Oud Oil Reviews - MAIN THREAD
- Thread starter bhanny
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Guallam Solide - EO
Pretty awesome Ensar. Literally solid. Easily spreads on skin and melts, just like butter on warm bread. Mmm. Getting hungry. Oh yeah, Guallam Solide. Super heady, a bit sweet and a bit spicy. There are some floral, rosy elements. More of a purple scented rose with a lovely citrus twist, similar to what I find in the topnotes of Purple Kinam. This is just amazing Vietnamese agarwood, but with a bit of Laotian wood to add that extra ruggedness, just enough to make the the Vietnamese even more ridiculously beautiful.
Pretty awesome Ensar. Literally solid. Easily spreads on skin and melts, just like butter on warm bread. Mmm. Getting hungry. Oh yeah, Guallam Solide. Super heady, a bit sweet and a bit spicy. There are some floral, rosy elements. More of a purple scented rose with a lovely citrus twist, similar to what I find in the topnotes of Purple Kinam. This is just amazing Vietnamese agarwood, but with a bit of Laotian wood to add that extra ruggedness, just enough to make the the Vietnamese even more ridiculously beautiful.
Great description Brian. Very interesting stuff this Guallam Solide is. It is the most heady Oud I have tried. A little goes a LOOOOOONG way. It is a very unique combination of sweet, spicy, and slightly sour notes. Definitely has more of a layer of scents effect like a perfume. I pretty much reserve this for formal occasions.
Ensar Oud Purple Kinam
I don't know what to say about Ensars Purple Kinam other than it is an olfactory life changing oil for me. I can't even describe the scent as I can't draw a parallel between anything that I've ever smelled before. Purple Kinam is not oudy at all. Its not woody, floral, musky....nothing. I can't help but notice a similarity between Purple Kinam and Kynam No 1 in the heart of the scent. I'm literally at a loss for words. This is full bottle worthy.
@Ensar. When you have a moment, can you enlighten us with background information regarding Purple Kinam? I'm so intrigued by this oil
I don't know what to say about Ensars Purple Kinam other than it is an olfactory life changing oil for me. I can't even describe the scent as I can't draw a parallel between anything that I've ever smelled before. Purple Kinam is not oudy at all. Its not woody, floral, musky....nothing. I can't help but notice a similarity between Purple Kinam and Kynam No 1 in the heart of the scent. I'm literally at a loss for words. This is full bottle worthy.
@Ensar. When you have a moment, can you enlighten us with background information regarding Purple Kinam? I'm so intrigued by this oil
So Purple Kinam was the very first oud I ever sampled. I guess I was in trouble from the beginning. 
It really is something incredibly unique and beautiful. Totally agree with the similarity in the heart, I firmly believe that to be the beautiful kinam note.
Ensar has a handful, that I've sampled (I'm sure there are many more), that I place in that "wow, hard to describe because there is not much to compare to" category. And they are all amazing and bottle worthy. Guallam Solide, Borneo Diesel, Kyara de Kalbar. I'm sure I'm missing a couple, but like PK they all have this explosion of notes, especially top notes that really leave me a bit numb olfactory speaking. And this is in the most profoundly positive way.
So yeah. Fully hear you on PK. I've owned it a little while now and have listened to it a bit more and feel I MIGHT be getting it more, maybe, a little. Might have to listen to some tonight after bath time for my boys.
It really is something incredibly unique and beautiful. Totally agree with the similarity in the heart, I firmly believe that to be the beautiful kinam note. Ensar has a handful, that I've sampled (I'm sure there are many more), that I place in that "wow, hard to describe because there is not much to compare to" category. And they are all amazing and bottle worthy. Guallam Solide, Borneo Diesel, Kyara de Kalbar. I'm sure I'm missing a couple, but like PK they all have this explosion of notes, especially top notes that really leave me a bit numb olfactory speaking. And this is in the most profoundly positive way.
So yeah. Fully hear you on PK. I've owned it a little while now and have listened to it a bit more and feel I MIGHT be getting it more, maybe, a little. Might have to listen to some tonight after bath time for my boys.
Yah Purple Kinam is a perennial contender for my favorite oud and so far a permanent fixture in my top 5 (my list of favorites though is always rotating). PK is quite scintillating, though also has a subtlety and gentle sensuous quality about it.. It reminds me somewhat of Oud Sultani and Kannan Koh, but far more airy and dynamic than though other two, perhaps because of its younger age, I do not know..
Kesiro - Very expensive oil, but get a sample size, and store about .25g of that in a .1ml high recovery v-vial (they hold more like .25ml) while you use up the .05g that is left in the sample vial.. Kept in that .1ml v-vial, and used occasionally and in very small amounts, I think you can easily get $250 of enjoyment out of it over time - the oil will not oxidize much at all in that .1ml v-vial (until you have used most all of it and have a high air/oud ratio) and so you can happily store your PK for many years if you want to see how it ages....
Kesiro - Very expensive oil, but get a sample size, and store about .25g of that in a .1ml high recovery v-vial (they hold more like .25ml) while you use up the .05g that is left in the sample vial.. Kept in that .1ml v-vial, and used occasionally and in very small amounts, I think you can easily get $250 of enjoyment out of it over time - the oil will not oxidize much at all in that .1ml v-vial (until you have used most all of it and have a high air/oud ratio) and so you can happily store your PK for many years if you want to see how it ages....
