My First Oud Experience

[Woodland Note]

Mukhmil (from HabzOud) - 2nd Impression

Today I decided to retry Mukhmil.
Surprise surprise.
A barny opening indeed. I applied much more than during the 1st time. Small swipe. But it’s not as overwhelming to me as 1st time at all. 🙁 Did I get used to oud or what the heck?

5 minutes in. It is Hindi/barny but it’s way more mild than when I sniffed it for the first time. At this point I can’t say I sniff any faecal stuff at all. I smell hmm sweet cherry resin texture, tea, dried hay, hmmm maybe some tobacco, wood.

10 minutes in, I can’t say I sniff any barn at all. I would say it could be even floral, why not... Chamomile and other more herbal-like florals scents. Definitely not going to bathroom this time. 😉

I really wonder what has happened. If it’s my nose, or the oud in question got more mild... There was not much oil in this vial, not even a single drop, difficult to get something out of it... I’m not complaining because it was free, I’m just thinking that perhaps if 99% of the vial is air it could oxidize faster etc. and get more rounded/smooth/mild.?
hmm... and if that’s my nose then... I’m afraid I won’t know any more what other people can sniff from me... Cause to me it’s now sweet, woody, floral, dried hay (not sweet grass though... just regular hay) and nice... hmm....

20 minutes in, it’s getting oudy, different kinds of florals (lilies), antique wood, and maybe resinous. 🙂 At this point I would not guess it’s and Indian oud.

30 minutes in, there is some more zesty-like aspect to it.

Hmmm.... One for sure, this oud is again morphing a lot with time passing. Changing like colors in a colorful kaleidoscope.

40 minutes in, it’s even more zesty, fresh... mmmm.... Beautiful! 😀 I <3 it at this point.
Maybe it has aspect of some zesty citrus fruits (but its not sour nor bitter), maybe honeydew melon too.

55 minutes in, it got paradoxically more intense... Or my nose got more sensitive... but I can sniff it now from 30-40cm, and it’s really nice... Maybe more... hmm... piercing... woodiness, freshness....

Or maybe it’s all about the temperature? When I first tried Mukhmil there was warm summer time. Now it’s almost winter, snow outside... In my room 19.5°C and dropping because I closed the radiator valve in my room a few hours ago.

1 hour 10 minutes in, I could say this zestiness is getting silky, powdery aspect, if that is making any sense... I smell hmm... lots of oudiness and hmm maybe deep down there I smell a hint of something like I did from the heated wood, in first minutes of very gentle heating... but it’s more chilled here..


This all I experience now is so different from my first Mukhmil try out, perhaps only a few first minutes has something in common.

The oil is not overwhelming at all to me tonight, but I can’t say it’s weak either. It has very nice strength/intensity.

Very pleasant!

2 hours in... mmm! Addictive! As for the notes I can’t really tell if it’s floral or fruity or what... But it’s very pleasuring, making me want to sniff sniff sniff!


By the way, I’ve already tried two other not reviewed yet oils, 1 from Powder Nose - Sweet Trat and one from my generous & kind donor who whished to remain anonymous, the oud is labeled as “B”. I’ve already wrote a bit about both oils but the reviews will need to wait. The reason for that is they are very similar to some oils I've tried already from Al Hashimi. So, I wish to do a comparison, side by side and try to find differences.

 

[Habz786]

@Woodland Note nice writeup as usual, you have a unique style of expressing your nose. I think its a few things firstly your nose is being trained by smelling various Oud oils, so there is a better understanding of the oil and also the fact the oil has oxidised which tends to tame it in some cases as you experience more Hindis you will see how they behave, work much better in cooler climates IMO

 

[Woodland Note]

@Woodland Note nice writeup as usual, you have a unique style of expressing your nose. I think its a few things firstly your nose is being trained by smelling various Oud oils, so there is a better understanding of the oil and also the fact the oil has oxidised which tends to tame it in some cases as you experience more Hindis you will see how they behave, work much better in cooler climates IMO

Thank you dear Habz. 🙂 I have lots and lots to learn about oud, but it’s nothing but pleasure to be learning about it. 🙂

 

[Woodland Note]

Oud oil labeled as “C” (vendor, region and year of distillation unknown)
Received as a gift from certain kind & generous ouddict member who wishes to remain anonymous.

