Oud of the Day

[Karim Collects]

EO - Oud Extraordinaire (2022)

Delicious scent, smells like dessert.
Sweet, resinous and minty/camphory. I’m not a big fan of these thick/viscous oils but it’s nice to see oils that offer depth at great value.

 

[SULAYM]

I am wearing an oil called HM Badshah from Sulaym which I think is unreleased.

I am impressed and confused by it. Very strange and unique for a Hindi oil, unlike any other that I have smelled. Basically every Hindi I have smelled would be recognizable as Hindi but this one might slip past me. There are just hardly some hints that it's Hindi.

There is a slight funk that is probably from fermentation but it doesn't smell anything like the normal Hindi Barnyard note. If anything it smells closer to a fermented crassna, but it also doesn't really smell like that. It's a pleasant note that doesn't overtake the fragrance. It kind of reminds me of civet paste. The other main note for me is flowers, which play very nicely with the funky note that I mentioned. Overall it smells quite pretty to me even though it has a little bite.

One weird thing about it is that it's a bit solid. Almost like the consistency of a waxy rose otto. There is also a bit of sediment in the bottom. I have never seen that before and I am not sure if I should worry about it being contaminated.

I am almost wondering if this is more than pure oud because the label is not specific. It just says 'Haflong: 1981'. Can @SULAYM clarify?

Hey @Phan

Thanks for your review!

Yes HM Badshah is unreleased! It’s a really old, vintage Hindi from HM Sultan Qaboos.

It’s very unique in its profile compared to modern barn Hindi’s but not very different from HM Royal Hindi which we launched a year ago. I actually prefer HM Badshah over HM Royal Hindi.

In regards to the sediment this is quite common with Hindi Oud distillations and it’s the vendors preference to either filter it or keep it.

We’ve chosen to keep it to maintain the Sultan Qaboos authenticity as it’s straight from the flacon to the customer without any intervention in between.

It does have a mild barn but it’s really refined. It has beautiful floral notes found in the highest grade wild wood you would expect with the sultan’s distillations. As you said it’s a very dense profile.

I also get notes of honey, incense, rum, wildflowers and Papuan wood on low heat.

 

[User]

I haven’t smelled HM Royal Hindi but I’ve smelled several other SQ Hindis and other vintage Hindi oils and I’ve never smelled something like this.

Now it’s the next day and the dry down is more recognizable as Hindi to me.

 

[TheOudDood]

Oud berunai - Oud.sq

Really good brunei

 

[Xerohome]

Oud berunai - Oud.sq

Really good brunei

How is to Fushigi one?

 

[Mr.P]

Yuzhi Oud no. 16 "Ya Xiang" sinensis oil, a no soak distilled oil.

There are ck oils out there that smell more or less like this though this is not marketed as kinam or CK. This has fresh dewy cassie / cucumber / violet flower notes in the top that remind me very much of eJayb's first CK distillation, and a bright golden sinensis quality beneath it that brings the pleasant part of the top notes of Grandawood warming sun sinensis oil to mind.

 

[TheOudDood]

How is to Fushigi one?

Very different.

This one. smells more like kyara de kalbar from EO, but of course, not kyara smelling at all. This one smells more clearly and obviously brunei and does mimic the aroma of heated wood at certain stages.

 

[honeybadger]

Rpp - Adam Reborn

This opens up with a petrol like sharpness with ambergris with tobacco. Im not sensing any fruit notes but it is sort of sweet and crassna like for a sri lankan oil. Im gonna wear this one a few more times but as a first impression I do like it!

 

[Castingshadows]

Nha Trang Oritsu

This is finally growing on me. Still don’t pick up on much purple although I felt like I noticed the Iris note although quite briefly. Feels somewhat basic. Overall it’s decent but it’s also somewhat ambiguous. It doesn’t feel remarkable in one way or another or offer something that I haven’t smelled.

But this is a big step up from when I first purchased it. The saga continues

 

[Mousse de Chene]

If being poetic while talking about Oud makes you pretentious then we’re at the max levels pretense here bud. I don’t subscribe to the idea that poetry or prose makes any of us inferior, wanky, or pretentious. Although I’d assume wanky is similar to corny I highly despise the use of that word when it’s directed towards someone expressing themselves. We should all allow ourselves to have a space like this one where we can freely express what’s inside our souls. I’m covered in face tattoos man. If I want to speak in prose I’m gonna do it and I’m gonna support it. Life is too short and Oud is too beautiful to stifle your reaction to these beautiful little bottles of sunshine we collect.

Well said man!

 

[Mousse de Chene]

I do the same mostly.

Like today I went with a few sprays of Vintage Azuree and swiped a rose oil on my wrist

Mostly it’s a Chypre or a fougere along with a swipe of oud on the wrist.

