Amber Oud Gold Edition

So I got this one in today and it's the first time I'm wearing it. I'm not quite sure what my feelings are. Don't get me wrong; the smell is amazing. It's true amber and oud. Warm, slightly spicy, but tempered with a vague sweetness. It's very reminiscent of Michael Kors' Sexy Amber. The biggest difference is whereas Sexy Amber finishes off on a sweet note, Amber OUD Gold has something dark and masculine anchoring it at the end. This is a true unisex scent. We all know scents themselves are not gender specific; it's all in how we interpret them. But, based on our own personal experiences and the society we live in, we generally class smells as masculine or feminine. I genuinely cannot figure out if I feel like this is more masculine or feminine. Does it really matter? No. If you like a smell, you should wear it. But in trying to get a review so that others know what to expect? I'm just not sure. At first, it smelled more masculine to me. But when I asked my husband to smell it, he thought it smelled feminine. Either way, who cares. It smells like amber and oud. Definitely some woody notes, definitely some musk. A barest hint of vanilla. I don't detect any pineapple or melon at all. I It really is like slipping into your favorite baggy, oversized hoodie on the first chilly fall day. Just warm and comfy.

I bought this on Amazon due to the reviews here thinking I'd get a lovely fragrance with loads of compliments. I got a scent that I can only detect when my nose is up against the sprayer....and even then it is a light after shower spritzer smell to me. Due to everyone saying it is a large, overpowering fragrance this totally confused me. I did go easy on the first application, but I went nose blind almost immediately, ok...fine, whatever, start my day. Husband asked what I was wearing immediately....said it was 'nice'. Went about my day, neighbors stopped over approx 7 hours after I applied and started with the "what IS THAT SMELL OMG!" sniff around at candles or air fresheners, but stopped on ME again saying it was a GREAT SMELL! Checking out at the store the young clerk said "I could smell you before you got up here..Mmmmm you smell fantastic!" So there ya go. Other people love it...I however, can't smell a thing. I put it on and am confident someone will compliment me! I made my husband put it on and I got the same result, I can't detect any smell/scent/odor other than the skin of his body. My nose is working fine for all my other fragrances and COVID didn't harm my sense of smell......its just this wacky Amber Oud Gold Edition that is a ghost of a fragrance to me.

I owned this back in 2023 or so when I had the cash to start really collecting some stuff. I remember liking this stuff, but it didn't suit my "masculine" needs at the time, I ended up gifting this bottle to someone, can't remember who anymore. Zoom forward to now, a couple nights ago I'm at work, and a co worker comes back with a sample of Erba Pura from Xerjoff that was given to him by one of our guests. We both sampled it and enjoyed, and it was funny, because the smell of it IMMEDIATELY took me back to this stuff right here. There are some subtle differences, Erba Pura having a little less sweetness than this offers. But oooof having this in my collection owning almost 80 bottles, is GOLD. Having a 10 bottle collection? I could see why I got rid of it.

When I first bought this, I found it to be very synthetic. It was nice, but way too screechy or something along those lines. My bottle is now at least 6 months old, and I’ve started to like it more and more. It's not as loud as some might suggest. To my nose, it's a sweet yet smooth fragrance. It is perfectly unisex. Whenever I wear this, I always get a compliment or two, so people definitely notice it. The drydown on skin is very smooth and easily lasts at least 8 hours (on clothes, even longer). I’ve also tested it on paper strips, but for some reason, it’s just not the same. So make sure to try it on your skin or clothes before you judge! I've just adjusted my rating from "like" to "love" for this one. :)

Definitely leans more feminine but still i rate this heavily for men too if that isn't something you don't mind. Opening is very sweet and fruity( i get more red fruits/berries rather that the expected bergamot), the sweetness is a bit overwhelming, almost offputting from the start but it quickly mellows down to this still pretty sweet but quite balanced fruity gourmand. After ~1-2 hours it has settled to this slightly sweet vanilla and fruit scent with some slight musk and amber to balance it out. Projection is insane which is expected from Al Haramain. Longevity is good with it projecting for around 7-8 hours, and after that as a skin scent for 12-14 hours in total.