Minute 0. I did not swipe it yet, sniffing it from a plastic (one-time use only) stick.
It has very refreshing, fruity/citusy and piercing/cooling in such a way fresh spearmint is (but not minty notes) character.

This is what I wished for today. (something light in a way, refreshing) 🙂 I couldn’t know but I’m happy it shown up to be exactly like this.

No Hindi or even Cambodi opening at all. It’s fresh, floral, fruity, zesty, immediately.

Under this zestiness, I smell beautiful smooth sweetness with a hint of woodiness.

There is of course oudines here as well perceptible. Oups, I just touched my nose with a stick. 😀 Delicious. 😀

I would not like to refer to rubbery notes when talking about oudines anymore, it’s always there, but only in certain ouds it’s so distinctive, intense, and in such fashion that it makes me think about rubber stuff, in many, maybe most of the ouds I’ve tried so far it’s different to what I would call a rubber note/accord. So I don’t even think about rubber. So from now on I will try to stop referring to rubber when reviewing ouds, unless it’s really distinctive and makes me think about it.

So, here is crystal clean, fresh, piercing nectar like oudiness, so far. It reminds me a bit about about Lindaraja and Zamarad.

I’m thinking about eucalyptus, camphor and exotic conifer woodlands...

The color of this oud has rather vivid yellow appearance in artificial light but... I would be guessing this might be a Papuan oil. Or extracted from the tree species that grows there.

I like it!

Oh, by the way the oil did not really felt strong when I sniffed it straight from the vial, I was even tad afraid it won’t be very strong. But now it really is smelling intense, from the stick...

Oh dear... I this freshness. 😀

Is it resinous... hmmm... At this point I don’t know, I would say more camphourous. (I still need to try real camphor though, I think I will try to obtain it some time soon.) So it’s fresh, a lot... like pine forest after rain... but more fruity.

I’m 25 minutes in. Shall I swipe? 😉 I could sniff it like this infinitely. 🙂

I will put music on. (Martin Nonstatic - Granite)

I swiped. . Burst of the woodiness & oudiness straight away... Now maybe also more floral aura, everything I sniffed before there is still there though. It’s just more... equalized now and some other notes pop up too. Mmmmm... Maybe a hint of wild lilies.

What colors/images I see in my mind? Green colors, and woods...

The last phase was sweet. (Or my nose changed the perception after dinner consumption.)

It’s a perfect fragrance on its own. I would not change a thing in it. However, I wish oud in general had more projection and sillage, so that other people could smell this from me and then it could be used as perfume. Well, maybe if I applied a lot. Like dear Sproaty or even more, like respected Taha. But it feels too precious, too expensive to splash a larger than 2-3 small swipes amount on oneself... to me.

I think we need cultivated affordable Papuan oils!

 

[Sproaty]

Oud oil labeled as “C” (vendor, region and year of distillation unknown)
Received as a gift from certain kind & generous ouddict member who wishes to remain anonymous.


View attachment 6368

Minute 0. I did not swipe it yet, sniffing it from a plastic (one-time use only) stick.
It has very refreshing, fruity/citusy and piercing/cooling in such a way fresh spearmint is (but not minty notes) character.

This is what I wished for today. (something light in a way, refreshing) 🙂 I couldn’t know but I’m happy it shown up to be exactly like this.

No Hindi or even Cambodi opening at all. It’s fresh, floral, fruity, zesty, immediately.

Under this zestiness, I smell beautiful smooth sweetness with a hint of woodiness.

There is of course oudines here as well perceptible. Oups, I just touched my nose with a stick. 😀 Delicious. 😀

I would not like to refer to rubbery notes when talking about oudines anymore, it’s always there, but only in certain ouds it’s so distinctive, intense, and in such fashion that it makes me think about rubber stuff, in many, maybe most of the ouds I’ve tried so far it’s different to what I would call a rubber note/accord. So I don’t even think about rubber. So from now on I will try to stop referring to rubber when reviewing ouds, unless it’s really distinctive and makes me think about it.

So, here is crystal clean, fresh, piercing nectar like oudiness, so far. It reminds me a bit about about Lindaraja and Zamarad.

I’m thinking about eucalyptus, camphor and exotic conifer woodlands...

