Oud of the Day

[PerfumeAl]

Brother, I’m not particularly good at softening the edges of what I say, and I have no intention of offending anyone or casting doubt on anyone’s work.

So perhaps I’ll leave it at this:

The interesting question may not be why PUREST smells so different from the Cambodian oud we know.

It may be how much of what we have learned to call the “Cambodian profile” comes from the wood itself,and how much comes from poor material, industrial distillation, or adulteration.

And perhaps therein lies the answer to why I call what I do the “Soul of OUD.”

What I love about this hobby, like all other indulgences is finding the various levels of quality/ expressions of wood/ region.

To make an analogy from the world of food - there is place for wagyu steak as well as a simple burger. To appreciate one, you should know the other. To appreciate both is twice the pleasure.

What a pleasure to still be learning @Olfactory Nomad given your penchant for everything Cambo. 😜

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

What I love about this hobby, like all other indulgences is finding the various levels of quality/ expressions of wood/ region.

To make an analogy from the world of food - there is place for wagyu steak as well as a simple burger. To appreciate one, you should know the other. To appreciate both is twice the pleasure.

What a pleasure to still be learning @Olfactory Nomad given your penchant for everything Cambo. 😜

Very nicely put mate.

 

[Dr B1414]

Agar Aura Royal Malaya - I think this has now earned its place as a top 3 Agar Aura oil for me. The other two have been stable for some time now, Berkilau and Khmer Rosso, but in the third spot I always seem to change my opinion. It took me a very long time to wrap my nose around this oil, but I can confidently say it has become one of my favorite oils from Taha, and favorite Malays. It's one of those rare Malay oils: pretty, delicate, purple/pink, and powdery floral with a sweet honey-like finish. So delicate. Aesthetic-wise, it fits right in with oils like Oud Sultani 2001, Kannan Koh, and Berkilau. Yet, it is not as loud and robust as the others. It feels like a veil. Dainty and sheer. However, it is by no means a quiet oil. Projects well and lasts around 24 hours on my skin.

 

[rOudOlf]

…

 

[mobyus]

AlMokhlif Oud - South Thai Phuket

Really clean and petrichor scent. Ozonic and mineral elements too. Smells like a jungle with pouring rain but cool weather with the scent of fresh water drops 💦. It has that slightly muddy note. cool, clean and camphorous with a minty touch. I’m also getting cucumber 🥒 and melon 🍈. So a little on the vegetative and bitter fruit side. Very lovely.

 

[Nero]

Has anyone tried the Vietnamese Oud that Sibermusk has on offer? Oudh Vietnam Grade A+ - Sibermusk by NinjaRobb https://share.google/5GdN6Kdry

Have you tried it now?

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Have you tried it now?

No, I haven't but thanks for reminding me. I recall I hesitated from buying any at the time because of the shipping costs to Australia.

 

[Nero]

No, I haven't but thanks for reminding me. I recall I hesitated from buying any at the time because of the shipping costs to Australia.

Keep me up to date

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Keep me up to date

I can't see myself getting some any time soon.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Pulling out some big guns today. Started the morning off with a dot of Purest - mesOud. This leaves me speechless, it really does. I then moved into a swipe of Filinau - brother Sami. I've been smashing this one lately. Next a little bit of layering going on with Kanbi Mysore -mesOud + Hui'an An Ateeq - Oudique. What can I say? Beauty comes in small bottles. Now, I'm rocking a double dot deluxe of Hindi ChenXiang - Habzoud. Pot of tea anyone? What a day!! 🙏🙏

 

[Mr.P]

I'm always interested in broadening my understanding of what types of things are being extracted from cultivated kinam / sinensis, in spite of the fact that these are relatively ordinary materials compared to the real exotic stuff. There's a pretty wide range of stuff that is sold as CK apparently which I was reminded of by a couple of unwanted samples which somebody kindly sent my way recently. If I've got it straight the oils were from Miki Lee - and I think they're both supposed to be CK although the bottles are not labeled. One has a familiar type of fermented opening, the other has a dull pungent sour-woody opening, some of that pungency like you get in young crassna. No mint or melon in either of these making them categorically different from the other CK oils that have come my way recently.

One of the oils has the same type of fermented profile and aroma as "warming sun" from Grandawood but at about 10% intensity (why I assume it's a CO2 extract). Smells like it was extracted from the same wood, or a dilution of something like warming sun in one of those very low impact nearly odorless CO2 total fixative oils like broadlink carries. The other oil doesn't smell as fermented, has some interesting facets that I've smelled in various chinese oils over the years but doesn't really hold together because the intensity isn't there, again likely a CO2 total I guess.

