The Nose Behind
The Nose Behind
163 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Pink pepper crackles against bright citrus oils whilst the Thai oud immediately asserts itself underneath—sharp, almost medicinal, cutting through the lemon with something vaguely agricultural and unsettling. Within seconds, you understand this won't be a comforting fragrance.
The plum rounds into something darker and more ambiguous, its stone fruit qualities becoming almost fermented as it mingles with rose petals that have been rendered slightly animalic by the oud's persistent presence. Iris and cedar crystallise the composition into something genuinely woody and spiced, building structure where there was initially only tension.
Benzoin deepens into a dusty amber-floral residue whilst musk and sandalwood reduce the oud's wildness to something more sensual than aggressive—though never truly tame. What remains is a softly animalic, slightly resinous skin scent that whispers rather than projects.
Silk! Oud announces itself as something deliberately contentious—a fragrance that doesn't court approval so much as demand a reckoning. Christian Carbonnel has constructed a scent architecture where animalic warmth (a staggering 100% accord weight) sits in uneasy conversation with bright citrus, creating immediate tension. The opening burst of orange and lemon feels almost confrontational against what you sense lurking beneath: that unmistakable feral quality of Thai oud, a note that smells less like a precious wood and more like wet animal hide and fermented leather.
What makes Silk! Oud genuinely intriguing is how the heart softens this animality without surrendering it. Plum and rose emerge, but these aren't delicate florals—they're bruised, slightly fermented, rendered almost fleshy by proximity to the oud's barnyard sensuality. The iris and atlas cedar anchor everything in spice and wood (88% spicy accord), preventing this from ever becoming prettified. Benzoin in the base adds a resinous, almost medicinal sweetness that reads as slightly dusty, slightly antiquated.
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4.3/5 (194)