Agarwoud
Heeley (2012)

On my skin this is complex, rich, and utterly captivating. I can't say I have a great nose, but I've done a lot of exploration lately and this scored at the top of over 40 samples.

Heeley characterizes Agarwoud as “dark, mystical elegance.” To my nose, it’s neither dark nor mystical, though it is elegant in its own way. This is (synth) oud so sanitized, rose so green, and an overall profile so light, it’s more like an “oud de cologne” than anything remotely authentic. As such, it’s quite pleasant, if not especially long-lasting (though it holds on as a skin scent).

On the one hand, I like a good, clean minimalist scent. On the other, Agarwoud is neither great oud nor great rose. One could argue that its merits are dependent on those notes being unremarkable in themselves. Still, I’m not likely to plunk down niche money for it—though, if I had a bottle, I’d definitely keep it.

Agarwoud fits right in with Heeley's mainly minimalistic ethos – it's a linear, acetone oud, quite stylized and buffed. The realization of the oud note is in the vein of MFK attempts – vaporous, clean, unashamedly synthetic. The same can be said of the rose here – which seems airbrushed to the point of unreality (a la Tocade). It brings an angular art deco sensibility to its approach to these natural elements which is surely the intention: to produce something sheer, beyond nature, almost conceptual. There is a touch of something woodsy like a sweetened sandalwood in the background which seems to be the only concession to the real.
The linearity can get to be a bore in something so streamlined, and I'll admit I wouldn't want to wear it often. But I find this enjoyable in infrequent doses.

I don't know why, but rose and I do not get along. I keep trying...one, because I want to understand the scent and learn the nuances...and two, because my wife adores the scent on me! I don't know what it could be? Perhaps that I am always reminded of my grandmother's house? Or that my first rose scent was Montale's Black Aoud...which I should have "built" up to!

So here I am testing one of my favorite house's rose/oud fragrance, Agarwoud, and I find myself really liking it...as a rose scent, that is. It is very simple, and perhaps synthetic, but I could see myself wearing it. It is not very long lasting, nor does it project much, but it has a roundness to it, an almost satin-like feel.

I will keep trodding(word?) down the rose road, though, with the knowledge that Agawoud will be there for me if nothing else. It earns a 3 out of 5 for me.

Speaking as a Heeley's fan, Agarwoud is possibly the first real “fail” in his range so far, in my opinion (I've not tested the whole line, though). A completely conventional and dull synthetic oud scent, trying to play again Heeley's clean contemporary “transparency” card, which however here does not seem to manage to be a creative statement. Maybe because here it's not about reworking materials shaping them in some creative and clever way to give them that particular sort of understand and transparent look; here, it smells more of a “ready-made” scent, as basically synthetic oud smells like that already – I mean: a linear, sharp, synthetic oud pretty much exactly like dozens of others (pick any Montale without the “variation-topping”: same story). Salty, metallic nuances with a hint of translucent rose complete the blend. It's not strictly bad, but it's sadly dull, uninspired and honestly quite boring, as it is also quite linear. Plus the persistence is fairly short (not that you need hours of this...).

5/10

I applied this to my wrists and my nose picked up two notes. Rose and Beer. As time passed I recognized a woody note and a light rose again. It was a transparent and ethereal rose and pleasant, however ultimately soft. Offered a whiff to my brother-in law to ask his impressions. Without prompting he said "Hmm, Rose and Beer" We both moved on to watching the wives ordering dinner at the KiKi Bar. Cuir Pleine Fleur is much more interesting to this kid!

However,

There is a styling, of, quiet, meditative, linear, precision and transparency that I have found intriguing of late. It's a quality that is carried with Heeley scents that I have tried. It is a narrative that has caused me to place Heeley on my list of imaginary Bespoke acquisition.

