Oud

Information

Oud has been known for hundreds of years, especially in Muslim culture. It has been used in natural medicine, religious ceremonies and meditation for centuries. Depending on where it comes from, oud can vary in quality and scent. Currently, oud comes mainly from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and India. Oud, also known as oudh, aoud or agarwood, is an unusually fragrant woody ingredient derived from tropical agarwood of the genus Aquilaria, which is infected by a fungus called Phialophora parasitica. An infected tree produces a resin, oud wood, for self-defence. Not every tree contains valuable resin (only about 2% of all trees!), but to find out, the tree must be cut down. As a result, agar trees are now protected in many countries, and the perfume ingredient oud fetches very high prices. This means that oud is an ingredient more valuable than gold!

Oud has been present in Middle Eastern perfumery for a very long time and most perfumes contain, to a greater or lesser extent, oud, which is highly prized there. In Western countries, it is a relatively new ingredient that has gained much popularity in recent years. As a fragrance, it is most often used in a perfume base because it is extremely durable. Since the price of natural oud is very high, there are also synthetic equivalents of this ingredient that are very commonly used in perfumes. In practice, only some perfumes contain real oud, while the rest only "benefit" from the economic situation and the growing popularity of this ingredient in perfumes. Often, oud sold as natural is just diluted plantation oud mixed with a combination of synthetic ingredients. Finding good quality oud is therefore quite a challenge.

What does oud smell like?

The smell of oud is multidimensional. Its aroma is woody, oriental, warm, deep, intense, spicy, with floral, animal, fruity, smoky, resinous and musky accents.