Yusuf Royale

The same X Factor that made Oud Yusuf one of the most beloved ouds ever seems to be what garnered the perfume rendition so much adoration.

Actually, it’s not much of a mystery – the sumptuous melange of oud resin, the honeydew and apricot, its signature oudy heart decorated in lilacs and lilies all come together in a fragrance that’s almost impossible not to like, and so easy to love.

As an oud oil, Oud Yusuf’s sensual aroma is super accessible and a no-brainer to recommend to anyone who wants to get into oud or if you’ve been wearing oud round the clock for years. 

But imagine you could keep all the facets you love about Oud Yusuf, yet make it bolder, deeper, more oudy…

Experienced oudheads can’t help but be hooked on that resinous undertow that marks any premium oud oil – a resinous current some simply refer to as oud ‘incense’ that hints at the age, maturity, and overall quality of the resin the oil came from.

You know what I’m talking about: A satisfying layer of resinous incense that gives body to whatever auxiliary notes ID the oud. It’s the agar behind the lilac; the oud that stirs the jam.

This is what separates Oud Yusuf from its big brother Royale. “A bitter tar kinamic thing going on in the back that buzzes like a battery and lays in the scent, elevating the whole thing.” (Chano V.)

The Royale edition takes the elegant lilacs, diffuses them through a jinkoh incense coil, and dips them in a honeydew cocktail laced with the encens of vintage Papuan oud smoke.

From all the ouds I know, Yusuf Royale was begging to be transformed into a perfume. Because of its fusion of contrasts – the fruits and flowers mashed into a base paste of vintage sinking-grade Maroke agarwood – it performs like a perfume on its own!

Of course, when composing a perfume it’s not as simple as adding oud and voila! you’re done. You must tweak, adjust, even revamp a scent structure based on a given ingredient’s interaction with others. 

This is especially true with a perfume like this that contains ∼50% oud! This includes Oud Yusuf enhanced by Oud Royale No 1.

One ingredient could interact wildly with just one addition to a composition that wasn’t previously there. When you have a set top structure, adding a layer of deep oudy incense could sour those top notes, or mute them – it could result in a different scent altogether. 

This is all to say that under the hood there are key tweaks to this edition that aim to retain the overall profile of Oud Yusuf PP – and improve it.

That’s why, when you look at the ouds that are in here, Oud Yusuf is actually the cheapest.

There’s also a handsome shot of wild walla patta we distilled in 2018 accompanied by a fantastic wild Pursat distillation we finished that same year. You probably know by now what half a decade of aging can do to an already juicy Cambodi… 

The addition of the jammy incense heavy wild Pursat adds to the lavish top notes dripping with Yusuf’s signature melange of lilacs sweetened with peach and apricot. All while the cooling wave of incense-grade Sri Lankan oud’s aquamarine crash into the majestic noir of vintage Tigerwood oud, the fusion of which dissolves into aged ruh gulab and orange blossom.

All of that, as you’ll smell… drapes the vintage wafts of Oud Royale in a robe of oceanic orange rose that sparkle with the mouthwatering Pursat-meets-Trat sweetness in the top notes.

NOTES
Apricot
Peach
Pepper
Ruh Gulab
Orange Blossom
Oud Royale (Sinking-Grade, 1982)
Vintage Malaysian Oud (Tigerwood-Incense, 1990)
Sri Lankan Oud (Incense-Grade, 2018)
Pursat Oud (Wild, 2018)

In other words, if you enjoy a spritz of Oud Yusuf, you will LOVE this Royale!

Imagine those same delectable top notes you adore in OY blossoming from sinking-grade slabs of old, old oud. The top notes smell richer, the heart notes plush, and the base is… oh, man: “Heavenly. Violets and lilacs wrapped in incense smoke burning over a basket of fruit.” (Chano V.)

Featured Testimonials…