Pearl Oud
Kilian (2015)

I own six By Kilian including Musk and Incense Ouds. As a fan of the line I looked forward to sampling and likely purchasing Pearl Oud. Unwilling to buy blind I sought out and finally received a sample from a known trusted source. After two full wearings Pearl Oud disappoints. It is no powerhouse, has poor longevity and little silage. It is light on oud and castoreum, the ingredients I sought it out for. That said, it does ooze quality and is the real deal - just so watered down and westernized as to earn a thumbs down. Heavy over spraying helps the performance but at the price Pearl Oud commands a spray or two should suffice. I can't rationalize my experience with the few reviews posted. I will seek out another sample from another source to firm up this review (or not). This fragrance ought not to be bought blind. If you expect something with a middle eastern flavour it comes up short.

A month later...

A third full wearing from the sample produced the same result but for brief whiffs of an intoxicating deep smoke late in the dry down.

Watching the local market Pearl Oud was in limited supply, disappearing, and a further sample was not forthcoming. I spoke to a SA who felt the sample I had was off. My Pearl Oud experience was so poor relative to the rest of the By Kilian line I gambled and bought a bottle. It performed no better. I had kept one wearing of my original sample and made a direct comparison to the new full bottle. Identical. Five wearings in I would classify Pearl Oud as a very expensive high quality skin scent. I am left wondering if a different formula reached North American shores.

Amazing Oud fragrance- powerful and refined. Projection and longevity is amazing and I feel classy wearing this scent.

Unfortunately it's been sold out because the Arabs in my area love this one also. :-(

By Kilian Pearl Oud is perhaps the most provocative fragrance I've tried from their house--a brilliant, dirty, lovely oud-dominant fragrance that is floral but never truly sweet. A very pungent opening of black pepper and saffron dries down into a mix of roses, with the base notes of oud and (hopefully synthetic) castoreum providing the oud and leather scents throughout the entire experience. The main evolution of this is from the spicy opening to the rosy heart.

Truly a powerful experience, Pearl Oud is one of the best-performing fragrances I've ever tried, as it's on the extreme of both projection and longevity.

To that effect, surely this should have mainly cold weather usage, and probably for more important occasions at night as opposed to everyday wear.

The main downside is--like many other oud-named fragrances from By Kilian that are also excellent, such as Incense Oud and Amber Oud--Pearl Oud too is significantly overpriced, and to an even greater extent. Its pricing of $475 for 50ml is greater than the typical oud pricing of $395 for 50ml and well above the other city boutique exclusives at $295 for 50ml. It's just a tough sell, which is a bummer, because it's such a great scent.

8 out of 10

A light floral, saffron oud fragrance that is very reminiscent of the style of "Oud" by Mason Francis Kurkdjian - his first oud perfume. I didn't think I would see another middle to higher toned oud perfume similar to the original MFK Oud classic, but here it is. The Killian rep at Harrod's told me this was originally made and introduced in Dubai for the Arabic market and the floral prominence as well as the haunting oud aroma suggest this would be very popular there. For the the western market Pearl Oud may be slightly feminine due to the lighter florals of: creamy mesmerizing Ylang, lyrical jasmine, healing rose and waxy iris that merge into a unified pearlescent dancing mid section which opens with a high pitched saffron note and lands upon a unguent indonesian type oud woody finish. Most probably a synthetic oud in the base coupled with gaiac wood and vetiver - possibly. The oud and wood base smells very appropriate for the floral main section and I would give this fragrance high marks for overall scent. In a crowded field of oud fragrances this one is just too similar to MFK Oud and also close to Boudicea the Victorious Imperial. It is a nice one though!