WHAT I SMELL: Thirty Three opens with a deep rose and oud in that plasticine way that sometimes oud can project. It’s exotic, smooth, lush and it’s tinged with hints of spice. After a couple of minutes a bit of leather is added giving it a rather burnished finish, like a saddle that has been rubbed with some expensive oils to keep it soft and subtle. But just as soon as I think this is turning leathery, those aspects fade away. Interesting, the fragrance has a wonderful way of bouncing off my skin. One minute I think it’s retreating and soon afterwards it seems to project significantly off my skin. I just put a couple of drops on my wrist and trust me, those couple of drops are going a long way. After around the 30 minute mark, Thirty Three begins to soften and dry out and after around an hour, it becomes almost smoky. In the end, Thirty Three is pretty linear, but that’s fine as it’s big, bold, yet thankfully rather handsome too; and there’s nothing wrong with that.
From the Ex Idolo Perfumes website:
Thirty-three is a fragrance crafted from very special ingredients. The soul of the fragrance is built around a vintage oud – distilled in 1980 and aged until its release in 2013. It is also the only modern perfume to use a significant amount of wild-harvested Chinese oud oil and natural Chinese rose oil to build the scent profile. Contrary to most ouds however, Thirty-three is a surprisingly soft and velvety fragrance, and genuinely fits in an innovative space in terms of the wider oud category. Thirty-three is a deep and dark unisex fragrance, with dry and cold facets
TOP NOTES: Soft black pepper, Candied mandarin, Caoutchouc
HEART NOTES: Chinese white tea, Chinese rose, Taif rose, Orris, Damascus steel
BASE NOTES: Rare, natural vintage ouds, Aged patchouli, Heliotropin
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Confidence
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE THIRTY THREE: persistent, deep, warmed
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIRTY THREE: Kafkaesque (thanks for the sample), Olfactoria’s Travels, The Perfume Chronicles
BOTTOM LINE: To me, Thirty Three isn’t an office scent as it could easily overpower if you weren’t careful with your application. But if you’re looking for something that makes a bold statement without beating up others with that statement, this might be a great choice.
- Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Oriental Woody
- Classification: Unisex, but to me it leans masculine
- Expense: $120 for 30ml EdP
The Scented Hound 
March 17, 2014 at 9:46 am
It is hard to find perfumes with this deep hue nowdays. And it is very nice that it is not overwhelming or too tangy as oud can be.
LikeLike
March 18, 2014 at 5:38 am
Albeit not a wild ride. It’s a nice one.
LikeLike
March 19, 2014 at 3:07 am
It’s on my “to try” list and it was suggested that I would like it. Your 3.5 bones suggest it as well (I would have worried if you loved it since our tastes are different). We’ll see.
LikeLike
March 19, 2014 at 5:32 am
Hmmmmm, I see this as a “like” and not a “love” for you. Let me know what you think when you try it.
LikeLike
September 10, 2014 at 5:07 pm
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say wonderful blog!
LikeLike