Continuing on her work on the OL line, Sonia Constant released the latest in the line in 2024. Strange that bothe the edp & parfum come out before the edt. Well after some wearing, I'm still impressed. My initial thought was if Spicebomb and Ombre had a wee orgy with a random Amber, this would be the off spring. While the original edp is famous for its new car/leather jacket scent, Eau d'Ombré takes the line on a different path—trading some of that raw leather grit for a warm, spicy, and vanilla-forward profile. Unlike its predecessors, which focused on the animalic and floral Jasmine aspects of leather, Eau d'Ombré is an edt that leans into a more Radiant Leather. The Opening starts much brighter & fizzier, than the original. You get that sharp, energizing hit of fresh ginger, coriander & cardamom. It feels airy and slightly medicinal for the first few minutes. At its heart the spices settle, that signature leather accord makes an appearance here, but it is "glowing" rather than "heavy." It lacks the smoky, gasoline edge of the edp which makes it a lot smoother. There is also a touch of saffron too.Moving into the Base were this fragrance shines and deviates most from the line. It settles into a rich Vanilla Tincture with an Ambrofix base. It becomes a creamy, sweet, slightly woody skin scent, with the addition of Amber, and Honeyed Woods that make it feel cozy rather than aggressive. Because this is an edt, it is designed to be a lighter, more wearable version of the DNA. But I have to say this performers amazingly well. Especially in the cold air. You can expect an average of several hours on skin. It doesn't disappear quickly, but it does become a skin scent faster than the edp. Projection is moderate but It creates a nice "scent bubble" around you for the first 2 hours. It is not a "room-filler," making it much safer for office environments or close-encounter dates. If your looking for a good leather that isnt too harsh, this is a great starting point. Oh and it's the most reasonably priced from the OL line.

Honestly i picked it because i wanted something just for 5 hrs and this one anyways lasts not more than 6. Today it smells bit smoother to my nose. But much softer than before even with 5 sprays. Once ill be done with my sample i wont miss this one for sure.

WIthout getting too much into the details, let's just say I did a fair amount of research, conversing with various shop owners and studying all things oud on my recent trip to Dubai at the "fragrance souk" (the marketplace in the old part of town.) The shop owners couldn't have been more helpful educating me about this fascinating topic. I bought several different forms of ouds (e.g. pure oils/attars, wood chips, incense.) This morning I thought I'd try the more traditional, Middle Eastern way of applying an oud scent given that I wasn't going to see anyone until dinner tonight. I've already burned a few chips of this particular oud in the burner, that was given to me by a shop owner. From those first few burns I got a real good idea as to the smell and strength of this oud, and there was no real surprise from what I remembered back in that shop. To "apply" the smoke from the burning oud chip (soaked in pure oil) I waved the fabric of my shirt through the smoke for about 15 seconds. Then I cupped the smoke with my hands and basically patted it onto my head and neck. Yep... I REALLY did this today. BTW, if it's the real deal, you should be able to put your face in the smoke and it will not burn your eyes. If it's fake, it'll smell like a cigarette or worse. So the big question some will ask is; Where are the chips sourced? Lootah does not specifically say where they're sourcing some of their chips from because, like blended Scotch, their chips are generally from India, Cambodia and Indonesia, but the important thing for most Houses is the consistency of the fragrance among their various products. This one shop owner gave me some Indian oud, Vietnamese oud, Cambodian oud and others, so I can distinguish the general aromas from the various countries. However as he explained, it's more complicated than simply where it's sourced. You can have oud that is wild vs. plantation grown, sinking vs. floating, and of course there are various grades within all that. The scent profiles can be woody, earthy, animalic (sometimes down-right barnyardy), sweet, smoky, etc, with regional styles often dictating the characteristics.

The term Oud is thrown around so easily in perfumery and it’s just not true. It is best to ask someone who has lived it or engulfed themselves in the culture or taken the time to learn true processes. For instance Bakhoor (wood chip, shaving, residual wood) comes in different forms the cheapest version is young Agarwood soaked in other accords which most Arab people don’t use. Then there true Bakhoor which which multiple types of wood with naturally occurring resins exist are burned at the same time this process when wearing it in clothing should not be loud but present then an Attar which is concentrated perfume oil in some cases these oils include Oud resin. this is typically done before you leave home or more commonly before Salah (Prayer) or Jumah ( weekly prayer service). Oud which come from the heart wood of the Aquilaria tree the best Oud comes from very old trees that are very rare making true Oud Very expensive into the thousands of dollars US. Also what matters is the distillation process which determines the outcome of the Oud oil/resin presented. In most perfumery today is not true Oud because @Paul Bartnicki would say there no way to get a consistent product in hundreds or thousands of bottles what you are get is an Agarwood accord weather that is real or synthetic varies house to house. My Real name is Jamal Rasheed and I was born in Islam which in turn engulfed me in Arab culture and have lived these processes to some not extent. These processes take years probably decades to learn the difference so if you don’t take that time you can misunderstand or be taken advantage of.

Picked this up last weekend, I got an older version of the edt last year. I've heard there is a reformulated version out now, but Have not had my nose on it yet. The parfum was released at the very end of 2025 by Jean-Christophe Hérault and was said to have fixed the performance issues that everyone had with the edp. It's certainly more concentrated, a denser, longer lasting formula, but maybe at a cost. You will still recognize that amazing DNA from the edp, but this is it's grown up brother so too speak. As it opens up, you still get a burst of citrus, but instead of the juicy grapefruit from the EDP, the Parfum uses Tarocco Orange and Black Pepper. It feels darker and slightly more Wintery from the start. A heavy dose of Labdanum and Clary Sage in the heart creates a thick, balsamic middle. It feels more mature and less playful than previous versions. Like most of these amazing cold weather fragrances, it's the base where the Parfum shines. The signature Tobacco note is intensified and paired with a rich Amber accord and Cedarwood. It smells more like a luxury cigar lounge, warm, smoky, and slightly sweet. Whilst the edp only lasted on my skin for 4 hours, there it an improment here at between 6-7hrs. It's projection is moderate, It doesn't scream, but it creates a dense "bubble" around you for the first 3 hours. But it does leave a noticeable trail behind you as you walk around in the cold. This is a solid fragrance for Winter nights, black-tie events, and date nights where you need your scent to last. The grown up version of the classic. ABest for: Winter nights, black-tie events, and date nights where you need your scent to last until morning. A must-buy if you loved the original but hated the performance; a "try before you buy" if you specifically loved the original My Rating 8/10 Scent 2.5 Longevity 2.5 Sillage 2 Y/N 1