Black Oud
Kilian (2012)

This one is a dark blast of oud, incense, and patchouli. The rose peaks through as it develops, but remains a bit muted. More complexity than others from the Kilian oud line, and one of the best from the house IMO.

This is my of my decant of By Kilian Black Oud, the discontinued Arabian Nights release that is essentially the intensified version of Incense Oud. Like many seem to have noted online, Black Oud is has more oud and is more animalic than Incense Oud, so it's less smooth and agreeable than Incense Oud while still having the balance of both incense and oud and of course, some slightly bit of rose. The balance feels 40% oud, 40% incense, 20% rose, more or less, and like the other entries in the line, it performs well, albeit not as strongly as the oud-named Pure Oud and Pearl Oud.

I believe the retail price of Black Oud was in the $350-400 range, which would be roughly the same as the main Arabian Nights collection (Amber, Musk, Rose, Incense, Pure Oud) for $395, so perhaps the higher / more intense tier was even more. Regardless, that's too high of a price to pay, as with most Kilians, and the discounted $200-or-lower price that's seen on many secondary markets is more line with demand, it seems. For example, FragranceNet currently has both Musk Oud (from the original Arabian Nights collection) and Pearl Oud (the Doha city exclusive) for under $200, under half of retail.

Overall, Black Oud is a nice oud-enhanced take on Incense Oud but in being more oud-laden, some of the ease of wearing is lost that I enjoy in Incense Oud. If I wanted more oud, for example, I would reach for Pure Oud, myself, even though Pure Oud has its own intense version, Extreme Oud. Still, Black Oud is nice semi-animalic winter option on its own merits, price notwithstanding.

7 out of 10

I REALLY like this one. It starts off with oud and saffron over a green, vegetal evergreen smell. Given some time, it blooms into a wonderful smell that reminds me of cherry pipe tobacco, a complex mix of honeyed, woody cedar and chamomile tea, but with the leathery and evergreen elements remaining in play.

Later in the day, it all settles into a smell that reminds me of a damp, mulchy redwood forest the day after a rain, mixed with the smell of a smoky leather jacket.

By the end of the day, it a sweet mix of chamomile tea and sweet cedar, lightly sweetened with residual honey.

It's worth noting that Kilian has said that he won't use real oud because of difficulties responsibly sourcing it, so it's kind of hard to justify the $500 price tag for this Qatar/Beverly Hills exclusive based on that, but it sure smells great... I'd highly recommend sampling if you can.

The oud in it is softer and more complex than in Pure Oud and Extreme Oud.

I , briefly , smelled plenty of resins.

Very nice smelling. If you liked Pure Oud you will love this.

Compared to this, Pure Oud was a bit more austere. Black Oud is slightly more enveloping and glowing.