Is anyone familiar with the Arabian Oud range?

I'd be interested in any reports as well - saw that shop the last time I was at Selfridges too!

I popped in last winter. Many of their scents are not oud based; they have some florals, ambers etc. I think they were a little surprised that a woman wanted to sniff ouds, but once we had established that I did, they let me smell a range of them. I left with a small sample of their most expensive one on my skin, and in all honesty I wasn't terribly impressed. It was very strong, and probably very good, but it didn't have that rather addictive effect that I expect from an oud! It was medicinal, but not in a very attractive way. But it did make me realise that the key to Montale scents is that they have very, very little oud in them, which is all that you need. Too much is not as good as a little... I have a small bottle of pure oud at 5% dilution, and that is just perfect.

Hello. I have a few of their scents and they are amazing. I purchased Fajer and that is my favorite. Contrary to what was posted, they all do have some oud in them but may not be listed in the notes section and some are not as strong as others. By the way, the london store just launched a new e-site in which you can order and they will ship to you worldwide. And they are all on discount right now. I already ordered a few and it is great. Shipping is a bit expensive though

http://www.arabianoud.co.uk

So sorry to refresh and old thread but I had to.

I went there yesterday and I felt the place is a bit "dodgy". If they are real "Arabian Oud" retailer, I mean, would Dior, Micclef sell half price stock or do 50% off?

On the other hand I acknowledge also that scent is quickly disappearing from my skin

Any views on that company?

As far as I know, the Arabian Oud shop in London is a legitimate one.

Their shops in Saudi Arabia frequently have sales where certain items are 50% off, so that isn't unusual at all.

It is common here for vendors to mark up their prices and then offer half price or pretend that they're giving you a special discount. This is just B.S. game playing. I frequently get anywhere from 25% to 50% off merchandise, including perfumes. Sometimes this is a good deal, other times not. Sometimes the discount gets the price down to where it should be because it was too high to begin with. But this is mainly a sales technique and nothing to worry about.

Arabian Oud sales (at least here) are really sales, though. They don't usually discount items, so when they offer stuff at a discounted price it really is discounted. But as I said, they will do this frequently throughout the year. I don't know about the shop in London and how they do their business. Perhaps they normally offer 50% off marked up prices, but I would be surprised if that was the case or if there was anything dodgy about their operation.

The only thing I've noticed on the UK website is that their prices are much higher than the prices here in Saudi Arabia, sometimes 3-4 times as much. That would be my only reservation. In that case, buying at 50% would be the only way to go.

I can't speak about your fragrance experience because I don't know which one you tested. Keep in mind that oils usually offer less projection than alcohol based fragrances, and tend to wear close to the skin. They also offer a range of fragrances, and the cheaper ones may not last as long as the more expensive ones.

I visited Arabian Oud in Oxford St recently and I agree, the place does feel a bit 'dodgy' with what is apparently a permanent half price sale and a really pushy sales assistant (who couldn't get it into his head that all women don't want to smell like Jasmine). I can't complain though, I picked up a little bottle of a pure perfume oil called 'Musk Mutasallik' very cheaply - a blend of white musk, Istanbul rose and Indian wild rose - and it's really quite nice, sort of clean sheets with a lovely sweet, pure rose and strong kind of honeyed dusty muskiness (I'm new to Basenotes, my nose/powers of description are in their infancy). I don't wear it during the day but I find it really comforting to wear to bed..gone from my skin by morning but smells amazing when I catch whiffs of it off my hair if I happen not to wash it that day. So for me good value at 15 quid.

I sniffed a load of other stuff in there that smelt good and interesting..but my nose was already blasted from a few hours in Selfridges, also I don't know enough about what constitutes good quality for these kind of Arabian perfumes & oils. I'll defintely visit again though and have another go.

In their Paris store, I bought an aged Indian oud, Al Syoufi, quite nice, very dry with some barnyard quality (and expensive, all all ouds), and a sandalwoody-saffrony floral, Al Azirya, also good (and not as expensive). I remember smelling an interesting dark musk as well. Too bad the brand is not sold in the US, I will definitely check again if I have the chance.

cacio