soulfoud
Oud Fan
Just the sambac and cardamom were co-distilled by Jack Chaitman. A distillation of all those ingredients together would be something indeed!
Attar/Mukhallat of the Day
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LibraryOfPerfumes
Oud Fanatic
Extrait de Patchouli EDT by @Mr.P
A beautiful, long-lasting, high quality patchouli. It's a blend of patchoulis. In the opening (first 30-90 min) I smelled a fresh, clean patchouli while in the dry-down the patchouli delivered depth that hints towards the aged patchouli Marco used. The rose that accompanies in this EDT is the most beautiful side-kick patchouli could have asked for. One of the best rose experiences while enjoying patchouli. I did smell a hint of sweet orange blossom in the opening when I tested this on my forearm, but I will say, to my nose, rose dominates the experience as far as floral facets are concerned. Marco's Extrait de Patchouli EDT is a good POAL alternative in the world of natural perfumery. Bravo!
A beautiful, long-lasting, high quality patchouli. It's a blend of patchoulis. In the opening (first 30-90 min) I smelled a fresh, clean patchouli while in the dry-down the patchouli delivered depth that hints towards the aged patchouli Marco used. The rose that accompanies in this EDT is the most beautiful side-kick patchouli could have asked for. One of the best rose experiences while enjoying patchouli. I did smell a hint of sweet orange blossom in the opening when I tested this on my forearm, but I will say, to my nose, rose dominates the experience as far as floral facets are concerned. Marco's Extrait de Patchouli EDT is a good POAL alternative in the world of natural perfumery. Bravo!
Mr.P
oud<3er
Glad you enjoy it! This one is based on some old recipes for the way patchouli used to be sold in the 19th century - a heavy dose of rose and neroli to tame some of the initial wildness and mustiness of the patchouli.
I was pretty picky about the patchouli oil and extracts I used for this one. A vintage distilled oil and some very fine contemporary ones (in my opinion) including a super critical extract that really charmed me every time I wore it.
LibraryOfPerfumes
Oud Fanatic
Yay! Bring back the old recipes!
Mr.P
oud<3er
You know that's one heck of a challenge. At least in the texts that I've been able to find, there is nothing really in the "sweet spot".
I basically have one set of texts that use familiar oils and extracts but also depend heavily on synthetics for their character, and older ones where the formulas are all natural but many of the most commonly used materials (extraits from enfleurage for example) are unavailable and all of the measures are in obscure units like minims and drachms.
when I feel like experimenting with the modern formulas I try to find ones that don't have a whole lot of synthetic ingredients, I research each synthetic ingredient and what it is intended to replace or compensate for, then I try swapping in naturals that I figure might have similar properties to see if it results in a harmonious accord of some kind.
For the all natural formulas I have attempted to re-create some using absolutes instead on enfleurage oils.
LibraryOfPerfumes
Oud Fanatic
I see! I guess we can refer to it as modernization of old recipes then. Kudos to you for doing the extra work and making sure you can stay as close to the old world charm as possible.
Ahmaoud
True Ouddict
A while back I made a couple of blends with ASO's Ward Ta'ifi and Sulaym's Aqsa (Nagaland, 2023) and Taibah (Thai, 2023). There was nothing complicated about these blends, one bottle of Aqsa I added close to 20% of the volume with the rose and another I added two drops. For Taibah, I loved the scent but I felt like I wanted it to pop off my skin a bit more, so I added a drop of the rose, and drop of Maysam Co's Luxurious Winter Mukhallat (a blend of several ouds, with their own Ta'ifi rose, both the first grade, and the petals only oil), and left them to sit.
I've written in the past a bit about the Aqsa with Ta'ifi, the 20% version is almost raspberry like in a strange way, I adore it, and the one with two drops is something like a scent who's beauty is breathtaking. So today I'm sniffing the Taibah variant and a realization dawned upon me, I also made another three Taibah variants with 1 drop, 2 drops, and 3 drops of Ta'ifi these haven't had enough time to rest but how they're developing supports my experience with the earlier blend. What might that be, you might ask, it's the feeling of being misled by what people consider oud and rose perfumes my whole life! As the owner of Sokkat AlTeeb says "It's like Tang!" and that stunned me at first but the more I thought about it, and sniffing these very basic blends, I'm led to no other conclusion! It's like if all you ever had was Tang, and then had a proper glass of orange juice, it'd be like you were experiencing two different things!
