smells like what I imagine um some sort of a like a wild boar. You smell like you know.

[00:50:29]>> Mhm. Maybe maybe it has this pelty pelty as in a pelt, you know, leather.

[00:50:39]>> Again, I can totally see how this is a huge part to make a leather fragrance.

[00:50:43]>> Yes.

[00:50:43]>> Something like silver oud has this in it.

[00:50:46]>> Yes.

[00:50:46]>> 100%.

[00:50:48]>> This is like the main thing that makes silver oud silver oud in my opinion.

[00:50:52]>> Totally. Now that you mentioned >> when I describe silver oud as this like fur coat idea, you know, greasy, >> thick. Mhm.

[00:50:59]>> It's this I don't mind it. I really like the smell, but it's weird. I mean, this is not something that smells good. The deer musk, if you give it to someone random and you say, "Smell this." It's going to smell pretty good. This, I think, is still interesting, but it smells like an animal. Greasy is is my word of choice when it comes to this sort of smell, and it's the thing that I refer to again for silver oud by >> Yes. So quoou I think actually doesn't even use natural castor but it smells just like it.

[00:51:33]>> Mhm.

[00:51:35]>> This is not a complex smell. It's way less complex than the musk. The musk it feels like it's it feels like it's impossible to replicate.

[00:51:45]>> Yes. This >> that does like multiple layers. This one is just like one very thick layer.

[00:51:51]>> I like this though.

[00:51:52]>> Yes. Yeah. Me too. Me too. Now, sevet is fun and then sevet is possibly the worst one because sevet smells like piss.

[00:52:01]>> Okay.

[00:52:04]>> It smells like cat pee. I mean, you have cats.

[00:52:07]>> I'm familiar with that.

[00:52:08]>> This kind of smells like a litter box.

[00:52:10]It has a very recognizable um to me at least this very specific ammonia smell.

[00:52:18]>> Okay, I see what you mean.

[00:52:21]And I always describe fragrances that have sevet as they have this like gasoline like diffusion.

[00:52:29]>> Mhm.

[00:52:34]Okay. This this one smells like it comes from anal glands from that area. From like that sort of area.

[00:52:43]>> This is definitely not uh the the the wrong side of the animal. I don't like it, but I want to smell it a little bit more. I know because because as humans we are attracted to the disgusting.

[00:52:53]>> Yes.

[00:52:56]>> God, it's so odd.

[00:52:59]>> Again, this is the kind of stuff that makes you wonder like who the heck thought that it would be a good idea to put this into a perfume.

[00:53:08]>> In the grand scheme of things, I already referred to this kind of like um vinegar. Like vinegar in a salad.

[00:53:15]>> Mhm.

[00:53:16]>> Vinegar on its own sucks. No one drinks vinegar, right? But a little bit of vinegar in a salad really wraps everything up. This one is what makes something like Chanel number five feel more human, >> feel more relatable.

[00:53:31]And having it depart from being just a simple floral, right?

[00:53:37]But my god, smells like this is really, really odd. I mean, it's not odd. It just smells like piss. All right, last but not least, Amber Gree. And I really like ember. And yeah, smelled in concentration. It's odd stuff. And by the way, you're going to be sleeping in here. So >> yeah, lucky me.

[00:53:59]>> I'm going to tuck the cevette little dabber under your pillow.

[00:54:03]>> Yeah. To hide the d somewhere.

[00:54:08]>> Yeah. [snorts] It's I like emberi, but this is I don't know. Maybe it's too strong. Maybe it's too much of it, you know, like too much of a good thing.

[00:54:18]>> Mhm.

[00:54:21]>> Yeah. This, if anything, reassures me that I don't want an amberi perfume which is 50% amber. Let's just say that.

[00:54:29]I don't want it.

[00:54:38]I don't smell so much to be honest.

[00:54:40]>> No.

[00:54:41]>> No.

[00:54:41]>> Maybe the cement just burnt your nose.

[00:54:43]>> Yeah, maybe. Yes.

