As far as Westernized Oud’s go, Aoud Gourmet is what I’d call a “Fruity Oud-y,” very much along the same lines as Bond no. 9’s New York Oud, or Montale Aoud Velvet.
A user-friendly (or perhaps, starter?) oud, Aoud Gourmet, while heavy on the fruit, shares the velvety element Montale made such good use of in Aoud Velvet, keeping it from straying too far into the fruit-salad zone, but only just. It’s as if the perfumer wondered, “How would a red Jolly Rancher smell with some Arab flare?” It is decidedly sweet, and if I had my way, I would change the name from Aoud Gourmet to the more appropriate, Aoud Candy-Shop.
Like the other fragrances that come to mind when I wear this, AG is a fun, easy to wear take on the most popular note from 2011. I don’t see a bottle in my future, but I’d happily keep and use one if it landed on my doorstep. 🙂
beauty on the outside 
Aoud Candy Shop!! That made my day.
Lol, I’m glad! 😉
Aoud Candyshop – my teeth start aching from the thought alone. I guess this one I can happily pass by without a second glance. 😉 Thanks for the review!
Did you try many Micalleff’s? Somehoe
this line is not easy to grasp for me. It seems so complicared and varied (in a confusing way)…
Excuse the typos – phone! 🙂
B, I haven’t tried many– just this one and one other so far, but Gaiac is on my list, since I know Abigail from ISTIA likes it so much, and I like her taste.
It does seem a complicated line! Maybe because there are so many of them? The Montale’s kind of feel that way to me too, though I love them 🙂
Oh, it is less than my expectation was for it. I’ll ask the same question Birgit did — have you tried many? I tried Mon Parfum, still making up my mind about it. It is fruity too, very well done, but fruit is not quite my thing, it seems.
Olga, the impression I get is that it’s a really well done line— I just need to test more of them!
I liked this scent, even if it was a little sweeter than I usually reach for; it held its own next to a Bond and a Montale, and that’s something 😉
OMG Dee, this was my first oud fragrance too! I used to be addicted to this stuff, and yes, there are only traces of oud there. To my mind, it’s a spun-sugar, caramelized vanilla mousse thing with a dash of oud. It was really Micallef that got me very interested in niche in the first place, I ripped through so many samples of their perfumes from Luckyscent. It’s not quite my thing anymore, but I will always have a soft spot for Aoud Gourmet. Have you tried Black Sea? That’s my absolute fave Micallef.
My first was Aoud Queen Roses (which I happen to be wearing right now!), but once I got the taste, I couldn’t get enough!
I like it more now than I did when I first tested it last year— I think my tolerance for sweets has gone up over time (backwards, I know, lol!). AG is about a hundred dollars less for a bottle than the Bond, and when I think of it in that light, I’m doubly impressed. I haven’t tried Black Sea, but if you love it, I must! You have such stellar taste 🙂
That was the first oud fragrance I tried as well (AQR) – I really LIKE that band-aid thing, but it zips by sooo fast. I think I actually preferred Aoud Roses Petals, as being a little less of a six-dozen rose bouquet in the face – not that ARP is considerably different, but it’s maybe a four-dozen bouquet, and the roses are pink instead of red.
This is a line that I find overwhelming. There are so many, and all the bottles are so enticing, that I find myself sniffing and sniffing until my head just spins. At least now I know there is one that I do not need to worry about: aoud candy shop doesn’t sound like my sort of thing! 🙂
There is a definite time and place for this sort of thing; in it’s defense, I got this sample at the same time as Montale Sweet Oriental Dream, and it’s about a thousand times LESS sweet that SOD. (haha)
The bottles are enticing, aren’t they? I still have Gaiac on my sniff list, and now Black Sea! I’d love to have one of those sparkly treasures in my cabinet one day…
I’ll pass on the perfume, but man that dessert looks fabulous. Is it real, or made of shiny plastic bits, I wonder?
Like B and Natalie, this line is a little overwhelming for me too. I saw it last week but didn’t know where to start. Guess I should do some research but at least now I know all about Aoud Candy Shop 🙂
I’m very pleased I’ve grown to love oud as a note. A first the oud in even Rose Oud was too odd for me but I crave it now!
Fun review, dee. Thanks.
Ha! I went further than the previous commenters: I’m not even overwhelmed since I haven’t seen/tried a single perfume from this line. Until 5 minutes ago I thought it was a man! 🙂
But I enjoyed the review. And if ever I find myself in front of a shelf with her creations I’ll know at least one name.