What is oud scent? This very expensive type of wood comes in many names, but it is mainly known as oud in both the east and west. It is considered one of the most expensive perfume ingredients in the world. For our purpose in this article, I’m going to write it in perfumery. Let me explain you guys a bit about oud and its natural source.
What is Oud Scent
Agarwood comes from the genus family of trees called the Aquilaria family, and it is a predominantly found family in the Southeastern Asia regions in the world. Where it’s been harvested for centuries. Now for different purposes such as medicinal reasons religious reasons and of course in perfumery. Why is it so expensive? For an Aquilaria tree to produce Agarwood it initially saw off as a pale bark in its tree trunk, which doesn’t have a smell.
It’s not particularly highly valued but through infection, through either parasites or bacteria the tree produces its own sap to protect itself which is the Agarwood that eventually spreads throughout the tree trunk over many years. It takes a long time to spread and this Agarwood is labor-intensive to carve out from the tree trunks, which usually requires chopping down the trees. And by hand carving out this Agarwood, which is the dark part of the bark. It gives this very rich intense Woody musky sort of Barnard like animalic like also, sweet Aroma. If you ever wonder what is oud scent and ever smelled real oud you can recognize it in an instant.
Why is Oud so expensive Perfume Ingredient
It has one of the most complex, interesting multi faceted scent profiles you’ll ever smell, and it’s understandable why it’s such a high demand. Once the oud is carved out from the tree depending on what grade it is. The higher the grade, the more expensive it becomes, going up to tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram. This price tack get hiked up by at least 2,000% over the last few decades due to an increase in demand.
Why is Oud so expensive perfume ingredient while at the same time a constant decrease in supply. Unfortunately, due to this industry, the Aquilaria plants are becoming critically endangered. And have been recognized, as the best oud scent in the world, comes from a complex process that takes many years. The best oud comes from the oldest trees with the darkest resins. The first grade oud has the darkest bark that has the highest concentration of essential oil in it, hence why it’s so highly priced.
The Synthetic Oud Scent
You can get a variety of ouds in perfumery got think fragrances like Synthetic Oud Franck Olivier oud touch. It’s not even listed as a note and there is no breakdown, but you get synthetic replications of oud. Fragrances like Versace oud noir I suspect is a synthetic oud. That makes the process of creating a lot cheaper, much cheaper. It doesn’t really come that close to the natural stuff because from what I’ve read, it is extremely difficult to isolate the chemical compounds found in oud itself into the lab.
It’s extremely expensive, so the natural stuff is still considered the best and a natural stuff you’ll find in more expensive perfumes, usually like xerjoff alexandria ii or Amouage interlude man. As I said, oud should have a complexity a sort of dirtiness to it, a radiance should be extremely long-lasting perfume. One of the long-lasting bass notes in perfumery out there.
Did this article help you out, guys, did it help you learn more about what is oud scent and why it’s so expensive. If you have any thought about oud & oud perfume ingredient and how it’s been naturally exploited over the last few decades, let me know do you think we should go to more synthetic alternatives from now on. Thank you for reading on my scent stories!
