If you’re a seasoned connoisseur who won’t wear anything but Indian Oud, no. In your book, Indian Oud is ‘Oud’ and ‘Oud’ is ‘Indian Oud.’ Many agarwood maniacs will swear by what a newbie may term ‘fecal’ in Indian Oud. To the agarwood oil partisan, Oud is Indian – and the fecalness of Indian Oud […]
Dear friend, To quote one of my scent mentors’ words of advice to me when I first embarked on my Oudissey: In the end, your nose will educate you profoundly. You will not be able to bear the smell of anything compounded of synthetic chemicals. They will stick in your nose like glue and create […]
Some years back, I was experimenting with combinations of essential oils. This was partly from simple curiosity and partly from the enjoyment of the various fragrances. I had narrowed my supplier down to one company in California which was justifiably known as the best source for high-quality essential oils. One day on their web site, […]
There are two types of Oud in the dunya. There’s the so-called ‘oud’ of the auction and bazaar websites, which consists of low-grade agarwood oils diluted with DOP (dioctyl phthalate) and other highly toxic chemicals. This oil is known by its harsh leathery aroma, lack of coherence, linearity, utter lack of a spiritual dimension, and […]
One thing I’d like to bring to everybody’s attention is the importance of the origin of the oud oil you are buying. Every time you decide to buy an oud, you should ask yourself the following question: “Where – exactly – did the agarwood that was used to make this oil originate?” And if you […]