Creed Royal Oud Decant

Royal Oud is oud for people who do not actually like oud. There is none of the medicinal, animalic funk of a Middle Eastern attar here; instead Creed uses oud as a dry, resinous backbone and builds a crisp cedar-and-pink-pepper structure on top of it. The result is closer to a very good woody cologne than to a traditional oud.

The opening is lively and citric, the heart turns sharply woody around the thirty minute mark, and it stays there for the rest of the wear — six to eight hours of dry cedar, clean sandalwood and a soft peppery musk. It is smart, restrained and reads as expensive in a boardroom.

For anyone curious about the oud category but nervous about committing, this is the least intimidating entry point in the price bracket, and 5 ml is plenty to find out.