Thanks to abubakr al-misky I am smelling some of the finest natural essences, real ouds, the "liquid gold" of perfumery, plus some rare, natural animalics. I can say without a doubt, that this is like nothing I have ever smelled before, and I would like to share these impressions with you and to pass around these vials to other Basenotes members who are interested--as long as we all use just a dab and promise to post our opinions and pass them along promptly to the next person.
First, the ouds.
Probably the closest I have come to smelling real oud before was a small, unrefined sample from Tigerflag. These are more refined and perfume-ready. They range in color from golden to golden-red, and the aroma is so strong that it permeates the entire envelope, through sealed vials, and out from plastic wrap!
In general, they smell bitter, medicinal, and deeply woody, a bit smoky, and similar to a pile of aged oak mulch, as if wood resins are leaching out slowly in the sun. They are hot and bittersweet, and very strong.
Each one, from different countries of origin, smells slightly distinct from the others. Here are what I have smelled: (Please excuse and correct any misspellings).
Cambodian Classic - Warm, a bit fecal, woody, hints of sawdust, with some sweetness in the drydown. Complex, deep, and medicinal.
Junnid Cambodian - Warm, less fecal, with some rubbery nuances, sweeter in the drydown. Hours later, the most dramatic development. Cinnamon undertones.
Indian Aged 10 Years - Also called "Hindi Assam Qasoosi Kadeem," which means the tree was 40-50 years old and the oud has been aged for a decade. Cooler, least fecal of all, most deeply woody, straightforward. The strongest and longest-lasting.
Vietnam - Warm, sweeter but less complex or strong as Cambodian.
Vietnam Wild - Herbal, not fecal, less bitter or woody, mildest with pleasant, sweet, green, haylike note. Hours later, fairly sweet and even a bit fruity or floral.
I can't stop sniffing them all. They are totally amazing. There really isn't any synthetic substance that can replace this ingredient. It is too complicated to replicate in its entirety. Only fractions of this scent could be copied, and then, even the longevity or development would not match the actual substance.
One more special one here, my favorite, because it is a perfume composition, and very, very beautiful:
Dehn Misk Maliki Supreme - The meaning is "Oil of Kings Musk Supreme." Oud with some subtle floral and spice underpinnings. I can't describe this properly. Starts out smelling like woody oud, and then a dark, rosy floral creeps out, followed by spiciness similar to clove and other sweets. The whole fragrance is highly diffusive, bittersweet, and extremely pleasing, sensual, sexy, and mysterious. It is fabulous. Hours later, powdery, sweet, lovely. Is there white musk in the base? And maybe a touch of vanilla?
Now for the animalics:
Ambergris - Salty, dry, bitter, very diffusive, gradually sweetens. I didn't get much on myself, and it didn't last as long as I thought it would.
Musk, Red - Dry, unsweet, musty, pungent, powdery, bitter, dusty, leathery. This is not at all like synthetic musk. It is nowhere near as sweet, and it is much, much stronger. Hours later, sweeter and very complex. Sharper and more masculine than the white musk. As time passes, it just gets better and better.
Musk, White - Smooth, musty, powdery, starts out bitter and ends up sweet and leathery. Smells more like what we have grown accustomed to as "musk," and yet, it is so much more animalic than the synthetics we use. This is drier, and dirtier. Hours later, still sweetening and becoming powdery. This is very nice. Smells like perfume all by itself. Still later, smells very sweet and close to some synthetic musks. Now I see what chemists have tried to capture--it is the drydown phase, alone, of real musk. This is gorgeous.
Just for fun, I presented my arms to my cat. She never reacts to any of my perfume samples--the one exception has been Dzing, which she sniffed for a few seconds. In contrast, her reaction to all of these scents was this:
She sniffed, kept sniffing, and then began licking my arms. I had to stop her. She loved them--the animalics especially. I have never seen anything like that happen before.
Again, thank you so very much, abubakr al-misky, for this extremely pleasant day of experiencing these incredible substances. I urge you others to take me up on this offer to share them.
First, the ouds.
Probably the closest I have come to smelling real oud before was a small, unrefined sample from Tigerflag. These are more refined and perfume-ready. They range in color from golden to golden-red, and the aroma is so strong that it permeates the entire envelope, through sealed vials, and out from plastic wrap!
In general, they smell bitter, medicinal, and deeply woody, a bit smoky, and similar to a pile of aged oak mulch, as if wood resins are leaching out slowly in the sun. They are hot and bittersweet, and very strong.
Each one, from different countries of origin, smells slightly distinct from the others. Here are what I have smelled: (Please excuse and correct any misspellings).
Cambodian Classic - Warm, a bit fecal, woody, hints of sawdust, with some sweetness in the drydown. Complex, deep, and medicinal.
Junnid Cambodian - Warm, less fecal, with some rubbery nuances, sweeter in the drydown. Hours later, the most dramatic development. Cinnamon undertones.
Indian Aged 10 Years - Also called "Hindi Assam Qasoosi Kadeem," which means the tree was 40-50 years old and the oud has been aged for a decade. Cooler, least fecal of all, most deeply woody, straightforward. The strongest and longest-lasting.
Vietnam - Warm, sweeter but less complex or strong as Cambodian.
Vietnam Wild - Herbal, not fecal, less bitter or woody, mildest with pleasant, sweet, green, haylike note. Hours later, fairly sweet and even a bit fruity or floral.
I can't stop sniffing them all. They are totally amazing. There really isn't any synthetic substance that can replace this ingredient. It is too complicated to replicate in its entirety. Only fractions of this scent could be copied, and then, even the longevity or development would not match the actual substance.
One more special one here, my favorite, because it is a perfume composition, and very, very beautiful:
Dehn Misk Maliki Supreme - The meaning is "Oil of Kings Musk Supreme." Oud with some subtle floral and spice underpinnings. I can't describe this properly. Starts out smelling like woody oud, and then a dark, rosy floral creeps out, followed by spiciness similar to clove and other sweets. The whole fragrance is highly diffusive, bittersweet, and extremely pleasing, sensual, sexy, and mysterious. It is fabulous. Hours later, powdery, sweet, lovely. Is there white musk in the base? And maybe a touch of vanilla?
Now for the animalics:
Ambergris - Salty, dry, bitter, very diffusive, gradually sweetens. I didn't get much on myself, and it didn't last as long as I thought it would.
Musk, Red - Dry, unsweet, musty, pungent, powdery, bitter, dusty, leathery. This is not at all like synthetic musk. It is nowhere near as sweet, and it is much, much stronger. Hours later, sweeter and very complex. Sharper and more masculine than the white musk. As time passes, it just gets better and better.
Musk, White - Smooth, musty, powdery, starts out bitter and ends up sweet and leathery. Smells more like what we have grown accustomed to as "musk," and yet, it is so much more animalic than the synthetics we use. This is drier, and dirtier. Hours later, still sweetening and becoming powdery. This is very nice. Smells like perfume all by itself. Still later, smells very sweet and close to some synthetic musks. Now I see what chemists have tried to capture--it is the drydown phase, alone, of real musk. This is gorgeous.
Just for fun, I presented my arms to my cat. She never reacts to any of my perfume samples--the one exception has been Dzing, which she sniffed for a few seconds. In contrast, her reaction to all of these scents was this:
She sniffed, kept sniffing, and then began licking my arms. I had to stop her. She loved them--the animalics especially. I have never seen anything like that happen before.
Again, thank you so very much, abubakr al-misky, for this extremely pleasant day of experiencing these incredible substances. I urge you others to take me up on this offer to share them.
She probably has a lot more knowledge on this that is recent and maybe on the alternatives too.
