Ten Years of Ouddict — Thank You
Ten years. It still catches me off guard to write that.
When Ouddict went live in 2016, I had no grand illusions about what it would become. I simply wanted a proper home for people who cared about oud and artisanal perfumery the way I did — a place to argue over distillations, chase down the good stuff, and learn from one another without the noise. What I didn't expect was that so many of you would stay, contribute, and build this into the community it now is.
I have to give particular thanks to Habib (
@Habz786), my cofounder, who believed in this from the very beginning and helped get it off the ground when it was little more than an idea. And to
@jensz — the first to walk through the door after us. When a forum is brand new and half-empty, the earliest members are everything; they set the tone and prove the thing is worth showing up for. Jensz did exactly that, and I've never forgotten it.
A special shout too to
@Mr.P and
@Oudamberlove, who — from the looks of it — haven't had much of a life outside Ouddict since 2016, and have seen every last twist and turn since the start. The forum wouldn't be the same without the two of you. And to
@Olfactory Nomad, who only joined in 2023 but seems determined to catch up with them by sheer force of will — we see the effort, and we salute it.
There are so many more of you who have made this place what it is:
@Rai Munir,
@Joe,
@language scent,
@The Scent Guru,
@Sproaty,
@iori,
@mobyus and
@Saudalhajri — thank you for the posts, the knowledge, the debates and the camaraderie over the years.
And the vendors who have been here since the very start (or almost)
@Faizal_p (cofounder of Imperial Oud and Faizal Privee),
@Faheem (cofounder of Imperial Oud and
@Oudique) ,
@AbasFrag (the cofounder of
@Al Hashimi and associated brands),
@Al Shareef Oudh,
@An Najwa,
@YusaAromatics and
@NinjaRobb. Those who haven't been mentioned aren't any less important, but this is not a Hollywood credits scene that goes on for as long as the movie itself 😆
And beyond the names: thank you to every member who has posted, lurked, welcomed a newcomer, or shared a bottle of something rare — and to every vendor who has shown up honestly, engaged in good faith, and helped raise the standard of the whole field. This is yours as much as mine. Ouddict has never been a one-man endeavour. It has always been the sum of the people in it.
I'll be candid: plenty of voices in the industry gave us a year, maybe two. A niche forum for an obscure corner of perfumery was never going to last, they said. Well — here we are, a decade on, and not merely surviving. We're going from strength to strength. The Luxarti project is the clearest sign of that: Ouddict isn't fading into the background, it's becoming the community heart of something considerably larger and more ambitious. The best chapters, I think, are still ahead of us.
Now to the fun part. A tenth anniversary deserves a proper celebration, and I'd like your ideas on how we mark it. I've been mulling a few things already — free oils for members, prizes and giveaways, perhaps something collaborative with the vendors — but I'd rather build this
with you than hand it down. So tell me: what would make this feel like a real milestone to you? Draws? A community project? A special release? An event, online or otherwise? Nothing is off the table at this stage.
Vendors — if you'd like to get involved, whether that's contributing to giveaways or something more creative, drop me a DM and let's talk.
Post your thoughts below. Let's take it from there — and here's to the next ten.
With gratitude, Nadeem
