No 84 Prive Oud Royal

Giorgio Armani's Prive Oud Royal is a rich, incense-laced oud fragrance built around a saffron-rose heart and a deep, resinous base that has made it one of the house's most prestigious unisex releases. No 84 opens with bergamot and saffron for a warm, spiced start that captures the designer's opening well. Rose, oud and spicy notes carry the heart with a recognisable, slightly sweet oud character, echoing the original's balance of floral and woody-resinous elements. The base of sandalwood, incense, myrrh and amber aims for the same smoky, sacred quality as Prive Oud Royal's dry-down, and the incense-myrrh pairing does land a genuine sense of depth early on. Where it comes up short is longevity, with the resinous base fading to a soft amber-sandalwood skin scent well before the designer original's many-hour sillage. As an accessible way to sample the saffron-oud-incense combination, it performs well for the first few hours.