[00:54:46]I definitely smell it. I smell it from here.

[00:54:50]>> You know what? I don't smell.

[00:54:53]>> I can smell it from here. It smells insanely potent. It smells like um It doesn't even have a fishy smell.

[00:55:02]Again, it smells fermented. It smells rotten.

[00:55:06]It smells like rotten seaweed or something.

[00:55:10]Okay. Maybe maybe yes, I can smell something. But it's really not. Yeah, it's very faint for me.

[00:55:17]>> Maybe you're a nosmic to it.

[00:55:18]>> Maybe I'm a nosmic. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, it's possibility.

[00:55:21]>> Do you smell like fragrances like supreme?

[00:55:25]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:55:27]>> So, you get what I'm talking about when I say that like brilliance, that fizziness, that effervescence.

[00:55:31]>> Absolutely. And I remember when we were in uh in Milan last year, we had like this real amber. It was a dried amber, but I was able to smell this one.

[00:55:38]>> Yeah. So the dry amberree is smells like my image of amberree for whatever reason. So in Milan there was this jar with a piece of amberree in it and we uncapped it and we smelled the jar and it smelled exactly like the amberree that I like. It smelled marine but in a very beautiful way again possibly because the the stone itself does not emanate the smell in this way. But this one here smells >> really rotten in comparison. It smells like amber has gone bad. I mean, in my head, it has none of the fizziness, none of the effervescence.

[00:56:12]Maybe just a tad, but it's way more pungent. It's so strong. It almost smells like >> again, it doesn't smell fishy per se, but it does smell like rotten in some way. It has this like >> I don't want to be too graphic, but it smells like >> it almost has this yeastiness.

[00:56:34]Hint hint. Just like fill in the gaps, right?

[00:56:40]It smells super dirty. It's by far the most dirty animal out of the four that Russian Adam gave me. And uh yeah, I don't know if it's a special type of amber. It's also incredibly dark. So, who knows? I was expecting amber to be the clearest, >> but yeah, it's not at all. It's very, very dark. So, we pinned down our favorite oud, which is the Taiwan Noir.

[00:57:02]Our favorite animalic, which is >> musk. Musk do you for me?

[00:57:07]>> Musk. I I'm torn between the musk and the castorum. I really like the castorum. I find it extremely addictive.

[00:57:12]But yeah, objectively does not smell better than the musk. The musk is just straight up absolutely beautiful. And I totally get why in Oman or in the Middle East in general, they do sell deer musk oil in the same way that they sell the oud oils. And actually Mo said that the deer musk oil is one of the most expensive stuff that you can buy there.

[00:57:32]So I'm not surprised. It's absolutely beautiful. in in the Middle East, they love their musks. For example, uh they love their atar musks as much as the oud musks. I'll show you later. I have a couple.

[00:57:44]>> All right. Now, just to wrap it all together, we're going to be sampling two fragrances by Russian Adam. Once again, they were kindly provided by him. These are two. I have no idea which ones they are. This is just meant to be an exercise to understand what can be done with these raw materials. Mhm.

[00:58:01]>> Especially I'm interested in your reaction because not you're not really versed in that.

[00:58:05]>> No, not at almost not at all.

[00:58:07]>> You smelled one. I think it was a sample of War and Peace 2 that I gave you.

[00:58:11]>> That's the one.

[00:58:12]>> But uh yeah, not much else. I smelled quite a bit. So, let's give it a go.

[00:58:19]Let's go with the first one. These definitely need to go on strip unless you feel courageous and want to wear them. I mean, these smell good, but you want to go on strip first?

[00:58:27]>> Yeah. On the street first. this before making commitments.

[00:58:32]>> All right. So, fragrance number one, which is the red vial. Russian Adam will know which one is which.

[00:58:38]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:58:41]>> Staining.

[00:58:42]>> Yes.

[00:58:43]>> And by the way, the color of the juice is pretty dark here.

[00:58:46]>> That's a nicely nice size.

[00:58:48]>> Nice size. Yes.

[00:58:53]>> I love these, by the way.

