OUD FOR HAPPINESS

Oud for Happiness is Initio Parfums Privés' warmest, most gourmand take on oud, once again part of the Black Gold Project. Ginger, liquorice and oud intertwine in a fragrance designed to radiate positive energy from its name onward.

The Fragrance

With Oud for Happiness, Initio takes the Black Gold Project into sunnier territory than the two Oud for Greatness fragrances. The brand presents it as a portal to joy, a different way of telling the story of oud: less brooding, more playful. In place of the spiced density of saffron and lavender, the opening here leans on ginger and liquorice, while the oud stays present but softer, wrapped in vanilla instead of patchouli.

How It Evolves on Skin

In the first few minutes, Oud for Happiness opens on bergamot and ginger, a zesty, sharp entrance that quickly gives way to the sweetness of liquorice. As time passes the heart warms up: oud and cedar become more present, though they stay wrapped in liquorice, which those who try it in our boutique describe as the note that stays most recognisable from start to finish. In the base, vanilla and musk soften everything into a creamy, velvety close.

Who We Recommend Oud for Happiness To

We recommend Oud for Happiness for autumn and winter, when its warm vanilla-and-liquorice sweetness is most appreciated, though its sunnier nature compared to the other Ouds in the collection makes it just as suited to daytime wear, not only evenings. Unisex by construction, it's the right choice for anyone who loves oud but is after something softer and more convivial than the brand's more direct versions.

Fragrance Characteristics

Our Opinion

Oud for Happiness is the most unusual oud in the collection. Ginger, liquorice, a soft vanilla base. In boutique some people try it expecting the same power as Oud for Greatness and end up pleasantly surprised. It's a lighter oud, almost gourmand. Not everyone expects it, but it's often exactly this that wins them over.

Similar Fragrances

• The bergamot-and-ginger opening duo returns identical in Island Lush by Goldfield & Banks, though it builds from there on a heart of iris and precious woods rather than liquorice and oud, landing fresher and less gourmand.
• Wood Mirage by Cave also opens on bergamot and ginger, but here the direction turns toward pepper, rose and incense, for a spicier, more resinous result, far from the sweetness of Oud for Happiness.
• Staying within the Initio family, Oud for Greatness Neo offers the same bergamot up top and the same oud in the base, but without ginger or liquorice: the result is a more aromatic, less gourmand oud.

FAQ

Product Information

Brand

Initio Parfums Privés

Name

Oud for Happiness

Concentration

Eau de Parfum

Size

90 ml

Fragrance family

Woody Aromatic

Launch year

2021

Made in

France