Thameen
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Cypriol's green-tobacco character cuts sharply through, immediately joined by cardamom's spiced warmth, whilst the cypress adds an almost herbal astringency. Within moments, the South Indian oud emerges—dark, slightly smoky, grounding everything with its resinous weight. The spice accord dominates entirely, creating something almost austere and certainly far removed from commercial oud sweetness.
The fragrance becomes increasingly woody as the patchouli and cedarwood take command, their earthy minerality creating a deeply contemplative centre. The cardamom fades gracefully, leaving space for the labdanum and amber to introduce something almost creamy—a subtle sweetness that never tips into gourmand territory. By the second hour, you're standing in a room of polished wood and temple incense, the oud now functioning as structural support rather than headline act.
Sandalwood, vetiver, and musk create a pale, almost ethereal finish that bears little resemblance to the opening's spiced intensity. The fragrance becomes increasingly abstract and skin-scent intimate, with the amber providing the faintest golden glow and the vetiver's earthy dryness preventing any slickness. What remains is less a fully-formed scent and more an impression—sophisticated, minimalist, quietly powerful in its refusal to shout.
Carved Oud Thameen arrives not as perfume but as architectural statement—a structure built from oud that's been treated with the precision of a master woodworker rather than allowed to sprawl. Alexandre Illan has fashioned something decidedly intellectual here, where the South Indian oud doesn't perform the typical oudy seduction but instead serves as a dark, resinous foundation upon which spice and wood construct something almost severe.
The cardamom and cypriol opening creates immediate friction against the woody base, producing a smell reminiscent of incense smoke threading through old cedar boxes. That spice accord (88%) isn't decorative; it's the fragrance's skeleton, holding everything in architectural alignment. As the cardamom settles, patchouli and cedarwood begin their subtle dialogue—earthy, slightly mineral, with none of the sweetness one might expect from a fragrance with amber and sandalwood present.
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4.0/5 (185)