Such as was my initial reaction to Areej Le Dore's Ottoman Empire IV, instantly caused me to smile, and feel a sort of internal happiness. And now that I think about it, it's this discrepancy between commercial fragrances which almost limits us in the initial phases of our exploration into naturals. I kept on thinking, if taking a cultivated Thai with a few drops of first rate Ta'ifi can evoke all these feelings, showing me this complexity I'd never seen before then do I really dislike oud and rose fragrances, or have I just been drinking Tang this whole time, oblivious to a world of beauty, not hidden from me, but one I shunned because of my ignorance!
It's so hard to do, but if I could go back, I would almost give myself a tola of a reasonable Thai and a tiny amount of this Ta'ifi and make something in an almost Jean Charles approach, keeping the oud to a 1 gram per vial and make five vials, then leave them for a couple of months. I think nothing would be more educational than that, because in that moment, you'll have realized just how short changed you've been getting with commercial fragrances! And the scent isn't even oud and rose, it's like 5 different things, coming together, an aspect of the fruitiness is enhanced, with an added watery quality, with an incense like quality, and florals to baffle you for hours! It'll try delight you for hours, or take the shortcut and swipe some oud on one hand, and rose on another, I thought it would be a generic scent, but I genuinely can't express how wrong that assumption truly is!
I've written in the past a bit about the Aqsa with Ta'ifi, the 20% version is almost raspberry like in a strange way, I adore it, and the one with two drops is something like a scent who's beauty is breathtaking. So today I'm sniffing the Taibah variant and a realization dawned upon me, I also made another three Taibah variants with 1 drop, 2 drops, and 3 drops of Ta'ifi these haven't had enough time to rest but how they're developing supports my experience with the earlier blend. What might that be, you might ask, it's the feeling of being misled by what people consider oud and rose perfumes my whole life! As the owner of Sokkat AlTeeb says "It's like Tang!" and that stunned me at first but the more I thought about it, and sniffing these very basic blends, I'm led to no other conclusion! It's like if all you ever had was Tang, and then had a proper glass of orange juice, it'd be like you were experiencing two different things!
Such as was my initial reaction to Areej Le Dore's Ottoman Empire IV, instantly caused me to smile, and feel a sort of internal happiness. And now that I think about it, it's this discrepancy between commercial fragrances which almost limits us in the initial phases of our exploration into naturals. I kept on thinking, if taking a cultivated Thai with a few drops of first rate Ta'ifi can evoke all these feelings, showing me this complexity I'd never seen before then do I really dislike oud and rose fragrances, or have I just been drinking Tang this whole time, oblivious to a world of beauty, not hidden from me, but one I shunned because of my ignorance!
It's so hard to do, but if I could go back, I would almost give myself a tola of a reasonable Thai and a tiny amount of this Ta'ifi and make something in an almost Jean Charles approach, keeping the oud to a 1 gram per vial and make five vials, then leave them for a couple of months. I think nothing would be more educational than that, because in that moment, you'll have realized just how short changed you've been getting with commercial fragrances! And the scent isn't even oud and rose, it's like 5 different things, coming together, an aspect of the fruitiness is enhanced, with an added watery quality, with an incense like quality, and florals to baffle you for hours! It'll try delight you for hours, or take the shortcut and swipe some oud on one hand, and rose on another, I thought it would be a generic scent, but I genuinely can't express how wrong that assumption truly is!
Mr.P
oud<3er
this is a beautiful post and there are like seven things in here I want to respond to in detail
Mr.P
oud<3er
First, your experience with the authentic concentrated natural fragrance that you made yourself in contrast with what often gets bottled. Dense, rich, natural blends are just so profoundly beautiful if you go into them looking for what they offer. What you described in terms of it not being one thing but five different intersecting things with unbelievable complexity is something I can very much relate to. It's like this whole landscape of aroma that takes time to explore and understand.
LibraryOfPerfumes
Oud Fanatic
You expressed your thoughts into words so well. I am tempted to try your experiment with ingredients from my collection just so I can experience the Eureka moment you had.
