Oud Perfume

Oud — agarwood — is the most expensive material in perfumery. It comes from a resin the Aquilaria tree produces to fight a fungus: no wound, no oud. That explains its price and its smell, which resembles no other — woody, leathery, animalic, with a depth that stays on the skin long after every other note has gone. This page gathers the eaux de parfum, extraits and bakhoor with oud in our range.

What an oud perfume smells like

Rarely of pure oud. In Gulf perfumery it serves as a foundation and is paired with three families:

• Oud and rose — the classic accord, as in Barakkat Satin Oud or Badee Al Oud Glory. The rose softens the animalic side of the wood; the most worn unisex variant.
• Oud and amber — warmer, more enveloping, for winter and evenings. Oud Mood by Lattafa is the approachable reference.
• Oud and vanilla — the gourmand, softer reading when pure oud feels too dry: Ameer Al Oudh, Shaghaf Oud Tonka.

Eau de parfum, extrait or bakhoor

Three uses that are often confused. The eau de parfum is the usual format: one or two sprays, six to ten hours of longevity. The extrait de parfum raises the oil concentration: denser trail, longer longevity, lighter hand. Bakhoor is not worn on the skin: wood chips soaked in oil, burnt on charcoal in an incense burner to perfume a room, clothes or hair.

How to wear oud without overdoing it

Oud gets noticed. One spray on the wrist and one at the base of the neck are enough; on clothes it lasts several days. Best from autumn onwards — in great heat its density quickly becomes heavy. Do not rub your wrists after applying.

Where to start

Newcomers to the material start with an oud-rose or oud-vanilla as an eau de parfum rather than an extrait: the accord is more readable, a mistake cheaper. Lattafa's Badee Al Oud line was made for this. Going further: Arabian Oud, the Saudi house working with the material since 1982, and Swiss Arabian with the Shaghaf Oud line. Related families: amber and woody. Everything on Dubai perfume.