EO No 1

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#1
The incredible reception of the Sultan Leather Attar left me totally inspired. It showed me that people were hungry for what new-school perfumery rarely gives you anymore. And more than anything, it set the stage for a new kind of cuir…

Leather and oud go together like king and crown, and there’s no sweeter spot between the rustic allure of Ensar’s artisanal—often mad—oud world and popular perfumery than this oudilicious addition to the cuir tradition. A rugged aroma that makes you wonder if Hemingway just lit up a Cuban, or if Churchill’s in town.

Everybody knows about my distaste for synthetics. New-age perfumers insist that working exclusively with natural aromatics is a dead-end trek. Too tricky, time-consuming—too risky. Not to mention that financially, it makes no sense. Still, overwhelming as the reception to Sultan Leather Attar had been, the constant cries of “We’re still waiting for an EDP!” finally reached boiling point… and so here we are.



After 15 fragrant years, I’m finally taking off my jungle jacket for a tie, to dive headfirst into my debut EDP. But I’m sticking to my guns: no aldehydes or formaldehydes. No binders or petroleum amplifiers. Instead, journey back to Tolstoy’s days when rose meant rose, and musk not muscone. When synthetic isolates were not decreed by perfumery’s pontiffs and spraying yourself with carcinogens seemed like a bad idea.

For my first Eau de Parfum to be a leather fragrance, my OCD would never let me live without showcasing it in… leather. So, we teamed up with THE leather man: Habib Dingle. The man behind the St. John’s Bible project, and the hand who bound the Pope’s personal Bible. Easily the greatest living leather artist, he works old-school with a steel chisel, not a photoshop file. Naturally, Habib doesn’t even look in the direction of pleather or touch even fine top-grain leather. That’s why EO No 1 comes showcased in naturally tanned, pure full-grain Italian calf hide.



Inside the leather, you’ve got Kyaratul Mustafa—a $2,500 / 3gr oud oil exclusively used in this composition (down to the last drop); Oud Mostafa No 4 and the never-to-be-released Oud Mostafa No 6; Qi Nam Khmer V2 – one of the incense-iest Cambodis ever distilled; a kinamiferous 13-years-aged wild Sinensis extract from Hainan; and a generous dose of Santal Royale.

Let this olfactory orgy binge on Sultan Qaboos’s rose, and you’ll exude wafts of a tobacco-heavy, old-school leather jacket Harley rollin’ aroma with an unmistakable Don Corleone kiss-my-hand-compagno esteem.

With Sultan Leather Attar, I wanted to add an OUD-inspired rendition to the legacy of Old English Leather & Co, and offer perfume lovers the chance to experience just how amazing and exalting a fixative Artisanal Oud can be. In EO No 1, you pass third base to smell Oud & Leather drunk and in love, in a parfum that’s a first in a vibrant cuir heritage that’s been turning top hats and making hearts melt for decades.

50ml Eau de Parfum, 0% synthetics.

 
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#2
Sultan Leather Attar is amazing, definitely one of my favorite and most prized fragrances. I am on a spending hiatus right now though. :(

If it's still around later count me in! ...but I'm guessing it won't last long.
 
#7
Certainly, I will aim to do a "first impressions" video on youtube, a review may be some time off as I don't think 1 or 2 wearings can justify a review yet, need more experience and time with it :)
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#8
I wanted to share an experience I had yesterday which just heightened my appreciation and love for EO No 1 and Oud.

A recent publication from a renowned fragrance critic has raised a lot of questions, and eyebrows in the fragrance world. Entire websites have been created to discredit his work... But as they say, "lightening strikes the highest tree," ain't that right @timoudthy.

That publication has led to a curiosity to smell and experience many of the "5 star" fragrances within the book which are purported to be natural fragrances developed by well known and reputable houses. I've had the opportunity to smell designer fragrances valued at $650+ per bottle and some priced significantly less.

Yesterday, I was introduced to a fragrance that cost around $150 that received 4 stars. My immediate impression was that it smelled like suntan lotion, a bit of coconut and a base of soap... then once it opened up a bit I said "ah hah... here it comes" thinking it was going to release a flurry of notes, and an all too familiar note came to the surface which I couldn't quite pick it up at first, and then it struck me, fireballs, that cinnamaldehyde and capsaicin, familiarity that makes you say mmmmmm... The nostalgia was nice... but then it really hit me.

My genetic makeup makes me extra sensitive to smells and vaporous toxins, by God's grace I detox very well, but not vapors, smoke, pollution, airborne chemicals all put me down, and down I was.

The feeling was like that of having been out in the sun all day with not a sip of water. I can always tell when there's a synthetic in a fragrance because I get a piercing headache usually within 5 minutes of exposure. The headache is usually right between the eyes... This time an intense migraine set in, I couldn't focus so I went to the sink in a desperate attempt to get it off. Soap and the hottest water there could be, but to no avail...

I went home shortly after only to repeat the process, a thick lather of soap and hot water, a thick lather of soap and hot water... and it still remained. I laid down wishing I could detach my arm to free myself from the source of the intense headache. I kept thinking why did I do this... and until this moment my left arm smells like a dry-cleaners although thankfully it's not overpowering any longer.

It's been interesting to observe, there are synthetics, and there are lay you out - scared for my children - phthalates and parabens galore - department store and duty free synthetics... It was a serious reminder that you get what you pay for.

But sometimes it takes a reminder like that to remember the blessings in front of you, and today's swipe of Monsieur oud, was like a big sigh of relief!

It has only increased me in gratitude for experiencing and being part of providing these pure, uplifting, quality aromatics for those that know and feel the difference and that seek the best!
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#10
A number of inquiries have come up regarding the major differences between the last batch of EO No 1, and this new 2019 batch.

Here's the deal: the recipe has integrated the most leathery ouds in the atelier and the difference is most perceptible in the opening. This batch is an Oud man's No 1 and un-apologetically so, the Indian origins within yield a brighter opening profile giving it a fresh Porsche-leather feel that transforms into a luxurious S-class with a Godfather opera vibe.

EO No 1, 2019 is as robust as the original with a heightened leathery-oud performance in its opening crescendo.
 

Anthony

Active Member
#11
A number of inquiries have come up regarding the major differences between the last batch of EO No 1, and this new 2019 batch.

Here's the deal: the recipe has integrated the most leathery ouds in the atelier and the difference is most perceptible in the opening. This batch is an Oud man's No 1 and un-apologetically so, the Indian origins within yield a brighter opening profile giving it a fresh Porsche-leather feel that transforms into a luxurious S-class with a Godfather opera vibe.

EO No 1, 2019 is as robust as the original with a heightened leathery-oud performance in its opening crescendo.
Does the “heightened leathery-oud performance” lean towards the American Oud profile?
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#12
Does the “heightened leathery-oud performance” lean towards the American Oud profile?
As far as the oud accord within the EO No 1 goes it's not as smokey nor resinous as American Oud although the complete composition yields a deeper sensation of fine leather.

American Oud is Rugged Cowboy with last-nights campfire permeating his clothes while EO No 1 is Chic Banker stepping out of his S-class