[00:58:54]>> Wow. Poent, huh? Potent.

[00:58:59]Oh, that's gorgeous.

[00:59:00]>> You like it?

[00:59:02]>> I do. I do.

[00:59:06]>> Yeah, it's really really excellent.

[00:59:08]>> Really, really good.

[00:59:09]>> So, do you start getting how like materials like this, like this type of quality, this type of uh refinement can come together and get something like this?

[00:59:18]>> Yes. Yes. This one is a is really smooth. Smooth.

[00:59:22]>> Yeah. It has like this this very well-rounded like like perfect perfect sphere of fluffiness almost >> spicy a little bit of of flour. I think maybe like some rose or something like that.

[00:59:39]>> Question. Do you think this smells artisal?

[00:59:43]Because to me this smells distinctly artisal but I had a lot of experience with artisal stuff. I smelled I smelled the original etc etc. How would you for example describe it to someone which is kind of verse in perfumery so they understand the lingo?

[00:59:58]>> How would you describe it to them like comparatively to something more mass appealing like a zerof? I mean this does not smell like a zerjov.

[01:00:05]>> No.

[01:00:06]>> What does it smell like? How would you pinpoint it?

[01:00:09]>> I think I would not try to to speak about notes because it doesn't help. Uh >> no this is very very difficult to deconstruct. It's super complex.

[01:00:16]>> Super complex. Um I think I would say that like for this and and it is it is connected to the to the that we've been testing um that it's um it does not seem from the paper strip to have like a great evolution but it has like a lot of of of uh of depth. So I would say like it's something that is like simple and and we mentioned this actually when we were talking about in our conversation.

[01:00:42]It's simple but you you can you can you can analyze that and you can every time that you smell it you are discovering a new facet >> of the fragrance. Uh this is like a simple complexity.

[01:00:54]>> Yeah. This to me smells distinctly artisal and I'll give you my reasons. So this one smells natural first of all.

[01:01:01]>> It does not smell synthetic. It does not smell boosted in any way at all.

[01:01:07]It smells very thick.

[01:01:11]And as you said, there's like this um there's this degree of complexity which is just not possible to replicate in in a lab. You just can't because there's a little bit of this randomness which only nature can provide, you know.

[01:01:29]>> Mhm.

[01:01:32]So, it smells uh paradoxically unrefined in the best way possible. For example, when you try to replicate a molecule of vanilla, right? The smell of vanilla, it's going to be something very, very precise. You're not going to be dirtying it up. This one smells dirty. It smells like there's a lot of beautiful molecules, but they're contaminated >> in the best way possible. Again, making for this incredibly rich, incredibly detailed fragrance.

[01:02:00]So beautiful.

[01:02:02]>> Yeah, this is really nice.

[01:02:04]>> Nice. Beautiful.

[01:02:04]>> You like it?

[01:02:05]>> Yeah, I like it very much. It's really, really nice.

[01:02:07]>> All right, let's go with number two.

[01:02:10]Again, I've smelt these, so I'm looking for Luke's comment.

[01:02:16]This one is even darker. Yeah, this one's uh something.

[01:02:22]I can smell Yeah. more animalic.

[01:02:29]>> This one has a lot of evolution, >> you know, like it smells very different from the air what you sprayed and on on the paper strip. So, I would not be I would not be surprised if you told me that it's different if you smell like on skin and if you catch it in the air.

[01:02:43]>> This one also on skin like after half I don't know what it is. By the way, again, it's unlabeled. I have no idea what this fragrance is. And just to give you an idea about the scent color, this is even darker. This one on skin evolves dramatically after about half an hour.

[01:02:59]It becomes this uh it starts off incredibly smoky >> like bitter smoky animalic and then it becomes this beautiful smooth thing.

[01:03:10]>> I think the name is written on the bottom.

[01:03:13]>> Really?

[01:03:14]>> Yes. And >> Oh wow. I didn't even see.

[01:03:18]>> I saw that and I was like, "Yeah, actually I can smell the >> This one here is ambred coco by the way."

