Oud Attar

In the Western fragrance market, it seems elusive always, but in the Middle East, it is widely popular as black gold, Oud, or Oudh. Oud is an oil made from the rarest wood on earth. This makes it, by far, one of the most expensive natural ingredients in the entire fragrance industry.

Are you in the mood for exploring the hidden facts of Oud? Keep reading to learn some interesting facts about Oud, including its source, history, value, uses in modern perfumery, benefits, and some unique collections. So, let’s get started.

What is Oud?
What is an attar?
Oud: a brief history
Oud: the value
Oud: uses in modern perfumery
Oud: benefits and uses
La Via del Profumo and our use of Oud

What is Oud?

Oud is derived from agarwood, also known as gaharu, eaglewood, and Oudh in Saudi Arabia. It is the resinous dark heartwood of a rare tropical tree called Aquilaria, native to the dense forest areas of India, Bangladesh, and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Oud is formed in the heartwood of Agarwood (aquilaria) trees only when infected by a specific type of mold. In response to the infection, the agarwood trees produce a resin famous for the unique superior richness of its aroma.

Though agarwood trees come in 15 distinct species, only two percent of these trees could develop an infected heartwood that can produce the resin. Oud oil is either extracted by melting the resin or by distillation from the resinous wood. Both oil and resinous wood are known as Oud.

The process of making Oud involves several subsequent steps, such as infection, sorting, processing, distillation, and separating final products. It is a lengthy, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process, and this is also one of the main reasons for its high value.

You can also read – How Oud perfume is made

What is an Attar?

Attars are typically essential oils or absolutes derived from natural sources. They are generally extracted through steam or hydro distillation. Technically, attars are extracts of natural flora and fauna.

Essential oils, like sandalwood, can be distilled into a wooden base and left to age. Depending on the natural sources used and the desired outcome, the aging period can range from one year to ten years.

Attars are basically highly concentrated perfumes, free from alcohol and synthetic chemicals.

You can also read – What is an Attar?

Oud: A Brief History

Oud attars have long been used throughout the history of human civilizations. Several indisputable pieces of evidence have been found in various scriptures across many different ancient cultures.

In earlier times, Islamic cultures held a tradition of agarwood fumigation to scent their clothes, houses, and surroundings, and this practice continues today in the Muslim world, especially in the cultures of the Arabian Peninsula.

In the old tradition of Hebrew, Oud was mentioned in their Song of Songs as a form of incense as King Sulaiman “coming up from the desert like a smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense”. (Song of Songs 3:6)

Early records also suggest that in several Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, there was a tradition of extracting agarwood and exporting Oud to Japan and China. The Oud of Thailand and Oud of Laos are still available in today’s Oud market.

Historically, the precious resin Oud was valued in the Muslim world as both a personal perfume and an essential oil. The use of Oud then gradually spread to Europe, specifically to the royalty of France.

Oud Attar: the value

Based on a report published in Fortune, Oud Attar is famous as the “five thousand dollars per pound scent“. The value of Oud is often calculated as 1 ½ times the value of gold. A bottle of just 3-gram Oud oil may cost you around $300 from a natural perfume retailer. This is the main reason why Oud Attar is often referred to as “liquid gold“.

Oud: usages in modern perfumery

There is a growing interest in and popularity of Oud perfumes, even in the modern days of complex fragrance formulations. Oud is unique and rich in diverse fragrance aspects. It is simultaneously warm, smoky, and pungent yet very pleasing, with tinges of dampened wood.

Due to its increasing popularity and growing market range, many designer perfumers have launched their own Oud variations. However, the overwhelming majority are made from artificial molecules, often known as “white oud.”

Nowadays, natural Oud is rarely used in perfumery. Due to over-harvesting and the labourious process collecting the raw material, it is not feasible to use natural Oud for mass market perfumery. Most fragrances on the market contain synthetic materials to replicate the natural Oud scent. Vir Sanghvi says that Firmenich’s Oud Synthetic 10760E is used in most Oud fragrances on the mass market. Givaudan also has its own version of an Oud synthetic. Elena Vosnaki says that Oud Wood by Tom Ford is made with Givaudan’s Agarwood Arpur. Bond No. 9 New York Oud also contains the same synthetic. Scentbound.co

Only a few natural perfumers use authentic Oud essential oils. Since it is one of the rarest raw ingredients in the world, pure Oud attars are not available in the market as mass-produced perfumes. Pure Oud Attars are sold in a minimal and private market developed only by natural perfumers who work with only natural ingredients following a robust ethical standard.

Oud works wonders alone or with other natural ingredients when used in natural perfume composition. Due to its rich, heavy, and long-lasting properties, it is most often used as a base note and tends to enhance the scent of other ingredients. The exquisite and complex scent of Oud is intriguing and rare. It is certainly a precious gift of nature that can create a unique olfactory experience that evokes a sense of majesty, opulence, and supreme luxury.

Oud: benefits and uses

Oud Attars offer many benefits and applications, from physical to emotional to spiritual. They have an incredible ability to remove negative and destructive thoughts, perceptions, behaviors, and emotions, which makes them highly beneficial in maintaining a healthy balance between body, mind, and spirit. Oud Attars are also known to alleviate neurotic symptoms and increase mental clarity.

In Muslim cultures, Oud wood chips are burned in social ceremonies to scent clothes and houses. It is widely believed that the smell of Oud has a significant power to enhance the sense of devotion during prayers.