Arabiad07
True Ouddict
Is the secret the high quality taifi from ASO?
20% rose didn’t obliterate the oud?
What did you notice is the difference between 2 or 3 drops of taifi
Ahmaoud
True Ouddict
I wanted to reply to Mr. P's response and say that I'm starting to realize the importance of using dilutions, not that I am currently but I'm being forced to recognize that might be the way to go. In that less material is used, but also, perhaps less time is needed for the materials to come to their final interaction, or stable configuration in some strange sense of the word. But read on, I'll mention some details in the response to Arabiad07 as well.
Truth be told, I don't really know. It's a very overpowering oil, as is first grad Ta'ifi and I adore it, but also most days I'm more in the mood of an Ispartan rose oil, favoring the green aspects of rose to the highly piercing pink citrus-y facets Ta'ifi is known and loved for. I just had a tola of ASO's Ward Ta'ifi so I was using it liberally.
I don't think it obliterated the oud, however I did add a drop of Sulaym's Kaa'bah Attar because I felt it was missing a sort of middle note, and the saffron in Kaa'bah Attar would balance that out, and it did wonderfully! Oud is for sure much more of a secondary thought in this blend, and surprisingly it's not as loud as the 2 drop Aqsa (Nagaland). I prefer the 2 drop version, without a doubt.
The 1, 2, and 3 drop ouds aren't quite ready yet, and they're made with Taibah (Thai), but you can sense the difference, I would go with 1 or 2 drops, this is in line with what many people recommend for Ta'ifi blends in quarter tola bottles. 3 starts to slightly overshadow the nuances of the Thai oud I want, 1 drop keep most of them but the rose seems overshadowed, the 2 drops seems to be the sweet spot.
But once I feel like they're ready I'll update you guys. In the meantime though, I would highly recommend arm blending for both of you guys, still incredibly beautiful but you can change it up every day of the week 🙂
Oh and I didn't try this with a smokey Thai oil, instead it was a floral, fruity Thai, with almost no incense-y facets (as a more aged Thai might exhibit). And if we're being really specific, most probably this wasn't a Southern Thai, I think for an oil like that, I would use a difference rose oil entirely!
Ahmaoud
True Ouddict
Wearing some of the 20% right now, there's a pronounced chocolate-ly quality its brought to front stage, and if you know Aqsa (Nagaland) it's not a very chocolate-ly Hindi. A deeper sniff, showcases the slightly (the merest touch) herbal nature of the Aqsa as it dried down, but you feel a very prickly sort of rose, encased in a cover of Hindi oud, almost as if the rose is trying to break through but just can't quite overtake the oud. The Ta'ifi has transformed from that electric, bright, sparkling sort of rose to a growling (perhaps even a roaring) rose, subdued in a fortress of Hindi oud, turning the composition into something which feels velvet-y in somatic texture (yeah I know that's not a word, but I felt like making one up 😂). Now neither of these felt velvety when worn separately. I can sense a bit of the resinous portion of the oud, playing off the hidden citrus notes, giving me a frankincense sort of freshness. Almost seems like the oud's holding the rose back, but also making it more fixed to the skin.
However the rose as blasted away any of the smokey and woody notes Aqsa had, not that there were a ton. Honestly it's ultra powerful, like I can feel a prickly coolness invading my nostrils (my favorite aspect of ouds), and truly that frankincense like nuance, which has come about, I'm seriously digging. Genuinely a remarkable blend, I'm so glad you asked me these questions so I was forced to wear it.
Conclusion, it seems the Nagaland oud has held up to the Ta'ifi even at this percentage, but what's remarkable is how long the bright, sparkling nature of the Ta'ifi has remained, almost cemented by the oud, and what's really crazy is this combination of that herbal Hindi heart, with the citrus nature of the Ta'ifi, producing an almost green Hojari like profile (trust me I drink Hojari water enough to know), words can't express how shocked I am at this 🤯
Mr.P
oud<3er
lakawood oil courtesy of @Margon. Not sure what to think of it - has a kind of ozonic and nerolidol vibe from the bottle, a little green smelling like Aussie sandalwood top notes; overall an odd woody presence that is interesting but not engaging. I would lump it with aetoxylon and amyris - woody notes of strange character.
