Hi, I'm new here and am a recent revert to Oud with a capital O....why do I say so? Well, I used to be clueless and had thought that those ouds from the gulf - I won't mention names, were the real thing....till I found out that they weren't! Sadly, I used them and I had to admit they kinda gave me headaches. So my search is on for the real stuff...and am still searching...does anyone have any tips on what to look out for? I'm more into ouds which are evergreen and will do its magic on my skin.
A new revert to the 'real stuff' looking for advice
- Thread starter Yan
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I also started my oud path with headaches, and later thought that this oud thing is just not for me. I love essential oils, though, and something about the nature of oud I was reading about just didn't add up when it came to smelling it. Almost all the ouds I was ever given just smelt like bad perfume. Someone then once gave me something which was supposed to be from India, and was said to be 'real' oud. Compared to the perfumy quality I got in the others, this one smelled more like a natural fragrance to me, and so I thought this must be it. I liked it, but it didn't blow me away. At least it gave me a sense that there's something to look forward to.
Do you have a specific oud in mind when you talk about 'evergreen', Yan? I've been given some oud from Indonesia, and it is completely different to the stuff that comes from India. The ones from Indonesia feel more evergreen
Do you have a specific oud in mind when you talk about 'evergreen', Yan? I've been given some oud from Indonesia, and it is completely different to the stuff that comes from India. The ones from Indonesia feel more evergreen
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There are several types of 'green' when it comes to Oud. There is the green of gyrinops trees, which grow in West Papua. This is a leafy, damp jungle air green that is fresh and full of energy. Depending on how it is distilled, it might evoke anything from violet leaf absolute to Vicks Vaporub.
Then there is tea green. A more astringent note, laden with incense smoke, this is found in aquilaria crassna. The higher the grade of wood used to distill the Oud, the crisper and more crystal clear this green note will resonate.
Until you reach the ultimate Kyara green. This is pure transcendence. Aquilaria sinensis is the Oud wood that yields this note, if distilled with care. Yet if the grade of crassna is high enough, you will get the same Kyara note in a super fine crassna oil.
Personally, I find the sinensis oils to be a bit smoky in the top and heart notes. A premium crassna oil will yield a green that is as immaculate as Japanese sencha tea that simply dissolves in water.
Then there is tea green. A more astringent note, laden with incense smoke, this is found in aquilaria crassna. The higher the grade of wood used to distill the Oud, the crisper and more crystal clear this green note will resonate.
Until you reach the ultimate Kyara green. This is pure transcendence. Aquilaria sinensis is the Oud wood that yields this note, if distilled with care. Yet if the grade of crassna is high enough, you will get the same Kyara note in a super fine crassna oil.
Personally, I find the sinensis oils to be a bit smoky in the top and heart notes. A premium crassna oil will yield a green that is as immaculate as Japanese sencha tea that simply dissolves in water.
I also started my oud path with headaches, and later thought that this oud thing is just not for me. I love essential oils, though, and something about the nature of oud I was reading about just didn't add up when it came to smelling it. Almost all the ouds I was ever given just smelt like bad perfume. Someone then once gave me something which was supposed to be from India, and was said to be 'real' oud. Compared to the perfumy quality I got in the others, this one smelled more like a natural fragrance to me, and so I thought this must be it. I liked it, but it didn't blow me away. At least it gave me a sense that there's something to look forward to.
Do you have a specific oud in mind when you talk about 'evergreen', Yan? I've been given some oud from Indonesia, and it is completely different to the stuff that comes from India. The ones from Indonesia feel more evergreen
Do you have a specific oud in mind when you talk about 'evergreen', Yan? I've been given some oud from Indonesia, and it is completely different to the stuff that comes from India. The ones from Indonesia feel more evergreen
I believe a famous Samurai "Musashi"? "said that one can traverse a thousand miles by taking it 1 step at a time"
Indeed the Oudh journey is one in which one will encounter many imposters and fakes along the path, but one is equipped with a sharp nose and can smell a foul "ronin" Oudh from a mile away. As far as green notes are concerned, then I would look into those oils produced from the species mentioned above by our fellow Samurai Ensar! Because, I only one borneo and Merauke which both have green notes in them. So look into Borneos and Papuan oils for those notes, which are I believe are from the species mentioned in the post above!
Enjoy the journey Yan and Cambi
Indeed the Oudh journey is one in which one will encounter many imposters and fakes along the path, but one is equipped with a sharp nose and can smell a foul "ronin" Oudh from a mile away. As far as green notes are concerned, then I would look into those oils produced from the species mentioned above by our fellow Samurai Ensar! Because, I only one borneo and Merauke which both have green notes in them. So look into Borneos and Papuan oils for those notes, which are I believe are from the species mentioned in the post above!
Enjoy the journey Yan and Cambi
Thank You! Very deep indeed...traversing thousands of miles by a step at a time.
Well, indeed for me, as I begin my quest, I'm also very much excited to let my friends be acquainted to the real Oud. It almost hurts that they mistake bad fake Oud for the real stuff. Now, we really need some real education started. We need to be OUDible, to let others hear us. It's time for a shift from the fake to the real. No synthetics left behind your skin. Just pure, unpretentious and absolute.
Well, indeed for me, as I begin my quest, I'm also very much excited to let my friends be acquainted to the real Oud. It almost hurts that they mistake bad fake Oud for the real stuff. Now, we really need some real education started. We need to be OUDible, to let others hear us. It's time for a shift from the fake to the real. No synthetics left behind your skin. Just pure, unpretentious and absolute.
