Oud of the Day

[Mr.P]

Just swiped Habib @mesOUD

I’m comfortably drowning.

What a beautiful opening.

I had applied a tiny dab of the habib yesterday and then my mind was on fragrances beside oud for a lot of the day. Last night I was sitting at my desk and it took a while to remember where the tantalizing hot spicy yet sweet toasty wood notes i was smelling had come from.

 

[Mr.P]

I still struggle to describe notes. I read these descriptions here cause it helps me to understand what I can't explain.....if that makes sense.
I often get the note description after someone spells it out here in a post....it's all learning...

Likewise. Adjectives are a stretch for me - easier to make a comparison to other oud! I love the way the notes in oud oil don't seem to fit neatly into any category or really match many literal references. Other than some of the marzipan or wintergreen notes in freshly distilled oils it's really hard to pin the smells down on any concrete reference for me. Vanillin is another one that can fit well.

 

[Fragdoctor]

I had applied a tiny dab of the habib yesterday and then my mind was on fragrances beside oud for a lot of the day. Last night I was sitting at my desk and it took a while to remember where the tantalizing hot spicy yet sweet toasty wood notes i was smelling had come from.

I am about an hour into the swipe now and the kinamic side of the oil is presenting itself beautifully. Slightly salted, airy rubbery vanilla is what I’m loving right now.
For a fresh oil to smell of such wisdom is quite rare.

 

[Escentually]

Jinkoh Store - Sumatra Essenza
myoudshop - Vietnam Bead

Went with Sumatra Essenza early in the morning, had many errands to run and wanted something potent to be able to smell even after sweating/moving about. Bitter wood varnish, muddy beach shores, damp logs sitting on the sand. There’s no saltiness in here at the beach, more of a dark swampy muddy beach you wouldn’t want to be dipping your toes in. There’s an underlying bittersweet honey here as well. Drydown of a lovely nutty sweet wood and slight incense smoke.

Vietnam Bead to me is very special. I still got the deep spiced berry cherry liquor smell, this time giving me more purple than red. What followed was again a musty musky dog and “bad breath” like ambergris. Spicy clove like smoke wafting in the background. This wearing around I got way more of a golden honey wildflower and dried fruit custard sinensis profile 2 hours+ in. Reminded me of Meiktila or maybe even the Burmese smell of Myitkyina 4K. Had a nice amber yellow like glow of warmth and sweetness around the musky tang and spicy incense smoke drydown.

 

[Escentually]

I still struggle to describe notes. I read these descriptions here cause it helps me to understand what I can't explain.....if that makes sense.
I often get the note description after someone spells it out here in a post....it's all learning...

Likewise. Adjectives are a stretch for me - easier to make a comparison to other oud! I love the way the notes in oud oil don't seem to fit neatly into any category or really match many literal references. Other than some of the marzipan or wintergreen notes in freshly distilled oils it's really hard to pin the smells down on any concrete reference for me. Vanillin is another one that can fit well.

I feel like there’s just many individual smells in life I haven’t personally tried, or haven’t smelled recently enough to be able to relate back to when I’m smelling an oil. I believe if I got my nose on more absolutes and individual ingredients to smell, I’d be able to discern the individual notes of an oil more clearly. Just my personal limited experience with a lot of different smells and flavors available in different parts of the world.

 

[Mr.P]

I feel like there’s just many individual smells in life I haven’t personally tried, or haven’t smelled recently enough to be able to relate back to when I’m smelling an oil. I believe if I got my nose on more absolutes and individual ingredients to smell, I’d be able to discern the individual notes of an oil more clearly. Just my personal limited experience with a lot of different smells and flavors available in different parts of the world.

Well your descriptions are very evocative of the scents, that's for sure.

You could probably get a sample of nearly every oil eden botanicals carries for the price of one "bottle of oud" (deliberately vague unit of price i admit haha)

That plus 500 strips of blotter paper and some ethanol would be a blend of boot camp and disneyland for your olfactory system.

 

[Quintillus]

Hello friends,
Its been a long while but today is Vietnan Special K by AA.
This has ageing nicely. Just lovely.

 

[Arabiad07]

Sulaym HM Muateq Terengganu 1980's is my OOTD. This is first impression material here so I will add more later. In that initial get to know you whiff I get something that brings hot red pepper to mind - a kind of hot spicy note somehow like what I imagine a freshly dried cayenne pepper would smell like if heated gently on the subitism. cola note is subtle, presence is thick, heavy dense; slightly restrained presence - strong and fully heavy scent but in a dense close oily way. I get a kind of salty resinous layer, and a pleasant slight herbal pungency with no strident or offputting notes.

