Oud of the Day

[p$yl35h]

Today is a generous couple-drops' smudge of 'Midori Hijau' of 'The Oud Lab' - transporting me to a living-breathing Jungle on a gorgeous sunny day, giving off the happy feel of being immersed in those golden rays of light pouring playfully through the green patchy canopee of trees; and the earth is lively with vapours - a perfect 'Komorebi' (木漏れ日) Moment - a vision created by the enchanting scent, to appreciate Fleeting Beauty of Nature, captured so aptly in this truly wonderful oil - ample-rich yet bright, earthy-zesty 'jungle-floor' yet also vaporous; vegetative - in a full cycle of life - from deep roots to the sky-piercing pinnacles, musky-musty and humid-woody, ancient and yet fully alive, complex and abundantly nuanced, powerful yet elegant; voluminous - with three-dimentional depth, and immersive - captivating with its evocative scent.
N.B. A while ago I' had left on this thread a much more detailed review of 'Midori Hijau', but today is just a shared reminder of its objective excellence as well as of a personal appeal to my subjective taste.

To hitch my wagon to Kai’s Shinkansen..

TOL Borneo X - some time back I took a long sniff of this and found the opening nutty. Not my favorite note so I put it back to rest. Wore yesterday and my eyes are opened to the wonders of a heavy hitter Tarakan. Starts ancient forest and dense wood and then magically breaks into a complete emerald green incensy perfume. My wife took a sniff and for the first ever time couldn’t make out a pure oud essential oil from a perfume. Insane quality and finesse to get there.

 

[Kai Leon Art Perfumer]

To hitch my wagon to Kai’s Shinkansen..

TOL Borneo X - some time back I took a long sniff of this and found the opening nutty. Not my favorite note so I put it back to rest. Wore yesterday and my eyes are opened to the wonders of a heavy hitter Tarakan. Starts ancient forest and dense wood and then magically breaks into a complete emerald green incensy perfume. My wife took a sniff and for the first ever time couldn’t make out a pure oud essential oil from a perfume. Insane quality and finesse to get there.

'Borneo X' is great - more mysterious, and with even higher 'resolution' in subtle nuances than 'Midori Hijau' - and while it is in the vibe of similar 'deep humid ancient jungle' but in this example it is not 'at a sunny day' - but at the very end of the 'Blue Hour'- when the crepuscule turns into a full twilight, and the night magic comes to life. As it is an aromatically dense oil proper, it really needs to breath, to diffuse adequately - to present its scent in all its glory. Sometimes - late at night, I put a drop of it on a wrist that will be near my nose when I fall asleep, and I dive into a colourful dreaming led by this enigmatic and enchanting oil....

 

[p$yl35h]

'Borneo' X is great - more mysterious, and with even higher 'resolution' in subtle nuances than 'Midori Hijau' - and while it is in the vibe of similar 'deep humid ancient jungle' but in this example it is not 'at a sunny day' - but at the very end of the 'Blue Hour'- when the crepuscule turns into a full twilight, and the night magic comes to life. As it is an aromatically dense oil proper, it really needs to breath, to diffuse adequately - to present its scent in all its glory. Sometimes - late at night, I put a drop of it on a wrist that will be near my nose when I fall asleep, and I dive into a colourful dreaming led by this enigmatic and enchanting oil....

Having just lived this experience (and overnight too) your words resonate deeply my friend!

 

[mobyus]

AlMokhlif Oud - Cambodi Heritage Thaqeel (aged 20 years)

Wow! This one really jumps at you. Initial impression is this is amazing. Very viscous, animalic, leathery, fruity. I’ll try to break that down a bit.

The viscosity is thick but not as thick as Gulf War Oud from Majid Iterji. It’s also darker.

The animalics are just wild on this one. It’s not barn nor fecal animalic. More like a wet fur and skin animalics. This dissipates as the wear goes as it has a fleeting presence.

