What Do Y'all Think About The Oud Trend In Perfume/Cologne Creations Lately?

This past Black Friday, I went to both Barneys and Neiman Marcus to sniff about 60-70 scents for my Christmas wishlist and experienced confirmation of what everyone has been talking about with the crazy trend of all of these new oud-based or "celebrating oud" scents. Most of the ones I tried I liked and I'm right now leaning towards Van Cleef and Arpel's Precious Oud that's one of their new and limited edition releases.

I just wanted to know what you all thought of this trend and whether or not you liked this component enough to investigate it further.

Also, what would be your oud-heavy recommendations?

Lastly, what have been the trends in the past that are analogous to this current oud one?

I would have posted this in the Scent of the Day thread but didn't want to derail it like I'm prone to do.

I'm not a huge fan of oud, but I'm still glad to see the trend. It's a very strange note from the perspective of western perfumery, and it's nice to see mainstream fragrance houses experimenting a little bit, nudging consumers out of their olfactory ruts. I know a lot of people on basenotes and other fragrance sites think that oud is already horribly overdone, but realistically, it's still a tiny percentage of the population who are going to be wearing scents with prominent oud notes.

My favorite oud fragrances are the ones where the note is well blended, and not too dominant. I think Dior's Leather Oud and Creed's Royal Oud are quite good. I especially like the various rose/oud fragrances: C&S Dark Rose, TF Noir de Noir, Montale Black Aoud, and By Kilian Rose Oud. I've heard great things about L'Artisan's Al Oudh, but I haven't tried it yet.

I think the marine note (calone) trend of the late '80s and '90s might be similar. (e.g. Eau d'Issey) Also the green tea note, which was introduced primarily by Bulgari's Eau Parfumee au The Vert. In the '90s, it seems like anything that could be purchased at places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond was scented with that green tea note. I seem to recall certain mall stores being scented with that note too.

I would have thought that oud would have played out by now but I suppose there's nothing new on the horizon, so the oud train continues.

As for my own Oud favorites, Yatagan has a decent oud/agarwood note and is a perrennial favorite of mine. Dior's Leather Oud is a close cousin of Le Labo Oud 27 which mesmerizes me. Also a favorite. Outside of that I haven't focused on the note, or tried much of the new stuff.

I have heard raves for Creed's Royal Oud, but refuse to try it. I think I tried Al Oudh but didn't pull the trigger on it. I'll check the drawer again.



L'Incandescent said:

I've heard great things about L'Artisan's Al Oudh, but I haven't tried it yet.
I.

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That's going to be my destination tonight - to go down to Barneys and hope that they have that scent because I've been reading great things about it as well.

I guess I like the oude components because I like the historical perspective it gives in regards to the merchants bringing exotic materials from other lands for components in perfumes.



Thomas said:

I would have thought that oud would have played out by now but I suppose there's nothing new on the horizon, so the oud train continues.
As for my own Oud favorites, Yatagan has a decent oud/agarwood note and is a perrennial favorite of mine. Dior's Leather Oud is a close cousin of Le Labo Oud 27 which mesmerizes me. Also a favorite. Outside of that I haven't focused on the note, or tried much of the new stuff.
I have heard raves for Creed's Royal Oud, but refuse to try it. I think I tried Al Oudh but didn't pull the trigger on it. I'll check the drawer again.

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Are you anti-Creed as well? I've gotten that way after smelling them - all are very unimpressive to me.



HORNS said:

Are you anti-Creed as well? I've gotten that way after smelling them - all are very unimpressive to me.

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Pretty much, yes. The groups I occasionally frequent don't talk much about Creed scents at all, and I think rightly so.

Incidentally, and I almost mentioned this in a prior post: since you go for the historical/exotic angle, seek out some oils from the middle east / thereabouts. I received in a swap a small vial of musk oil, and it is potent, uncompromising stuff.