 

[roflwaffle]

One of them has the same type of fermented profile and aroma as "warming sun" from Grandawood but at about 10% intensity (why I assume it's a CO2 extract).

Interesting. I've not seen a fermented co2 before. From what I have read though a lot of the Chinese produced stuff sold as distilled is heavily cut with co2, so could that be it? Fermented oil in small doses, cut with co2?

You've certainly smelled more ck than me, but co2 all seems to generally cluster together with minor variation. Fermented co2 sounds interesting though, at least for some variation in the co2 realm 🙂

 

[Mr.P]

The reality is I have no idea what the extraction method of these are, I was describing what they smell like, (muted and one with clear fermentation notes…) and I do think dilution of a distilled oil is maybe more likely but I thought this particular vendor had a good reputation and I was trying to be generous in terms of a possible explanation other than watering things down.

I have smelled CO2 select oud oil that was every bit as intense in aroma as a distilled oil but they were from sinensis not sold as CK. For any readers who are not familiar, a CO2 select is a highly concentrated product with a profile more akin to an essential oil. A CO2 total can be anything from a dull cloudy watery waxy mess to moderately fragrant grease etc.

 

[roflwaffle]

In sinensis and ck co2s, I've yet to come across any watery, or cloudy waxy ones yet. Generally just that honey colored and consistency oil that's produced in insane quantity and is fairly muted in aroma, for reasons that still seem up for debate from wood source to chromone load to just percent of aromatic things (since yield is 10x higher or whatever)

Though I've explicitly avoided the almost black looking ones for whatever reason. Yea, didn't mean to imply in this case any accusations of dilution, just that it was common and something to consider. Obviously I can't see nor smell what ya got in hand 😉

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

So last night, I finished off my run with another dot on my hand of Purest - mesOud. I think I'll leave it alone now for a bit to do the "watch what happens as it ages" thing. I believe I have a good picture in my mind as to what it smells like at this point. Also, almost exclusively I will wear ouds on my facial hair. With this oil, I've been putting a dot on my hand. I know the other day I said I'm not the kind of oud wearer who likes to do this but Purest is a bit different. Actually, it's more than a bit different. It's an experience unlike I have had before with oud and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. As I said earlier, this is not a Cambodian smelling Cambodi by any stretch of the imagination. At least in my experience. It has an exponentially vaporous purple heart of an opening. Immediately, my preconceptions are turned on it's head and I'm thrown into Vietnam but I'm told my sense of direction is well off. This geographical head spinner stays like this for a while, like, many hours until eventually drying down to a sweet red candy (still nothing like a typical Cambodi imo) which has been painted over an old rosewood temple shrine as a lacquer.
Now, this is where it really got interesting, like it wasn't already. Now, I'm getting tea notes...yes, TEA from a Cambodian. I first thought it was from the clean Hindi on my face that was close to being finished in it's drydown but definitely not. This was absolutely coming from the dot on my hand. Not only was I getting tea, but then I would get these hints of Palo Santo floating through! I've never been able to make my mind up as to whether I like Palo Santo or not. Sometimes it's great (at a distance) but other times it can be overwhelmingly sharp and piercing, like burning plastic somehow. Needless to say, I recognise Palo Santo when I smell it and I was smelling last night coming from my hand. Thankfully, in a non offensive manner. Quite the opposite.
I'm very excited to see, just where else this purest of pure Pursat's will take me.

 

[Alamande]

So last night, I finished off my run with another dot on my hand of Purest - mesOud. I think I'll leave it alone now for a bit to do the "watch what happens as it ages" thing. I believe I have a good picture in my mind as to what it smells like at this point. Also, almost exclusively I will wear ouds on my facial hair. With this oil, I've been putting a dot on my hand. I know the other day I said I'm not the kind of oud wearer who likes to do this but Purest is a bit different. Actually, it's more than a bit different. It's an experience unlike I have had before with oud and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. As I said earlier, this is not a Cambodian smelling Cambodi by any stretch of the imagination. At least in my experience. It has an exponentially vaporous purple heart of an opening. Immediately, my preconceptions are turned on it's head and I'm thrown into Vietnam but I'm told my sense of direction is well off. This geographical head spinner stays like this for a while, like, many hours until eventually drying down to a sweet red candy (still nothing like a typical Cambodi imo) which has been painted over an old rosewood temple shrine as a lacquer.
Now, this is where it really got interesting, like it wasn't already. Now, I'm getting tea notes...yes, TEA from a Cambodian. I first thought it was from the clean Hindi on my face that was close to being finished in it's drydown but definitely not. This was absolutely coming from the dot on my hand. Not only was I getting tea, but then I would get these hints of Palo Santo floating through! I've never been able to make my mind up as to whether I like Palo Santo or not. Sometimes it's great (at a distance) but other times it can be overwhelmingly sharp and piercing, like burning plastic somehow. Needless to say, I recognise Palo Santo when I smell it and I was smelling last night coming from my hand. Thankfully, in a non offensive manner. Quite the opposite.
I'm very excited to see, just where else this purest of pure Pursat's will take me.

