Niche Perfumery

Agarwood: Why is oud so popular?

05/15/11 14:43:20

By: Elena Knezhevich

Oud (agarwood, oudh, or aoud) has become an extremely fashionable ingredient during the last years. The East and the South have always been sources for exotic and often absolutely necessary ingredients for perfumes that are typically made in the West. However, agarwood has never received such popularity among western audiences in the perfume industry as in the past decade. The mass recognition for this ingredient (and I address the word “mass” to niche houses and exclusive lines) started at the beginning of the new millennium, and it seems to still roll on.

My thoughts were aroused by a comment from one of our readers who was wondering about the nature of this obsession with agarwood among perfumers. I believe we’re living through an exciting period of discovering new ingredients (but just conditionally, since the agarwood has already been known for centuries). Different scents were always dictating the fashion, which was at all times followed by perfumers and houses. Nowadays, public appreciation is frenzied by marketers’ propaganda, although this particular audience is a very demanding one because oud, by the force of its specific nature, hasn’t gone beyond the lines of niche houses.

One of the first propagators of agarwood in Europe was Pierre Montale, who lived and worked in the East, and returned to France with a collection of fragrances (the first French Aoud collection) based on precious agarwood at high concentrations. The perfumer presented this fragrance as the absolute king of its scents, with no consideration of disguising it or suppressing its force, as would later become a trend even in the scents of the maestro. This way, the curious bloggers had a chance to find out how the wondrous agarwood actually smells, without even having the real oil in their hands. I remember the most common responses—everyone was describing the first notes as very strong, woody-metallic, almost medical.

Montale has become very popular in Europe and the Middle East. Besides the superior quality of its fragrances, an important role in its popularity was enacted by the adventurous spirit of discovery, pushed by the evolution of the blogosphere. Montale presented aoud in dozens of combinations, strong and sharp, soft and warm, cold and distant—and very often, all of these combinations in a single composition. In Europe, it was appreciated as a daring novelty; in the East, as a refined French approach to the traditional ingredients.

Montale was not the first to open the East to the West, and the skill of French perfumers to the East, but after his success, cooperation between the West and East sharply intensified. Houses actively began to open up for the attractive Arabian market, and Arabian houses, one after the other, started to present their luxurious perfume lines to Europeans. The fragrance is like a jewel affixed in gold and silver, and it costs no less than its dazzling bottle. Western houses actively supported this philosophy - oud cannot be casual by definition. It can only be special.

Oud has begun to appear, usually in the form of exclusive limited editions, opulently and carefully, in the avant-garde collections of perfumery houses that have already acquainted us with the exotics of the South, the East, and faraway islands (Comptoir Sud Pacifique, and later L'Artisan Parfumeur). Later, having oud in the assortment became a norm, especially for the luxury lines (By Kilian, Tom Ford, Armani Prive, Dior, Henri Bendel, now joined by Creed).

Later, oud made its way into lines with topics that were quite far from those exotic Eastern themes, such as Juliette Has a Gun. Niche homes are literally competing to develop "the best oud," accentuating its oriental nature, challenging it in assorted compromising variants with fougere and aromatic notes, masking it with powdery flowers and trees, and even serving it with chocolate and honey (Aoud Gourmet by M.Micallef, Oudh Lacquer by Soivohle).

Oud has experienced an interesting transformation in the hands of western perfumers. It has become subtle and serious, as a well-tailored designer suit. It has lost its magical force enjoyed in the spatial palaces of its homeland, but has gained smooth and sophisticated European beauty. The active exploitation has deprived it of the magical aura of novelty, but in turn it gave us the pleasure of enjoying the master’s competition in winning the Middle East and in the olfactory education of the West.

Our choice is wide, and the high price of perfumes with oud is making us even more inclined. I’m not being ironic when I say I enjoy smelling each new oud with great delight, because it is a competition of artists. (Marketers are, fortunately, unable to “be of assistance,” other than generally pointing toward the East.)

New oud fragrance - CREED ROYAL OUD

Royal Oud has been introduced at Esxence in Milan (March 30-April 2, 2011). As Erwin Creed said, (in the interview for Extrait.it) Creed has created their oud fragrance as a response to the many requests they received from clients, but they have adapted the scent to the style of their house. Royal Oud doesn’t sound oriental, like a habitual ingredient of a traditional perfume from the Middle East. It is made for a European audience.

