Mysterious Oud
Bortnikoff (2018)

Mysterious Oud from Bortnikoff. By far, my favorite offering from this house. For me, the house was a miss for the most part. None stood out the way Mysterious Oud did. I first tried this perfume when Dmitry was launching his line. However, back then I couldn't appreciate its boldness. Funny enough, it was the one to last the most from the original trio, yet by the time I made the courage to purchase a bottle, it barely sold out, and then it got changed. To my nose, it got reformulated, and after comparing, the OG is more dense, base-heavy, and Oud-dominant. It has more oomph to it. The subsequent light-colored wooden cap and the Roja-style cap bottles feel more sheer, less Oudy, almost Cedarish, and a touch more ambery/spicy. More tailored for the Western palate, let's say. Still, very similar in DNA.

This perfume is a gorgeous melange of warm spices, lots of natural Ouds mixed in the base, sweet and gooey resins, and a beautiful leathery, chewy castoreum. The overall effect is of an oud perfume, supported by the warmth of the spices and resins, with a bit of a dirty touch from the beaver. Rather simple but very well done and unique smelling. I can't compare this to anything on the market. It shines in cold weather, even though I wear it all year round if I feel like it. In the cold, all the warmth surfaces to envelope you into a most satisfying aura.

In my books, this is the best offering from the house.

IG:@memory.of.scents

It all started for me with YSL M7, and Ajmal Saif Al Hind, which was a nice Hindi Oud and Rose mix (with a few other things of course, probably saffron, as that's standard). It was powerful stuff. Then I went through a long binge with all those expensive (at the time!) Amouage attars, buying full bottles of many of them. Fast forward 10 years and now Oud is pretty mainstream, with every house obligated to have oud offerings in their lineup, and much of it manufactured oud, not natural. I had a hiatus with my perfume obsession for a few years, but I'm back and bitten hard by the bug. The Amouage attars seem inexpensive now compared with the new batch of offerings from Areej, Bortnikoff, Dove, and Ensar Oud (among others).

So I got me a little sample vial of Bortnikoff Mysterious Oud on Ebay and have been working with it for a couple of days. The guy I bought it from mislabeled the vial with 'Mysterious Mud'. LOL.

Out of the gate, it is very rich, with a complexity that is compelling. One of the first things I get, beside the initial 'gasoline / hydrocarbon' notes of the oud(s) spinning off, is chocolate! A sort of rich candied chocolate. I don't think cacao is listed in the ingredients. It's funny what the mind does when it comes across something it isn't familiar with. The opening for me is very delicious with this rich foody thing going on. Yeah, a spiced candied chocolate oud. Nose buried in wrist, pleasure neurons firing like crazy. That stage lasts for a nice amount of time.

I can smell the different ouds, but the blending is good, they are like different musical registers, with high, middle and low notes. The overall effect is indeed full and 'Mysterious' and exotic in a nice way. Florals? Spices? Incense? My mind needs more time to unpack the full range of impressions.

I don't know if I'd spring for a full bottle of this stuff. I'm just getting started with my sampling of the latest gems from the Russian Emigré community in Thailand. A nice offering from Monsieur Bortnikoff, both exotic AND wearable. Good job. Thumbs up for Mysterious 'Mud'!

Totally capitivating. I let this one pass me by as I have been throughly enjoying Dmitry's work in his later series. Glad I found this before it became completely to hard to source. The sparkling orange bergamot opening takes me on a uplifting journey all the way to the base were the real magic begins with its superior blending of three Oud triumpriate of Vietnamese, Hindi and Trat plus a phlethora of other notes.
A triumph of a scent which again has been a relevation to my senses. I really enjoy this work.

Edit: im gonna leave my first review up as a reminder how these things smell to the unaquiented. I actually like this as one of my favorite blended ouds ive smelled. I keep coming back to it as fascinating, and i get no fecal tones at all now, whether it aged or my palate grew i do not know. I like it now. Who would have guessed.

Old review. The opening here is quite fecal. Animalic on overload. An hour in it starts to smell quite a bit better. The fecal oud has started to cede and blend in with the castoreum (which shines) and spices (namely opoponax). I got whiffs at certain times of cedar, rose, tonka, and labdanum, but these are all muchly bit players, and any recognition of these could have been just a matter of suggestion from reading of the notes. It projected pretty hard for the first hour or two, but then dwindled. Not one I enjoyed very much.

Stardate 20181031:

Boot Polish leather and spices. A bit of oud. Decent fragrance but nothing mysterious or new here. Not worth the price IMO.

This starts with a pleasant whiff of Hindi. As I follow down I reach the fruity Varnish of Trat with a whiff of Smoke and Whiskey. The heart is reminisce of some Zoologist creations.
Tolu has a distinct scent profile that if used heavily turns me off. In this case it wraps itself gently around the heart.
Rose rarely shows it's colour, however the Petroleum of Jasmine mates with a healthy dose of wonderful Labdanum to produce a leathery feel and a trail of light creosote.
Animalic and sweet richness of tone is provided by a Castoreum wrapped around a Tonka Vanilla envelope.
Spices and Incense slice through any cloyness. Baie Rose does exist, within this melange and provides it's sharp points together with Cardamom whispers of Camphour.
This, for me, is a contemplative scent, that perhaps appeals more to the Masculine sensibility.