Ouddict

Ouddict Co-Founder & Tech Support
I've noticed lately that many of the more recent OUD's I've bought, the majority smell at some point smell like gasoline. I am wondering why? I've never seen it mentioned in the description.

Ummmm maybe that’s you?! :Roflmao:

Seriously though, what have you got that’s smells like gasoline?! o_O

It’s interesting though, to share these observations. Too many people are reticent to do so, but we can all learn from them.

I remember speaking to Ensar about some samples I’d bought from him. One of the Ouds had an unmistakable burnt rubber smell. I called it the Goodyear note and asked him about it. He flatly denied it and said that there was no rubber or burnt rubber note at all.

No matter how many times I went back, that note was crystal clear to me and very obvious. It smelled like a car screaming off the start line and burning tyres.

The Oud in question was Purple Dervish (I think - this is going back almost exactly 6 years). I revisited the sample last year and that harsh rubber note has evolved into a soft burned marshmallow note which is quite pleasant.

I never read any other reviews at the time that noticed what I did. Maybe people were too hesitant to say anything negative or maybe it was just an idiosyncratic feature of my olfactory perception.

What I do feel is that any customer who has spent a LOT of cash (and in the “normal” world, that’s $30-40+) has every right to share their opinion on the Ouds they have purchased. A negative experience of one Oud by someone doesn’t necessarily mean the Oud is bad... it could just be down to personal preference and a myriad of other things. Or it could be that the Oud is bad, but that’s life.
 
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I call it the “Oud Barrier”:Geek:

When it comes to appreciating an oud, you have to desensitize yourself from the gasoline, bug spray, diesel, shoe wax, cockroach, burnt rubber, and plastic notes. It’s like a rite of passage to the finer notes.:confused:

So the question is........
Is it okay to be desensitized to certain things?
Well, our brain does it automatically for survival. But at the same time our brain will remember certain sensory inputs when it is associated with some important events. So the outcome of certain smells could vary based on life experiences. In that regard, oud may not be for everyone or certain ouds may not be for everyone.

To check where you belong with oud, swipe swipe swipe! Plenty oud and plenty regions. After a while you’ll know your place:Thumbsup:
 

PersonelHigh

True Ouddict
I can make a list (and will) but I am hesitant to upset anyone and people are very sensitive. Perhaps it's a good thing I live with a moat around me. It's just so prounouced as a note and yet it's never mentioned. That fact alone I find odd when sometimes it is very long lasting and over powering compared to everything else in that Oud. I highly doubt it's regional. I know when I burn what I hope is Agarwood I've never experienced the scent of petroleum. I don't mind a flash of it, it seems to enhance or promote the incense. But the avoidance of even mentioning it makes me wonder why? If it's part and parcel of well made Oud why avoid even discussing it? I've noticed as well that these OUD's actually make for excellent incense silage but not so much for the wearer. I applied one recently and it was overwhelmingly gas station and my husband walked in and asked if I was burning incense. It really smells better from afar or when diluted. I can't help wondering what it is I am smelling? Is it actual petrol? I know from incense blogs that they use certain chemicals to extend their product. I'm not worried about my health but I think it's a fair question. Again I don't mind a flash of it, it can be odd and intoxicating, but there are those Oud's that seriously don't go anywhere else. I would hazard to say that if you took all the Oud's for example sold on Etsy and asked people which note they all had most in common it would be that one, the unmentionable. I know I have brought up the Oud's of years ago that I sampled. And I don't recall this. I'm not saying that any Oud with this huff in it is not good. Please don't read that. I simply want to know what I am smelling and why it wouldn't even be mentioned in a listing describing the fragrance?
 
Well,
I absolutely adore EO’s People Ceylon, after the gasoline evaporates:Roflmao::Roflmao:
Not gasoline really, but it sure is full of very volatile molecules. Top note fractions extracted by what I guess to be low temp distillation with hyper-chilled condensers. Like distilling acetone??