‪In my experience, Royal Oud by Creed is nothing like the scents with loud and pronounced oud issued by many other houses. It is a stylish and warm fougere fragrance with a beautiful kaleidoscope of woody, aromatic green and spicy nuances. The note of oud is an integral part of the composition, playing its role in balanced equilibrium with other notes. Regardless of its classification as a unisex fragrance, I would rather address it to the men’s audience, as an easy but solemn composition which justifies the definition of Royal. The perfume has a nice aura which is not intrusive for others. After a long period of time (12 hours) the skin remains touched by the pleasant memory woven from gentle, almost feminine warm and balmy shades. ‬

Author: Elena Knezevic (jeca)
Fragrantica Member, Editor, Founder

Kharnak

Wonderful Aoud. Of the houses noted here, Iv'e tried a lot.
Dior - Couturier Leather Oud (Coconut, White Leather Aoud)
Kilian - Pure Aoud (pure, medicinal sweet wood)
YSL - M7 (Orange, citrus Aoud)
Le Labo - Oud 27 (Pure sweet Medicinal, horse fur)
Montale - Black Aoud (intoxicating rich, Rose Honey Aoud)
Montale - Aoud Musk (Dry, Soil, Deeply medicinal Ebony wood)

All different, all expertly mixed. Aoud has this wonderful, strangely enticing Medicinal, Resinous, sweet wood feel.
Addictingly sweet and musty. Animal like. Truly Animal like, because it actually tends to remind me of a couple odd things. Horse fur.
One reviewer says Le Labo Oud 27 smells like a wet kitchen sponge. It does... but it's good. To most people i've asked, Aoud smells "weird".
Agarwood, is precious, rare, and i'm surprised i haven't seen too many Chemical analyses of its components.... of which I assume there are hundreds. I agree it would have another synthetic wave that "cheapens" it, like with synthetic Musks, Civet, Aldehydes, Calone(detergent aisle), Fruity Esters, Alcohols, Fresh Aquatic sporty fragrances that are somewhat overdone.
I'm just SO curious what the leading Agarwood components look like... what they resemble.
If done right... like with Thierry Mugler's works, Beautiful synthetics that captivate perhaps better than anything Natural. I believe the coveted Aoud can make a comeback.

Mar
27
2012

LADYJSN

Thank You Jeca, for this so complete rewiew. I did not know anything about this ingredient.Jeco, hvala puno pozdrav!

Mar
27
2012

A. Rose123

Like vetiver, Oud is deeply earthy and resinous in a savory, almost gourmande way, while also retaining a distinctly astringent, "clean" quality. I think Western noses are looking to reconnect with earthier scents, but the Western sensibility needs to smell cleanliness in a scent for it to be socially acceptable - nomatter what. Unlike Tuberose, Jasmine, Tiare, Truffle and Patchouli, you can push Oud a bit further in creative direction and ingredient concentration and it will still feel appropriate in a professional setting -- and there's been a lot of "East meets West" in professional settings, these days.

Also, I think people are fascinated by the novelty and edginess of something that can rot and actually smell more delightful and aromatic as it does. Like cheese, aged beef and some kinds of liquors, I think there's a rebel hobbyist interest in something that pushes boundaries of what humans should enjoy (like skydiving, mountain climbing). Rotting dairy products? Why do we like this stuff? Why is that fungus so tasty and aromatic? Rotting wood? Why does it smell so good?

Sep
27
2011

JeanMaurice

Wow! Thanks to you jeca! This is a great article! Complete and helpful, MERCI!

Sep
26
2011

Jack_Hunter

Most what passes for real Oud in western fragrances is synthetic and fake. Though they advertise with bold statements like Royal Oud/Pure Oud where this is anything but true.

If most western fragrance lovers were to smell real Oud like Assam Organic or Oud Mostafa from Oriscent. They would find the fragrance most shocking and unpleasant as it is a acquired taste.

And this is because real Oud is very concentrated and not friendly to our western olfactory sensibilities. So enjoy these so called western Oud fragrances but know that they are far removed from the smell of real Oud.

Sep
26
2011

Euse

I personally believe that oud is very popular for two main reasons:

1. it is so very different from european structure of perfumes, that automatically people consider it as "niche" because it is unusual to their nose. and as we know, anything that smells different is considered "niche" nowadays. (I know a line of new niche perfumes, where the perfumes smell like detergents or shampoos, but people buy it cause all they smell is something different in the bottle than what they got used to.)

2. none of the above mentioned fashion houses can allow themselves to ignore the needs and expectations of the middle eastern buyers anymore. Compared to europe or the states where the recession hit hard, consumers from the middle east have a lot of money to spend and they are willing to spend it on luxury items.

