If you consider probably the most costly perfume on the planet, your thoughts in all probability does not go to tree fungus. However that is the place you may discover the origins of oud, the aromatic core of aquilaria timber and one of the costly uncooked supplies on the planet.
Like many uncommon and valuable supplies, oud takes a very long time to develop naturally. It is not one thing that may merely be planted and plucked, like so many different perfume notes. Oud takes time to “cook dinner,” so to talk. Sure pure circumstances have to convene for it to kind inside the aquilaria tree, a species of evergreens native to Southeast Asia. When the timber are broken by exterior and environmental forces, the resin it produces to guard its core is what makes the heartwood into oud over time.
Meet the Specialists:
What’s oud?
“Pure oud, the scent (the important oil) arises when a selected fungus locations itself on an aquilaria tree,” Geza Schoen, founder and perfumer for the perfume model Escentric Molecules explains. “A response creates a resin that slowly embeds into the wooden creating agarwood, referred to as oud, which is then soaked, and utilizing a distillation and evaporation technique is developed into an oil.”
Vietnam, specifically, has a famous historical past of oud harvesting. In the course of the Vietnam conflict, the U.S. dropped many bombs over the nation’s forests, scoring and wounding a large number of wild aquilaria timber and kicking off a brand new technology of oud to return. It could actually take a number of years for this heartwood to kind a fascinating aroma profile, both distilled into oil or chipped away to burn for incense. It is heat, musky, animalic, and barely candy — a deeply wealthy and sophisticated perfume that lingers lengthy after it has been utilized or burned.
So what does oud scent like?
“Every model [of oud] has its personal olfactive specificity starting from natural to woody,” Givaudan senior perfumer Olivia Jan explains over e mail, lining out the regional variations of agarwood timber. “Throughout different international locations, there are totally different variations like aquilaria crassna from Laos and aquilaria sinensis in China.”
The primary time I skilled oud in a perfume was in my early days as a magnificence editor, circa 2014. I used to be despatched a tiny vial of Lifeless Of Night time, a fragrance oil from an indie model referred to as Strangelove. The factor wasn’t a lot larger than a D battery; I even inquired if this was only a pattern and was informed that it was certainly the full-size, going for $500 (on the time). Yikes. Small although it was, only a smudge of the oil launched a powerfully scent that was not like something I would smelled. It was like scorched daylight, golden and ambery; however it was additionally a bit earthy and damp, like moist soil after the rain. It was a mysterious and alluring scent, one thing I could not put my finger on but in addition could not overlook. I wasn’t positive what I used to be smelling and I wasn’t positive that I favored it, however I couldn’t cease smelling it on me, attempting to determine it out. Lifeless Of Night time was a scent that triggered my perfume curiosity general, one thing that is changing into a lifelong interest.
Why is oud so important?
“Oud is historically referred to as black gold within the Center East as it’s a prized ingredient that comes from one of many rarest and costliest woods on the planet,” says Firmenich principal perfumer Frank Voelkl. It is extraordinarily standard within the Center East — somewhat, it is past reputation; I ought to say it is a lifestyle. Often known as “wooden of the gods,” oud’s significance is religious. Its aroma is part of Muslim tradition — the agarwood chips are burned as incense in houses and locations of worship, in addition to to scent clothes. It is generally provided to friends visiting one’s house as an fragrant refreshment. “Within the area, oud is usually a focus and performs a key function in conveying a seductive story inside a scent,” defined Jan, noting that there is not too long ago been an elevated demand for oud notes. “The affect of Center Jap fragrances has had a big effect in the marketplace.”
Add Comment