A simple, safe, quality, well made, well balanced and repetitive oud and rose combo.
This is the best way to describe this fragrance.
The whole idea of the scent is just a soft, none offensive scent.
The rose note is very fresh and a transparent.
It's not so heavy and in your face. it's not very sweet and syrupy. it's not so spicy, very woody or animalic ..... it's just simple, pleasant and fresh rose with a little bit of sweetness.
The oud note is light, but strong enough to give the scent a dark and woody feeling.
The incense note shows up just for a short time at the opening with slight smoky vibe, but disappears before even you can catch it.
If you like this combination and want something without anything that piss you off, this is for you.
Both projection and longevity is average. around 4-5 hours of longevity and medium projection.
I like it. not a bottle worthy fragrance for me but I like it.
Great quality and very good balance of the notes is something that shine in this fragrance.

Heeley Agarwoud is at it's best just after it first goes on your skin. And it has a lot of appeal at that point. So pretty. So simple. A pretty rose-scented jelly candy. Pretty pretty pretty. But elegant too. The sweet oud gives it it's gel quality.
And that's it.......
And maybe that's the problem I always seem to have with it. I tire of it so quickly. Poor thing.

I like Darvant's review of this fragrance, as he hit the nail on the head of what appeals to me so much about Agarwoud, but didn't quite realize until reading his words. He called it an "angelical type of fragrances, with a sort of ethereal cool vibe that seems floating in the air as a beatifying cloud".
That's it - it has a light, uplifting vibe, a consecrated wood feel. I had always heard about the spiritual quality of Oud essential oil and wood, but never picked that up in oud perfumes. But, I finally got it with this one.
Yes, it comes in on a flooded market. But for me, it's spiritual take on the essence of oud makes it stand out (and at this point for me, stand alone). I love it.
I think the luminous wonder of this wafting oud must be taken with a different attitude than other ouds. Most are dark, rough, even brutal, as the impulse to explore the earth and fire side of oud has prevailed in fragrances. I don't diss that at all - one of my favorite fragrances is Black Aoud.
But Heeley has gone the other direction, giving this one air, silence, and water. What an amazing transformation! Darvant is right - it's as if oud were beatified. I didn't realize oud was so adaptable, except what's really going on is this quality was always there. I'm very glad to have found a fragrance that opened this up for me.

Very attractive bottle. Magnificent minimalism. However, the scent itself is very "short" AND very "small" making the expense entirely unreasonable in my opinion. More specifically, it smells more than terrific and more than wonderful, but it does not leave the skin, requring you to somehow stick your nose in your neck in order to detect it (which is why I chose to wear it on my forearms and wrists), unless you want to spray a lot of it on yourself and that's just a miserable downhill battle of wasting money and offending random passersby.

I tend to appreciate a lot such minimalistic immaculate/absolute and angelical type of fragrances, scents with a sort of ethereal cool vibe that seems floating in the air as a beatifying cloud. Overall i use to fully admire some types of incense fragrances in which the master creator is so craft and expert to hide the incensey presence in a sort of cool/rosey/slightly dusty (but in a silky and impalpable mode) way to seem holy. This fragrance is an extremely refined oud/incense/rose combo with a sort of finally soapy undertone and with a cool/watery (i love the reference to the champagne) and finally airy (an air that smells of rose with a fresh and delicate arcane incensey vibe) temperament that is so far from the brutal, medicinal or extremely dark/satanic modern oud beasts. Conceptually this fragrance reminds me a bit the slightly more sophisticated Amouage Homage (which is less musky/green, more clear and more incensey/floral) and infact both have a dreamy/otherworldly feel with a soaring up in the air rosey/airy aroma. Some nuances (i mean basically the musky/rosey temperament) remind me also the Montale Black Aoud. The subtle green oud/rose/incense "pollution" is supported by a well calibrated patchouli backbone which is anyway able to hide itself and to not interrupt with an earthy feel the general soapy/rosey silkiness. The final soapiness is substained by a delicate amber/benzoin basement with its opaque and barely mild cushion. I have also to add that (at least on my skin) the faint longevity is ostensible as the smell lasts for long time despite the longevity could not obviously be so powerful as the one from some more muscular ouds around (which overdose the oily/earthy/ rooty concentration). After some hours you start really to appreciate the substance of a green, soft and airy oud which the rose, the balsams, hints of musk and the incense represent a soapy almost neutral support. Pura Arte olfattiva.