The Merchant of Venice — Pastel Oud
Essence
Pastel Oud is a polished extrait built around a leathery-oud core rather than a feral oud spectacle: plum and aromatic herbs in the opening, soft suede-like leather in the center, then a clean woody oud-vetiver base. What makes it distinctive in the still-small evidence base is that multiple wearers describe the oud as refined, clean, and almost skin-like, so the fragrance reads more like a dark, elegant leathered aura than a barnyard or medicinal oud bomb.
Scent Profile
The published structure is straightforward on wearers and in the catalog: plum, mugwort, and rosemary up top; freesia, leather, and ylang-ylang in the heart; oud, guaiac wood, and vetiver in the base, with fruity, floral, leather, woody, and oud accords leading the page. wearer classification tilts it slightly differently-more leathery-sweet, spicy, oriental, and woody-and that aligns with the most detailed user writeups, which describe an opening where subtle fruit and spice appear briefly before the composition settles quickly into clean oud plus soft suede leather.
The wear seems to hinge on texture more than dramatic note flips. The most useful wearers review describes the oud as clean, woody, and almost bodily-less “oud object” than perfumed skin-while the leather stays muted and enveloping, more suede than bag or car-seat leather. A sharp sweetness keeps the fragrance from going bone-dry, and the landing phase is described as musky wood with notable persistence. Other wearers reviews reinforce the same arc from unusual plum-rosemary freshness into dark, smoky, leathery woods, and one explicitly notes that the official site frames the base as an oud accord rather than real oud, which matches the general perception of a non-animalic, polished oud treatment.
There is, however, a metadata caveat worth preserving for retrieval. wearers currently lists extra notes-clove, lavender, and moss-and also co-credits Nicola Pozzani, while wearers and the catalog do not. The strongest review on wearers explicitly says those extra notes do not meaningfully read as a fougere structure in wear, so the safest synthesis is that Pastel Oud smells primarily like plum-spiced suede over clean woody oud, regardless of database inflation around the edges.
Performance
For such a new and relatively under-discussed release, the early performance signal is strong. wearers ratings are high at 8.4 for longevity and 8.7 for sillage from available responses, and the page explicitly characterizes projection and longevity as above average. Reviewer-level data are more mixed but still favorable overall: one user scored longevity and sillage at strong reception, another rated longevity 6 but said the scent held extremely well on clothing, and another simply called it a powerhouse with above-average longevity and sillage. The weight of the available reliable evidence points to solid extrait-grade persistence, especially on fabric, though the total sample is still small enough that exact hour claims would be more confident than the evidence warrants.
Wearing Context
Practical reading rather than settled consensus: Pastel Oud looks best in cooler weather, evening wear, and dressed-up situations where a dark leathery oud can breathe a little. The reason is not simply the note list but the way reviewers describe it-heavy, complex, powerful, dark-warm, and persistent-tempered by enough plum and aromatic lift to keep it from becoming oppressive. One reviewer also reports repeated compliments from coworkers, which suggests it is not purely a private-art-object fragrance, but the concentration and texture profile still place it closer to confident, polished wear than casual hot-weather use.
Comparisons & DNA
The clearest comparison evidence comes from one detailed wearers review, which places Pastel Oud in the orbit of clean leathery-oud fragrances rather than rougher smoky ouds. That reviewer hears some of the oud character of Promise by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, a leather tone reminiscent of Aqua Regia, and an overall result that brushes against Tony Iommi Deified and Maison Crivelli Oud Maracuja without fully matching either; the key difference they stress is that Pastel Oud feels more skin-like and less overtly fruity than those references. wearer weak recommendation graph points toward Penhaligon’s Halfeti and Guerlain Habit Rouge Eau de Parfum, but those are better read as broad family markers than precise smell-alikes. The safest DNA tag is “clean suede-oud with fruity aromatic lift,” not “oud monster,” “rose oud,” or “Middle Eastern animalic.”
Reception
The reception is positive but still thin. wearers shows strong reception from available responses, while wearers is far more enthusiastic at strong reception from available responses and five written reviews. Across those reviews, the repeated praise centers on the quality of the clean oud accord, the soft suede leather handling, the unusual plum-led opening, and performance that feels stronger than many elegant oud-leather perfumes.
The criticisms are narrower but useful: a few reviewers detect modern aromachemical sheen, an unnatural woody sweetness, or a mismatch between the richness of the scent and the brand’s shifting note disclosures. Another practical complaint is availability-several users describe it as difficult to find, which matters because the fragrance is distinctive enough that blind-buy confidence is not universal even among those who end up loving it. On current evidence, the blind-buy verdict is “possible for people who already enjoy clean leathery oud,” but not “safe for anyone who just likes the words plum and oud together.”
Versions & Reformulation
No reformulation evidence surfaced, and all available sources point to a single Murano Art extrait composition. The caution is not reformulation but record drift: wearers and the Murano Art relaunch coverage place Pastel Oud in 2024 with Jordi Fernandez, while wearers currently lists it as 2023, adds Nicola Pozzani as a co-perfumer, and includes clove, lavender, and moss in the note structure. For retrieval purposes, the catalog identity is the safest anchor, with available reports preserved as a metadata discrepancy rather than a second confirmed version.
Acquisition Notes
The most reliable acquisition facts are size and positioning. the Murano Art launch article says all six extraits in the collection were released in 30 ml bottles at a suggested price of €180, and the official Merchant of Venice page currently lists Pastel Oud as a 30 ml extrait at $227. wearer shopping widget also showed a very wide online price spread when captured-roughly $94.99 to $240-which implies discount volatility rather than a stable market floor. That makes it a fragrance worth price-checking rather than buying at first sight.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Pastel Oud belongs to The Merchant of Venice’s 2024 Murano Art relaunch, a six-fragrance extrait series framed as the meeting point of perfumery and Murano glass artistry.
- launch coverage notes that the collection had a Milan pre-premiere in March 2024 and appeared again at TFWA Cannes in October before the public launch, and that each 30 ml black-lacquer bottle carries a handcrafted Venetian murrina pendant to identify the scent.
- That packaging story is unusually central here, because the fragrance’s “Pastel” name sits inside one of the most visibly dark presentations in the line.