Sep
26
2011

3ood

Thanx for this lovely article
Dehn eloud is considered the best perfume in the middle east ..its worn at wedding ..at parties ..at every major event .. but we use it differently ..some like to wear it on its own ..some wear it with musk and bokhour ( burning incense )..some wear it with french or italian perfume .. my favorite mix is dehn al oud moataq worn with chanel ..or any other powdery perfume ....heavenly <3

Sep
26
2011

keshwean

OUD IS A WONDERFUL LUXURY NICHE SCENT OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE RICH SHEIKHS OF MIDDLE EAST. IN ASIA USING A PERFUME THAT CONTAINS OUD WILL MEAN THAT YOU COME FROM A WELL TO DO FAMILY, OUD HAS A WONDERFUL DEEP DARK WOODY SCENT THAT LINGERS FOR AT LEATS 10 TO 72 HOURS. TRY DEHN AL OUD MOTTAQ BY AJMAL PERFUMES. BELIEVE ME YOU WILL GET MANY COMPLIMENTS BY JUST USING A TINY DOT SIZE SPRAY OF THIS HEAVENLY SCENT

May
19
2011

JohnMc

Fascinating, engaging and informative article. I willingly admit to my status as a first year undergrad student at the university of fragrances. I now feel like I've learnt something and can explore further into the unknown world of Arabian-influenced fragrances and the central place of Oud as an ingredient. Thank you!

May
17
2011

jeca

Thank you, guys ;o) Kchild, Montale is a magician, he's shown a truly artistic approach to this material. By Kilian oud smells expensive ;o) It's also interesting to smell oud perfumes by houses from Saudi Arabia and other countries from that region.

May
17
2011

Kchild

Spectacular article! Thank you for this well versed information on this fascination w/oud. I have to say~out of all that I've tried my fave is still Montale Steam Oud. On the other hand......I have yet to try by Kilian. I have a feeling this one might steal my wallet!

May
17
2011

Happyme2009

I enjoyed reading your article!
That being said, yes, I am a fan of aoud!!!All the way!

May
17
2011

nattonline

I fell in love with this raw material in early 2010 when I first sampled M7 Fresh and Bond No.9 Ever since, I've been hunting down anything with Oud but so not successfully because all Oud fragrances are quite pricey! IMO and my $$$ is not limitless. (T~T)

Still, I have my eyes on that Oud Immortel, New York Oud, and I guess Royal Oud too. Why not! (^_^)

May
16
2011

naheed

Your observation spots on Elena. Oudh holds high status in the Arab world and it's hard to single out a fragrance not having it as a ingredient. Comparing West with East on oudh, then east takes the lead in providing it in all its glory. However,I would love to test the taste of West on Oudh. Wonderful article!

May
16
2011

Tigerlillian

Fabulous article Jeca! I especially love your observation, "It has lost its magical force enjoyed in the spatial palaces of its homeland, but has gained smooth and sophisticated European beauty." I'd love to find a wearable fragrance that holds the spiritual qualities of this beautiful ingredient that I think krmarich is also alluding to... must keep sampling!

May
15
2011

Chapeau Clack

Ummmm!! Scrumptious!
Thanks for the delightful reading, jeca.

May
15
2011

krmarich

Indeed oud is relatively new on the fragrance. Perhaps on this age of "use this and not that", oud is the next big frontier. It is rich, exotic and relatively unknown in modern fragrance. I am still waiting for the best presentation for this mysterious and wonderful note.

May
15
2011

L'UOMO

I'm a fan of TF's private collection.
I love Dior Homme fragrances.
I'm smart and I know these things.

The TF and CD ouds are the only luxury among all of these and the rest are just compliments to ur taste (not everyone's taste)

Have Dior made a fragrance for men that do not agree with the mass? and TF is a fine connoisseur on fragrances.
"I trust his nose"

May
15
2011

sillybilly89

ever since ive started using m7 i was like yes this is it from that day onward i was interested in oud fragrances and ive spend my childhood in middle east im in love with oud it brings back childhood memories to me when ever i smell oud based fragrances

May
15
2011

jeca

;o) Thank you, K1

How could I forget M7! ;o) I like oud scents too, Montale is my #1, but by Kilian, Tom Ford, Creed are also beautiful, but I prefer it wild ;o)

May
15
2011

Elena! I must kiss your hand! Your article is just perfect an highly informative!
I'm crazy about this wood, and my signature, M7, plays it boldly. You must smell its raw and freshly cut. Smells perfect.
...and the Aoud oil (Dahn al-oud) is the most famous perfume oil in Arabian societies. It can cost for more than $1000 for only 10 or 15 ml! It depends to the wood, provider factory and oil quality. But personally, I think it's not wearable. You can imagine Jesus del Pozo Arabian Nights, now make it intense and oily. But this stuff is one of the great exports from Arabian regions after petrol!

May
15
2011