M7
Yves Saint Laurent (2002)

I had to select neutral even though I like it in certain moods. One lady said it smelled like the chewing tobacco her grandfather used to use. Not much of a compliment. But when I’m depressed on a cold and rainy day, it feels like something very rich and warm surrounding me.

Dry woods with a darker background. A lot of people compare to Oud 7 Absolu, but this is much better. Kind of has that Gucci Pour Homme vibe. Not too overbearing and projects very well. If I could find a bottle for a reasonable price, I would pick it up without a doubt. 8/10

An iconic fragrance such as the 2002 M7 deserves to be tried, and I was fortunate to find a bottle of the original juice and gladly added to my collection. Naturally, I have scoured the reviews, all of them, good, bad and neutral, and now would like to add my humble opinion.
The bergamot and mandarin opening is like a rush of fruity goodness. Do I get the cherry cough syrup? No, but I can see how some noses might interpret it as such. I get more of an Italian vermouth vibe, specifically, Carpano Antica. The middle notes of Vetiver and Agarwood begin almost immediately to tame the fruit, but not eliminate it. But it's the Musk and Amber that are the stars. Longevity is at least 12 hours, but if you spray it on your clothes, you can expect a much longer duration. There was some discussion of comparing this to a much more inexpensive Avon product, Premiere Luxe Oud. I have both and last evening I sprayed the back of each hand with each. One spray only. The openings of both definitely share a DNA chain, but it's the dry down that catapults the YSL to stardom. The Avon dries down to a pencil shaving scent, while the YSL keeps that Amber and Musk shining, long into the night. In the morning, I still smelled the YSL, while the Avon was just a memory.
Now, one could argue that the price difference more than makes up for the lack of longevity and eventual dry down smell, however, one could also make an argument that a VW gets you to your destination as well as a Mercedes. Indeed, that's what we're comparing here, a luxury vehicle vs a Yugo.
I am glad I have both, but I am so very pleased to have the original YSL M7 in my collection. It's a masterpiece of perfumery.
Next comparison will be against the M7 Oud Absolu (Black label).

You could hardly call this Oud. There's that medicinal note, but it's dressed with herbs and cherry syrup; and when that fades, it goes to a creamy brown amber.

M7 is well made, but as an Oud it's pretty tame. On the other hand it was the first Western Oud, and as such it broke new ground - even if that ground was pretty soft.

It's a creamy-smooth mix of gourmand, amber and oud - which is not really oud at all but synthetic Ood.

There's a disinfectant syrup, and then the profile fades through amber to finish on a white woody - and slightly cheesy note.

The much talked about Ood is only one part of M7, and not even the main one. The core is amber with some odd things going on to each side of it, so I see this as a strange amber, and not really an Oud at all.

It's a good novelty now and again, but I soon get tired of it.

I'm not sure why M7 a cult-like following. At best and worst, it's "fine," a synthetic, dark green-woody thing that feels a little anonymous in 2020.

Just magnificent! A decadently rich composition with a beautiful note of what I smell as cherry flavored pipe tobacco. I always loved it when someone nearby was smoking cherry tobacco, a lovely smell that I associate with childhood. It angers me no end that someone decided to end both M7 and M7 fresh-- two scents that every frag lover should own or at least try.