Another burning question

Yan

New Member
#1
Just wondering...if one gets a bottle of oud, (or maybe a tiny vial, in my case), would it be more intelligent to not use it straightaway and keep it aside a few years to let it age? I'm seeing a lot of this being mentioned by people who use oud...that they store them away to age and get an even more unearthly scent out of it. Is this advisable? So??
 
#2
It wouldnt hurt Yan, If you have just that vial of a sample and you say maybe purchase a 3ml bottle of it then yes I would put that small sample up and let it sit and see how it improves over time. I bought a haflong hindi last year and at first it was very pungent but now its been sitting for over a year and I can tell the difference in it now, to me it smells like chochlate and sweet but still has the slight spice to it, its turning out to be very nice over time
 
#3
Just wondering...if one gets a bottle of oud, (or maybe a tiny vial, in my case), would it be more intelligent to not use it straightaway and keep it aside a few years to let it age? I'm seeing a lot of this being mentioned by people who use oud...that they store them away to age and get an even more unearthly scent out of it. Is this advisable? So??
Aging can have quite an effect on Oud if it is allowed to age naturally. That means without unnatural exposure to light, lamps, air, etc. Just leave it in your bottle over time and see what happens. I don't have any fresh Ouds that I have aged, because all the Oud I have bought has already been aged, so I can't speak further to that process.
 

Yan

New Member
#4
Aging can have quite an effect on Oud if it is allowed to age naturally. That means without unnatural exposure to light, lamps, air, etc. Just leave it in your bottle over time and see what happens. I don't have any fresh Ouds that I have aged, because all the Oud I have bought has already been aged, so I can't speak further to that process.
That's interesting indeed. It seems very much alive to me, these ouds. But, something strikes me now...is there such a thing as over-aging? If yes, whats the time frame recommended. And what's the ideal condition to store them. I know for sure that for normal perfumes, one should store them in the fridge to make them last longer. What about ouds?
 

Yan

New Member
#5
It wouldnt hurt Yan, If you have just that vial of a sample and you say maybe purchase a 3ml bottle of it then yes I would put that small sample up and let it sit and see how it improves over time. I bought a haflong hindi last year and at first it was very pungent but now its been sitting for over a year and I can tell the difference in it now, to me it smells like chochlate and sweet but still has the slight spice to it, its turning out to be very nice over time
Thanks for the wonderful tips...what's haflong by the way?
 

Kruger

Well-Known Member
#6
I've never kept my oils in the fridge ;) but your oud will probably outlive you, so don't have to worry about over-aging. That's if it's left to age naturally. People have had different experiences with the 'unnatural' methods referred to - lamping, sunning, airing, and so on. For some it improved the oud, but possibly only in the short run. Based on what I've gathered from others, I think that when you get into this kind of thing ('force-aging') you do diminish its shelf life, as well as its quality in the years to come. That instead of of it improving, you might see the opposite. I'd like to know more about this myself. So far, I've stuck to the simple way of doing things, which is to just leave the oils as I got them. No tampering.
 

Yan

New Member
#7
I've never kept my oils in the fridge ;) but your oud will probably outlive you, so don't have to worry about over-aging.
I see ouds can also be a family heirloom! Its getting more interesting. Is it also a wise form of investment perhaps, just pondering.

Based on what I've gathered from others, I think that when you get into this kind of thing ('force-aging') you do diminish its shelf life, as well as its quality in the years to come.
Now I would't ever want this to happen in the future. This is a great tip. Many thanks, Oudhead!
 

Kruger

Well-Known Member
#8
You can definitely think of oud as both an investment and a heriloom. There are so many ouds that I wish I were around to have tried, but alas, all I can do is minimize my regret for the days to come :)

I know people who have very high quality oils kept aside, only smelling it from the applicator, never actually applying a drop, purely because the bottle they have is one of a only a very few (if not the only one) that even exists anymore. I also know that there are people (like me) who would pay a few extra bucks to get hold of these, so I wouldn't say that you can't think of it as an investment.
 
