Medoud
Oud Beginner
Today I repeated the JS Emperor of China, JS Emperor Guan Yu and IO Fragrant Harbour Imperial trio because I needed more time to compare them.
Right before starting this comparative review, I’d like to point out that Imperial Oud’s Fragrant Harbour Imperial is the main culprit of my „ouddiction”. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, I was lucky enough to start my oud journey with a sample of this beautiful oil and once I inhaled it I knew that there’s no turning back. Imagine my shock when I realized that the scent of real oud is light years away from the synthetic oud accords and low-grade oud oils used in high-end niche perfumery.
Regarding the oils, I find Fragrant Harbour Imperial and Emperor Guan Yu very similar in every aspect. Both have the same age (distilled in 2018), both have the same performance and both have a scent profile built around a central yellow kinamic manuka honey note which in the opening is accompanied by a short-lived slightly citric top note. Once the citric top fades away, the honey is accompanied by green hay, watermelon rind and a slightly bitter, herbaceous tea note. Both in FHI and EGY you get all the notes almost simultaneously and the progression of the scent is somewhat linear compared to Emperor of China, which lacks the citric opening, instead the main yellow kinamic manuka honey note is accompanied by spices, mainly cinnamon, anise and vanilla. After about an hour my nose picks up red rooibos tea, cherry pipe tobacco and an interesting cherry and plum dumpling filling note (a Central/Eastern European dessert) which in combination with the honey and spices gives the oil a boozy, cherry/plum liquor vibe. As the scent profile progresses, I get some green notes reminiscent of matcha tea, sweet green hay and watermelon rind. In the dry down, I smell mainly honey with a touch of vanilla and it’s very similar to the dry downs of EGY and FHI.
To summarize, all three oils are top Chinese sinensis ouds, but Emperor of China is more perfumy, more complex, richer and lasts even more than EGY and FHI. It's my clear winner and I wouldn’t have thought that I’ll find an even better Chinese sinensis oil than FHI and EGY. My only regret is that I could afford only 1.5 g of it and now it's sold out. A big thanks to Marius for introducing this gem to me!
Right before starting this comparative review, I’d like to point out that Imperial Oud’s Fragrant Harbour Imperial is the main culprit of my „ouddiction”. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, I was lucky enough to start my oud journey with a sample of this beautiful oil and once I inhaled it I knew that there’s no turning back. Imagine my shock when I realized that the scent of real oud is light years away from the synthetic oud accords and low-grade oud oils used in high-end niche perfumery.
Regarding the oils, I find Fragrant Harbour Imperial and Emperor Guan Yu very similar in every aspect. Both have the same age (distilled in 2018), both have the same performance and both have a scent profile built around a central yellow kinamic manuka honey note which in the opening is accompanied by a short-lived slightly citric top note. Once the citric top fades away, the honey is accompanied by green hay, watermelon rind and a slightly bitter, herbaceous tea note. Both in FHI and EGY you get all the notes almost simultaneously and the progression of the scent is somewhat linear compared to Emperor of China, which lacks the citric opening, instead the main yellow kinamic manuka honey note is accompanied by spices, mainly cinnamon, anise and vanilla. After about an hour my nose picks up red rooibos tea, cherry pipe tobacco and an interesting cherry and plum dumpling filling note (a Central/Eastern European dessert) which in combination with the honey and spices gives the oil a boozy, cherry/plum liquor vibe. As the scent profile progresses, I get some green notes reminiscent of matcha tea, sweet green hay and watermelon rind. In the dry down, I smell mainly honey with a touch of vanilla and it’s very similar to the dry downs of EGY and FHI.
To summarize, all three oils are top Chinese sinensis ouds, but Emperor of China is more perfumy, more complex, richer and lasts even more than EGY and FHI. It's my clear winner and I wouldn’t have thought that I’ll find an even better Chinese sinensis oil than FHI and EGY. My only regret is that I could afford only 1.5 g of it and now it's sold out. A big thanks to Marius for introducing this gem to me!
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