Actually, what grows in Merauke is mostly aquilaria fillaria. The fresh green I was referring to is from Jayapura, and comes from gyrinops trees. Merauke oils can also be green but the highest grades are deep reds and rich smoky blacks.
Very surprised to hear of a green note in a Borneo oil. I don't know how many batches of Borneo Oud I've gone through, whether my own distillations or my colleagues' and I have yet to encounter a green note in a Borneo. Where did you get this oil from, AbuAyoob?
Very surprised to hear of a green note in a Borneo oil. I don't know how many batches of Borneo Oud I've gone through, whether my own distillations or my colleagues' and I have yet to encounter a green note in a Borneo. Where did you get this oil from, AbuAyoob?
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Thanks for that clarification Ensar. I may be mistaking green for a menthol and pine note I pick up from the Borneo I have. I read a lot about your Borneos and those of your colleagues and must say that I have an average Borneo nothing of extremely high quality that was gifted to me a few years ago from oudselect which is Yasin's Borneo Gold. It is heavy on the barnyard note in the beginning and then the menthol and pine comes out. Weird, but I like the strength and funk of it. It is a little sweet at the end, but nothing too special like a well rounded oil. My Merauke is from there as well, which has the same exact scent as that sold by souq al bedu and far away from the funk that I like.
Can you further elaborate on what this green note is as I am curious to know what to look for and what oils in particular offer these notes regardless of the retailer? I want to learn more!!!
Can you further elaborate on what this green note is as I am curious to know what to look for and what oils in particular offer these notes regardless of the retailer? I want to learn more!!!
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You can smell the green note by trying this incense from Shoyeido:
http://www.shoyeido.com/product/translucent-path-sampler/translucent-path
http://www.shoyeido.com/product/translucent-path-sampler/translucent-path
My introduction to Oudh came when I first became Muslim in 2003. I must have converted about 3 weeks prior to this introduction. Sheikh Jihad Hashim Brown was in town (central new jersey) visiting from his new home in the UAE. We gathered at Sidi Waleed Mossad's house for a night of mawlid and remembrance. They must have been reciting Yemeni mawlid for about 30 minutes and before you know Sheikh Jihad pulls out a bottle filled with this black liquid and went around the circle swiping everyone!
My first thought "was man this stuff stinks" what in the heck is this stuff. I remember sitting and before you knew it I was asking about the contents of the bottle and Sidi Waleed says it is Oudh, a name befitting the smell I thought lol. It wasn't until the next day that I fell in love with Oudh because the dry down which remained in my beard and on my shirt was so woody and mellow that I begged Sidi Waleed to sell me his bottle! It was combodian of course. Three years later I had a bottle of my own and have been hooked on that particular scent profile ever since!
Maybe it is time for a change and a break away from my norm so that I can explore this diverse and precious oil! I'm am not Sufi anymore but still keep in contact with everyone I met along the path.
My first thought "was man this stuff stinks" what in the heck is this stuff. I remember sitting and before you knew it I was asking about the contents of the bottle and Sidi Waleed says it is Oudh, a name befitting the smell I thought lol. It wasn't until the next day that I fell in love with Oudh because the dry down which remained in my beard and on my shirt was so woody and mellow that I begged Sidi Waleed to sell me his bottle! It was combodian of course. Three years later I had a bottle of my own and have been hooked on that particular scent profile ever since!
Maybe it is time for a change and a break away from my norm so that I can explore this diverse and precious oil! I'm am not Sufi anymore but still keep in contact with everyone I met along the path.
Speaking about scent profile...personally I wonder if ouds have a "this is definitely male/female/unisex" scent profile.
For example:- Wives would perhaps run far from their husbands when the oud he'd swiped on himself is way too thick i.e. like a musky barnyard. And perhaps wives would want to stay close to their husbands when he'd swiped himself with ouds with a greeny and uplifting note to it?
For example:- Wives would perhaps run far from their husbands when the oud he'd swiped on himself is way too thick i.e. like a musky barnyard. And perhaps wives would want to stay close to their husbands when he'd swiped himself with ouds with a greeny and uplifting note to it?
I don't think there's a blanket 'male/female' distinction between the scent profiles. I don't think of Oud as gender-specific, the way designer perfumes are made out to be. Maybe at first the softer, greener profiles appeals more to either (only because of being more in tune with what people are used to), but I'm sure some women love the barnyard smell more than their husbands.
Hmm... have you ever wondered how many girls post into this forum? I mean: women, who in addition to their love for Cambodi Oud also have a real affinity to a good Hindi or Lao oil??
OK, there is one or two, but the rest...?
It is my firm belief that most women would rather prefer a flower bouquet, or a basket of berries (which btw would, I suppose, in most cases make them feel -- hmm, how shall I say...softer? more feminine? --), they would prefer it over a heap of fresh manure ;-)
Also, not to many men wear pure Rose oil or (Pink or Blue) Lotus (unless it comes from Ensar in form of a mukhallat) a majority of men here seem to have a crush on Hindi oils.
Just my two cents!
I just know of one woman who's into heavy barn, and it took her a good seven years to finally 'graduate' to the classic Hindi profile. It is rather funny, most men send enquiries asking about which oils are 'zero barn' but this lady, who's had her fair share of oud oils from different regions distilled a million different styles, has finally come to realize that is is the Hindi funk she was shunning all this time that's her cup of tea!