Oud Reviews

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Greetings all! I'm very glad that this forum exists after the disappointment of Basenotes. Thank you to whoever decided to do this and to the moderators as well. It's really gladdening to see the regular posters and vendors here, thank God.
Mandeel, could you go into more detail about Hind please? Maybe you could describe the notes?

im also enjoying like you! and i know his taste he will enjoy that hind so much! 🙂

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Cant wait to try Semkhor

you will not be disappointed i promise you! 😉

 

[jalil]

Cant wait to try Semkhor

What your purchase advise between Hind and Semkhor? you know my taste brother...not too much barn lol

 

[jalil]

EO Green Papua


The projection is quite good but the longevity is from an other world...I put a swipe at 8PM...and at 8AM the next day (after ever washing my hand) I can always detect it.

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Cant wait to try Semkhor

Both oil are great but if u don't like sweet barn then best choice for you semkhor

 

[jalil]

Cant wait to try Semkhor

jazak'ALLAH


Now I just have to wait the sample 🙂

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Cant wait to try Semkhor

I get the oud from brother Faisal and I really enjoy the spicy note from first aroma 💘

 

[jalil]

Cant wait to try Semkhor

hmmmmm mouth watering

 

[bhanny]

EO Green Papua
The projection is quite good but the longevity is from an other world...I put a swipe at 8PM...and at 8AM the next day (after ever washing my hand) I can always detect it.

So green and deep and amazing. A good one for sure!

 

[jalil]

EO Green Papua
The projection is quite good but the longevity is from an other world...I put a swipe at 8PM...and at 8AM the next day (after ever washing my hand) I can always detect it.

My actual numero uno! 😉

 

[jalil]

Someone can review Feel-oud Bizet please?

 

[jensz]

Lao One. AgarAura. I've had it on for only 2 hours but needed to write. This is one of the most untamed barnyard-style oils that remains wearable. It has all the variants on the barnyard spectrum: pasture, dairy, hay, indolic/fecal, and leather... all in majestic balance with each other and an unmistakeable incense note. There's a hint of smoke. Lao One is very dry, no jungle moisture or salty oceans. A slight sweetness can be detected but it doesn't suggest any particular note to me. Maybe it's oudiness. Nothing pretty or coy. To wear Lao One you must love your barn and be ready to go all-in...which describes me to a tee. 😠So I love Lao One.


Some oils suggest a climate and a landscape. Ensar's Hainan 2005, for example, suggests a very cold, high-altitude mountaintop. Lao One is blazing hot Death Valley: a stunning, stark desert landscape, a remote place of extreme heat and dryness . . . but not a barren place, it hosts some special lifeforms and is bordered by mesmerizing mountainous geography fashioned by ages of erosion and tectonics -- the deep primordial forces that we seldom notice within our more hospitable man-made environments. To understand and explore and survive you must go all-in: this is no time for hedging bets and thus compromising the pay-off, or for absentminded zoning out which leads to peril. This is time to commit. There is nothing to mitigate the intensity of the place, and that is why I revere it. The reward is experiencing awe.

 

[bhanny]

Lao One. AgarAura. I've had it on for only 2 hours but needed to write. This is one of the most untamed barnyard-style oils that remains wearable. It has all the variants on the barnyard spectrum: pasture, dairy, hay, indolic/fecal, and leather... all in majestic balance with each other and an unmistakeable incense note. There's a hint of smoke. Lao One is very dry, no jungle moisture or salty oceans. A slight sweetness can be detected but it doesn't suggest any particular note to me. Maybe it's oudiness. Nothing pretty or coy. To wear Lao One you must love your barn and be ready to go all-in...which describes me to a tee. 😠So I love Lao One.
Some oils suggest a climate and a landscape. Ensar's Hainan 2005, for example, suggests a very cold, high-altitude mountaintop. Lao One is blazing hot Death Valley: a stunning, stark desert landscape, a remote place of extreme heat and dryness . . . but not a barren place, it hosts some special lifeforms and is bordered by mesmerizing mountainous geography fashioned by ages of erosion and tectonics -- the deep primordial forces that we seldom notice within our more hospitable man-made environments. To understand and explore and survive you must go all-in: this is no time for hedging bets and thus compromising the pay-off, or for absentminded zoning out which leads to peril. This is time to commit. There is nothing to mitigate the intensity of the place, and that is why I revere it. The reward is experiencing awe.