I have a swipe of IO Sinharaja right now, and the top notes are long lasting with a frigid chill etherealness.

Very volatile molecules are immediately assessed by our sense of smell as being similar to groups such as gasoline, diesel, and bug spray. You’ve got to put blinders on that horse :nose:, so you can stay on track to further discover more of the oil. I don’t think people leave out the volatile notes in their descriptions on purpose, they register so high, that simply mentioning ethereal or top note heavy would suffice.

The distillation of top note heavy oils has gained recent popularity, that you’re seeing more of them than before. I am not a big fan of that genre, but some ouddicts lap it up. In fact, if you trained yourself to do so, you can be an expert at deciphering notes in the higher register. Then you would be in the class of new generation ouddict experts......discussing every nuance of those high notes, most of which will settle down over time anyway. I prefer old school classic oud but I’m flexible to embrace the ethereal new generations.
Wow!! Sinharaja is not letting-up....talk about top note fractions:confused:

So I believe that there is no conspiracy to cover-up the gasoline note, and that your oud journey is in for an interesting ride. But if you really can’t shake those volatile oils away, then best to stay away and seek more classic distillations. Al Shareef Oudh does classics very well.

This is just my 2 cents/rant......pardon mua:Cooler:
 

Edward Muller

True Ouddict
Do share! I will be interested to know which oils have profiles of gasoline, as personally I do like that type of scents in fragrances and oils - so to me that is not a flaw but rather a plus, although I have not smelled anything that's a realistic rendition of gasoline (heady and vapourous like gasoline yes, but definitely not in terms of scent profile, side-track: that's why I have asked Ahmed from @Elixir Attar to try and create an attar that is based off on Nostalgia from SMN, but with a longer lasting gasoline note using natural oils)

If the purchase is made from a reputable distiller, I am confident that it is not actually petroleum or any chemicals to extend the product. And i second @Oudamberlove 's suggestion on ASO, and considering you like oils with funk, their Hindi selections are worth sampling.
 

F4R1d0uX

Resident Artisan
I can make a list (and will) but I am hesitant to upset anyone and people are very sensitive.

Hi @PersonelHigh !

I think you should be 100% free to express your feelings :Thumbsup:.

I know that the Malay Cola I have in stock (not that much tho) is a dark oud with terpens pushed to the maaaaaaax.

So it can be too strong for some noses (I think I won Edward :p her eyes flipped 2 times), and it's also true that people around will ask if someone has burnt like 100 incense sticks at the same time, but really that one got success some people (who got experience in oud) bought 2 back up bottles.

I think your nose is very sensitive wich is a fantastic point, someone like you should really memorize notes you can be an excellent perfumer).

So if you were about Malay Cola, it's terpeny, like very much lol, it's dark, the sillage is bombastic and it's everlasting but it doesnt smell gasoline. It shares its darkness but it doesnt have its etheral profile to my nose at least that's why I did'nt mention.

Rose de Malaisie wich is brighter and more subtle has a strong etheral opening, that's why I mentioned it :Thumbsup:.

Anyway again dearest, you are right to express your feeling the way it pleases you :Thumbsup:.

Bonjour from France :praying:.
 

powdernose

Oud Sprite
I've noticed lately that many of the more recent OUD's I've bought, the majority smell at some point smell like gasoline. I am wondering why? I've never seen it mentioned in the description.
I can make a list (and will) but I am hesitant to upset anyone and people are very sensitive. Perhaps it's a good thing I live with a moat around me. It's just so prounouced as a note and yet it's never mentioned.