The color of this oud has rather vivid yellow appearance in artificial light but... I would be guessing this might be a Papuan oil. Or extracted from the tree species that grows there.

I like it!

Oh, by the way the oil did not really felt strong when I sniffed it straight from the vial, I was even tad afraid it won’t be very strong. But now it really is smelling intense, from the stick...

Oh dear... I this freshness. 😀

Is it resinous... hmmm... At this point I don’t know, I would say more camphourous. (I still need to try real camphor though, I think I will try to obtain it some time soon.) So it’s fresh, a lot... like pine forest after rain... but more fruity.

I’m 25 minutes in. Shall I swipe? 😉 I could sniff it like this infinitely. 🙂

I will put music on. (Martin Nonstatic - Granite)

I swiped. . Burst of the woodiness & oudiness straight away... Now maybe also more floral aura, everything I sniffed before there is still there though. It’s just more... equalized now and some other notes pop up too. Mmmmm... Maybe a hint of wild lilies.

What colors/images I see in my mind? Green colors, and woods...

The last phase was sweet. (Or my nose changed the perception after dinner consumption.)

It’s a perfect fragrance on its own. I would not change a thing in it. However, I wish oud in general had more projection and sillage, so that other people could smell this from me and then it could be used as perfume. Well, maybe if I applied a lot. Like dear Sproaty or even more, like respected Taha. But it feels too precious, too expensive to splash a larger than 2-3 small swipes amount on oneself... to me.

I think we need cultivated affordable Papuan oils!

Fantastic reviews. Has your "hookup" been telling you what the oils are after you post your thoughts? And, I say swipe with reckless abandon

 

[Woodland Note]

Fantastic reviews. Has your "hookup" been telling you what the oils are after you post your thoughts? And, I say swipe with reckless abandon

Thank you. And no. However, this kind humble person told me there is a secret list where all the one-letter labels are connected with actual identities/names.
I’m guessing that perhaps once all the mystery ouds are reviewed, the names will be revealed. 🙂
There are 6 mystery ouds. I tried 4, reviewed 3, and 2 are yet to be experienced. 🙂

 

[Grega]

Thank you. And no. However, this kind humble person told me there is a secret list where all the one-letter labels are connected with actual identities/names.
I’m guessing that perhaps once all the mystery ouds are reviewed, the names will be revealed. 🙂
There are 6 mystery ouds. I tried 4, reviewed 3, and 2 are yet to be experienced. 🙂

Awesome I have 1 more to go!

 

[Woodland Note]

Oud Tea Experience!
Tea: Warm Lipton Green Tea (with a bit of sugar)
Oud: Sweet Trat (received as a gift from dear and respected Powder Nose)

In short: Under the bitterness and menthol/eucalyptus-like cooling sensations it tastes how it smells. Oudy taste? My head is thinking more about the wood aroma/flavour than the oil, if that makes any sense...

In longer version:

Inspired by the video of Ensar treating Peter from FragranceView (YT channel) with the tea with a small drop of agarwood oil I decided to try it myself.

I’m sniffing a plastic stick, with quite large amount of the Sweet Trat oud gifted me by PowderNose. It’s very intense with like 2 times of my normal swipe amount. I left the room to brew a cup of tea and I left the stick with oud in the room (suspended in the air), when I came back in approximately 5 minutes, I smelled the oud immediately while opening the door to my room.

Now waiting for the tea to cool down a little bit before dipping in. No time wasting though, sniffing the oud. I’m trying to define how it smells, in such an amount, so intensely... There is an opening here tad Cambodian/Malaysian-like.

Ah, so intense...... It makes me feel something on my palate, on the frontal part of it, when I take a deep sniff after sniff, almost breathing with it. But it’s not sweetness... It’s something else... but kind of cool. The notes (after I forget the opening/top notes) I think woody and oudy... It’s aquiralia crassna, am I right?


How different is my tea from the usual? Hmm... First of all, the scent, the whole cup got an intense aroma of the oud, different though than when swiped or when on a plastic stick, in a way, more hmm... It’s hard to describe... It’s like my tea got woody.. The scent of it feels more... dry... in a way... spiced.... Maybe I should read some books about olfaction, because I truly lack the proper words. The cup is just... radiating with the fragrance.

I imagine 99% of the oil must be on top, forming tinny droplets, the surface area must be quite decent though, and it’s warmed up by the heat of tea...

