Luxury Collection Santal Redden
Oud is the material that gives Alvarez Gómez Luxury Collection Santal Redden Eau de Parfum 100ml its weight, and it is handled with a reasonably light touch.
Oud is a divisive thing. At its strongest it is medicinal and animal, almost barnyard; here it reads more as a dark, resinous richness with a medicinal edge to it, and cedarwood beside it keeps the base dry and sharp instead of letting it turn syrupy. Above that, rose and jasmine form the heart. Rose supplies depth and a slight winey fullness, jasmine the brightness and polish that stops the flowers disappearing under the resin. Cinnamon is the whole of the opening, dry and barky and warm, and it is a good way in: it signals the spice and heat to come instead of spending the first ten minutes on something that would burn straight off.
Five materials, which is lean for a fragrance in this register, and the result is more legible than most compositions built on oud. You can pick out every part of it.
At eau de parfum strength it lasts a long time and projects moderately, sitting close after the first hour. It reads unisex, it is made for cold weather and the evening, and it suits someone curious about oud who does not want to start with something overwhelming. One spray on the chest under a shirt is the way to wear it; applied to the neck it becomes a great deal more assertive, and at 100ml there is no need to be sparing while you work that out.
Alvarez Gómez is a Madrid house, family owned from the start and now in its fourth generation. Calle Sevilla 2 was the address of the first shop, which opened in 1899. For most of its history the firm worked on a small scale, and it was only in the 1990s that a factory and a reach across Spain were put in place.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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