East meets sweet: testing Badar Parfums Oriental Rida by Sébastien Cresp

If you still think oud equals heavy leather and boardroom bravado, Badar Parfums just sharpened a hairpin and slipped it into your assumptions. Oriental Rida is the kind of East meets West blend that doesn’t shout about its passport. It smiles, then steals your pulse.

The opening reads like a bowl of late afternoon fruit under bright light, not syrupy, more dewy and tart. Think juicy facets that lift quickly into a floral heart. On my skin, the bouquet behaves like a sheer veil rather than a corsage, leaving space for air and movement. Then the switch happens. Resins gather, warm and tactile, and the oud arrives with elegant posture. No barn, no smoke bomb. Polished, woody, and quietly animalic, it frames the fruit rather than bulldozing it.

There is a subtle gourmand undertow, more pastry shop at closing hour than candy counter. Benzoin, maybe a lick of vanilla, something nutty or date-like that gives the base a mellow glow. The sweetness never sticks to the teeth, which is exactly why it works. I kept catching myself leaning into my own wrist like it was a conversation I didn’t want to end.

What I smell:

• Fruity brightness with a crisp edge up top
• A petal-soft floral heart that stays translucent
• Resinous warmth and a smooth, approachable oud
• A restrained gourmand haze that rounds the base

Performance sits comfortably in the all-day zone on me, about eight hours, with a sillage that behaves like a soft scarf, not a foghorn. It reads impeccably urban and absolutely unisex. If you avoid oud because you fear heaviness, this is the antidote. If you love fruity florals but crave more gravitas, this is your grown-up bridge.

There is also Floral Veil circling the conversation, a gossamer floral that feels like chiffon compared to Oriental Rida’s silk brocade. Different moods, same poised hand.

In short, Sébastien Cresp threads a line between sparkle and shadow that feels very 2025. Oriental Rida is a niche-friendly fruity floral with resin and oud that remembers to seduce with texture, not volume. I’d wear it to breakfast and keep it on through midnight without blinking.