Oud Alif
Shay & Blue (2013)

Oud Alif is Arabic for "tame oud" or "friendly oud", and that is a faithful description of this fragrance.

OA is a good oud fragrance, but not really much more. The dry down loses its oud and keeps its sandalwood. It's a safe, traditional oud to my nose while being clean and slightly refined. The price point makes perfect sense.

If you're introducing yourself to oud, this is a nice starting point. Just don't expect it to blow your mind.

This fragrance is amazing - definitely in my top ten and a weekend favourite outside of hot weather months. It opens with almost an incense and gradually dries down to delicate, slightly smokey chocolate. I love how it develops throughout the day from a little bit rugged to something perfect for going to bed with - the edges become smooth and it becomes rich and sweet, but with enough of the earlier notes left to keep it balanced, interesting and not too cloying. It's got real depth and character, and unique/original too.

A lighter version of Amouage Interlude. Longevity is not as much as expected for me, sillage is moderate. It would be interesting to see what the newly released Extract of Parfum version is like, unfortunately, they are not offering samples of it at the moment. For the money, I would stick to Amouage Interlude which is more complex and longer lasting.

Best Oud fragance of all time. Need i say more?

After many sample wearings I finally purchased a full bottle. Using adjectives to describe a fragrance is tough, but I find myself reaching for the word gorgeous. To my nose this is a well balanced battle between oud, cocoa, and leather. I sometimes detect all three distinct notes blended together, at other times one note will come forward only to retreat and be replaced by another. Extremely well blended and agree that I am surprised this scent remains unnoticed. With 8-10 hours longevity and a unique profile it has quickly moved into my Top 5.

I'm surprised Oud Alif doesn't have more reviews. This is my favorite from Shay and Blue and one of the top ones in my overall collection. For me, it doesn't have an overpowering scent of Oud, but the designer for this fragrance seems to have a lot of talent in blending notes in such a way that none of them overpower each other. As with some of their other scents, this one feels high-end to me. Something I'd wear with a suit and tie, but seems to go well in day to day wear for me.

Oudmania galore: Another one! The opening is very nice, good creamy oud that is quite typical, and not too synthetic. There is a chocolate note in the drydown that is on the spicier side - although others around me get more of it that I actually do - and the base is a nice, dark patchouli that has a bit of sharpness but not too much. Good silage and projection for about for hours, and then it retreats to remain close to my skin and becomes a lot flatter. It is not bad at all, but the second phase is not really very remarkable: I am hovering between neutral and positive on this one - with the good longevity of six hours I will give it a borderline positive. There are more exciting ouds, but this is not bad.