Not taking into account the traditions of the Middle East, the rest of the world will soon be crazy about the oud tree in perfumery for 10 years. This component is considered as valuable as gold. And the background to the appearance of oud in perfumery is an exciting storyline for films.
Story
It turned out that the component extracted from rotten agar wood has existed for many centuries. He caused this worship, then insanity among people. Ancient merchants, delivering perfumes with a note of oud and the tree itself to the west, left their mark in every holy book of the religions of the world. In Christian traditions, he is equated with myrrh. It is mentioned that oud was one of the gifts that were presented when the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon met.
Perfumes with the aroma of oud are present in the legends of Sinbad. When he traveled, the world knew the rotten trees of Hindustan, and the ruler of the island of Ceylon had a whole ruby saucer filled with completely aromatic oil.
There is this tree in Indian holy texts, Ayurveda recipes. There are records of women soaking their hair with the smoke of smoldering oud. In this country, a rotten tree was burned for meditation. In ancient Egypt, the bodies of the pharaohs were saturated with oud. In Chinese traditions, it has become an important medical component. In Japan, it was a symbol of power.
What it is
Thus, oud in perfumery is the oldest component, the value of which in our time remains high. Why? The agar tree grows beautifully on sandy, calcareous, drained soil in Asia. In many countries it was called differently, and there are dozens of names on the agar tree. However, until a certain point it is not an oud.
To get it, you need to "infect" the tree with a fungus. An interesting fact is that outwardly the wood is quite healthy, but the struggle develops inside it. To overcome the fungus, an extremely fragrant resin is released. And it is the affected and dark wood that has been saturated with this resin that is called oud. Having learned what oud smells like, they began to use it in perfumes in the most active way, literally losing their minds. And the price of an ancient ingredient proves 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 figures, its value will depend on the origin of the wood. The average prices for this resin are $ 30,000 per 1 liter. But the cost never falls below the mark of $ 9,500.
Prices higher than gold are due to a number of facts. So, nature has done everything possible to help the agar tree to overcome the infection. For centuries, it has evolved, and at the moment it is not so easy to defeat it with a disease.
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, secreting resin. Moreover, only adult specimens are suitable for such experiments. Selected resin is secreted by trees older than 60 years. It takes years to grow them. Since oud in perfumery is a real passion, it remains less and less.
In addition, expenses are required for the collection of fragrant oil. In order to go into the Asian jungle, you will need a guide. You can search, diagnose the disease, and analyze the degree of infection for weeks. And if it turns out that enough resin has already accumulated in the tree, they chop it. But if the elixir is not enough, the plant is noted, trying to get it in the property.
Century value
For several days, a felled tree is dried in the sun. 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 wood, its origin. One of the most important characteristics are chips that should sink in water, and not float.
Top grades are cleaned, polished, and then sold at auctions. About 20 ml of pure 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.
Someone for hours describes this fragrance, but someone does not recognize. It is believed that gray ambergris is inferior to oudu, it loses before it musk, oil of May rose. Oud has survived centuries in perfumery - it was valuable both earlier and today. At the same time, he remains timeless, not leaving the vintage. Each person in this oil can hear its own notes, its plot is the dust of ancient scrolls, and the dampness of the basement, soot, embalming substance, the smell of animals furious from a mishap.
Appearance in the west
Although ud has always existed in Eastern traditions, it came to Western culture in 2007. Then the perfumer Pierre Montal worked on orders for the sheikhs. But one day he decided to descend to Europe, presenting his aroma. And then oud began its invasion of the western perfumery world.
Over a long period of time, only niche brands have used it. They always appreciated ancient stories for more sales. However, aromas began to diverge instantly, and large perfumers drew attention to this valuable component. Only a few ignored the fragrant 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 demand, it can be mixed with many components. At one time, the mark on the bottle that they contained ud sharply increased their sale.
When the world began to go crazy on this ingredient, the largest corporations sought to artificially synthesize its analogue. And they succeeded. Of course, rumors spread that synthetic beats cannot be compared with the original, that it “sounds” faded and dull. And at the same time, inexperienced people, sensing a 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 equally long-lasting, giving away smoke, leather and wood. Regardless of the choice of oud, many people divide all varieties into 3 groups: for beginners, for experienced and pornographic ud. The latter is a species that can only be heard in the Persian Gulf.
There are very few brands that dared to demonstrate the dark side of this oil - for Arabs it is flowers and skin, and for Europeans it sounded like feces, warmed up in the hot sun.
The worst mystery is the fact that this low-lying note has both a turning and attracting property. Sometimes this is exactly why perfumers miss, trying to find it in modern aromas. Pleasant perfumery stands out for this - the realization of what it all smells in conjunction with the inability to resist it.
Reviews
When going for reviews about perfumes with oud, you need to consider that the component is expensive. For this reason, there are still no flavors with it in the mass market. It is widely represented in oriental perfumes. Usually included in limited collections.
But this applies to cases when we are talking about natural oud. Conventional perfumes with much lower prices may have an artificial component. It is believed that it has a flatter aroma, while the natural one is multifaceted, playing, with thick notes
According to reviews, the ud is presented with a whole set of smells - it gives away both wood, and resin, and smoke. Oud has never been an auxiliary component, this is the central note, its aroma is always powerful, unusually rich. For this reason, the word "ud" is taken out in the name of spirits. And no other ingredient has honored 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 countries located nearby. But it is also available in Tom Ford perfumes. His main bestseller with oud is Private Blend Oud Wood. It was released in 2007, and after it many leading brands acquired their aromas.
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 confident man. However, there are compositions for women. The market also offers an assortment of unisex oud aromas.
Acquiring compositions with a fragrant component, many Russian women say that it is so bright that it can hardly be worn on an ongoing basis. He is an amateur. And despite the fact that the oud fragrance may be liked initially, its prolonged wearing often provokes a headache. But manufacturers sometimes mask this vibrant woody aroma with other ingredients.
Interesting Facts
This legendary ingredient is still 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.
In addition, the fabulous money that people give for oud is a fee for the extinction of the species. For the extraction of resin chop a whole tree.
In addition, oud in the Dahl dictionary is the name of the male genital organ. There is no certainty that there is a connection between the two words. At the same time, fragrance manufacturers with this ingredient, all as one, note the sexuality of such perfumes.
The most original is the combination of oud and roses. It is this kind of aroma that has been used by Arabs for more than one thousand years.
Conclusion
When oud again appeared in the perfumery world, he was predicted to have a short life. Many said that this was 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 spirits do. However, only the further development of history will show the truth. But it is impossible to deny that oud in perfumery has been used by people for thousands of years.