FRAGRANCE | No. 9 Bukhoor Elixir de Parfum by Thomas Kosmala: Deep, smoky goodness

halfwhiteboy - Thomas Kosmala No. 9 Bukhoor Elixir de Parfum 02 

In the extremely vast world of fragrances, Thomas Kosmala is but a speck I've only come to notice some months ago. Apparently the house has been around since 2014, with at least two fragrances in the market at the time. Then a rebranding four years later saw several new releases, with the whole line now identified by numbers attached to their names. No. 4 Après l'Amour, I've learned, is its bestseller but for some reason, I opted for the less popular and newer release, No. 9 Bukhoor, which came out in 2019. 

The presentation is pretty straightforward and utilitarian; no fancy schmaltzy stuff. The bottle reminds me of Mancera frags except that it doesn't come with a screw type cap. The sprayer produces a very fine mist, very demure, belying the fragrance's monstrous power. Oh yeah, this stuff is strong and very long-lasting. 

The opening features a nice, woody oud drenched in an ambery sweetness and tickled with a little spicy sharpness. I love its woody character, complemented perfectly by an intense smokiness swirling around, and imparting some gorgeous darkness in the process. It also keeps the sweetness very much in check. The oud here carries no hint of skank unlike the one used in Electimuss Octavian—which I love—but it isn't as polished as Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Oud Mood collection either. 

halfwhiteboy - Thomas Kosmala No. 9 Bukhoor Elixir de Parfum 04
halfwhiteboy - Thomas Kosmala No. 9 Bukhoor Elixir de Parfum 05

I know bukhoor refers to scented wood chips that are burned to release fragrant fumes, like you would with incense, but I have never smelled one, so I can't say whether this is a literal representation of that scent or not. Either way, I like the whole treatment here. This particular mix of oud, wood, sweetness, and smokiness reminds me a lot of Rasasi's Oudh Al Boruzz Abeer Malaysia, only this one's way stronger but with less elements at play.

Within an hour, Bukhoor develops a remote similarity to MFK Baccarat Rouge 540. I think it's the spice-tinged sweetness that gives off this vibe because the scent never loses its intense smokiness, a prime differentiating factor between the two. Although I haven't smelled any other Kosmala creation as of writing this, No. 4 Après l'Amour reportedly also has a BR540 vibe, albeit a smokier and manlier version. So I don't know if this DNA is common among his creations but nevertheless, I really like what I'm smelling with Bukhoor.

The overall scent structure isn't particularly unique but it's executed well enough and is backed by great performance. It's a little cold weather-leaning because it's a rather dark fragrance that carries some heft to it. That said, it's not for everybody and if ever, you'll have to wear it with confidence. All things considered, I think it's still worth trying but you'll have to get past the fact that Thomas Kosmala's No. 9 Bukhoor costs $100 more than most of his other releases. So there.

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