Thirty Three – rich and lush and deliriously gorgeous

Photo: perfumeniche

The perfume gods often have their ways of speaking to us. Sometimes, it’s through a whiff of something in the air, sometimes a friend's recommendation, and sometimes the internet.

I recall reading this on the 1000 Fragrances website:

"One of the most spectacular compositions of the year comes from an unexpected place. There comes a time in the life of perfumes when all that has been said or done in a certain perspective is reunited in a beautiful conclusion. Forget Tom Ford, Armani, Kilian or Fréderic Malle. The new oud so chic comes from London and is a fabulous perfume. Ex Idolo - Thirty Three. A pure marvel of style."

I made a note to myself to track it down but didn’t think about it again until I smelled a sample of Thirty Three and moved it from the back burner to the to the front of my perfume shelf.

The name Thirty Three refers to the number of years that the oud, which forms the backbone of the fragrance, was aged before being used in the fragrance. Let me tell you more about it.

On my skin, it opens with a note of spicy black pepper that’s soft and warm. It’s balanced by a note of sweet, bright candied mandarin. A note of caoutchouc, a natural sap harvested from rubber trees, has a smooth, fresh rubber smell that links with the black pepper and candied mandarin to create a gorgeous velvet opening. As it blooms, a note of Chinese white tea bonds to the caoutchouc to give Thirty Three shadows of Bulgari Black that bring forth the roses; the Chinese rose is light and earthy with hints of black tea that connect to the tea facet of rich, intense, Taif rose. The roses threaten to overtake Thirty Three until a note of orris that’s powdery, soft and suede-like tempers them. A slight metallic note, a nod to the Damascus steel blades once used to carve oud out of the Aquilaria trees, introduces a note of vintage oud, that’s the true oud experience. Oud and roses are a traditional pairing in Middle Eastern fragrances. Here, they’re perfectly paired, twinning to bring out and highlight the best in each other so that Thirty Three isn’t too oud-y or too rosy. A note of deep, dark, woody patchouli bolters the woody oud at the base. A note of floral heliotrope, warm and comforting, with woody undertones, completes the fragrance.

Thirty three dries down to a drydown is rich, dry, woody and deliriously gorgeous.

I could go on about it, but really the review by Persolaise says it best: "The agar wood is inky and animalic, the florals are torrid and nocturnal, the woods glisten with haughty elegance and the musks complement the wearer's skin rather than dominating it."

The perfume gods are speaking to you. Are you listening?

Check out Thirty Three in our Shop.