Oud is a traditional and familial thing for me so I took it's presence for granted. Once older family no longer traveled for Hajj and especially when I left home, I didn't have access to it. I'd ask about oud at every masjid I'd attend and from anybody I'd meet from the ME. Every now and then I'd find an "oud" CPO but I'd end up telling the person, "this isn't oud".
I got into designer and mostly niche perfumery but really wanted oud. When I found the internet in the mid 90's I'd search for it and found Arabian Bazaar and some other outlets, too many to list. I'd order the products and waste money only to realize, "this isn't oud". At that time I had no idea oud could be faked, knew nothing about how it was made, etc. but I knew that what I had wasn't oud, Masha'Allah I didn't stop trying. Oriscent was a similar discovery i.e. find the website, order a product(sample as opposed to full bottle, which nobody else at the time offered) and not expect anything groundbreaking, but I was wrong. When I received the sample I was blown away with joy, "this is oud". That oil was Archipelago Supreme.
@Ensar do you recall when you released that oil as I'd like to get a timeline, IIRC I've had it ~10 years if not more.
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