Oud Essentiel is a woody leather fragrance by Guerlain launched in 2017 in the Les Absolus d’Orient collection, now part of the Absolus Allegoria line. Thierry Wasser pays tribute to oud wood: geranium and saffron open the composition, oud, rose and Atlas cedar form its heart, and leather, incense and guaiac wood its base. A unisex eau de parfum, in 125 ml.
Varanis Ridari, of The Scented Devil, likes this rose oud, which he finds accomplished without being new: a polished take on a highly codified genre, with a touch of the Guerlain spirit.
Olfastory’s review
The Scented Devil, April 2024
Varanis Ridari sees Oud Essentiel as Guerlain’s version of a classic rose and oud pairing from the Middle East. He genuinely likes it: oud and leather form a slightly animalic tandem, balanced by dry incense and a sweet rose.
He detects a touch of Guerlain DNA, without the Guerlinade, and reads in it a question: what would oud have become in the house’s hands at the height of its glory? The dry woods nonetheless keep it far from Shalimar and Jicky.
He compares it with other rose ouds, from Mancera, Rasasi or Monotheme, and considers it impossible to break new ground so late with these materials. As Guerlain’s official contender in the oud race, he still finds it very good.