Same perfumer, same collection, nothing in common. François Demachy composed both Oud Ispahan (2012) and Fève Délicieuse (2015) for Dior's La Collection Privée, and the two sit at opposite ends of the line.
Oud Ispahan is Dior's Middle East statement. Labdanum opens it, rose, patchouli and saffron carry the heart, and oud, sandalwood and cedar anchor the base. The note order tells you something the name does not: rose and saffron do most of the talking. Buyers expecting a raw oud bomb often find a rose-saffron scent with oud as the shadow behind it, and the pyramid backs them up. It is dense, dry and unhurried, built for cold evenings.
Fève Délicieuse means "delicious bean", and the bean is tonka. Venezuelan tonka sits at the centre of the formula, dressed with lavender, mint and bergamot on top, a sour cherry and jasmine heart, then vanilla, cacao, praline, caramel and benzoin below. It is dessert in a suit: sweet, smoky at the edges, a gourmand through and through.
The collection branding sells them as siblings. The juice says otherwise. One is a Persian rose garden at dusk, the other a patisserie counter. About the only real overlap is stamina, since both run long on clothing.
Choose by craving. Rose, saffron and oud, Ispahan. Tonka, cocoa and caramel, Fève.
Our Royal Oud is our take on Oud Ispahan, blended in the UK as a 35% extrait spray. More of the range lives in the Dior inspired collection and in the best Dior dupes in the UK.