I think people smell it and mention it all the time. It is not a sensitive or taboo issue.
most recently for me, re: Pai Sia Kan
I've only had a tasting swipe so far, and I can't compare to the other oils listed, but the top funk is not my cup of tea.
It is a mix of soft fermented cheese and motor oil. I can take a hint of motor oil, but oil/gasoline notes are my least favourite in the oud olfactory kingdom.
I'll have to spend more time with it to get to the deeper notes.
If you're talking strictly about vendor descriptions, beside people having differing scent memories, 'gasoline' or 'moth balls' are not the most commercially orientated descriptors ;)



I call it the “Oud Barrier”:Geek:
When it comes to appreciating an oud, you have to desensitize yourself from the gasoline, bug spray, diesel, shoe wax, cockroach, burnt rubber, and plastic notes. It’s like a rite of passage to the finer notes.:confused:
When smelling something new, outside of our scent memory we attempt to associate it with what's familiar. You'll see some saying vaporous, camphor, piney, menthol, eucalyptus, tiger balm, turpy like turpentine, and like @Oudamberlove stated, acetate. Gas/petrol has similar characteristic fragrances.

Exactly. It is about scent associations, and whether you're willing to further deconstruct the scent and push your mind to seek alternate scent associations.
Gasoline, motor oil, turpentine, acetone, wood polish, rubber, moth balls... I've smelt them all in oud, and I still smell them (maybe I'll be a newbie on that barrier forever)!

The reason we can associate to gasoline easily, I would think, is the existence of compounds in oud oils with naphthalene or naphthalenone rings
Perhaps, for some, azulenes might trigger similar associations. It is all about scent memory and association.

Today I'm wearing Wilpatu Raja. Huge moth ball opening. Once it softens though, you can start seeking other associations, like freshly cut green grass. Or, as another example, on my other wrist I have Indah Kemilau, which is softer and rounder, but still one might easily make the turpentine association. In this case, for me it is easier to link to other associations, I can smell anise, or if I were looking for a floral connection, chamomile.

beyond the point of essential, and/or with added heat beyond essential that corrupts, burns, or turns smoky what is essential. Sure, those last can bits can add punch and a degree of boldness to an oil, but IMO it adds nonessential heaviness for nothingness.
So there is a difference. One is essential. The other is crude, croud, classic croudh, that many know as oud.

Or choudh (cheap oud). I usually find such burnt oils have that unappealing dark brown moving onto black colour.


No matter how many times I went back, that note was crystal clear to me and very obvious. It smelled like a car screaming off the start line and burning tyres.
The Oud in question was Purple Dervish (I think - this is going back almost exactly 6 years). I revisited the sample last year and that harsh rubber note has evolved into a soft burned marshmallow note which is quite pleasant.

To me it was thick heavy turpentine.
It has softened considerably.
 

mohamad

Just Arrived
I've noticed lately that many of the more recent OUD's I've bought, the majority smell at some point smell like gasoline. I am wondering why? I've never seen it mentioned in the description.
I completely agree with your Statement..!! I have bought ASQ oud oils, that did smell like terrible gasoline smell, so I decided to forget about it, and then after almost a year I went back and applied it one more time and surprisingly that gasoline accord turned very very pleasant smell ,and in general that Oud oil went from Terrible to nice ..!

My educated guess : ageing is a major factor in OUD smell .
 

Rai Munir

Musk Man
If you're talking strictly about vendor descriptions, beside people having differing scent memories, 'gasoline' or 'moth balls' are not the most commercially orientated descriptors ;)
But one must be daring enough and introduce these expressions to western Oud world;).

Agarwood oil is an essential oil, now there has been all sorts information regarding such. When as oil is quiet, the blurb is essential oils stay close to the skin. When the oil is loud or a competitors is essential, it becomes oud or whatever they're calling such garbage these days, is supposed to be powerful and room filling. They can't make up their minds, so no wonder many become confused.

Agarwood oil is an essential oil, some of what you're smelling is just that; some others are what you call oud. Some oils are distilled in a manner to get what is essential, skipping those last 'fractions', as you call them, that are only gotten from extended distillation beyond the point of essential, and/or with added heat beyond essential that corrupts, burns, or turns smoky what is essential. Sure, those last can bits can add punch and a degree of boldness to an oil, but IMO it adds nonessential heaviness for nothingness.
:handok: Sir.

