Oud du Jour
Amouroud (2016)

Am I going insane or am I writing the same review twice for two different fragrances here? Amouroud is a premium niche line from The Perfumer's Workshop that focuses on oud-based creations as the name suggests, but this is zero for two on the oud-perfume-smelling-like-oud front from a brand that is self-identifying as one for lovers of the note. Going back to my review for Amouroud Oud After Dark (2016), I made note of a perfume that was really structured around the interplay between saffron, synthetic wood, ambroxan, and some novel fruity notes, coming across like an alternative to Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 (2015), and again I make the same observation here with Amouroud Oud du Jour (2016). I find that Oud du Jour comes across a bit drier and less-risky than Oud After Dark, plus a bit less of a direct homage to MFK br 540 in the base, which leads me to believe that they were likely two propositions on the same brief by the same perfumer and Amouroud decided to keep both. The name also implies day/night tandem use of both "oud" fragrances, but if I had to choose only one, Oud du Jour edges out Oud After Dark only slightly for being the more unique and enjoyable of the two. Still, it is a bit hard to overlook the glaring false advertising present in a house with "oud" in their name releasing "oud" fragrances that do not even remotely resemble what they claim to be, not even in the slightest.

Amouroud Oud du Jour opens with a similar saffron and pink pepper blast, with a "wild raspberry" note that feel more tart than the osmnanthus of Oud After Dark, being similar to the blackcurrant in Mancera Cedrat Boise (2011). The scent then moves into a familiar base of plum, synthetic wood stylings, and some dry florals like muguet. Supposedly there is olibanum here, but the only "incense" I get is the norlimbanol kind, although it is very slight and not on the scratchy side like with modern designers, showing the perfumer here has a deft hand with synthetic notes. The base is likewise ambroxan but without the tonka sweetness found in Oud After Dark, taking the plum note down into the base of the scent and pairing up with a patchouli isolate for a bit of a "fruitchouli" vibe late in the wear. Gaiac wood notes are claimed to be present, but it is the same Akigalawood "generic woody mossiness" that Tom Ford favors in his Private Blend bases. Enjoyable, but not an oud scent by any stretch of the imagination, the initial sting of being taken for a fool with Oud After Dark is less painful here in Oud du Jour, since at least Oud du Jour is a woody oriental scent when the chips fall, and gets barely inside the wheelhouse of a synthetic oud (unlike Oud After Dark) for that reason, even if it doesn't smell like one. Wear is average all around, so no need to detail that out for you, but the smell of Oud du Jour is more unisex than Oud After Dark, and better for casual or formal use because it is less sweet. I feel this is still a cold weather fragrance like its sibling as well.

Who Oud du Jour will appeal to is anyone's guess, as it doesn't try to ape a more-popular and more-expensive niche competitor like Oud After Dark, which at least in so doing gave it reason to exist for thrifty niche seekers in spite of itself. Casual oud fans with even basic knowledge of more medicinal designer synthetic ouds, let alone those who love the more-natual and animalic stuff, will still have a hard time accepting the farce that the brand is shaping up to be, which is sad because the non-oud entries in Amouroud's catalog are really freakin' nice. Just who is going to shop a brand pretending it specializes in ouds for their non-oud lines? Nobody, that's who. If you are a lover of odd and well-done creations, you may very well enjoy Oud du Jour, and fans of Le Labo who are used to knowing what is in the bottle doesn't match what's on the label may also be more lenient with Amouroud, but the brand is batting 1000 in the niche exploitation department for everyone with 2 cents to rub together. The Perfumer's Workshop otherwise has a good reputation for delivering quality pound for pound, so maybe you can overlook this glaring ruse when sampling these "ouds", but I certainly can't, although I can't bring myself to dislike this perfume either. Like I said before, at least Byredo interpretations can be recognized as such. Spiced plum and woods over patchouli and "ambergris" sounds good to me, just don't try to tell me it's oud or we're going to have some problems. Neutral

A prune and berry fruit accord coupled with spicing of equal strength (the notes list black pepper and saffron but I smell mainly pepper, nutmeg, even cumin) on a dry woods and resins background. Oud du Jour doesn't deploy its notes with a heavy hand and comes off smelling like the perfumer was trying to achieve something like an oud in the manner of Duchaufour's offerings for The Different Company or even Jubilation. However, the fruity tones come across as rubbery and blended to death and the oud reconstruction (though mild) seems like a bald woody aromachemical.
It gets a bit better with time – the spices that were a bit too strong for my taste relaxed into the mix and some floral notes came into view. But on the whole Oud du Jour has nothing to it that can lift it to the level it is aiming for.