Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Oud Silk Mood EDP

Oud Silk Mood (“Mood”) is a 2018 launch from Maison Francis Kurkdjian (“MFK”).  It was a fragrance I was anxious to try since oud can often be a challenging note for many people.  In the traditional use of oud in fragrance, the note is often paired with rose.  We see such a pairing in Mood but we also see much more which takes the oud to a place that becomes more wearable for a larger audience.

This is not your traditionalist’s take on oud.  Instead, oud is met here with delicate floral accompaniments and becomes an approachable note that retains its inherent sensual nature.  Mood opens with a lush floral bouquet that is decidedly rose-intense.  The rose is rich, deep, and elegant.  There is a lightness from a soft bergamot and chamomile that elevates the rose with an airiness and smoothness.  The notes are blended with an oud that is present, yet still in the background, and have a feeling of a gentle caress.

As Mood wears, a tempered jasmine touches the bouquet.  The jasmine is restrained and does not assume the harshness that often too much jasmine can lend to a fragrance.  At about 2 to 3 hours into wear, guiac wood adds a rosy, smoky, sweetness.  It is soon after that the oud begins to move forward.

Into the drydown, the oud takes its place in the forefront.  Courtesy of the other notes, the oud gives us a woody, resinous drydown that retains the reminiscences of the floral opening and middle.  There is a quiet elegance to this drydown that creates a lovely ending.

Oud Silk Mood wears on me with heavy moving eventually to light projection for roughly 12 hours.

Notes:

Top: bergamot, chamomile, Bulgarian rose

Middle: hedione, guaiac wood

Base: papyrus, agarwood (oud)

Photo credit: Neiman Marcus