![[Ouddict.com] Attar/Mukhallat of the Day](https://www.ouddict.com/attachments/img_5695-webp.45531/ "[Ouddict.com] Attar/Mukhallat of the Day")
Ahmaoud
True Ouddict
Sokkat AlTeeb - غالية الدرعية (Ghaliyah Diriyah) - It's unusually cold this morning here, has been for the last several days, and I found myself wondering, there was a time when I used to wear fragrance for its utility, it was uncomplicated, and I just wanted to smell good. I don't think I'd make a good choice of that today because with so many options I tend to choose only the battle tested, and keep the truly exclusive scents for study, when I'm alone and have free time. And sometimes you just want something uncomplicated, not wanting to dig deeply into the notes and just have a scent in the background.
This was the perfect choice for morning here, cardamom, clove and an earthy Thai oud. Initially showcasing a very cardamon and clove heavy opening, it's hard to work with both of these ingredients, especially because cardamom lends a sort of warmth which isn't always welcome, luckily the clove seems to balance that out, while also not bringing it's own spicy heat to the table. If there's rose here, it's super minimal, there's also lavender and saffron, but neither of them pop out all that much. The initial spicy blast is actually cooling in nature, which is odd considering both of these spices were used. Soon after that you start to experience the earthy nature of the oud used here. It's a very different type of earthy nuance as you'd find in something like maroke ouds, here it's very much like subtle hum of slightly damp dirt roads, a pleasant memory from the old country. Nuances of the spices remain, yet they have this harmony which never makes them overpowering, and you're left with a very elegant, yet daily friendly scent which is forms a gentle bubble surrounding oneself. A blend which touches the heart, and showcases a profile not often explored.
This was the perfect choice for morning here, cardamom, clove and an earthy Thai oud. Initially showcasing a very cardamon and clove heavy opening, it's hard to work with both of these ingredients, especially because cardamom lends a sort of warmth which isn't always welcome, luckily the clove seems to balance that out, while also not bringing it's own spicy heat to the table. If there's rose here, it's super minimal, there's also lavender and saffron, but neither of them pop out all that much. The initial spicy blast is actually cooling in nature, which is odd considering both of these spices were used. Soon after that you start to experience the earthy nature of the oud used here. It's a very different type of earthy nuance as you'd find in something like maroke ouds, here it's very much like subtle hum of slightly damp dirt roads, a pleasant memory from the old country. Nuances of the spices remain, yet they have this harmony which never makes them overpowering, and you're left with a very elegant, yet daily friendly scent which is forms a gentle bubble surrounding oneself. A blend which touches the heart, and showcases a profile not often explored.
Mr.P
oud<3er
Sounds lovely
LibraryOfPerfumes
Oud Fanatic
Cardamom is actually a "cooling" spice. We use it in recipes during Summer to cool the body. If you chew cardamom by itself, you will realize it has a slightly mentholated flavour. Clove, on the other hand, is supposed to warm up the body. Both spices go nicely with oud. Ghaliyah Diriya must be really nice 🙂
Ahmaoud
True Ouddict
I used to think the same LibraryOfPerfumes, but it's not something I'm saying without experience. I also do the same, using it when I steep tea or just chewing on a couple of seeds for fun. There's a blend I have which is combination of three ingredients, cardamom, a Thai oud and lavender (though from the scent I think it must be lavandin), that blend is perhaps the most hot feeling fragrance I've ever encountered. This was so confusing for me, that I took some Nagaland oud and added just a bit of cardamom eo to it, and after a period, even that blend, where the oud was rather mentholated and cooling turned into something warm smelling.
I do have an oud and cardamom blend, but the details of that one are kinda dubious, that one doesn't smell as hot, but I don't really trust the place I purchased that from, maybe even the oud used in it was fake.
There is talk of CO2 cardamom extracts available, I wonder what those are like, and if they, much like with rose, capture a different sub profile of the material than the oil
Arabiad07
True Ouddict
Sounds crazy
Would like to see your exact experiment with Bulgarian rose. Mesouds 1995 Bulgarian rose is crazy. I swiped it with some oudlab Hindi and its crazy good..
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