The leather notes feel like I’m in the middle of a leather tanning session. It feels treated, potent, and fresh.

The fruity notes comprise dark berries, dry raisins, dried spiced apricot (a middle eastern delicacy) AKA Qamar AlDeen. The evolution of the notes is beautiful with body heat potentiating most of the mentioned notes and accents ending with a peppery delight.

This is a 10/10 oil.

 

[aoudgauze]

Habzoud's Oud Asil. Fresh from the mail. I'm really digging it, and it's making me consider that I might actually prefer oud oils in the 200-400 dollar range for a 1/4 tola. Not that I don't like nice stuff but I've found many ouds of this price range to be really enjoyable.

I also get the olive note that @Thrilla Gorilla picks up but it dissipates once swiped and spread. The opening reminds me of Manipur Maliki and even Al Hareer in that there is a bit of pineapple-cream-spring water making it smell somewhat ethereal. It's a lot brighter than I expected from the picture of the black stallion but I like it.

What's nice is that as it is drying down it is starting to darken and sweeten with creamy leathery coming to the fore with some spice. I find it less peppery than Al Hareer and in some ways it's more exciting to my nose than Manipur Maliki due to the faint animalic notes. For me, this is very low on the barn scale though so it makes me wonder what a clean Hindi actually smells like.

 

[Thrilla Gorilla]

Habzoud's Oud Asil. Fresh from the mail. I'm really digging it, and it's making me consider that I might actually prefer oud oils in the 200-400 dollar range for a 1/4 tola. Not that I don't like nice stuff but I've found many ouds of this price range to be really enjoyable.

I also get the olive note that @Thrilla Gorilla picks up but it dissipates once swiped and spread. The opening reminds me of Manipur Maliki and even Al Hareer in that there is a bit of pineapple-cream-spring water making it smell somewhat ethereal. It's a lot brighter than I expected from the picture of the black stallion but I like it.

What's nice is that as it is drying down it is starting to darken and sweeten with creamy leathery coming to the fore with some spice. I find it less peppery than Al Hareer and in some ways it's more exciting to my nose than Manipur Maliki due to the faint animalic notes. For me, this is very low on the barn scale though so it makes me wonder what a clean Hindi actually smells like.

Happy to read someone else digging this oil and sharing impressions as it’s certainly not for everyone 😆 I love it!

 

[SAM AMAZE]

Imperial Oud Super Hoi An - this arrived today, and I could not resist. This is my first experience with this oil, and it is not in ideal weather conditions. Hence, I need to study and wear it more for a better understanding.

This oil is unlike any other Vietnamese oil I tried, and much closer to an old-school Chinese oil. This type of profile is what I have been searching for ever since I laid my nose on the original batch of EO Hainan 2005. The latter is one of my favorites, if not my favorite Chinese oil ever. Not the most beautiful, or the most grand, or the rarest, but the most complex and compelling. I have long searched for an oil of similar profile and quality, yet avail. This Imperial Oud oil fits that bill. It sits closest to the OG Hainan 2005, but I also get a strong Green Kinam quality in the opening, mingled with some dry woody and earthy-green facets very similar to the ones found in Oriscent Port Moresby and EO Kinamantan. And then, some very red and bitter-medicinal facets à la Oriscent Hyang Kang. A sort of savory herbs and some red bitter flavor like tomato skins. I don't get any sweetness from this. I see some people mention a slight barn-like aroma, but to me it's more like the "Chinese barn" than the typical "Hindi barn." These entities smell very distinct in my opinion. The Chinese barn is more like a combination of wool-like muskiness and ambergris. It's animalic in a very pheromonal way. These facets are also strong in the Hainan 2005 oil, although there they are only present in the opening and then fade away. Here, they are present throughout. As it evolves, it gets into darker wood territory, akin to mahogany, but I don't get any of the Sinensis honey-like sweetness which eventually creeps in with the Hainan 2005. It only gets darker, stays smoky (bitter incense), and musky. The muskiness is incredibly addicting. This musky pedigree is one of the things I love most about old-school Chinese oils and have been struggling to find, and it is cast out in all these new-gen oils. Such a shame, as I find this bit an absolute treat, and a must. This oil is quite a trip. Not as complex as the Hainan 2005, but in that vein, only darker, muskier, and less sweet. If one loves that oil, this is a no-brainer. The dry-down is my favorite part. It feels like burning some incense in a clean barn while laying of sheep skin and chewing on some bitter tea leaves. I'm looking forward to testing it further. I think this DNA is becoming impossible to find these days. I wish I could find some of the OG Chinese Exclusive, as it sounds much in this vein. But yes, this oil smells more Chinese than Vietnamese to me, and I'm not saying that as a negative.