Not a trace of Aetoxylon or aromachems of course - it smells completely natural and authentic. I feel weird saying this because on one level of course there isn't any but on another, oud adulteration is subtle and I think it is worth stating explicitly. (I'm recovering from a time when I was told and prerttt much believed that 100% of oud in the US was in some way stretched or altered or adjusted with subtle use of aromachems etc unless it came from the most rarified of sources or direct from a laboratory at a university or something like that.)

I can't comment on the dry down because something else on my skin is competing I think some jasmine I was testing earlier in the day.

It's just such a trip to be able to experience these fine pure high quality ouds.

Imagine having enough of this stuff to give it away to people as gifts when they visited… Unbelievable

Oud Muateq is a bizarre SQ oil. Shape shifter. Red. Slight Spice. Resin. Leather. No barn. How can this be Malaysian? This oil requires a lot of study.

Thankful Sulaym is releasing these oils at relatively affordable prices.

Whether or not the SQ oils are hype to you, a 50 year old oil should be respected and studied.

 

[Ahmaoud]

ASO - Shah - Today was the sort of heat that's described as "heat that could cut" loosely translated from my mother tongue. After a bought of humidity and a pre thunder storm lawn mowing, I couldn't think of anything I was craving more than Shah today, and it did not disappoint! One would think wearing a Hindi in the high heat would be insanity, but those people haven't experienced the spicy, almost green uplifting Hindi heart that's been captured so wonderfully here! The more I think about it, this characteristic of Hindis seems impossible to replicate in other species, and regions!

 

[Oudamberlove]

I feel like there’s just many individual smells in life I haven’t personally tried, or haven’t smelled recently enough to be able to relate back to when I’m smelling an oil. I believe if I got my nose on more absolutes and individual ingredients to smell, I’d be able to discern the individual notes of an oil more clearly. Just my personal limited experience with a lot of different smells and flavors available in different parts of the world.

After countless colognes, parfums, and essential oils…….what makes matters worse with describing notes of an oud oil, is that a particular individual smell is often NOT what pops into my mind, but a facet of this, and a facet of that…..facets, facets, facets, so many facets, where does one begin😱

 

[pcmm]

On a hot and humid day, EO Oud Khidr. What an amazing barn!

 

[Kolalid]

Jinkoh Store - Sumatra Essenza
myoudshop - Vietnam Bead

Went with Sumatra Essenza early in the morning, had many errands to run and wanted something potent to be able to smell even after sweating/moving about. Bitter wood varnish, muddy beach shores, damp logs sitting on the sand. There’s no saltiness in here at the beach, more of a dark swampy muddy beach you wouldn’t want to be dipping your toes in. There’s an underlying bittersweet honey here as well. Drydown of a lovely nutty sweet wood and slight incense smoke.

Vietnam Bead to me is very special. I still got the deep spiced berry cherry liquor smell, this time giving me more purple than red. What followed was again a musty musky dog and “bad breath” like ambergris. Spicy clove like smoke wafting in the background. This wearing around I got way more of a golden honey wildflower and dried fruit custard sinensis profile 2 hours+ in. Reminded me of Meiktila or maybe even the Burmese smell of Myitkyina 4K. Had a nice amber yellow like glow of warmth and sweetness around the musky tang and spicy incense smoke drydown.

Brother I hope to never wear any oils that make me smell like a wet musty musky dog and bad breath 🤣

 

[Kolalid]

Faizal’s Lapnisang:

My first experience with a Fili oil and a well aged one at that. Traditional vintage distillation. Some dark Smokey toasty notes, but nothing I would consider animalic or dirty. A slight coffee and campfirey smell. Underneath the smokiness is a delicious golden Walla Patta heart. Sweet incensey gyrinops smoke. Occasionally you’ll find a whiff of something slightly salty and oceanic. This is quite an addicting oil that I’ve been swiping frequently since I purchased.

 

[Sproaty]

2x from Habz today - Raja Hijau and Dukhan. Both Malaysian oils from Pahang but couldn't be further from each other, the Raja being a bright and shimmering oil, and Dukhan I've owned for ~6yrs now being far darker. Dukhan means smoke and when I first had it it over overly smokey, not exactly one of my favourite profiles and I've sold a few oils that were this way before, but over these 6 years it has changed quite a lot
It's a teeeeennny bit smokey now but settles into a very dark vibe with a hint of sweetness in the background

 

[-Renton-]

I still struggle to describe notes. I read these descriptions here cause it helps me to understand what I can't explain.....if that makes sense.
I often get the note description after someone spells it out here in a post....it's all learning...

