Hermetica

Vertical Oud

Not for me. Not masculine at all. Very sweet. Smells like something an old lady would wear. Not saying that it awful, it's just not for me.

For a rose-oud fragrance, I smelled zero oud, natural or synthetic. All I smelled was an overly sweet, cheap, synthetic (not saying they don’t use naturals, just I don’t smell them) rose. Feminine to the point of unwearability for me, and too low quality for me to feel good about gifting it to someone. Probably the worst rose oud I’ve smelled so far. Of all the frags and samples I’ve gotten, I’ve been able to find some use for all of them, even the ones I didn’t really like. This one is the only scent I can’t find a use for at all. Even layering it with something else doesn’t work because the low quality drags down anything it’s layered with.

This one was a real letdown. First of all, no teenager is going to want to smell like this, it’s for the mature crowd. Or a young person who is missing their great grandpa. The notes all sounded good to me. When I first applied, I smelled the rose, oud, and a slight hint of leather but gradually over an hour it morphed into a stench that smells like something that old men used to smoke when I was a kid. Maybe it was cigars or some kind of pipe tobacco that smelled like vanilla and cloves? I dunno, I’m not a smoker and I really hate that smell. It also has a hint of root beer. My skin does tend to amplify sweet vanilla notes to the point that it dominates the whole composition but this is ridiculous. I can’t smell the rose, leather or oud at all anymore. I generally try to avoid vanillas for this reason but I did not see it listed in the notes for this fragrance. FYI I’m late 30s and I prefer sophisticated florals, tart fruits, squeaky clean freshies, musks and unisex molecular scents. I am not a sweet, warm vanilla gourmand person. I know they’re all the rage right now but I find them cloying and nauseating. I feel deceived and reluctant to try anything else from this brand. Your mileage may vary, ofc everyone’s chemistry is different.

this smells amazing ong and the scent last a long time!!!

When I first tried this perfume in April, I wouldn't say I liked it. It is powerful and musky, I would describe it as the electricity that clings to the air before a thunderstorm, but somehow indoors in a fine dining establishment because of the level of refinement in it. That said, I am excited to pull this out in late fall when I want to embrace the rainy days and fall storms raging outside. STRONG: 8/10 I sprayed it about an hour ago and it is fading, which I'm thankful for as on the first spray it was headache-inducing because it was so powerful. WARMTH: 8/10 I would never wear this in the summer, this is a fall and winter-only scent. Perfect for the cozy season? I don't know about that. I would not exactly call this relaxing. SWEET: 7/10 There are more sweet notes than anything else. The mellowness that comes with time and wear as the perfume is worn brings out the rose oil. POWDERY: 2/10 Remotely. It feels more gooey like it is consuming all, dripping into everything. FRESH: 2/10 The only thing that makes this fresh is the rose. Otherwise, this is something I would throw on to cover something else up, not fresh out of the shower. LIGHT: 1/10 I think the only thing that could make this darker is if it was smoky. It is as sultry and dark as it could come. A scent meant for darker months.