Oud perfumes

Where oud comes from

Oud, also written oudh, aoud or agarwood, is the dark, resin-rich heartwood of Aquilaria trees. Healthy wood is pale and nearly odourless. The tree produces resin when it reacts to injury or infection, and that darkened wood is what is distilled or macerated. Because the natural material is rare, many perfumes use an oud accord built from other materials. Pyramids reflect this in their wording: oud, Laos oud, agarwood (oud), oud wood, oud accord or, in one house's phrase, pure organic vintage oud.

What it does in a composition

Oud is a base note with great length and weight. Its smell is smoky, woody and balsamic, with a leathery or medicinal edge and, in softer doses, a sweet, almost fruity warmth. It pairs with rose and saffron for a classic dark-floral effect, with vanilla and benzoin for a rounder, sweeter one, with leather and tobacco for a rugged one, and with citrus or fruit when a perfumer wants contrast.

Oud perfumes in the collection

• Pernoire Oudian is filed by Pernoire as oud and spicy: durian, saffron, tropical fruits and Szechuan pepper, then cistus labdanum and olibanum, then oud, leather and vetiver.
• Fragrance Du Bois Oud Bleu Intense rests on pure organic vintage oud with opoponax and myrrh resinoids, styrax and benzoin, below cardamom, nutmeg, mandarin and a frankincense heart. Fragrance Du Bois files it as fresh woody.
• Les Eaux Primordiales Oud Superfluide is called vanilla oud by Les Eaux Primordiales: Laos oud and guaiac wood in the heart, vanilla and benzoin in the base, bitter orange and sesame on top.
• Les Eaux Primordiales Oud Supermassive puts oud with tobacco, leather and olibanum in the base, under a peach, osmanthus and passion fruit heart. The house describes oud with olibanum and leather.
• Tiziana Terenzi Gold Rose Oudh pairs oudh with amber, sandalwood, musk and honey, below rose, patchouli and black pepper. Tiziana Terenzi calls it woody oriental.
• Stéphane Humbert Lucas God of Fire places oud with nagarmotha, musk and amber, after mango, lemon, pink berries and ginger and a heart of blue coumarin, jasmine and dry woods. See Stéphane Humbert Lucas.
• Xerjoff La Capitale puts oud beside benzoin and Bourbon vanilla, under caramel, labdanum, peach and strawberry and a heart of ginger, Iranian saffron, leather, amber and rose. Xerjoff files it as fresh and floral.
• Maison Crivelli Oud Cadenza lists an oud wood accord with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, cocoa butter and vanilla, without tiers. Maison Crivelli calls it gourmand woody.

How to choose an oud perfume

Start by asking what the oud is surrounded by. With vanilla, benzoin or fruit it is soft and approachable. With leather, tobacco or resin it is dark and dry. With rose and saffron it is rich and classic. If you are new to the note, a version with a fresh or fruity opening is an easy way in, and an extrait will carry its depth more fully than a lighter concentration.