Leaving aside the traditions of the Middle East, the rest of the world will soon go crazy for oud wood in perfumery for 10 years. This component is considered as valuable as gold. And the backstory of oud in perfumery is an exciting movie plot.
History
It turned out that a component extracted from a rotten agar tree has existed for many centuries. He caused the worship, the insanity of the people. Ancient merchants, supplying perfumes with a note of oud and the tree itself to the west, left their mark on every sacred book of the religions of the world. In Christian traditions, it is equated with myrrh. It is mentioned that oud was one of the gifts given when the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon met.
Perfume with the scent of oud is present in the legends of Sinbad. When he traveled, the rotten trees of Hindustan were known to the world, and the ruler of the island of Ceylon had a whole ruby saucer filled with completely fragrant oil.
There is this tree in Indian holy texts, Ayurveda recipes. There are records of how women soaked their hair with the smoke of smoldering oud. In this country, rotten wood was burnedfor meditation. In ancient Egypt, the bodies of the pharaohs were impregnated with oud. In Chinese tradition, it has become an important medical component. In Japan, it was a symbol of power.
What is this
Thus, oud in perfumery is the oldest component, the value of which remains high in our time. Why? The agar tree grows well in sandy, calcareous, well-drained soil in Asia. In many countries it was called differently, and there are dozens of names for the agar tree. However, until a certain point, this is not good.
To get it, you need to "infect" the tree with a fungus. An interesting fact is that outwardly the wood is quite he althy, but inside it a struggle develops. To overcome the fungus, an extremely fragrant resin is released. And it is the affected and dark wood, which has been saturated with this resin, that is called oud. Having learned what oud smells like, in perfumery they began to use it in the most active way, literally going crazy over it. And the prices of the ancient ingredient prove the depth of this human passion.
Why such a price?
It is clear that oud in perfumery is a value, but where did such prices come from? According to official data, its cost will depend on the origin of the wood. The average prices for this resin are $30,000 per liter. But the price never drops below the $9,500 mark.
Prices are higher than gold due to a number of facts. So, nature has done everything possible to help the agar tree overcome the infection. It has evolved over the centuries, and nowit is not so easy to kill him with a disease at the moment.
Only one tree in 10 will not withstand the onslaught of the fungus. Then you need to wait another 2 decades for the agar tree to start its reaction, releasing resin. Moreover, only adult specimens are suitable for such experiments. Selected resin stands out from trees older than 60 years. It takes years to grow them. Since oud is a real passion in perfumery, there is less and less left.
Besides this, expenses are also required to collect fragrant oil. In order to go into the Asian jungle, you need a guide. Search, diagnose the disease, analyze the degree of infection can be weeks. And if it turns out that enough resin has already accumulated in the tree, it is cut down. But if the elixir is not enough, the plant is marked, trying to get it in the property.
Value for the ages
A felled tree dries in the sun for several days. Determining the value of oud in perfumery is also taking into account how the trunk was dried in the sun, the age and size of the wood, and its origin. One of the most important characteristics are chips, which should sink in water, and not float.
Excellent wood is cleaned, polished and then sold at auctions. About 12 ml of the purest oil is obtained from 20 kg of oud. After applying hydrodistillation, from which valuable oil is obtained, you can understand the properties of this value.
Some people spend hours describing this fragrance, and some do not recognize it. It is believed that uduambergris gives way, musk, May rose oil loses in front of him. Oud has endured centuries in perfumery and has been valued in the past and still is today. At the same time, it remains timeless, not going into vintage. Each person in this oil can hear his own notes, his own plot - this is the dust of ancient scrolls, and the dampness of the basement, soot, embalming substance, the smell of animals furious from a failed mating.
Appearing in the West
Although oud has always existed in Eastern traditions, it came to Western culture in 2007. Then perfumer Pierre Montal worked on orders for sheikhs. But one day he decided to descend to Europe, presenting his fragrance. And then oud began its invasion of the Western perfumery world.
