drseid's Review of Thirty-three by Ex Idolo

Thirty Three opens with a slightly sweet boozy dried fruit accord with hints of dark dulled rose peeping through. As the composition moves to its early heart the rose takes command, gaining in its depth and breadth as it turns jammy with the boozy fruit replaced by supporting rubbery Oud and relatively sanitized patchouli rising from the base. During the late dry-down the rose remains the star though now more thin and dewy, with the supporting patchouli joining near-transparent smooth Oud sans rubber coupling late with slightly powdery heliotrope. Projection is outstanding and longevity is excellent at over 12 hours on skin.

Thirty Three has been marketed as featuring "vintage Oud" aged thirty-three years before its use (hence the composition's name). That said, it is clear early-on that the rose is the real star, and it changes in its characteristics throughout the composition's relatively linear development. The rose starts off dark and slightly dull before blooming into a jammy full dominant rose in the heart and then a light and airy natural smelling dewy rose at the finish. The smooth vintage Oud used is detectable throughout, but my guess is it is enhanced by some synthetic Oud to create the rubbery effect early before it smooths into the composition during the late dry-down seamlessly eschewing its rubbery facet. While the official notes list has some fancy esoteric ingredients listed like "Damascus steel" I confess I did not detect them after multiple wearings on skin. The composition is really a more classic rose, Oud and patchouli elixir distinguished by the way the rose changes as the composition develops, exhibiting excellent execution. The bottom line is the vintage real Oud in the $130 per 30ml bottle Thirty Three is what most likely will get people to try it, but it is the ever-changing characteristics of the rose that makes the composition the "excellent" 4 star out of 5 success it is.

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