Anyway, another sensation is it added some more bitterness to my tea, but it’s acceptable.
And yes, as Peter said there is some numbness in mouth... But, it's very mild here. On a scale from 0 to 10 I give it 0,5, not even 1. I’ve tried some stuff that caused much more numbness in my mouth, for example chewing common rue leaves, I would give it 4, and 9 were for me a few injections received in a dentistry practice place (perhaps lidocaine). Uhmm...

Ok, I just took the plastic stick into my mouth and I swiped there, all over my tongue, I hope this oud is sterile. 😉

I feel.... more bitterness... and some cooling effect, and hmm....it tastes in a way some bitter eucalyptus candies do... well... not really as tasty for me as with tea...

Well, taste sense is strictly dependant on olfaction, so yes, there are some aspects in common with how it smells. Under the bitterness and menthol-like cooling sensations.

I did not notice any psychoactive properties. 😉


Ok, I swiped the remaining amount that was on stick on my forearm. It’s maybe 40 minutes in. When I’m sniffing it the scent is far less sweet than when I swiped it for the first time, a few weeks ago. It’s woody, oudy, distinctively ouddy... more piercing.... just different... but it might be because I got some in my mouth too, in the room air, and on my lips probably as well...

1 hour in, I still taste the oud in my mouth, though I wasn’t drinking more of the tea. I feel almost no bitterness now, actually it’s quite tasty now. Maybe it has some effects after all too, I feel quite sleepy now, maybe more than usual. But that’s a good thing, it’s 1 am here almost, good time to get some rest.
gOUD night 🙂

Edit: Although I’m not much of an alcohol drinker, I wonder how it would taste in some chilled white wine. I’m kind of interested how it could spice it. I have a hunch it could be an interesting mix.


Edit2: After a few days since the oud tea experiment I'm thinking that this experience was very significant for me to understand the "oudines" and ouddy notes. Right now when I’m sniffing oud oil I’m seeing more clearly the oudines part and I can actually connect it with the scent of heated wood now. Before I could not. The heated agarwood chips had not much in common with how the oils smelled. Now I have an idea how this scent is morphed.

 

[Arsalan]

@Woodland Note thanks for sharing your experience with the tea...perhaps I will try this too...

 

[Woodland Note]

Oud oil labeled as “B” (vendor, region and year of distillation unknown)
Received as a gift from certain kind & generous ouddict member who wishes to remain anonymous.

Opening (sniffed from the one-time-use only stick): Quite familiar to me. 😉 Reminding me some of the sweet oud oils I’ve already tried. Zamrak... Maybe hmm... there is something like Tariq has... and maybe some sharper facets of the oud labeled as “G”.
Hmm... maybe a bit more fresh than those... but reminding me those. hmm.... However, I don’t think it’s any of ouds I’ve tried before. My memory of those scents is a bit mixed and not as good as I wish. I think the closest probably would be Zamrak. Hmm... but I think it might be less intense. I would need to sniff'em side by side, similar amount to be sure.

Perhaps Malaysian or Cambodian.

It transforms very fast... to something quite sweet. 🙂 It’s 7 minutes in, maybe tad more, it’s still on the stick (one time use only) and it’s already getting sweeter and sweeter. Uhm... sweeter than Sweet Trat.

Time to swipe. 😉

It’s floral, maybe a bit fruity... I got here a bit of cherry resin texture (I’ve been referring to in some of my previous reviews), then (as it progress) more oudiness, lilies, floral gentle & soft oudiness. With a touch of wood.

It’s beautiful, elegant, sweet oud oil.

Edit: There is maybe a hint of resinousness too, a touch of live pine tree freshness, but in a more fruity way of notes like frankincense... and maybe a tiny little bit of citrus freshness.

Hmm... So it became more fresh-like than the mentioned oud oils... My nose might be playing tricks on me. Or... this oud is playing tricks on me.

30 minutes later and 1 hour 20 min after applying I might smell even some hint of smokiness, unless, not sure, it could be from the outside, it’s snowing and some people burn wood/coal to heat their houses.
2 hours in, I can still smell it. Fresh oudy oud, and very elegant. But it’s time to sleep.

Is this Crassna? I’m really curious what kind of oud is this...
Recently Habzoud released an oud oil baptized as Chamelon, I think this name would suit the oud labeled as "B" too. It's changing a lot...


