B (20:43)
So I love that question, and I love that you're, you know, you're trying to get a little bit more information, because oud is a tricky ingredient. So for anybody who may not be familiar with oud is it's an ingredient that originates from particular bacteria that affects. Affects a very particular tree. It's called, like, hilaria tree and it needs to age. You know, so once that, once that bacteria kind of like this fungus affects the tree and then this process begins, then that chunk of tree that's been harvested has to age for a very long period of time. And the quality of oud, the price of oud and the source of oud will vary depending on that. And of course we'll actually jump into one particular one by creed which was aged like 80 years. And that perhaps could be the reason for this enormous price tag that it has. But there are different brands that are using different types of food. A lot of them are using synthetic oud and there's nothing wrong with that as well. Because of course a lot of, a lot of ouds come from Middle east in terms of the ingredient being sourced. And there's a lot. And in the Middle east it's very common to wear ouds. I would say that oud is as a ingredient in perfumes came to us, us quite recently. If you really look at the range of years that it's been worn across different countries, in the US particularly and even in Europe, it's only been around for the past 10 to 15 years. And truly getting to be known by the majority of people as a regular consumer who shops in like Sephora or Macy's or Bloomingdale's, you know, doesn't really go in depth in terms of fragrance search. I would say even shorten that to maybe the last five to seven years ever since like Tom Ford launched, you know, more oud based fragrances and it really started getting more noticed. But I think it really depends on what type of fragrance do you like, because it can be very smoky, very resinous, almost boozy. It could be very sweet, it could be very light as well, depending on the blend and depending on whether it's synthetic or not. Because like, for example, for anybody who is afraid of oud, I would start with Chabot, which is a brand from south of France and they have this one fragrance that's called Mysterious Oud and it's one of the lightest ooze that I've ever encountered in my entire life. I remember smelling and thinking this doesn't even smell like oud. But yet it possesses the warmth. It possesses this really kind of airy, kind of like mystery. So I think like the name suits it because this whole concept of Mysterious oud, it's almost like you can't quite pinpoint it when, when you're wearing it. Like, where's the actual oud? I don't know if they're using the synthetic or original, you know, or the real version. I would have to probably email the brand just to find out. But it does not matter because the price is really most likely a synthetic, just because the price point is very low. But it's such a digestible oud, especially for somebody who's just getting into it, that I would say this can really be an easy wear. And then little by little, you can work your way into something perhaps a little darker. Oud wood, you know, is something by Tom Ford, which is one of their top sellers. I'm not sure if it's still in a collection because some of the things got discontinued, but it actually was very commercial, for lack of a better word. But I don't mean anything bad by it, actually. When a fragrance is kind of commercially built, means it's more digestible for the public and easier to understand. They usually will become a best one of the top sellers simply because people can actually wear it versus buying something that becomes this kind of piece of art that you don't really know what to do with. You paid a lot of money for it, but you can't really wear it every day because it's going to choke you and everybody else around you. So it's interesting because of course, course, you know, in the Middle east, oud can be used to smoke your clothing to, you know, as part of the bore, to kind of enhance the scent of your hair, the, the house and everything else. Of course, in Western cultures, you know, this is not common. So usually we encounter oud in fragrances and today people are kind of getting a taste of it in various ways. For it to, you need to keep testing. And some of the Oods that I'm going to mention today I think are going to be interesting in that sense because some of them are going to be a little bit on a heav side. Then perhaps those are going to be for a bit more seasoned, you know, perfume addicts. But for there's going to be a few that are going to be easier to digest. And, you know, we can definitely start with those because one of the brands that actually wanted to mention that was one of the first French brands actually among the first to really highlight oud was Pierre Montal, you know, Montal Paris. And they've. They've been making ouds for the past two decades almost. You know, they had black wood, dark oud, Nepal oud, white oud, just to name a few. You. And each one would be quite different because like the dark oud that I've been wearing for many, many years by Montale is this blend of leather, oud and sandalwood. And it's one of the best and. And super underrated fragrances in the Montale entire collection. And the entire collection is Perhaps like about 150 SKUs by now, if not more. So it's a vast collection of fragrances. Most of them have been discontinued in the US market, but in Europe you can still find them. And now because they, the brand has entered Sephora, so they definitely became a little bit more commercially focused. They're kind of making fragrances that are a bit more easier to understand. And recently they launched Oud Sappharot. So it's built as a woody sheeper and it opens up with a pineapple, like really big, bright, juicy, ripe pineapple. But then it jumps into this Cambodian oud and saffron, which is highly aromatic and fragrant. And then the dry down goes into to birch and cinnamon with coconut and musk. So the blend kind of starts tropical, then dips into something more dark, resinous, and then comes back into that tropical warmth with coconut. So this interesting trends kind of, you know, experience that you will get on skin. I definitely think you need to try this because this is not. This may work for some, this may not work for others, but it's one that I think is really fun. If you've never quite experienced oud and perhaps you're a little afraid of it, pop into Sephora, you know, or you can go on their website and order yourself a sample. But of course, that's a fragrance that is definitely fun and it works surprisingly for summer and fall and winter because of that combo of that tropical aspect and the warmth of the oud, which is sometimes can work very well in the heat. But I think most people tend to gravitate towards it in the kind of colder seasons when big fragrances like that kind of end ends up working like your cozy coat or like a shawl. So that is one. Another one that I would say was really interesting again in the sense that it uses this tropical kind of direction is Astrum Nova. And this is by Lactimus Laximus is a brand from Britain. But they've been. They had quite a collection of interesting fragrances over the past years. But this one really, I think it stood out to me because there is mango and bergamot with like mandarin. So it's very juicy in an opening. And then you have osmanthus and oris, which is a root of an