Dear Kesiro,
Yes you can and in a lovely way: http://ensaroud.com/en/product/ultimate-oud-sampler/189
The current contents are below
Aged Wild Ouds
Green Papua
Xiang Liao Ling
Assam 3000
Organic Ouds
Assam Organic
Oud Yusuf
Mostafa No 5
Legends
Kinam Rouge
Borneo 50K
Purple Kinam
Yes you can and in a lovely way: http://ensaroud.com/en/product/ultimate-oud-sampler/189
The current contents are below
Aged Wild Ouds
Green Papua
Xiang Liao Ling
Assam 3000
Organic Ouds
Assam Organic
Oud Yusuf
Mostafa No 5
Legends
Kinam Rouge
Borneo 50K
Purple Kinam
Sutera Ungu (Agar Aura)
Thought I would post a review of this, in light of the recent Purple Kinam (EO) review, for those interested in fine Malaysian oils..
Basically, if you love Purple Kinam (EO) I think you will like Sutera Ungu a lot also. Sutera Ungu reminds me somewhat of Berkilau, which is one of Agar Aura's finest oils ever, and Berkilau reminds me somewhat of Purple Kinam.
If any of you were able to pick up Feel Oud's "Super Global KL Oud" then you have a good idea of Berkilau smells like, as those two oils share a lot in common - that the SGKL oil by Feel Oud was extremely limited however so few have smelled it.. Imperial Oud released a fine Malaysian oil as well - "Kejalasen - Kedah" which had some similarity to these other oils.. And all these oils have some similarities to Kannan Koh and Oud Sultani in terms of certain top notes, which are very well aged, super premium oils from Ensar..
Essentially, I'm describing a family of luxury class Malaysian oils, and having them all to wear, I notice commonalities - this is not to say these oils are all of comparable quality - most will probably experience Purple Kinam to be the much more extravagant oil than Sutera Ungu for instance - it has a rich, kinamic quality not found in Sutera Ungu, a quality that I imagine is due, at least in part, to higher quality Malaysian agarwood used and the benefits of being expertly aged. An oil like Oud Sultani really can't be compared quality wise, since it is from such high quality wood and has aged in such an amazing way.. So, I'm not presenting these comparisons to compare quality or which one is "better" etc, I'm just comparing commonalities in the scent profiles..
Sutera Ungu is lighter oil than PK, less rich, though has gorgeous notes which seem to characterize these types of Malasian oils - I would describe these top notes as "florals from another planet" - whereas Cambodian oils have a floral and fruity quality, those notes remind me a lot more of earthly fruits and florals - these Malaysian oils have the most exquisite otherworldy type top notes..
Thought I would post a review of this, in light of the recent Purple Kinam (EO) review, for those interested in fine Malaysian oils..
Basically, if you love Purple Kinam (EO) I think you will like Sutera Ungu a lot also. Sutera Ungu reminds me somewhat of Berkilau, which is one of Agar Aura's finest oils ever, and Berkilau reminds me somewhat of Purple Kinam.
If any of you were able to pick up Feel Oud's "Super Global KL Oud" then you have a good idea of Berkilau smells like, as those two oils share a lot in common - that the SGKL oil by Feel Oud was extremely limited however so few have smelled it.. Imperial Oud released a fine Malaysian oil as well - "Kejalasen - Kedah" which had some similarity to these other oils.. And all these oils have some similarities to Kannan Koh and Oud Sultani in terms of certain top notes, which are very well aged, super premium oils from Ensar..
Essentially, I'm describing a family of luxury class Malaysian oils, and having them all to wear, I notice commonalities - this is not to say these oils are all of comparable quality - most will probably experience Purple Kinam to be the much more extravagant oil than Sutera Ungu for instance - it has a rich, kinamic quality not found in Sutera Ungu, a quality that I imagine is due, at least in part, to higher quality Malaysian agarwood used and the benefits of being expertly aged. An oil like Oud Sultani really can't be compared quality wise, since it is from such high quality wood and has aged in such an amazing way.. So, I'm not presenting these comparisons to compare quality or which one is "better" etc, I'm just comparing commonalities in the scent profiles..
Sutera Ungu is lighter oil than PK, less rich, though has gorgeous notes which seem to characterize these types of Malasian oils - I would describe these top notes as "florals from another planet" - whereas Cambodian oils have a floral and fruity quality, those notes remind me a lot more of earthly fruits and florals - these Malaysian oils have the most exquisite otherworldy type top notes..
The sampler is a great way to go - and one can get good mileage out of sample amounts if used sparingly
In terms of cost, for me it all boils down to how frequently I use certain oils and in what amounts - since I'm probably one of the less financially abundant ouddicts on these forums there is no way I can buy full bottles of oils like Purple Kinam and slather them on - I have full bottles of things like Oud Yusuf (EO), Kemewahan (AA), Kaliman Kala (EO), Maroke Kyen (EO) etc - these are still fine oils that are fairly expensive, but at least I can wear them more often and in larger amounts - creating a nice oud cloud around me, whereas with my small amounts of something like PK, Betonamu Jonkoh (AA), Kyara Sayang (EO) etc, I just use occasionally and little drops/dabs...
In terms of cost, for me it all boils down to how frequently I use certain oils and in what amounts - since I'm probably one of the less financially abundant ouddicts on these forums there is no way I can buy full bottles of oils like Purple Kinam and slather them on - I have full bottles of things like Oud Yusuf (EO), Kemewahan (AA), Kaliman Kala (EO), Maroke Kyen (EO) etc - these are still fine oils that are fairly expensive, but at least I can wear them more often and in larger amounts - creating a nice oud cloud around me, whereas with my small amounts of something like PK, Betonamu Jonkoh (AA), Kyara Sayang (EO) etc, I just use occasionally and little drops/dabs...