Edit2: I have tried this oud 3 times so far. Well, straight from the vial it reminds me “heavier”, “mustier” qualities of some Al Hashimi oils, once applied it's getting more fresh, more zesty, more sweet almost immediately, then it’s progressing even more in this direction. To floral zesty citrusy, sweet, almost lemony freshness... almost Papuan-like. So, after all it's quite different from the mentioned at first oils.

As for the intensity/projection, it's medium. As for the longevity, it's rather shorter than I wish. But the notes is very beautiful.

 

[Arsalan]

So, one more to go before we find out what the alphabets represent?
Come on then! Get to it!

 

[Rai Munir]

It is extremely enjoyable for two persons: One who wears and then reviews, and the other who prepared the vials and sent them to respected Woodland Note- the one who has absolutely unbiased mind and olfactory. So, the reviews are synthetic free.

 

[Woodland Note]

So, one more to go before we find out what the alphabets represent?
Come on then! Get to it!

Actually two more to go. Patience patience... 😉 I treat them as priority... Not every day I find suitable for such a special treat though. 😉

It is extremely enjoyable for two persons: One who wears and then reviews, and the other who prepared the vials and sent them to respected Woodland Note- the one who has absolutely unbiased mind and olfactory. So, the reviews must are synthetic free.

Dear and respected Rai Munir, you are making me blush. 😳 Thank you for the kind words!

 

[Woodland Note]

Oud oil labeled as “A” (vendor, region and year of distillation unknown)
Received as a gift from certain kind & generous ouddict member who wishes to remain anonymous.

The color of this liquid magic is golden yellow.

Opening: Sour and reminding me a little bit some part of ladybird scent... Oups... or some green herb freshly cut or mashed... or maybe it’s like a very strong shoe rubber, not worn yet, brand new shoes, but very hmm... heavy and musty... a tad smoky... on the outside and in the inside a little nutty...
2 minutes in (on the one-time use only stick) quite sour, interesting... I don’t recall trying anything like this before. Nonetheless, the oudiness is perceptible... with a hint of woodiness... Actually 3 minutes in and I sniff a very distinctive oudiness that could be referred to as “rubbery” indeed.
5 minutes in, still on the stick and I have to say that it’s starting to smell better. I can’t say that first 5 minutes of the opening were really great for me.

Hmm... For sure this is not a Hindi oud. What this oud is...? 🙂

I swiped. More rubbery kind of oudiness, but it’s getting nicely equalized... It became more creamy, like sandalwood creaminess... a bit.... and it’s already transforming to floral, citrusy, more zesty, more woody fragrance... There could be tuberose and lilies here as well... Now we are talking! Completely different story. 🙂

Hmm.. a hint of bubble gum, a hint of sweet floral nectar.

Reminds me a bit of Habzoud Zamarad, just a very small bit though.

25 minutes in Hmmm... it’s a bit peppery/powdery too. It reminds me of a raw agarwood powder I got here somewhere, but it’s more intense of course and hmm... kind of spicy... a bit like some part of peppercorn scent.

Oudiness is the queen of this beautiful elixir though.

Hmm... Now it reminds me a little oud labeled as “E”. If I were to guess, it might be distilled from the same species of agarwood tree as that oud.

Hmmm... A tad of sunflowers.

45 minutes in, it is still quite rubbery/gummy oudiness.

2 hours later the scent of this oud is till perceivable.


I must say I like it. I like all the ouds I have got here but... I would choose many other ouds I got here over the oud labeled as “A” when it comes to notes. Perhaps it’s just a matter of personal preference. I can imagine some people liking this one much more than what I do. And let's remember it’s just a first impression. I might change my mind later. Or the oud might get more “rounded” and different with time too... who knows.

 

[Joe King]

another great review and fantastic picture, well done
looking forward to your final review in this series

 

[Woodland Note]

another great review and fantastic picture, well done
looking forward to your final review in this series

Thank you for the kind words @Joe King . The last review of mysterious ouds labeled with only a letter is already written too and it's coming soon.

 

[Habz786]

@Woodland Note really like your creative skill of reviewing aswell as the images you create! Sorry if i missed you mentioning but will we be told what the unmarked oils are?

