Rania J. Oud Assam Perfume Review
Rania J. Oud Assam Eau de Parfum is rich oud and all that that entails; it’s pungent, animalistic, earthy, and fecal in its early development. Given some time, it turns leathery, spiced, and woody as it plays with smoky, smooth vetiver, incense, and tonka bean. The notes are:
- top notes: bergamot, sweet orange, bitter orange
- heart notes: oud
- base notes: cedar wood, vetiver, frankincense, black pepper, tonka bean, musk
It opened with bitter orange peels, subtle sweet orange, and earthy, slightly animalistic oud over a bed of spicy-sweet frankincense and black pepper but most of the notes evaporated in minutes and left a potent oud behind. Cool, smoky vetiver breezed around the oud, which amplified the oud’s barnyard aspect, smelling of horses and hay (and everything a horse-stall would entail, including not-yet-mucked out horse-stalls). It was smoky, leathery, earthy, musky, and very animalic.
After 15 minutes of development, the oud was smoky, woody, and earthy with less overt fecal tones, while the vetiver was smoother, less harsh. There was a delicate touch of smoky-sweet incense with soft musk. It smelled of dry, warm woods, leather, smoke, and musk, which were all well-blended together and the oud no longer came across as pungent after 30 minutes of wear.
The progression turned more linear from there with the oud still in focus but slowly shared the stage with vetiver, tonka bean, and musk in the drydown.
Application
For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.
Longevity
It lasted for five hours until it was a skin-scent and about eight hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection within two hours.
Personal Thoughts
I enjoy oud as a note, though the pungency of the oud here is more than I tend to go for, so it’s not something I could see myself reaching for often enough to merit a full bottle, but it is a lovely option for those who prefer a stronger oud.
Available Sizes
- 50ml for $155
- 0.7ml sample for $4
🌾🐴💩??? No thanks!! Sounds disgusting, and I’m from a place of someone who actually has cleaned out horse stalls from ages 10-14!
The most pungent of oud is definitely not for everyone’s nose!
I’m hoping that you mean feral rather than fecal in your description, LOL.
I did mean what I wrote! Depending on the oud, it can have more of a barnyard/fecal smell to it initially. This is a really good explanation 🙂
I’m curious how fecal that note is in comparison to civet (which, to my tender nose once upon a time smelled like chunky diarrhea in a sun-baked portajohn). I love the smell of barnyards and hay and earth. But there’s a difference between warm barnyard and “a goat took a fresh shit in here.”
…..well, maybe I love the smell of old, abandoned barnyards…?
anyway, this is 100% something I’d want to sample in the future.
Definitely not THAT level of intensity, but probably more than just hay and earth (which makes me think of an almost abandoned barn than a working barn, if that makes sense!).
Sorry, no! I do love Bergamot but this would be an easy pass. I am a floral sort of girl!