Great choice, I love Azuree, also. Bernard Chant was a genius.
I have a 10ml decant of the vintage & a 50ml bottle of the modern stuff. Obviously, the vintage is better due to the real oakmoss in the base, but I’m happy with the modern. Those fizzy bubbly aldehydes in the top are spectacular!

 

[Mousse de Chene]

EO - Oud Extraordinaire (2022)

Delicious scent, smells like dessert.
Sweet, resinous and minty/camphory. I’m not a big fan of these thick/viscous oils but it’s nice to see oils that offer depth at great value.

Oud Extraordinaire is my favourite organic/plantation oil. A delicious rosy, cherry, honeyed, buttery baked goods. Super resinous & dark Oudy but has that lively bright minty camphor in the top, as you mentioned. Personally, I love thick gooey Crassna oils, they last forever on skin!

I have a version from 2020, I’m curious if the profile has changed much from then. The first bottle I purchased is beautiful, dark red, floral, Oudy resinous, minty, sweet & decadent, a few months later I purchased a back up as I was using it very frequently as a daily swiper, unfortunately I received a different batch. Although it was still a 2020, the colour of the oil was almost black & had a very prominent smoky nuance. The smokiness wasn’t very pleasant, quite bitter. I sold it pretty much right away & luckily the buyer enjoyed it very much.
I’d love another bottle but I’m hesitant as I don’t want another smoky oil.

 

[theaphilosophia]

Aljanah 3 - Habzoud

If the bottle didn't say Hindi I wouldn't have been able to guess it. This smells like a sunny summer day in a field of wild flowers (no heather to be found). I would have guessed Laos or China. This has to be sinensis?

Bittersweet, honey, spices, florals, a petrichor type note that makes me think of fresh rain hitting the leaves and vines of a garden. Oud-y vapors, maybe a touch of oud smoke.

I "accidentally" put way to much on, so I wonder if it'll smell more Indian when it finally dries. Really great oud either way.

 

[Mousse de Chene]

Safwaan - Al Shareef Oudh.

A wonderful, traditionally distilled Assamese oil from 2018. Although it looks like I’ve barely worn it, I’ve used it 15-20 times. Only a small drop is required as it’s very concentrated, less is more especially with Hindi oils.

A lemony, herbal, honeyed top note complete with a restrained dose of warm, glowing, delicious barnyard.
The mid notes reveal dried dates & apricots, a touch of greenery & indolic white flowers. This white floral accord is something I always perceive in Indian Oud, I love it.
As per normal with ASO’s Hindi oils, the base note is sublime! It’s truly my favourite aroma in the world, I’ve literally dreamt about this aroma at night 😂
The Royal ASO signature. Regardless of the variety-region of Indian wood or the grade, ASO manages to create this heavenly scent time & time again. Animalic buttery leather, cacao, cigar tobacco, incense, amber-labdanum, dry woods, sun baked hay.

My favourite way to wear Hindi Oud is a single small drop gently rubbed between both hands & then wiped over my shirt, it provides a full day of great performance. Smelling the dry down on my shirt the next morning, it’s absolute bliss.

 

[Oudicine]

Calypso -by oud Tripura
Bitter 🧉 ,sweet ,creamy Indian .
Clean oil not fermented, I wonder how fermentation will change this oil .
I would like someone to take the same 2 materials and experiment with fermentation and clean distillations and then we can compare both.

 

[theaphilosophia]

Calypso -by oud Tripura
Bitter 🧉 ,sweet ,creamy Indian .
Clean oil not fermented, I wonder how fermentation will change this oil .
I would like someone to take the same 2 materials and experiment with fermentation and clean distillations and then we can compare both.

I think Rising Phoenix did this. The same material with different lengths of soak.

 

[theaphilosophia]

I think Rising Phoenix did this. The same material with different lengths of soak.

 

[Quintillus]

Fiet Atiq - Al Hashimi.

This is a stunning oil that blew me away 🤯.

Bittersweet opening with slight hints of fermentation. Has some nutty nuances and vanilla. I also picked up this beautiful sweet cherry incense in the dry down. It is long lasting, smooth and feels deep. It has a profound effect on me - it literally put me in a meditative and reflective state.

Absolutely beautiful and one I feel lucky and privileged to have sampled 🙏.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Habzoud - AlHind Dhahab. I really think this Hindi oud is growing on me. Wearing it today, I can still smell it many hours later. Deep and resinous. I think if I only wear one Hindi it should be this one.

 

[User]

Aljanah 3 - Habzoud

If the bottle didn't say Hindi I wouldn't have been able to guess it. This smells like a sunny summer day in a field of wild flowers (no heather to be found). I would have guessed Laos or China. This has to be sinensis?

Bittersweet, honey, spices, florals, a petrichor type note that makes me think of fresh rain hitting the leaves and vines of a garden. Oud-y vapors, maybe a touch of oud smoke.

I "accidentally" put way to much on, so I wonder if it'll smell more Indian when it finally dries. Really great oud either way.

That is the oil that made me realize I like Hindi oud.