Thomas said:

Pretty much, yes. The groups I occasionally frequent don't talk much about Creed scents at all, and I think rightly so.
Incidentally, and I almost mentioned this in a prior post: since you go for the historical/exotic angle, seek out some oils from the middle east / thereabouts. I received in a swap a small vial of musk oil, and it is potent, uncompromising stuff.

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Yeah, I'm looking at some agarwood oil on ebay and thought it would be a great thing to play around with. Any recommendations on reputable places to procure?



HORNS said:

Yeah, I'm looking at some agarwood oil on ebay and thought it would be a great thing to play around with. Any recommendations on reputable places to procure?

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Hmmm, let me throw the question up for the group and see what comes up. There are a few indie perfumers who will likely weigh in.

Now that I'm typing this and thinking a bit, I wonder how hard it would be to knock over a Le Labo boutique just to get their Oud. HMMMMMM. That said, I think Le Labo offers or once offered something called the Olfactionary, which was (iirc) 48 individual scents. Not that you could do much with them in terms of experimentation, but nice for reference.

Now that I think more, I wonder how hard it would be to get materials from, say, Laboratoire Monique Remy, to name one source. Probably close to impossible.



Thomas said:

Hmmm, let me throw the question up for the group and see what comes up. There are a few indie perfumers who will likely weigh in.
Now that I'm typing this and thinking a bit, I wonder how hard it would be to knock over a Le Labo boutique just to get their Oud. HMMMMMM. That said, I think Le Labo offers or once offered something called the Olfactionary, which was (iirc) 48 individual scents. Not that you could do much with them in terms of experimentation, but nice for reference.
Now that I think more, I wonder how hard it would be to get materials from, say, Laboratoire Monique Remy, to name one source. Probably close to impossible.

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Here's what I'd imagine it would be like if we knocked over Le Labo:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

^^^ I can totally see that happening. Can you imagine Oud oil in a drum like that? Holy cow.

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As for places to procure, the first one that kicked up that looks good is Eden Botanicals (nice web site). Expensive, but given how much these oils get diluted it's probably not completely highway robbery.



Thomas said:

^^^ I can totally see that happening. Can you imagine Oud oil in a drum like that? Holy cow.
...
As for places to procure, the first one that kicked up that looks good is Eden Botanicals (nice web site). Expensive, but given how much these oils get diluted it's probably not completely highway robbery.

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Fuckin-A, that's a good site!



Thomas said:

Hmmm, let me throw the question up for the group and see what comes up. There are a few indie perfumers who will likely weigh in.
Now that I'm typing this and thinking a bit, I wonder how hard it would be to knock over a Le Labo boutique just to get their Oud. HMMMMMM. That said, I think Le Labo offers or once offered something called the Olfactionary, which was (iirc) 48 individual scents. Not that you could do much with them in terms of experimentation, but nice for reference.

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Le Labo uses synthetic oud as well, has anyone saw this article?
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/AmazingOud

As an alternative to the Olfactionary which had been discontinued, Osmoz offers something similar-
http://shop.osmoz.com

^^^^ I think everyone, and I mean everyone, uses the synthetic. Even Mona di Orio. Her Oud composition is highly praised, iirc, but outlandishly priced.

^^ Ha! it's possible, more or less.

re: Mona Oud. Speaking from my experience, I have two bottles that were purchased at different times in different places, one's oud note is sweeter and poised; another is a bit sharp and medicinal. I suppose that's the factor in composing from different batches of natural oud oil, though, both drydowns are equally astonishing.



giony said:

^^ Ha! it's possible, more or less.
re: Mona Oud. Speaking from my experience, I have two bottles that were purchased at different times in different places, one's oud note is sweeter and poised; another is a bit sharp and medicinal. I suppose that's the factor in composing from different batches of natural oud oil, though, both drydowns are equally astonishing.

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There could be any number of reasons, including maceration times: the older bottle is likely to be a bit smoother. I mention this because of comments I've read regarding Angel, where it just keeps getting better (i.e. wearable) the older it gets - this over a few years' time.