Hey jensz, Taha wrote of the geographical relationship of Lao to Yunnan. I did find it to have a Chinese feel to it, especially with some of the animal/barn aspect you so nicely describe above. Especially when comparing to my Hindis. Did you find this or did you experience something else?


Really great review and this is an amazing oil, wish I had the eloquence to describe these as you do. Thanks for the review!

 

[bhanny]

Papau GL by Feel Oud. This is a very nice blend of the darker blue-green oceanic Papuan gyrinops and the brighter ethereal sweet borneo. Very smooth, very nice.

 

[bhanny]

Borneo 5000


Does indeed start a bit buttery, just as stated. What I really like about this one is the journey, the path it takes. At times it takes me out in the typical breezy ethereal borneo air, sweet and airy. Then suddenly it takes me deep into the woods, equally sweet, but this time honeyed and a bit heavier, but equally serene. Then I'm back out into the berried sweet sunny air again. What a trek! Love this one.

 

[bhanny]

Kalbar No 1 - AgarAura


Incredibly well balanced woody/floral Borneo from Taha. Starts with some of that really nice airy, sweet, slightly berried vanilla Borneo. But is definitely balanced by Taha's characteristic yummy clean wood, microcarpa here. The two facets duel beautifully and for a long long time. A really nice oil here.

 

[jensz]

Lao One. AgarAura. I've had it on for only 2 hours but needed to write. This is one of the most untamed barnyard-style oils that remains wearable. It has all the variants on the barnyard spectrum: pasture, dairy, hay, indolic/fecal, and leather... all in majestic balance with each other and an unmistakeable incense note. There's a hint of smoke. Lao One is very dry, no jungle moisture or salty oceans. A slight sweetness can be detected but it doesn't suggest any particular note to me. Maybe it's oudiness. Nothing pretty or coy. To wear Lao One you must love your barn and be ready to go all-in...which describes me to a tee. 😠So I love Lao One.
Some oils suggest a climate and a landscape. Ensar's Hainan 2005, for example, suggests a very cold, high-altitude mountaintop. Lao One is blazing hot Death Valley: a stunning, stark desert landscape, a remote place of extreme heat and dryness . . . but not a barren place, it hosts some special lifeforms and is bordered by mesmerizing mountainous geography fashioned by ages of erosion and tectonics -- the deep primordial forces that we seldom notice within our more hospitable man-made environments. To understand and explore and survive you must go all-in: this is no time for hedging bets and thus compromising the pay-off, or for absentminded zoning out which leads to peril. This is time to commit. There is nothing to mitigate the intensity of the place, and that is why I revere it. The reward is experiencing awe.

@ bhanny. Thanks! Don't kid yourself, you write really lovely reviews! You give a great sense of both how the oil smells and how it makes you feel, which is what one hopes to learn from reading a review.


Honestly, I don't feel qualified to compare Lao One to Yunnan. But for what it's worth, to me, they are very distinct from each other, but in saying that, I sense I am missing something. On me, Lao is all about the entire barnyard spectrum, whereas Yunnan has barnyard -- less complex or "chewy" barnyard -- plus the pronounced apricot, plus the astringent/medicinal notes. Lao is very rooted in the earth, while Yunnan is more about air. That's my take! But like I say, I can't help but feel I'm missing something. . . .and I've only worn Lao once, so maybe next time I'll see a connection.

 

[jensz]

Kalbar No 1 - AgarAura
Incredibly well balanced woody/floral Borneo from Taha. Starts with some of that really nice airy, sweet, slightly berried vanilla Borneo. But is definitely balanced by Taha's characteristic yummy clean wood, microcarpa here. The two facets duel beautifully and for a long long time. A really nice oil here.

@bhanny: nice three reviews here! Which of these would you say is the heaviest or most resinous?

 

[bhanny]

Kalbar No 1 - AgarAura
Incredibly well balanced woody/floral Borneo from Taha. Starts with some of that really nice airy, sweet, slightly berried vanilla Borneo. But is definitely balanced by Taha's characteristic yummy clean wood, microcarpa here. The two facets duel beautifully and for a long long time. A really nice oil here.

Thank you jensz! All three are really nice. The Papau GL is a little harder to compare with the other two as it has that darker Papuan component, that is actually brightened/lifted a bit with the Borneo. Definitely has some nice wood in it.


The other two, AA Kalbar No 1 and EO Borneo 5000, are both clearly made with good resinous wood. Heavier overall, Borneo 5000. Both are very nice.

 

[joel]

Has anyone smelled AA Hirta? How does it compare to Borneos or Malaysians? Is it creamier and lighter or darker and musty?