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Oudh Fragrances

post #1 of 25
1/27/13 at 4:34pm
Thread Starter 
What are your top scents containing actual oudh? I've tried some Montale (Aoud Musk & Black Aoud) but I've heard that they don't contain actual oudh but rather synthetics. I have a vial of Le Labo Oud 27 but I find there to be a plastic-like smell that dominates (I've noticed this with Rose 31 too) and makes the oudh far too pretty.
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post #2 of 25
1/27/13 at 4:47pm
Actual oudh? Some of the Xerjoff reportedly and Oud Lubon by Aftelier and maybe some of the Amouage line. Others...maybe and I do not have a list but real oud is so expensive that simple economics determines the answer to your question. If you want real oud, buy some real oud... Not being short with you. Most oud fragrances contain artificial oud.
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post #3 of 25
1/27/13 at 5:18pm
Go to www.agaraura.com and buy a sample of pure oud oil... that's the only way I know that im sniffing real oud
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post #4 of 25
1/27/13 at 5:54pm
Black Oud, 24 Gold, Royal Oud and Leather Oud.
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post #5 of 25
1/27/13 at 5:57pm
I love oud based frags, especially Montale...but having said that, I bought a vial of 3mls of real oud oil, and it doesn't compare!!
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post #6 of 25
1/27/13 at 6:08pm
I personally enjoy Original Aoud by Montale as my preferred oud scent.
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post #7 of 25
1/27/13 at 6:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjg3839 View Post

Black Oud, 24 Gold, Royal Oud and Leather Oud.

None of those contain real oud.
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post #8 of 25
1/27/13 at 6:23pm
Then that means I have no favorites.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JiveHippo View Post

None of those contain real oud.
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post #9 of 25
1/27/13 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjg3839 View Post

Then that means I have no favorites.

I've never smelled real oud either.
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post #10 of 25
1/27/13 at 6:43pm
Probably not real oud, but I'm really liking Halston Man Amber these days.
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post #11 of 25
1/27/13 at 8:02pm
Real Oud is not hard to find. Real Good Oud is much harder to find.
I have samples from suppliers in the $15,000 - $30,000 wholesale per kilo range. This before I make a fragrance with it.

Real oud is all over the place, from pure fecal/barnyard to almost sweet in comparison. I got one sample that I couldn't believe how hard to take it's smell, it was...

And being so highly priced/prized, adulteration is so prevalent that finding a good and honest supplier is also difficult.
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post #12 of 25
1/27/13 at 8:37pm
Some of the best smelling oud perfumes I've tried are: Guerlain Songe d'un Bois d' Ete, Guerlain Rose Nacree du Desert, Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud, Heely Agarwoud, Dior Leather Oud, Bond No. 9 Harrod's Ltd. Oud, MFK Oud, TDC Oud Shamash, By Killian Pure Oud. These are all really good ones, but I don't know if any have real oud in them or not.

In my opinion real oud is best as a pure aged oil, but blending it doesn't necessarily improve the scent. And pure oud doesn't smell better than a work of art perfume (like those above) that contains some oud as a significant ingredient, whether the oudh is an isolated fraction of the agarwood oil or is real distilled oud - neither seem to guarantee the excellence of how it smells. I think the excellence of the scent comes from the artistry and the human touch applied by the perfumer or the distiller rather than whether or not it is real or synthetic. Agar Aura and Ensar's Oud make very fine real oud oils but they are in limited supply and sell out too often to recommend a particular name.
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post #13 of 25
1/27/13 at 10:34pm
I believe Mona di Orio's Oud and Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Oud contain real Laotian oud.
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post #14 of 25
1/28/13 at 12:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by change1 View Post

Go to www.agaraura.com and buy a sample of pure oud oil... that's the only way I know that im sniffing real oud

I made the mistake of looking at the prices.

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried heating some oud chips, the scent before it started smoking was surprisingly close to synthetic oud note I know from a number of perfumes. The scent from the cheap oud chips was still superior - woodier, more ethereal with greater depth.
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post #15 of 25
1/28/13 at 2:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pkiler View Post

Real Oud is not hard to find. Real Good Oud is much harder to find.
I have samples from suppliers in the $15,000 - $30,000 wholesale per kilo range. This before I make a fragrance with it.

Real oud is all over the place, from pure fecal/barnyard to almost sweet in comparison. I got one sample that I couldn't believe how hard to take it's smell, it was...

And being so highly priced/prized, adulteration is so prevalent that finding a good and honest supplier is also difficult.

It's nice to get the input of a real perfumer. Interesting read.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Much appreciated.

PS : nice website and some interesting fragrances. I'll be taking a closer look sometime soon.
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post #16 of 25
1/28/13 at 6:05am
I prefer the smell of agarwood smoke than the oud itself, and for that Leather Oud by DIOR ; does the job so beautifully.

You might want to try Khallab by Ajmal which contains real oud (Nazir Ajmal owns one of india's largest agarwood plantation) but unfortunately - i am not a fan of the Ajmal's signature basenote and or floral pairings which unfortunately taints most of the oud based fragrances from Ajmal, nevertheless if this is what you are after give Khallab a chance or Mukhallat Tharwan as well.
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post #17 of 25
2/3/13 at 12:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JiveHippo View Post

None of those contain real oud.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JiveHippo View Post

I've never smelled real oud either.

Then how did you come to that conclusion if you haven't smelled real oud?