[01:03:26]>> But there is a chocolatey thing like very chocolatey to me.

[01:03:31]>> Yes. Yes. But I I I don't know if if I'm biased because I I just read the name.

[01:03:35]>> No. No. To me, it was always very chocolatey. I have no idea what that it was. To me, this one here was a very chocolatey, very dusty leather thing, like burnt. Mhm.

[01:03:47]kind of like a burnt coffee grounds mixed with chocolate.

[01:03:51]>> Really interesting, huh?

[01:03:52]>> Yes. Yes. Yes.

[01:03:54]>> And by the way, just to reveal it, the red one at this point is Beauty and the Beast.

[01:03:59]>> For all intents and purposes, I have absolutely no idea what's in here.

[01:04:03]>> It doesn't necessarily smell like the beast. I mean, it has animal facets, but it's more like this beautiful round floral.

[01:04:09]>> Yes.

[01:04:12]Given that you smelled the second one, do you think that these smell artisal again? Different?

[01:04:17]>> Yes.

[01:04:18]>> From your usual fragrance?

[01:04:19]>> Totally. Totally.

[01:04:21]>> Would you pinpoint these two Middle East, Asian, and French? What kind of perfumery is it?

[01:04:27]>> I would say I can I think it's easier to say what they are not >> Yeah.

[01:04:31]>> than what they are.

[01:04:32]>> It doesn't smell French.

[01:04:33]>> It doesn't smell French at all.

[01:04:34]>> No.

[01:04:34]>> Absolutely.

[01:04:35]>> It doesn't smell Italian at all.

[01:04:36]>> No. Neither. No.

[01:04:37]>> I think that it just smells generally Asian. I mean, he is from uh he's I'm assuming he's from Russia.

[01:04:44]>> Don't flame me, but he does live in Thailand.

[01:04:47]>> Mhm.

[01:04:48]>> So, in a similar way to Maxim, in a similar way to Bartnikov, I think that is part of the culture to have these really rich smells.

[01:04:57]So, it smells to me like the fragrances that I tested from those brands.

[01:05:02]>> Mhm.

[01:05:02]>> Which one do you like more, the Beauty and the Beast or the >> Amber Coco?

[01:05:08]a Beauty and the Beast. I have to say I think that I like more Ambreoko just because it's more my style. It's darker.

[01:05:16]It's has this punch and it has an incredible evolution on skin. Again, on skin it starts off pretty animalic, but then it becomes really nice.

[01:05:25]>> Cool. No, I really I'm really impressed.

[01:05:27]It's really nice.

[01:05:29]>> All right, I guess that's it. The camera has been running for an hour and 28 minutes, so I'm going to be cutting this down just a little bit to make it more palatable.

[01:05:40]Thank you so much, Luke.

[01:05:41]>> Thank you for having me.

[01:05:42]>> This is super cool.

[01:05:43]>> Yeah, that was a blast.

[01:05:44]>> It was very, very important again for Luke to smell this stuff other than me.

[01:05:47]I wanted to smell it with him because it's fun, but also because >> when we have Russian Adam on the Frack Talk, at least we know what we're talking about and we're not going to be talking out of our asses.

[01:05:58]>> So, yeah, super cool stuff. I can't wait to nerd out with Russian Adam. Thank you again. It's been a pleasure. It's been a privilege. And yeah, these two fragrances are absolutely amazing.

[01:06:10]I can't advertise them. I can't review them. I can't do anything. They were gifted. They're decans. But still amazing stuff. Actually, you know what?

[01:06:18]I think that you can't even buy them.

[01:06:20]So, good luck.

[01:06:22]>> If you're interested, you know already.

[01:06:24]Uh yeah, amazing. All right. I guess that's it. Satisfied?

[01:06:30]>> Yes, very much so. Yes.

[01:06:31]>> I'm gonna be tucking that cigarette thing on the [laughter] pillow.

[01:06:34]>> Thank you.

[01:06:35]>> All right. See you guys.

[01:06:36]>> See you.