By Terry
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Tart raspberry and bergamot brightness arrives with almost cheerful immediacy, their citric sharpness cutting clean. Within moments, however, this pleasant opening begins its transformation, the berries taking on a slightly winey, fermented quality as the composition's darker intentions emerge.
Cumin blooms with surprising prominence, its warm, dusty-spice character intertwining with rose petals that feel sharp rather than soft, whilst saffron threads through like metallic smoke. The ambergris base begins surfacing here, adding a slightly animalic, almost soapy undertone that makes the whole composition feel slightly unsettling—deliberately so.
Oud, castoreum, and labdanum settle into a resinous, woody embrace, the fragrance becoming increasingly amber-forward and intensely atmospheric. Sandalwood provides a creamy, pale whisper, but the overall effect is decidedly dark and inward-turning, a fragrance that seems to shrink closer to the skin rather than project outward.
Terryfic Oud announces itself as a studied contradiction—a fragrance that attempts to marry the refined restraint of French perfumery with the dark, animalic pull of oud. Jean-Michel Santorini constructs something genuinely intriguing here, even if the execution proves frustratingly restrained.
The opening gambit of red berries and Calabrian bergamot suggests a fragrance that might float skyward, but this is merely misdirection. The heart pivots sharply, where cumin's earthy bite collides with rose and saffron, creating a spiced, almost masala-like sweetness that feels distinctly unconventional. This is where Terryfic Oud distinguishes itself: the saffron doesn't photograph prettily alongside the rose; instead, it roughens the edges, adding a metallic, slightly medicinal quality that prevents the composition from ever settling into comfort.
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4.2/5 (836)