My favourite masculine oud has always been Creed Royal Oud – oh, mama. If you have not tried it, you must. I apologize in advance for spending your money. What I love about Creed’s oud is how smooth it is. There are dirty ouds and there are medicinal ouds, and that means there is an oud for everyone. We all smell things differently in addition to having varied tastes and I’m glad we all don’t smell the same. But my sensitive nose wants to wear oud as much as anyone else, and outside of the divine Montale White Aoud, I’ve yet to find a feminine oud that wasn’t drowning in roses and darkness. Not that there is anything wrong with that!

Creed Royal Oud for men has been a favourite of mine since it was launched in 2011. It has lovely angelica and leather notes, and I think it is the fruity notes that elevate this oud fragrance for me. So I was very happy when my Creed connection at Nordstrom told me that Creed launched their feminine oud scent, Royal Princess Oud! I love it for me as much as I love Creed Royal Oud for men. It is utterly delicious.

The notes for Royal Princess Oud are here (as per Creed’s site)

Top notes: Bitter Sicilian bergamot, rose and sweet violet.
Middle notes: Jasmin, vanilla, patchouli and iris from Tuscany .
Base notes: Benjoin Siam, a sweet gum resin from Thailand, Mysore Sandalwood and Styrax, an ancient resin extracted from bark of shrubs in Asia.

Only Creed would think to make oud delicate and feminine, and they sure hit the sweet spot in Royal Princess Oud. The sweet and powdery violet is an interesting and unexpected foil to pair with oud. One expects rose and patchouli, and for good reason – they are delicious with oud, but come on. Everyone is making rose and patchouli scents and now everyone is making rose oud scents. Jasmine and vanilla add an undeniable femininity to Royal Princess Oud, but that’s just me. I’m pretty sure a guy could wear this if he wanted to because it is just gorgeous. I love violet notes on men and this would be fresh and sexy on a guy. The iris adds an elegant powdery note, and in my opinion, is where the “royal” comes from. Iris butter is one of the most expensive perfume ingredients, and it is perfectly and gorgeous blended in Royal Princess Oud. It smells sophisticated and elegant, and I almost want to sit up a little straighter when I wear it. But I’d wear Royal Princess Oud with jeans or a silk gown.

One of the thing I love about Royal Princess Oud is the development. I am really able to experience every note as I journey from the top notes to the base. And the base, oh the base! All those resins would have had me a bit spooked if I’d just read them on paper. But smelling tells a whole other story. It smells as soft and clean as a white musk, but not just any white musk. A very expensive white musk – I say white musk because I associate that with clean scents, and musk because the dry down of Royal Princess Oud has that shapeshifter-coming-and-going quality my favourite musks have. A true skin scent!

In the Middle East, they use incense burners called Mabkhara to burn oud or agarwood, and this allows one to fragrance themselves and their clothes by waving them over the smoke. Sort of like the waving incense burners in church, which I have always loved.

So the dry down and base of Creed Royal Princess Oud is ethereal and soft, and I can close my eyes and imagine being surrounded by wisps of oud smoke while I adjust my crown.

Creed Royal Princess Oud is available at Creed boutiques, online and in select department stores and boutiques that carry Creed. Find a store near you here.