Oud Luwak
Areej le Doré (2018)

Oud Luwak is a bone dry take on coffee and oud (more wood than oil, in my opinion) that alights on a slightly sweaty, musky cedarwood and vetiver base. Fans of rich but dry wood fragrances (think Chêne by Serge Lutens) will like it, but fans of woody scents that cross over into campfire smoke will adore it. It is clipped, minimalist, and unsentimental in structure, reminding me very much of stuff like Fireside Intense by Sonoma Scent Studio, Bois d’Ascese by Naomi Goodsir, and Black by Comme des Garcons (in the basenotes at least).

The coffee note Oud Luwak plays with up top is fresh and rich, avoiding outright bitterness or that nasty ‘over-brewed’ staleness that often afflict coffee-based scents. There’s also not a single drop of syrup or cream to blunt its dark, toasty impact. Most coffee notes leave me wanting to brew my own coffee and smell that instead; something is always too cloying, intense, or overly bitter (or conversely, overly sweetened) about coffee in perfumery. Thankfully, this is not the case here. Unfortunately, I find that the coffee note lasts only a short time before ceding to the woody, smoky basenotes.

Oud-wise, Oud Luwak has much more in common with Russian Adam’s first oud scent, Oud Zen, than with Russian Oud or Oud Piccante; it is neither savory-spicy (Oud Piccante) nor gourmand (Russian Oud), but streamlined and neutral in flavor, like Oud Zen. The coffee note is a great innovation, as is the smoke (I like the way both are treated in Oud Luwak). It is the most subtle and ethereal of the 4 fragrances this time around, lasting only 4 hours on my skin. However, it’s very wearable, discreet, and dapper, as oud fragrances go, so do keep it in mind if you’re looking for an oud you can take out and about without scaring the horses. If I were matching Oud Luwak to a face, it would be Doug Stamper in House of Cards –uncivilized darkness wrapped up in an elegantly self-contained package.

As a kopi luwak lover (for those who doesn't know, kopi luwak translate into coffee that originates from the animal, Luwak), it is an absolutely amazing idea to mix oud and coffee together. Kopi = coffee while Luwak gives off the civet scent when you rub it (it's considered animal abuse). So to me, Oud Luwak, which consists of the coffee note and oud note is genius.

The perfume proper opens up with a strong coffee top note and slowly reveals the oud sensation behind it. It dries down into something medicinal about 2 hours later, not something that I was wishing for as I enjoyed the opening and middle notes more.

A thumbs up from me nonetheless.