The Orb

[Casablanca]

The world over which he rules: bitter almond and gold oudh.

Freshly applied, The Orb gives me a potent blend of some orange (I want to say sweet mandarin), an only slightly bitter almond, and a mellow oudh. Sometimes I think I get a hint of blood orange or red mandarin in this citrus, but for all that, the citrus feels smooth rather than sharp. It softens the blend in a watercolor of gold and orange.

The Orb reminds me of Scepter of the Empress, with that one's mandarin and amber oudh, but without the extra lift from its bergamot. I also don't get the animalic tone from the Orb's oudh that I did from the oudh in the Scepter. This feels like a grounding and supportive background oudh. Could this be more of the blend I wanted from the Scepter?

This also reminds me a bit of Like the Flashing of Light, a blend that developed beautifully over the months. When I realized how nicely it had aged, I wore it once or twice a week until it was gone. This one has some of its mood.

I might need to indulge in a bottle of this.

[Teaotter]

Wet, this is all soft sesame-almond nuttiness. It reminds me of the almond note in Romans 13:8, actually.

 

As it dries down, the oud comes out more, giving it an incense quality, but still with that soft nuttiness.

 

.. and then it's gone from my skin, POOF! I liked it while it lasted.

[zankoku_zen]

Sesame oudh. I get a nutty sort of oudh on the drydown. On wet, it's a very fumey oudh. Medium throw and wear length.

[artisjok]

Right out of the bottle there's a strong whif of almond, this immediately retreats to a strong perfumery oudh. There is something golden about it, but I can't put my finger on what it reminds me of.

The drydown brings more of the nuttiness back out, and the oudh smooths out a lot. Still quite perfumey, but pleasantly so. The longer I have this on, the more I like it! Almond peaks out more and mingles seamlessly with the oudh.

Wear length & throw are quite good on my skin.

 

Editing to say I'm getting the sesame sense now. It's yummy cozy.

Edited January 1, 2019 by artisjok

[Lucchesa]

Wet, The Orb comes on with the blast of almond extract that is characteristic of almond notes on me. It's not noticeably bitter.  That doesn't last long and is replaced by strong oudh, similar to the oudh in Nevertheless, She Persisted.  This is right on the edge of my oudh comfort zone, and of course it's got good throw, so it makes me a little self-conscious.  This stage lasts a bit over an hour, and then the notes find a beautiful balance on my skin, with the almond reemerging and the oudh calming down, so it seems like my experience was much like artisjok's, and like her, I enjoy it more and more the longer it wears.  This is totally unisex, warm, a little nutty, and if you can rock the oudh, it would be a great power scent.