 

[Woodland Note]

@Woodland Note really like your creative skill of reviewing aswell as the images you create! Sorry if i missed you mentioning but will we be told what the unmarked oils are?

It's up to my benefactor, but I hope so.

 

[Woodland Note]

Oud oil labeled as “D” (vendor, region and year of distillation unknown)
Received as a gift from certain kind & generous ouddict member who wishes to remain anonymous.

Opening: Straight from the vial and for the first 2 minutes on a stick (one time use only stick) ... it’s possibly Hindi. That strong, overwhelming, barnyard? Could it be something else? Well, I’m still a newbie and I have tried only 1 full Hindi and 1 half Hindi/half Cambodi oil so far. I can’t make any statements with certainty. But the opening is quite funky, first 2 minutes smell... in a way reminiscent of intense freshly chopped funky onions (sweet though), maybe even sulfur, but it's wrapped in creaminess and sweetness.

I will swipe straight away.
I swiped. Hmm... It changes quite fast... My nose might be already used to barny notes, cause this is already much different... much nicer to me... after swiping. I smell wood, antique nicely polished and waxed wood, and perhaps a sheep fur/leather, with some very nice flowers. Kind of balsamic and waxy too.
However, it has more animalic(?) character than many other ouds I’ve tried so far. Only Mukhmil by Habzoud was behaving in this way. There was something from the oud labeled as “G” too.. nonetheless they are all very different.

It’s 10 minutes in, and it smells hmm, more woody, like AlHashimi’s Zamrak and at the same time quite smoky/incensy, a bit in a way of Vietnam Blaze from respected Powdernose (Vietnamese crassna). Intensely woody, oudy, smoky (but not really like smoke smoke), incensy and floral aroma with a depth...

I’m not sure any more at this point if it’s Hindi, I would not call it “barny” nor animalic at this point. It’s intense woody, ambery, sweet... ah...! delicious.🙂
Like an antique furniture shop.
20 minutes in and it’s very pleasant. There is more and more lilies flowers on this old antique table. Someone has just put also beeswax candles on it. Hmm... Perhaps there is still some sheep fur laying down on the floor too.

Hmmm.. I really smell here something in common with Vietnam Blaze.
One sniff I think of Zamrak but hidden in the layer of something else... and another sniff I smell certain Vietnam Blaze characteristics.

Hmm... I wonder if all the oils I received from my kind benefactor are distilled from wild agarwood. If I was asked to make a guess, I would say yes, and if I really had to point some that could be not... it would be D and B, but still, they are so complex I would not really guess that. The only thing that makes me think of such possibility is that they have some elements of what I’ve already encountered and it was from cultivated wood.
Anyway, this is the end of the guessing game, because it is the last one from the mysterious ouds.
Many more yet to be reviewed, though the identities of those are known.


Going back to Oud labeled as “D” scent, it’s 30 minutes in and it’s still very intense. I am not noticing significant changes in the notes though.

40 minutes in, I’m thinking it’s getting maybe more sweet and somewhat sour, but sour in the way a bubble gum might have some acidic aroma aspects. Still a lot of this thing that respected Powder Nose referred to as “smoky” in Vietnam Blaze. Hmm.... but for me... I don’t know, I can’t call it a smoke, but I can see why it could be called like that. When I’m diving into this aspect it sometimes reminds me a scent of someone’s body sweat ..in a way,.... maybe not the notes way... but the way it is piercing through nose.. but I would not say it’s animalic either... at all. It’s just... a thing... a unique thing I’ve never experienced with anything else but oud oils. So, trying to force some description... but... there is really nothing that comes to my mind I could say “Yes, it’s like this ... .” .

Hmm... Perhaps I could add a bubble gum to the notes, and some dried grass hay.

2 hours in, still quite strong, woody, ambery, with a touch of gum and florals. 🙂

 

[Joe King]

it has been a guilty pleasure of mine watching the reviews of the mystery ouds, @Woodland Note has a excellent nose and fantastic way of reviewing, and being relatively new is untainted by marketing and other opinions. Looking forward to many more reviews .
the mystery ouds are:
A -Mandalay Signature-LMK B -Royal Vietnam-FeelOud C -Virgin Sumatra Island-FeelOud
D -Kyara Ltd2-EO E -Hindustan 1-AA G -Green Papua-EO