Niche : Oud
Armaf

This one is something of a misnomer all round: its modest cost rules out the ‘niche’ of its name and there is no Oud note in it. These self-inflicted contradictions have brought out savagely differing opinions from commentators. Personally, I struggle with it. I get the spicy, amber and, in particular, the pepper notes, but the iris seems utterly overwhelmed. This leaves you with a kind of TF Tobacco Oud( with which it has often been compared), but this is not what I signed up for. I eye it up on my shelf and feel I have to get round to wearing it since it is staring me in the face accusingly, but I have no real enthusiasm for it. True, it is well put together, with decent longevity, but I am permanently at a loss as to when to wear it. I usually settle for cold winter days when I have nothing important to do or interesting people to meet.
Hardly a full-blooded endorsement. Definitely not a blind buy.

Oily, woody vanilla scent that reminds me of Perry Ellis Oud : Black Vanilla Absolute without the rum and tobacco, the best parts.

Seems best for cold weather as it is heavy/dense. I get above average projection and all day longevity.