HUGO BOSS – Boss Bottled Oud

a Scent Samples review

In 2015 Hugo Boss released the Oud version of their all-time classic Boss Bottled. Has this flanker lived up to the high expectations set by it's older counterpart?

My preconception of this men’s fragrance was that it would essentially be the same scent as Boss bottled with an added Oud accord. On first spray you can definitely sense the boss bottled DNA and the presence of something resembling oud being obvious. With Hugo Boss, not being a niche perfume brand, I wasn’t expecting amazing things from this flanker and to solely use boss bottled as a comparison would be slightly unfair as this is quite different from the original. I decided to try and view it as a stand alone scent and not part of the Boss Bottled line. This way I can provide an unbiased opinion and not have my expectations be tainted by the huge success of the original fragrance.

Two of the listed notes are, saffron and cinnamon which was no surprise to me because I definitely get an oriental vibe whilst wearing the fragrance. I was unsure whether I liked it at first, however over the course of the day it did grow on me ever so slightly. One of the biggest issues I have with the smell of BB – Oud is that it’s quite sythentic much like the original fragrance, which is a bit off putting and made me feel light headed especially when having applied a little too much on first wearing. This could of course be avoided by applying a little less of it. After being around many Oud fragrances on a regular basis I have found a lot of them are more than just your average perfume. I usually find a lot of oud based scents to have a more prominent oud accord but sadly I don’t feel this way with this one. 

Despite the smell not being to my personal taste, performance wise I cannot deny the longevity of this fragrance what so ever. I applied two sprays to the my lower neck in the morning at roughly 9 o’clock and by the end of the working day and into the evening, the smell was still quite noticable. I attribute the strength to the synthetic ingredients in the fragrance, as is the case with so many other designer fragrances. Sillage for the scent is also reasonable and when asking others if they could smell it on me, friends had mentioned it was detectable from several feet away.
As BB – Oud comes off fairly strong I would suggest it to be too pungent for formal events and not really suitable as a date scent either. It’s better suited for wear during Autumn/Winter months and for smart/casual occasions. If you’re looking for something more versatile, I strongly advise sticking with the original Boss Bottled.

Compares to the following Fragrances:

Hugo Boss - Boss Bottled
Hugo Boss - Boss Bottled Intense

The Verdict

Those with a new interest in oud based fragrances may want to give this a try but not have too high expectations for the fragrance. In a world overrun with westernised designer oud scents, it's hard to find anything unique or intriquing with Boss Bottled Oud and the oud could almost be removed from the title, given the lack of a prominent note. In my opion the original Boss Bottled is a far better fragrance and should be tried before testing the oud version.

Rating

2.5 out of 5 stars.

“A Pleasant scent and ok for the average wearer but too synthetic and not up to the standard I expect from oud based fragrances”.

Reviewed by

Bradley Stone – Lead Contributor at Scent Samples