Putting aside everything, I couldn't understand how dear Oudamberlove manages to like and love all kinds of Oud oils. Simply exceptional. Otherwise, I haven't seen any other member talking about all oils and every kind of Oud with the same fervor.
 
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Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
@PersonelHigh
why offend? what is a wonderful scent to some is gross to others. this is a consumer advocacy forum.

and yes i get what you are saying. to me they are more diesel/crude oil note rather than petroleum (latter more high toned while former more raw, inward and deeper) .

ensar oud emerald is the strongest oil in this genre
xll next
i basically get it in almost all marokes (filaria)

oil after all is decomposed old vegetation and animal remains. wood (roots and bottom of stumps) left in water soaked ground over years i guess mimiks that scent and disttilation intensifies those notes.

if you are not talking about this note and is indeed more the vaporous petroleum at gas station, then i kinda see what you mean too. i get it mostly in walla, some malay and some cambodi. but really mostly with sri lankan. this super high toned note like sniffing UHU all purpose glue.

in my early days of oud i kinda liked this note. now i find myself refraining from it and if and when i put these oils on me, i am waiting for this note to evaporate before i start going wrist to nose regularly.
 

PersonelHigh

True Ouddict
When smelling something new, outside of our scent memory we attempt to associate it with what's familiar. You'll see some saying vaporous, camphor, piney, menthol, eucalyptus, tiger balm, turpy like turpentine, and like @Oudamberlove stated, acetate. Gas/petrol has similar characteristic fragrances.

Chemically, the simple answer is sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, triterpenes, etc, that are there; not all same but in all.

I disagree that we are seeing a move to top note heavy oils, in fact I see the opposite if anything. Agarwood oil in perfumery is a base note, however, there's no doubt that within the individual oil there will be molecules that are heavier in relation to others in that same oil. I've seen the top note thing several times written but on further assessment don't find it. What I find are oils that do not behave top note heavy, they are very long-lasting, and most take time to warm and open on the skin, whereas top notes in perfumery typically are immediately evident and have only a transient stay.

Agarwood oil is an essential oil, now there has been all sorts information regarding such. When as oil is quiet, the blurb is essential oils stay close to the skin. When the oil is loud or a competitors is essential, it becomes oud or whatever they're calling such garbage these days, is supposed to be powerful and room filling. They can't make up their minds, so no wonder many become confused.

Agarwood oil is an essential oil, some of what you're smelling is just that; some others are what you call oud. Some oils are distilled in a manner to get what is essential, skipping those last 'fractions', as you call them, that are only gotten from extended distillation beyond the point of essential, and/or with added heat beyond essential that corrupts, burns, or turns smoky what is essential. Sure, those last can bits can add punch and a degree of boldness to an oil, but IMO it adds nonessential heaviness for nothingness.

So there is a difference. One is essential. The other is crude, croud, classic croudh, that many know as oud.

Thanks for this detailed response. I need to reread a few times to comprehend. My background is arts and not sciences but you addressed my question very directly understanding specifically what I was asking. Sometimes I just need to time for things to sink in. Even sleeping on an idea can bring clarity:)
 

PersonelHigh

True Ouddict
When I swipe Hun Yin, I feel like on oil field worker, or an auto mechanic. Dirty oil and oudiness, with some smoke basically, and I love it:Inlove::Inlove:

But I have worked on my car, and got my hands all dirty with oil and gunky stuff. Hated it!!