#10
I still try to discover what is the Key to full enjoy Oud oil, to wear it? or just to smell it from the applicator? or both? i found my self to drown my thoughts in a single spoon of oil...
 
#11
The key is, IMHO, relaxation. Let go of muscular tension, meaning, sitting down and relax.
Once you can let go of muscular tenson in your back and lower back, you will find that your sense of smell gets better. There is a reason for this, but I leave it to your own intution to find out why.

Then open the oud oil bottle, first just uncap it. Sniff the bottle with the applicator stick still sticking in the oil. Draw a deep breath and then close your eyes. What are you smelling? are there spices, sweetness, herbalness, chocolate?
Or smething off-putting, such as gasoline, burnt rubber,; an overwhelming barnyard (some people love barnyard, to others it´s annoying!) ?

Then take the stick from the bottle, and smell that too. Stick it back into the bottle, and close yes again. Ask yourself again, what notes are you smelling -fruits, florals, wood, smoke?

Lastly, apply the oil from the stick onto your wrist or the back of your hand. Put the stick back into the bottle, close the bottle and place it away.
Then lightly dab your hand with the oil against the other hand -- either wrist against, wrist, or back of hand to other back of hand.
Or dab some oil lightly on your neck.
Again, smell and try to decipher the scent. Take a sniff every few minutes. and have a piece of paper and a pen ready, so you can write down your impressions.

I usually do this in the evening, when I have spare time, after a session of meditation (or even during meditation); and sometimes I lie down on a couch to relax better and allow my thoughts wander.
It has happened that I was passing into a waking dream --
--or simply dozing off into the most refreshing sleep imaginable ;-)
 
#12
Dear Thomas,

Some things are so simple,, but more times we need someone with kind mood to push our button of ignition...
Really thank you very much for the advises and the Truth is that i miss the part of "muscular tension, sitting down and relax"... thats it!

Thank you very much!
 
#13
Dear Nikolaos,

the reason why relaxation aids the sense of smell is rather simple (this is but ONE possible explanation):

There are ancient teachings about energetic centers in the human body (more specifically, in the aura of each person- the energetic body which surrounds and nourishes the physical body). These teachings derive from Ayurveda, the holistic system of health and spiritual growth that originated in India, some thousand years ago.

The teachings about these energetic centers (called "chakras") state that each of the centers is located in or near a specific part of the body. And each of the energetic centers is additionally linked to a physical sense.
The sense of smell is related to the so-called Root Chakra (Muladhara chakra), which is located (or linked) to the coccyx, the tail-bone at the end of the spine.

Now, when you relax your muscles and breathe more deeply, your whole system gets an energy boost. The relaxation and the oxygen intake help to activate the chakras, and once you let go of tension in your lower back, thus relaxing the pelvis area, your root chakra becomes more balanced and activated. Thus you improve your sense of smell by simply relaxing and breathing more deeply- simple, isn´t it?

I can only recommend (to all of you) to try the relaxation and breathing. You can find numerous webpages on the Net that will explain how to do it; but mainly you just listen in to your body and allow yourself to let go of tension.
Don´t strain yourself- just allow the tension to melt away and go with each exhalation.
Sitting comfortably; or lying down can greatly help you to let go.

Kind regards, and have fun trying this.

Thomas S.

Dear Thomas,

Some things are so simple,, but more times we need someone with kind mood to push our button of ignition...
Really thank you very much for the advises and the Truth is that i miss the part of "muscular tension, sitting down and relax"... thats it!

Thank you very much!
 
#14
Thomas,

Thank you for constantly support! It seems that without relaxing mood(physical & mentally) is impossible to diving into Oils journey... in one or the other hand Relaxing Required !!!


:rolleyes:
 
#15
Nikolaos,

I wouldn´t say it is impossible without relaxation.
If it were, we wouldnt smell anything unless we relax ;-)

But relaxation is a great help to experience the Oud oil we are wearing even more, and to enjoy the inner world that Oud enables us to enter in.