UPDATE: I've tried this again after letting it sit for a couple of weeks and it's really smoothed out, I'm getting a lot more ginger and sweetness in the opening and overall this is less dark and much more balanced, overall I have elevated this from 4 to 5 stars given the value for money and improved scent profile after some maceration. I'm still not getting oud from this, it's more woody but i that's no bad thing.
Initial review below.
I own the original and this is a commendable attempt, PP have done well given the obvious budgetary constraints when deciding on the formulation but please don't purchase this expecting it to be like for like, because it isn't.
It's in the same ballpark, it lacks the smoothness due to the fact that the original is mostly using incredibly high quality natural ingredients, there's a depth, richness and almost syrup like quality to the original that can't be replicated using accords and synthetic raw materials. What you get instead, is a bold, dark and very woody experience.
This opens very abrasive but settles down nicely after about half an hour, especially once the florals come out and soften the whole thing, from then it projects for a good 8h ie exceptionally strong.
This is a very nice skin scent, spray on skin only unless you want to be washing your clothes multiple times to remove the fragrance, avoid smelling up close for the first half an hour unless you want to turn yourself nose blind to everything else.