Oud oil will take you to the edge of questionable aromas, but lovingly embraces you in it’s aura.:Geek:
Sorry that last post didn't work. I'm looking for uproarious laughter emojis just for my interactions with you. A simple "like" isn't adequate. I have a special attraction too. You know who does a lovely amber? The Scented Djinn on Etsy. Off topic. Blah blah. I need to get back to the work of making money so I can afford to burn it up with a sinking grade. Because right now I'm sinking! (Special emoji here)
 
Sorry that last post didn't work. I'm looking for uproarious laughter emojis just for my interactions with you. A simple "like" isn't adequate. I have a special attraction too. You know who does a lovely amber? The Scented Djinn on Etsy. Off topic. Blah blah. I need to get back to the work of making money so I can afford to burn it up with a sinking grade. Because right now I'm sinking! (Special emoji here)

5135D699-4B79-438F-BA1B-BA8509BE9F40.jpeg
 

is38

Oud Beginner
I have some cheap Sylheti oud that I bought from Dhaka for $250/tola that has a dark diesel opening. But the diesel goes away after the first hour.
 

Elixir Attar

True Ouddict
Do share! I will be interested to know which oils have profiles of gasoline, as personally I do like that type of scents in fragrances and oils - so to me that is not a flaw but rather a plus, although I have not smelled anything that's a realistic rendition of gasoline (heady and vapourous like gasoline yes, but definitely not in terms of scent profile, side-track: that's why I have asked Ahmed from @Elixir Attar to try and create an attar that is based off on Nostalgia from SMN, but with a longer lasting gasoline note using natural oils)

If the purchase is made from a reputable distiller, I am confident that it is not actually petroleum or any chemicals to extend the product. And i second @Oudamberlove 's suggestion on ASO, and considering you like oils with funk, their Hindi selections are worth sampling.

Dear Sir

Sorry for my late reply and thanks for your trust in my work :)
A very interesing and realistic real representation of petroleum was an oud i had used a long time ago called Oud Emerald- it is sold out it was from Ensar and it is definitely smells like benzine- or octane or petroluem- incredible.

As for the SMN nostalgia- i am honored to be working on it for you- i will be done with the samples then write here about naturals used with the gsoline type of smell.

This is one is a bit challenging as it has several synthetic notes - however- it is a very pleasant fragrance for formula one lovers- and making a natural attar of it is an amazing experience-

Smelling rubber- smoky fuel and woods
Incredible :Cooler:

Regards
 

Elixir Attar

True Ouddict
@PersonelHigh
why offend? what is a wonderful scent to some is gross to others. this is a consumer advocacy forum.

and yes i get what you are saying. to me they are more diesel/crude oil note rather than petroleum (latter more high toned while former more raw, inward and deeper) .

ensar oud emerald is the strongest oil in this genre
xll next
i basically get it in almost all marokes (filaria)

oil after all is decomposed old vegetation and animal remains. wood (roots and bottom of stumps) left in water soaked ground over years i guess mimiks that scent and disttilation intensifies those notes.

if you are not talking about this note and is indeed more the vaporous petroleum at gas station, then i kinda see what you mean too. i get it mostly in walla, some malay and some cambodi. but really mostly with sri lankan. this super high toned note like sniffing UHU all purpose glue.

in my early days of oud i kinda liked this note. now i find myself refraining from it and if and when i put these oils on me, i am waiting for this note to evaporate before i start going wrist to nose regularly.
I absolutely love Oud Emerald
 
As I was sniffing my Pai Sia Kan last night, I noticed that if I focused my mind on the petrol aspects, that I could easily recognize them, but when I concentrated on relishing the yumminess of the other notes, then the beauty is all that I smelled.

Therefore I believe that our personal experience of an oil, depends on our ability to enjoy it.

The notes in oud that I don’t like are:
Fresh-cut wood
Ash
Rot
Garbage
Wax
Rancid oil
Distillation still notes
Indole

Allow me to elaborate on “indole”
The umbrella term “Barn” covers a wide range of animalistic poopy and funk. Sometimes it is downright shitty. I guess I’d rather smell cow dung than human feces:Roflmao::Roflmao:
 
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