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Round 48 of the AlHimyan Perfume Battle puts a five-time champion on the line. Al Haramain Amber Oud Gold Edition has beaten every challenger we have sent at it for five straight rounds. Today it meets a very different kind of oud: Atkinsons The Other Side of Oud, a British-Italian niche composition built around roasted coffee and spice rather than fruit and amber.

One is a fruity-amber crowd-pleaser from Dubai that people buy by the bottle. The other is a dark, gourmand-spicy oud from a house founded in London in 1799. They could not be less alike, and that is exactly what makes this a good fight.

The contenders

Al Haramain Amber Oud Gold Edition (Champion, 5 wins)

Amber Oud Gold Edition is the fragrance that made Al Haramain a household name outside the Gulf. It opens bright and juicy, settles into a sweet melon-and-amber heart, and dries down on musk and soft woods. It is loud, it is happy, and it is extremely easy to like.

Notes: Bergamot and green notes on top. Melon, amber, pineapple and gourmand notes in the heart. Musk, vanilla and woody notes in the base.

Available at AlHimyan: 60ML at AED 230, 100ML at AED 351, 120ML at AED 410. View Al Haramain Amber Oud Gold Edition

Atkinsons The Other Side of Oud (Challenger)

Released in 2019 and composed by Maurice Roucel and Pierre-Constantin Gueros, The Other Side of Oud takes the oud idea somewhere unexpected. Instead of leaning into smoke and leather, it puts roasted coffee and warm baking spice in the foreground. The opening is genuinely startling: cardamom, ginger and cinnamon over dark coffee. Underneath it all sits oud and a thick vanilla absolute.

Notes: Cardamom, ginger and cinnamon on top. Coffee blossom and geranium in the heart. Oud, roasted coffee and vanilla absolute in the base.

Available at AlHimyan: 100ML at AED 418. View Atkinsons The Other Side of Oud

Head to head

How the scoring worked this round

Our normal formula weighs Fragrantica at 35 percent, Parfumo at 25 percent, longevity at 15 percent, sillage at 10 percent and value at 15 percent. Fragrantica was not reachable when we ran this round, so rather than guess at numbers we folded its weight into Parfumo. This round was scored on Parfumo community data at 60 percent, longevity at 15 percent, sillage at 10 percent and value at 15 percent. Every rating quoted above is a real community aggregate, not an estimate.

Performance

Both of these last. Amber Oud Gold Edition is the stronger performer of the two on paper and in practice, with a community longevity score of 8.7 and sillage of 8.5. It is the kind of fragrance where two sprays is a decision that affects the whole room. Wearers routinely report a full working day and then some.

The Other Side of Oud is no slouch. It scores 8.0 for longevity and reviewers consistently describe ten to eleven hours on skin, with a powerful first hour. Where it loses ground is sillage: at 7.4 it projects well early and then settles closer to the body. For an office fragrance that is arguably a feature rather than a flaw.

Character and wearability

Amber Oud Gold Edition is a warm-weather, high-energy fragrance. It suits the Gulf climate unusually well because the fruit and amber stay legible in heat instead of turning flat. It works from morning through evening, reads unisex, and is the easier of the two to wear in a crowd. If you want compliments without thinking about it, this is the bottle.

The Other Side of Oud is the more interesting fragrance and the more demanding one. The coffee-and-cardamom opening is a genuine talking point. Several reviewers note that after the first ten minutes the vanilla takes charge and the spice recedes, which is either a lovely soft landing or a small disappointment depending on what you came for. It is best in cooler evenings, autumn and winter, and it rewards restraint.

Value

At AED 351 for 100ML, Amber Oud Gold Edition sits in a price band where very little else performs this loudly. It is one of the strongest value propositions in the entire Al Haramain line and a large part of why it keeps winning here.

The Other Side of Oud at AED 418 for 100ML is fair niche pricing for a Roucel composition from a house with this much history. You are paying for originality and for perfumery that does not sound like anything else on the shelf. Whether that is worth the premium depends on how much you value being the only person in the room wearing it.

The verdict

Winner: Al Haramain Amber Oud Gold Edition, with a final score of 8.37 against 7.55. The champion holds on and extends its streak to six straight wins.

This was closer in spirit than the numbers suggest. The Other Side of Oud is the more original composition and the better bottle. But the battle scores what a fragrance actually delivers on skin and in the wallet, and Amber Oud Gold Edition wins on community rating, on longevity, on sillage and on price per millilitre. Four out of five categories is a clean result.

If you already own Amber Oud Gold Edition and want something that does the opposite, The Other Side of Oud is a genuinely worthwhile second bottle. They will never be confused for each other.

Frequently asked questions

Is Amber Oud Gold Edition suitable for men or women?
Both. It is a unisex eau de parfum and it is worn widely by both in the UAE.

Which one lasts longer?
Amber Oud Gold Edition, at 8.7 out of 10 for longevity against 8.0. Both comfortably last a full day.

Does The Other Side of Oud actually smell like coffee?
Yes, strongly, for roughly the first ten to fifteen minutes. After that vanilla and soft woods take over and the coffee becomes a background warmth.

Which size should I buy?
Amber Oud Gold Edition comes in 60ML, 100ML and 120ML. The 100ML at AED 351 is the best balance of price and quantity. The Other Side of Oud is available in 100ML.

Do you deliver across the UAE?
Yes. Both fragrances are in stock at AlHimyan with fast UAE delivery, cash on delivery available, and a 7-day return window.

Round 49 arrives tomorrow with a new challenger. Amber Oud Gold Edition defends its crown for a sixth time.