I’m feeling some vicarious joy from your posts on this one. I wore it again also. Two little dabs on the hand. Crazy camphorous vapours again. This time, it bypassed the cola-lemon stage I was getting before and went straight to the creamy fruit salad and luminous oudy character.

 

[holy-wood]

This morning I had a wild idea of combining what sounded like two opposites. The cool breeze coming thru my window on one side of the building inspired a small dot of yusa’s Karimantan. But when I reached the living room on the other side, it was sunny, warm and still. So I went back for a swipe of Habz Zamarad3 to brighten things up and wow. I wasn’t sure what to expect but the Kari transformed Zam3 from light delicate and etherial to sharp, heavily resinous, smokey, powdery, leather with a lush, fruity, slightly floral uplift. The fruity creamy, oceanic vapors of zam3 contrast so well with the powdery, smokey spice of kari, adding a sort of damp earthiness to it. Theres a dry, warm saffronic quality complimented by a zesty spicy green accord combining minty cardamom, kefir lime leaves and sugary caramel. The resinous facet has become like a buffet of franks, myrrhs, elemi and even some white copal. It dries down with the powdery smokey woodiness within Kari that emulates a clean burn of highly resinous wood, but theres a glittering sharpness to the powdery smoke thats slightly floral and fruit-like, im seeing orange blossom and patchouli here too in the dry-down. Truly enchanting combo lasting longer than either on their own.

 

[p$yl35h]

This morning I had a wild idea of combining what sounded like two opposites. The cool breeze coming thru my window on one side of the building inspired a small dot of yusa’s Karimantan. But when I reached the living room on the other side, it was sunny, warm and still. So I went back for a swipe of Habz Zamarad3 to brighten things up and wow. I wasn’t sure what to expect but the Kari transformed Zam3 from light delicate and etherial to sharp, heavily resinous, smokey, powdery, leather with a lush, fruity, slightly floral uplift. The fruity creamy, oceanic vapors of zam3 contrast so well with the powdery, smokey spice of kari, adding a sort of damp earthiness to it. Theres a dry, warm saffronic quality complimented by a zesty spicy green accord combining minty cardamom, kefir lime leaves and sugary caramel. The resinous facet has become like a buffet of franks, myrrhs, elemi and even some white copal. It dries down with the powdery smokey woodiness within Kari that emulates a clean burn of highly resinous wood, but theres a glittering sharpness to the powdery smoke thats slightly floral and fruit-like, im seeing orange blossom and patchouli here too in the dry-down. Truly enchanting combo lasting longer than either on their own.

Loving your combo moves. Just want to add that Habz zammarad3 is a wonderful green carrier oud. Carries off combos with smoky, animalic or barny notes so well. Another win for team plantation I guess.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Loving your combo moves. Just want to add that Habz zammarad3 is a wonderful green carrier oud. Carries off combos with smoky, animalic or barny notes so well. Another win for team plantation I guess.

Correct. Anyone who writes off plantation oils as being sub par misses out. Some of my best are from plantation. But hey, more for us!

 

[Shiningrobes]

A Trat oud that I accidentally contaminated with Hindi and musk. 🤯⚡️I could never have made a combo like this on purpose. Total best of both worlds. Black cherry hard candy liqueur wearing a pipe smokers leather jacket while drinking the milk left from a bowl of fruity cereal. Ridiculously balanced. Nothing harsh or jangly or out of place anywhere. I haven’t smelled a lot of extremely old ouds but this is what I imagine a really old Thai oud that’s spent a few good years in a kupi before final aging in a dark locked vault would smell like.
I. Can’t. Stop. Smelling. The. Back. Of. My. Hand!