Oriental, amber, oud: what are we talking about?
In perfumers' vocabulary, oriental refers to a family built on vanilla and resins, lifted by warm spices. The industry increasingly calls it amber, a more neutral term for the same thing. In men's fragrance, that warmth often pairs with the lavender of a fougère, so Le Mâle and La Nuit de l'Homme are amber fougères. It can also lean spicy (Spicebomb), gourmand (A*Men) or toward tobacco (Tobacco Vanille). Many people searching for an oriental fragrance for men mean something else, though. They want Middle Eastern style scents rich in oud, incense and smoky resins. We kept two of those here. Oud Wood offers a very gentle reading. Interlude Man, from the Omani house Amouage, shows the most intense version.
How to wear an oriental fragrance
Go easy with the sprayer. Vanilla and resins last for hours and radiate strongly in a heated room, especially at 5 out of 5 intensity like A*Men, Tobacco Vanille and Interlude Man. One spray on the chest, under the shirt, is often enough. These are autumn and winter scents. Above 20°C most of them turn cloying, and only La Nuit de l'Homme and Code stay wearable in spring. For the office, choose the quieter ones: Habit Rouge, Code or Oud Wood. For a date, Le Mâle and La Nuit de l'Homme have proven themselves many times over. If you are new to the family, do not start with Interlude Man. Its incense and oud smoke is gorgeous but requires some experience with simpler scents first. Le Mâle is a better way in.