To be honest bro, I think everyone describes notes in natural aromatics (especially ouds, and even to a certain extent, sandalwoods depending on the quality, usually higher the quality higher the difference in peoples perception of the scent of sandalwood oil IMO) in their own kind of way, there is no right or wrong IMO. I guess there is certain notes that are kind of "fundamental" to certain oils, but even then, it is quite a blurry line. I feel everyone who describes any natural aromati, whether it be an oil, or wood, we all perceive it differently, but with similar characteristics. People might just word things differently, but in reality it is the same note, even though in writing, it seems like you are saying something different because its described differently. I hope this is understandable to you, and anyone reading lol. 😆

 

[Mr.P]

I remember when I was reading the Emperor of Scent there was a passage about an unusual feature of the olfactory system. There are substances that you cannot smell the first time you encounter them, but with repeated exposure your nervous system can adapt and become sensitive to the aroma. I think the mechanism for this is somewhat mysterious. I've posted this before but it's worth remembering. Someone who has smelled sandalwood or musk or whatever 1000 times is literally going to be able to smell molecules in there that novices couldn't smell even if they were given that molecule in pure form.

I don't know how important or significant this factor is in determining differences in response to oils in general but it is certainly interesting to think about.

 

[Fragdoctor]

I remember when I was reading the Emperor of Scent there was a passage about an unusual feature of the olfactory system. There are substances that you cannot smell the first time you encounter them, but with repeated exposure your nervous system can adapt and become sensitive to the aroma. I think the mechanism for this is somewhat mysterious. I've posted this before but it's worth remembering. Someone who has smelled sandalwood or musk or whatever 1000 times is literally going to be able to smell molecules in there that novices couldn't smell even if they were given that molecule in pure form.

I don't know how important or significant this factor is in determining differences in response to oils in general but it is certainly interesting to think about.

Interesting hypotheses. There is a saying we use in medicine, your eyes can’t see what your mind doesn’t know. This very much applies here as well.
One thing I’ve noticed in the perfume community is heavy relieve on the breakdown of notes and then some people finding that note when they smell a perfume and that starts the journey of experience with a filtered lens. The beauty of oud in particular is that every nose can perceive differently and therefore I try not to read about the oils in detail before I’ve stufied them on my own. This has led me towards a more wholesome experience.

 

[Mike Jonez]

@mesOUD - Oud Said
@mesOUD - Sumbawa Seufi

 

[McOudtrade]

Wild Merauke from @mesOUD

Maroke Qadeem from @Habz786

Two filaria oils for a rainy day here in BC. Both oils are very fine examples of the merauke profile, and I'm surprised just how similar they are.

They both share the same core profile to a tee, and at the exact same volume too (which is loud!). Both of them exude a beautiful noir full of resinous woody goodness.
(Check out habz's description of the maroke for an accurate account of that main profile but if your familiar with these you'll know.)
They also share the same cleanness of scent, no barn of off notes as stated by both their descriptions.
Overall there's far more similarities than differences, but there are some.

The top notes of both oils have different fleeting notes to each other. The Maroke Q. has a minty sensation that I don't find in the Merauke. While the merauke has a very interesting sweetness that is exclusive to this oil, it's sweet in the way bread is sweet - very subtle but the scent has depth.
The oils both have the same stages of drydown, with equal projection at each stage. Going from the top notes to a loud noir cloud of incense, to a soft but deep resinous oud. But the rate at which they progress through the stages differs, with the Maroke Q. taking 5-10 minutes more to advance to each drydown stage.
Overall both are excellent oils and I'm glad to have both. Thanks for reading!

 

[Escentually]

@mesOUD - Cambodi Qadeem
@mesOUD - Trat Borai

Cambodi Qadeem is the thickest oil I have in my collection, more motor oil than oud oil. As traditional a distillation as they come. I needed a powerhouse oil and this delivered. Monster projection that filled up my whole house off one swipe. This bad boy didn’t even dry down before I fell asleep. I got a classic smell that to me came across very barnyardy as they say. Leathery sweet and slightly fecal, but I love that shit.

Trat Borai is my favorite of the jammy fruity sour Thais I have. The cleanest smelling of them all to me as well. Honeyed apricots and sour tamarind. Creamy nuttiness and golden woods. This one is always hard for me to wrap my head around sometimes, I’ll have to get a little more on my order to study it some more🤪