Hand in Hand

Oud and rose – an overdone combo in perfumery. I tend to leave this to the Arabian perfumers who have been creating rose/oud fragrances for centuries, whilst the western world have only taken notice within the last decade.

Ramon Monegal gives us an interesting vision for ‘Hand in Hand’ - “I imagined a hand-to-hand struggle between Rose, the queen of perfumery, the flower of love, and Oud wood, solemn, sexual and powerful, bringing out the attraction of opposites, the union becomes a wild and feline elixir. A unique chord for a unique olfactory image.”

The first spray is medicinally oudy, almost like white spirit. The actual type of oud isn’t stated, so my guess is that it’s a synthetic oud. So the gasoline-style opening may scare some at first spray, but have faith and wait. The oud calms and the rose doesn’t bloom as such, it’s a very herbaceous and dusty rose. The coriander, saffron and osmanthus soften and mute the rose. It’s the geranium which actually features more predominantly than the rose, and it arrives with a sharp, citrus tang. It’s also the geranium that ends the scent, in the herbal-musk dry-down.

The headlining duo (rose and oud) don’t really feature. For me, ‘Hand in Hand’ is a herbaceous, musky geranium, which lasts quite well. It has a powdery sentimentality with a gentle, contemplative spice on a musky leather.

TOP - Saffron, Coriander, Geranium

MIDDLE - Rose, Oud, Osmanthus

BASE - Leather, Musk, Vanilla