In a way you're not absurdly wrong. The oud in Leather Oud is oud wood not oud oil.
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post #18 of 25
2/3/13 at 12:22am
I happen to get some real oud oil from the Indian market and I don't think anything compares to it. And there are alot of differences in oud from different regions, I liked the Indian oud because of its balanced sweetness and great versatility. Also that I can put just 1/4 of a drop of it for great projection and longevity (also good for layering)
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post #19 of 25
2/3/13 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hedonist222 View Post

Then how did you come to that conclusion if you haven't smelled real oud?

In a way you're not absurdly wrong. The oud in Leather Oud is oud wood not oud oil.

Really? Well I've never been to France either, but I know what the Eiffel tower looks like. I've read that genuine oud oil can cost around $300/ml, so I doubt my Montales, Creed, and M7 contain any of that. Also this post by Igor01:
[QUOTE=Igor01;1767373]You won't find many (if any) regular spray fragrances that have real oud in them. Many will have synthetic "oud" or "aoud" or "oudh" but due to high cost the real stuff is hardly ever used.

I've tried many of such "oud" perfumes and none of them was anywhere close to the scents of the real oud oils. If you just want to familiarize yourself with these fragrances anyway, I would suggest By Killian's Pure Oud, Montale's Black Aoud and Tom Ford's Oud Wood, these three are not unpleasant.QUOTE]

And this blog by Andy Tauer: http://www.tauerperfumes.com/blog/ma...100-oudh-free/
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post #20 of 25
2/3/13 at 1:45am
Real Oudh is expensive, but very potent. Oil perfume mixes made with real oudh are called Mukhallats. They too can be very potent. I also suggest checking out www.agaraura.com. The Mukhallats are cheaper than the pure oils, as they contain other essential oils and essences - things like real sandalwood and real ambergris! Again, the oils and Mukhallats are made n small batches and sell out fairly quickly - but are replaced by others as new oils are distilled.

Just trying a few samples will open the door to the wonderful world of oudh!

And none that I have tried have smelled like Dior Leather Oud (although a very fine scent), or the "bandaid" smell many "oudh" fragrances possess. Again, it doesn't mean they are bad - I love Tom Ford Noir de Noir - bandaids and all
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post #21 of 25
2/3/13 at 3:24am
You all are talking about "oud" as if it were a McDonald's Hamburger. A hamburger from McDonalds tastes the same no matter where or when you buy it. One from Moscow tastes the same as one from Detroit. Oud is NOT like that. Different trees, different growing seasons, different countries and the Oud smells drastically different. Agarwood, also known as oud, oodh or agar, is a dark resinous heartwood that forms in Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees. When the tree is infected by a mold, it's immune response produces this thick rich smelling oil. Like different wines grown in different locations, oud depends on where and when it was grown. It comes from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Phillip pines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and India. I believe MOST oud is produced in plantations of trees planted by suppliers. I own a bottle of mid-grade oud, about 3mls that I daub occasionally in unscented lotion, then wear. It wasn't too expensive when you consider that like Amouage Tribute, one daub will last all day. BTW, whoever mentioned Mona d'Orio is correct, before she died, she tried many ouds, disliking them, until she found a very expensive variety from Laos which she loved. She used it in her Oud fragrances. You can find a very nice interview with her on YouTube where she discusses this.
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post #22 of 25
2/3/13 at 3:52am
@Possum-Pie - it's even a little more complex than that! The oil has to be distilled from the wood of an infected tree, yet the highly resinated parts of the wood yields little oil and is usually used for burning.

There is indeed great variation in aromas. Borneo type oils (Indonesian) are ethereal and woody. Cambodian type (incl. Thai) oils are very sweet and fruity, and Indian type oils are more barn-yardy and skanky (in a good way or a bad way depending on the oil), and within each of these broad categories there is much variation!

I think also there is some variation in the synthetic ouds - some very woody (Dior Leather Oud, TF Oud Wood) while some have more of the bandaid smell (many Montales, NdN, even Habit Rouge Extrait).

There is an Oudh forum right here on BN if anyone is interested to know more about it: http://www.basenotes.net/group.php?groupid=15. Within that forum there is a specific Oud thread. Here all kinds of Oud related subjects are discussed, and it can even get a little lively at times! It is a really fascinating area
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post #23 of 25
2/3/13 at 4:23am
Thanks Sparky! Actually, oud is what got me interested in fragrances. I was working at a hospital, and smelled a wonderful aroma which I had never experienced before. I approached the visitor, who told me that she was wearing something called "oud" The next day, she brought me a small vial containing a dark oil, and when I opened it, I was addicted. I wore it often, and eventually started buying fragrances with the oud theme.
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post #24 of 25
2/3/13 at 4:30am
For me, the best oud fragrances are Kilian PURE OUD and Ramon Monegal AGAR MUSK.

IMO the montales are far too synthetic and smell nothing like real oud. Like ohters have said, you can find vials or small 5-10ml containers of oud oil online and smell the real thing that way. It is hard to know if what you are getting is the real deal however.

But with that said, it's worth trying to obtain a vial of really good oud -- you will have to pay at least $50 for the 1ml vial. For that price if you are dealing with an honest dealer, they quality will be probably a little better than good, but not great. Truly special oud can cost upward of $300-500 for a single ml!!!
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post #25 of 25
2/3/13 at 4:51am
Coincidentally, I just bought a sample of Kilian Pure Oud from walkdogg not too long ago, and indeed it one of the better ouds out there. Montale has some decent ouds, but no, you won't get a pure natural oud even at the price of a Montale. Understand that many oud fragrances last much longer than say citrus or floral themed do, so the price isn't really an issue.
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