Oud MonarchWoody Floral Extrait de Parfum

Oud Monarch by Bortnikoff is a niche floral, woody and gourmand perfume extract, unisex, created by Dmitry Bortnikov. Released in 2019, it is the house's highest-rated creation.

A Thai house where the founder is also the perfumer

Bortnikoff is based in Thailand, in the very heart of the agarwood-producing regions. It was founded by Dmitry Bortnikov, a Russian perfumer who is both the owner and the nose of his brand, and who works with wild Thai ouds by sourcing his materials at the source. He uses genuine animal materials — civet, castoreum, deer musk, hyraceum. The catalog is divided into four lines: Entry Level, Main Collection, Colognes and Attars. 50 ml bottle.

An opening of magnolia and frangipani

Two white flowers open the perfume, and nothing else: the magnolia, lemony and transparent, and the frangipani, thicker, milky and solar. No citrus, no fresh notes — we go straight into the flower.

A heart of two roses, cinnamon and tobacco

The May rose, green and honeyed, and the Himalayan rose, spicier, complement each other. The cinnamon warms them and the tobacco brings its dried honey and leaf dust.

A base of two ouds, cacao and animal materials

The Merauke oud and the Oud Co Chang establish the agarwood. The cacao places a powdery bitterness on it, the civet and the castoreum a frank animalic, the labdanum and the vanilla the resinous sweetness.

The house's signature

Not a single citrus fruit in the entire formula. This is extremely rare. Perfumery almost always opens with hesperidics, because they are volatile and give an immediate start. Oud Monarch begins with two thick white flowers — magnolia and frangipani — and therefore offers no transition: the perfume is already dense at the first second and will remain so. The trajectory is entirely downward: from flowers to roses, from roses to tobacco, then wood, cacao and animal. The cacao placed in the middle of the civet and castoreum is the other singularity — its powdery bitterness is what prevents the base from becoming merely wild.

For whom, for what occasions?

Floral, woody and gourmand, this extract is aimed at those who love dark grand florals and animal bases. It gives its best in winter, in the evening, worn equally well by women as by men.

With Oud Monarch Bortnikoff, Dmitry Bortnikov signs the most appreciated creation of his house.