OUD - THE LIQUID GOLD
Oud (or agarwood) is one of the world's most exclusive perfume ingredients, with an aromatic and full-bodied scent and a market value that is equivalent with gold. But why is it so expensive? Are there different types of oud and how do they smell? Join us and we will take you on a journey into the mysterious world of oud.
Oud, agar tree, eagle tree, aloeswood - dear children have many names. Oud is a dark heartwood extracted from the tree Aquilaria agallocha, which occurs in 15 different species spread across Southeast Asia, Indochina, India and Bangladesh. Aquilaria can grow up to 40 meters high and its wood is originally light in color. When the tree is infected by a certain type of mold called Phialophora parasitica, it reacts by producing a dark and aromatic-scented oil resin. The more fungus and resin that has attacked the bark, roots or branches of the tree, the darker the wood becomes and more and better oil can be distilled, either by allowing the wood to lie and draw in water or by extracting the essence through the steam method. After distillation, the wood is dried and used for other purposes, sometimes it is distilled again one or a few more times.
HISTORY AND USE
Ouden is already mentioned in the Bible as aloe (not to be confused with the medicinal plant aloe vera) and it is known that it was used as a medicine in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and was popular as a fragrance by Egyptians, Jews and other peoples in the area. The Romans (who in turn obtained it via the trade routes from Arabia) brought the wood with them to Europe. Napoleon, who was otherwise a big fan of citrus-embossed colognes, is said to have loved the scent.
The agar tree has been used for thousands of years by Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists as incense in connection with meditation and has also been an important raw material in various forms in natural medicine in Asia and India as well as in Europe - it has been used in so many different areas as anesthetics. bactericidal, nausea, diarrhea, dysentery, tumors and respiratory problems. Not bad for a piece of wood, right? However, it is as if fragrance oil and perfume that made ouden most mythical in modern times, and then much as a result of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates being among the main importers of the raw material.
A LUXURIOUS AND EXCLUSIVE RAW MATERIAL
Oud is considered the world's most expensive perfume oil on the raw material market and is therefore often referred to as "The liquid gold". The most expensive one can reach a staggering market price of over 85,000 pounds per litre. The world market price otherwise varies greatly from 30,000 pounds per litre and up - a normal price among importers is about 42 pounds per ml.
Then why these staggeringly high sums? One of the reasons is that the extraction of the oil is extremely costly and laborious. Only every tenth tree is affected by the fungi and large amounts of resin are required to extract a small amount of oil. In addition, the agar tree has constantly lived on the brink of extinction due to felling and illegal trade - for this reason, a protection classification has been introduced according to the international CITES convention with regulations and export license requirements to prevent trade in extinct species and ensure that the raw material comes from ethical approved source.
The increased interest in the use of oud in perfume has also led to an increase in demand in the European market as well, which is why today there is also extensive new cultivation in mainly Asia and a synthetic production of oud which is added to the base of cheaper perfumes - an ingredient that can not compete with the real thing in terms of quality, complexity and warmth.
DIFFERENT OUD TYPES AND CHARACTERS OF SCENT
If you ask the question how oud (in Arabic oudh) actually smells, you risk getting a complicated and embroidered answer. Oud can be unbelievably large and have a fantastic number of faces depending on the age of the tree, how long it has been stored, which area that it comes from and how many times the oil has been extracted.
An oud does not have to be bombastic and overwhelming, but can be discreet but still with that juicy, cozy bottom that is typical of this particular raw material. Perfumes of this nature are often good entrances to the promised land of oud. They are generally woody, floral and almost a little green in style - not infrequently there is also a certain amount of freshness if they are mixed with the right notes.
Examples can be found in the luxurious French brand Fragrance du Bois subtly beautiful creation "Oud Bleu Intense", of which the color "blue" in the name refers to the color of the sea and a feeling of marine crunchiness. We meet cardamom, mandarin and nutmeg together with floral labdanum and spicy myrrh in careful combination with pure one hundred percent oud. It is not a fragrance that provokes, but despite its complexity is very easy to like and is so light and elegant that it can even be worn at the office. A real highlight especially in the spring and during the summer evenings.
Elegance is often the key word in this group of ancient creations. It is often said that it is more refinement than muscle. The oud is there and doing his job, but may not always be noticeable with the intensity you would otherwise expect. Slightly darker and where the dark personality of the oud has more impact is "Parisan Oud" from the same brand, where the Far East meets Western chypre with notes of rose pepper, cardamom and grapefruit together with pure oud, leather and incense, but still with the same luxurious flair and extravagance which is significant for Fragrance du Boi's DNA profile.
A novelty is the French Hermetica Paris molecular-based fragrances, built on new technology using water vapor instead of alcohol and where purity often becomes the main feature of the fragrances. Their oud-based perfumes "Darkoud" and "Verticaloud" (both containing pure oud) are typical examples of other stylish fragrances in the category that with their elegance wont sting someone in the eyes but still have that dark characterful identity in the fragrance that characterizes oud.
Swedish Byredos "Oud Immortel" is in all its simplicity but with its dry dark spiciness and its pleasant price tag a nice gateway to the softer oud - yet with enough dark and striking character for the raw material to be recognizable. Significantly darker, more spicy and almost herbaceous and green is the oriental-inspired "Alexandria II" from Xerjoff, which in the world of fragrance takes you to exotic places somewhere in Arabia but without becoming too heavy or too challenging.
If we cross the line to the more rare and extremely unique, the oud "Kyara" - now extinct and only existing in a limited stock of the odd Japanese brand Di Ser - is another example of these elegant nature-inspired types of odors that won't stand out in a demanding way, even though it has a very special character with its dark, slightly damp style that most closely resembles an abandoned summer cottage, moss and wood paneling in the 70's recreational cottages. It will not be more exclusive than that, as the raw material is out in nature and the price is of course accordingly.
Then we arrive at the group of oud-scents that put the senses on its end and challenge with its distinctive "dirty" barnyard character. Here we are talking dark rich extracts or essences from really dark wood from the agar tree. Here, too, the price really rises depending on how much pure oil they contain. British perfumer Roja Dove pours in substantial doses in her Middle Eastern-inspired oud perfumes, where the driest and "kindest", "Aoud", is nevertheless a real powerhouse packed with black-brown oil and a full-bodied exotic scent, while the others is more like honey-sweet "Amber Aoud" and the animalic "Musk Aoud" crosses the line into the real brutish scent.
The most animalic oud often comes from countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh and India. Cambodia has even been able to give a name to the dirtiest perfume of them all - the oil "Kampuchea Noir" from Italian Xerjoff. It doesn't only has a litre price in the 85,000 £ class, it is extracted from a wild oud from the Cambodian primeval forest, which makes it extremely rare. This is initially a concentrated scent that associates with excrement that probably gives the beginner a shock. However, it develops into a fantastically fine and elegant creation when it has been allowed to lie down for a few hours - when you have defended yourself against the initial dirty attack, you understand why the oud in historical sources is fragrantly associated with wealth. Only pure oud oil can also be found in Fragrance du Bois "Pure Oud", where it with its incredible depth and complex fullness is one of the best in oud roads that exists on the market. Aggressive dark power, elegance and luxury in a single package.
Did we catch your attention? Come into one of our stores and discover the rich perfumes of oud or order pefume samples from our web shop. Because here is a new exciting world of fragrance to discover.