For a long period of time only niche brands used it. They have always valued ancient stories over sales. However, the fragrances began to disperse instantly, and major perfumers drew attention to this valuable component. Only a few ignored the aromatic ingredient.
Leading perfumers note that oud is unlikely to go out of fashion one day. Sometimes it is used without any accompanying ingredients. And now the supply exceeds the demand, it can be mixed with many components. At one time, the label on the bottle that they contained oud, dramatically increased their sales.
When the world began to go crazy over this ingredient, the largest corporations sought to artificially synthesize its analogue. And they succeeded. Of course, rumors spread that synthetic oud would not go anywhere.comparison with the original that it "sounds" faded and dull. And at the same time, inexperienced people, smelling the real, original aroma of oud, note that it reminds them of the smell of manure. In addition, it is much easier to work with an artificial analogue in the laboratory.
Synthetic oils are just as long lasting, with smoke, leather, and wood. Regardless of the choice of oud, many divide all varieties into 3 groups: for beginners, for experienced and pornographic oud. The latter is a variety that can only be heard around the Persian Gulf.
There are very few brands that dared to demonstrate the dark side of this oil - for Arabs it was flowers and skin, and for Europeans it sounded like feces warmed in the hot sun.
The most terrible secret is the fact that this low note has both turning away and attracting properties. Sometimes this is exactly why perfumers get bored, seeking to discover it in modern fragrances. Oud perfumery stands out for this - the awareness of what it all smells in combination with the inability to resist it.
Reviews
When going for reviews of oud perfumes, you need to consider that the component is expensive. For this reason, there are still no fragrances with it in the mass market. It is widely represented in oriental perfumery. Usually included in limited collections.
But this applies to cases when it comes to natural oud. Regular perfumes with much lower prices may have an artificial component. Counts,that it has a flatter aroma, while natural is multifaceted, playful, with thick notes
According to reviews, oud has a whole range of smells - it gives off wood, resin, and smoke. Oud has never been an auxiliary component, it is the central note, its aroma is always powerful, extraordinarily rich. For this reason, the word "oud" is taken out in the name of spirits. And no other ingredient has been honored with this.
So, in pursuit of real oud, according to reviews, you need to go to the Arab market. Its oil is sold in Vietnam, Thailand and other states located nearby. But it is also found in Tom Ford perfumes. His main oud bestseller is Private Blend Oud Wood. It was released in 2007, and after it, many leading brands acquired their fragrances.
Many in their reviews note that oud is the smell of an oriental prince, who is dressed in a snow-white robe and sits on a black horse. In a modern way, this is a successful and self-confident man. However, there are compositions for women. There is also a range of unisex oud fragrances on the market.
When purchasing compositions with a fragrant component, many Russian women note that this fragrance is so bright that it is hardly possible to wear it on a permanent basis. He is an amateur. And despite the fact that oud fragrance may be liked initially, wearing it for a long time often provokes a headache. But manufacturers sometimes mask this bright woody scent with other ingredients.
Interesting facts
This legendary ingredient is stillis in the spotlight. It is noteworthy that this is the only component in perfumery, the name of which is always taken out in the name of perfume.
Besides this, the fabulous money that people give for oud is the price for the extinction of the species. A whole tree is cut down to extract the resin.
In addition, "ud" in Dahl's dictionary is the name of the male reproductive organ. There is no certainty that there is a connection between these two words. At the same time, perfume manufacturers with this ingredient, as one, note the sexuality of such perfumes.
The combination of oud and rose is considered the most original. This fragrance has been used by the Arabs for thousands of years.
Conclusion
When oud reappeared in the perfume world, it was predicted to have a short life. Many said that this is only a temporary fashion. But time shows that it is becoming the same basis in perfumery as the ubiquitous sandalwood and amber, without which rare perfumes do. However, only the further development of history will show the truth. But it is impossible to deny that people have been using oud in perfumery for thousands of years.