iris. And then you have oud with again, Tonka bean. Tonka bean is going to be popping up here all the time. Yeah, we keep seeing it. Yeah. Tonka bean seems to be like really, you know, pushing its way through as one of star ingredients for, for the past few years, but especially this year. So this is definitely an interesting take on oud because it's very mango centric and mango appeals to a lot of, you know, people in general. But we've seen a lot of fragrances with mango, a lot of them for women, a lot of the unisex. But we've seen mango kind of done in the same way again and again and again. So this is a whole, putting a whole different spin on it. And I think if you're trying to explore oud, but you're still kind of want to stay within fun and delicious aspect of fragrances, this is a way to step into that oud lane plant, you know, and explore while still holding on to your lush, you know, florals and kind of juicy fruits. So that one I would say is definitely something I would pay attention to. And then there was an oud that took me, it just, it blew me away. And this is by a brand called Atelier Materi. They also are from France, female owned brands. And they focus on highlighting one ingredient with each of their fragrances. And they launched a set of extra. And one of them, you know, all 3x rays are beautiful. One of them is focuses on neroli with pistachio, which is gorgeous. Another one is an amber based X ray. But the one that really blew me away was burgundy oud. And the burgundy oud, to me it also features black currant. But what really stood out to me was that it reads, if you don't actually look at the notes breakdown and at the ingredients itself itself, you know, because it has black currant, it had like magnolia, it had oud, it had leather. But if you take the whole composition and you just smell it, to me it smelled like a great glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, you know, so. And it was just, it was so beautiful like it. I, you know, I, I tried it and I'm like, you know what, or maybe like a full bodied Pinot Noir, you know, where you just, you know, perhaps a Merlot for some people. But it was, it was just such an interesting experience in terms of it just. But it definitely reads as a full bodied wine. So it's so beautiful. It's very thick, you know, you have, it's very aromatic, it's very thick and kind of juicy on A palette. But then you're left with this really beautiful oud and leather in a dry down which kind of leaves you with this kind of sweet, sweet woody aftertaste, like really smelling like the barrel that the wine had been aged in. So to me, this is one oud that stood out among anything else. And I've been wearing it and really craving it. I started wearing it a few months ago and even in the summer, like on days that it wasn't so hot, I was, I was indulging. But especially now when the weather has turned into more chillier. I cannot wait to wear this because it's just gonna be. Be. Oh, it's just, it's going to be a marvelous wear. So highly recommend that one because it's just, it stands out. And of course Creed launched Oud Zarian which supposedly has this 80 year old aged food. And I mean, of course Creed can afford it, its customers can afford it because they have crazy price tags. And that one is also an interesting wear because it's very, very smooth on how it wears and it just, it comes in this really beautiful presentation. It's. Well, I mean, a Creed customer, it usually stays within the brands and continues buying into their brands, you know, year after year. Because it's definitely a love, you know, almost like a collector that is following certain brand or collecting scotches or things like that. So I noticed that they also have had some, the, the dry down had this licorice and myrrh and again tonka bean patchouli and, and sandalwood and it, it opens up with a little bit more kind of spicy bite because it has frankincense and ginger in an opening. It has a rose in a, in a heart which I don't really pick up on. But to me it's the dry down of that, you know, resins and, and licorice and, and oud that really stands out. So that's something that I think for anybody who's interested in, in, in a true representation of oud. And it's kind of in its. I think they really try to highlight the essence of real wood here. So if you're looking for that, this would be a good one to smell. And another one that is called Perfect Oud. And Perfect Oud is also the X straight of the original that was launched a few years ago and it was quite a top seller for the brands. So I'm not surprised that they launched an xrait version which comes in this really pretty black bottle. And that is another one that I would Say, say, is a really good representation of what oud would smell like to a lot of people. And that one has it. First of all, it's made by Alberto Marias. He is one of the top perfumers in the world and he owns the brands that actually is from Switzerland, where he's originally from. So the. That one particularly, it opens with like a spicy cardamom, has rose and cedar, and then it dries down to rum and oud. And I think the rum and oud accord with a little bit of vanilla and incense is just marvelous because that. That booziness and a dry down, it really amplifies the oud and the rose. So if you're looking again for that kind of resonance take on, like the true representation of oud, I would look in that direction, but because I think you'll find that exact DNA. And one I think is worth mentioning for sure, that I kind of want to close. You know, the oud selection with would be this new launch by Goldfield and Banks. And that's a brand from Australia. So we kind of covered a whole lot of different countries in this. In this. Yeah, in this lineup. But this is a salty amber oud. And again, it has this minerality that I spoke about before. It's called Tales of Amber. And while oud is not particularly the main composition here, I think that it really works so well together. You know, they kind of have this perfect tango. And what I love about this one is that it's quite unusual take on both oud and amber. And it has this really salty, airy, mossy kind of opening. And it's really hard for me to even describe it because I have to say that it kind of took me through all these different stages when I was first wearing the fragrance, when. When it was sent to me because I was trying to understand what is it really about, because it opens with orange blossom, but it's not like any orange blossom that I've smelled before. It also has moss, but it's not truly a moss fragrance. It also has oris, you know, which is like this big kind of buttery iris take. But this is by no means an iris fragrance. And then it has labdanum, oud, you know, vanilla and ambergris. And ambergris, this whale vomit that is also very, very expensive ingredient. And it does have this kind of salty, animalic muskiness about it. So it threw me in all these different directions, but in the best way possible where it just kind of continued surprise me on skin. And it was, you know, salty and warm and mineral and all of a sudden resinous. And then it kind of turned into this warm muskiness that I felt something green and airy. So it was just a beautiful wear. And I think this is definitely not for a beginner. I think this is for somebody who is a seasoned fragrance lover. But it's definitely a release that really surprised me in all the good ways. So that kind of covers my OUD obsession. I love it.
