Finally tried one of the most recommended and highest rated fragrances (4.61/5). I already own the EDP, so expectations were high. Here’s what I think. It opens with a fresh, spicy ginger. Almost instantly, woods come through along with a soft toffee nuance similar to the EDP. At this stage, it felt about 90% similar to my EDP and I initially thought there was nothing new here. As it dried down, the vanilla started to emerge and it began reminding me of BIR Intense, but less aromatic. The ginger nearly faded away, and I stopped paying attention for a bit. When I checked again around the 5th hour, it had turned into a sexy vanilla woody scent. It evolved into something completely different by the end, and the drydown smells incredible. This feels like a much more mature version of the EDP. Both sit in that slightly F boy fragrance category, but the EDP is an 18 year old F boy, while the Parfum is a 25 year old F boy. The drydown is easily the best part of this scent. Stupidly addictive. Performance, however, was not what I expected. I suspect this is a newer “made in France” batch, because my EDP is also a France batch and performs noticeably weaker than my “made in Spain” sample. Most reviews that are a year or older praise its performance heavily. On my skin, I got a modest 6 hrs with average projection. By hour six, it was a skin scent and barely noticeable. I only did 3 sprays, but all were on pulse points, so I expected at least half of what’s usually advertised. Not thrilled, but overspraying is an option. Personally, I still prefer the EDP because of performance and profile, but I could justify owning this just for the drydown alone. I still haven’t tried MB Club Black, which is also said to be similar. Thinking strategically, the EDP overlaps with SWY Intensely, which doesn’t suit my skin chemistry, whereas the Parfum leans more towards BIR Intense and possibly overlaps with other scents instead that suit me. Final rating would be 9/10 for scent and 6/10 for performance. Overall, I’m giving it an 8/10 purely because of that drydown. Simple, sexy, and addictive. Very affordable with a great bottle design too. If I could get my hands on an older batch, I would definitely own it. For now, this is firmly a “wear it more and decide later” fragrance.

An all year fragrance and easily wearable in any occasion with limited 2 sprays. projection is beast and longevity is almost 12 hours.

If you like Oud, this one is for you. A clone of Henry J Oud Imperial which retails at $1,920 for 100ml Dua's version costs $125 for 34ml before discounts. Releasing on January 1st 12 pm PST