multi impressions on Agar Aura Kekasihku oud (klampei brunei)

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#1
product page and Taha's write up found here:
http://www.agaraura.com/kekasihku.html

i have to say this is so far one of the most difficult oils to "get". it is bizarre how it shape-shifts like quicksilver. see why, below.

day 1 off applicator:
the day it arrived via dhl, i opened the bottle and took a whiff off applicator and to my surprise i was pretty much smelling a very very faint whiff of something lightly green and minty and super super subdued. odd. almost as if is 2 drops oud in 50 drops of carrier oil. i am now pissed off, albeit knowing i cant be too quick to judge and there must be something going on with me and not the oil. few emails back and forth with taha and i left it to try again and next time not off applicator (as per taha and i have to agree, this genre of oils dont work the same way like others off applicator. they must be placed on skin to wake up and show themselves. i mean this is true of all oils, but truer of this genre x10.

day 4 or 5 applied on skin:
This oil has woken up post trip. It must have had a jet lag. still groggy and feels like it is holding back. It is still at most to my nose 50% strength of ayu and au luong but that is what makes it perfect. Super pretty, nuanced, complex and engaging. I love it and can comfortably and gladly recommend it to any and everyone. New to oud, old timer, those sensitive to scent, this oil is at the same time a crowd pleaser and yet complex enough for most mature noses. Mildler relative of sri lanka gyrinops, with more spice, more delicate mint and more subtle waves. Is very nice stuff.

I can relate to Taha's descriptions 90%. Basically everything except the loudness and projection part. This oil is much more subtle and thank god for that.


a month or so later and after not having touched the bottle or took a whiff for a good 10 days or so:
WOW. even off applicator. hello. dr jackal, mr. hide oil. someone turned on the amplifier or did the snow melt and the bear woke up from hibernation? once on skin: above impression holds but everything is magnified and a myriad of new nuances and subtle waves have joined the orchestra. and now i can fully relate to Taha's own take and write up on this oil.

yesterday again:
mirrored above experience that took place a week or so earlier.


closing note:
there you have it. it is this game that this genre of oils play that further contributes to why i love them. they beg you to spend more time with them, get to know them better. like a human being they have mood and mind of their own. they play games with you. i understand this is not a feature that many may appreciate and may in fact dislike, but not for me.
 

kesiro

Well-Known Member
#2
No doubt. 100% agree. I have had the same experience with quite a few of Taha’s oils, but especially kekasihku. I got the oil several months ago when it was very young. I also feel these oils seem to have an awkward period after arrival. I call it travel shock. It’s almost like you have to treat it like a bottle of wine that was shipped. Leave it alone for at least a week before opening. Of course the temptation to try the oud upon arrival has been one I have not been able to resist. I just always take into account that the first iimpression of the oil is rearely if ever representative of what it will be like later.
 

Shabby

Well-Known Member
#3
Perfectly true to my experience also, including the fact that Kekasihku is one of the hardest to get an understanding of...each time the notes are different. I remember smelling bergamot distinctly when I first smelled it, and which I have not smelled since. Thanks for the great write-up.

I think what kesiro says is very important re: settling time. However on top of that Taha's oils need more time to be understood. Even my all time favourite oud Ceylon No. 1 was a mystery to me the first time I smelled it, which now strikes me as pure insanity given how deep my love is for it and how immediately I grasp it every time I smell it.
 

Shabby

Well-Known Member
#4
By the way if either of you have Syed's Ascent and put it aside for a little, which I did, have another go! Something epic just unlocked for me, and there's no going back.
 

kesiro

Well-Known Member
#5
By the way if either of you have Syed's Ascent and put it aside for a little, which I did, have another go! Something epic just unlocked for me, and there's no going back.
Ha! No doubt. I am beginning to wonder whether the name Ascent is less about the oil and more about what the oud enthusiast has to ascend to in his study to begin to really get this oil. The Syed’s Succor, on the other hand is instant gratification but ultimately does not reach the heights of the Ascent.
 

Shabby

Well-Known Member
#6
Ha! No doubt. I am beginning to wonder whether the name Ascent is less about the oil and more about what the oud enthusiast has to ascend to in his study to begin to really get this oil. The Syed’s Succor, on the other hand is instant gratification but ultimately does not reach the heights of the Ascent.
Haha! True enough, a long study is needed. However I must say that the Succor took me some time too - there was a marmite note I smelled at the beginning which kept distracting me, and I believe brother Rasoul has had a similar experience. No such problems now though.

But seriously, the heights of the Ascent reach rather a long way up.
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#7
No doubt. 100% agree. I have had the same experience with quite a few of Taha’s oils, but especially kekasihku. I got the oil several months ago when it was very young. I also feel these oils seem to have an awkward period after arrival. I call it travel shock. It’s almost like you have to treat it like a bottle of wine that was shipped. Leave it alone for at least a week before opening. Of course the temptation to try the oud upon arrival has been one I have not been able to resist. I just always take into account that the first iimpression of the oil is rearely if ever representative of what it will be like later.
Precisely. But t is very much behaving like wine.
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#8
Haha! True enough, a long study is needed. However I must say that the Succor took me some time too - there was a marmite note I smelled at the beginning which kept distracting me, and I believe brother Rasoul has had a similar experience. No such problems now though.

But seriously, the heights of the Ascent reach rather a long way up.
I don't have that one nor Ceylon 1. Have to reach out to taha