Velvet Rose & Oud

Inspired Perfumes' 455 follows Jo Malone London's Velvet Rose & Oud closely: a dark damask rose wrapped around a smoky agarwood accord and softened with a praline sweetness, spiked with clove. The rose comes through vividly here, matching the original's headline note well, but the oud accord reads noticeably thinner and less smoky than Jo Malone's version, which layers in a genuinely textured, resinous wood facet that darkens the whole composition. The praline base is a nice sweet counterpoint in both, though again softer and shorter-lived in this oil format. As with most oil dupes, expect closer-to-skin projection and a couple of hours of wear rather than the all-day presence of the Jo Malone original, but the core rose-oud-praline mood - warm, opulent, a little sensual - is unmistakably there.