can you share the website

 

[SAM AMAZE]

Kinana Scents - Borneo Sultan (sample)

This has to be the best Indonesian Oud I have ever sampled. I don’t know how to top the website description but I’ll try. It has this scent that makes me feel that I was there during the distillation process. I can smell burning wood, fried dry black and green peppercorns, it’s strong but not harsh. In short, it’s Kinamic. After a while, the Indonesian DNA begins to show. Where it starts to give off scents of fuel that the Kalimantan Ouds that I have give off. Smells like it’s had spices been seeping in there for a hundred years. It’s feels like it’s the base ingredient from a Chinese tea master - if there is such a thing. Move away berry-centered Ouds. This one makes a formidable statement. I doubt anyone that will try this will have a negative opinion. This is simply blissful.

does kinana sell samples also ?

 

[SAM AMAZE]

Fwakher - Nawader AlTayyibeen VIP (sample)

It’s really nice but it’s just as good as a good Prachin or Khao Yai. I wouldn’t fork out the amount asked for it. Plenty of great oils at a better price with the same profile.

did you try the other oils in his store

 

[mobyus]

did you try the other oils in his store

No. Just blends. I bought Hosn AlShmookh. Very nice… and sampled oud with ward.. also very nice. I’m thinking to get the SQ sandalwood and SQ Oud with ward.

 

[ahmedibnabid]

Hindi AAA from Scent_talks, a budget hindi that gives everything I could ask from it. Slight barn, deeply woody, incense smoke, dried fruits (especially dried figs), leathery with sweetness throughout. So good.

 

[Dr B1414]

can you share the website

From PrivateOudCollectorsWorldwide.com

 

[piopne]

my oud of the day is the beautiful royal kinam 2.0... wow wow wow. oriscents bitter numbing fumes x1000, pristine gold rays, red amber, and the most quiet mint. this is royalty for sure, the fumes are trapped in my sinuses and follow me everywhere I go, intoxicating gets better every time i try it

 

[Xerohome]

my oud of the day is the beautiful royal kinam 2.0... wow wow wow. oriscents bitter numbing fumes x1000, pristine gold rays, red amber, and the most quiet mint. this is royalty for sure, the fumes are trapped in my sinuses and follow me everywhere I go, intoxicating gets better every time i try it

One of the best with Oud Royale 1982 and NTLTD.

 

[piopne]

One of the best with Oud Royale 1982 and NTLTD.

absolutely, both of those oils are also up there for me. great stuff

 

[Karim Collects]

From PrivateOudCollectorsWorldwide.com

I know it’s a joke… but I tried to look it up.. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[Karim Collects]

EO Oud Salahuddin

This is it for me, I’d trade it all for this.

 

[SteveE]

@Maunamoku Trat Crème
This has aged nicely … boozy, some fermented fruit and almost a barny note (??) - glad I held onto this!

 

[SAM AMAZE]

From PrivateOudCollectorsWorldwide.com

Ok . That was funny . I laughed.

 

[hothefah]

does kinana sell samples also ?

they only sell 2.5g bottles. but they do include free samples with orders