Oud Caravan N°2

2 reviews for Oud Caravan N°2

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Isaiah – May 4, 2018

   I will start by following on the previous comment and say this oud reminds be a bit of humus, of rotting bits of tree bark and pine needles on a sunny day. Sunny because this oud doesn’t smell wet or moldy. It is layered, so simple and complex at once. It reminds me of a little shop in a souq that was filled with ouds from all over the world, mainly hindi and bengali but there were some cases from Malaysia and other places. At the time, I wasn’t into oud at all, I didn’t understand it but when I passed by this shop, I remember being drawn back by this smell that was so…undescribably beautiful. And alas, I was never able to capture this scent as it was the result of so many ouds and bakhoors that had been burnt and storaged there.

   This is the closest I’ve come to it. Do not be mistaken though, this oud is not “easy”. It is real, it is profound, eminently spiritual. Definitely more on the woody side of the oud spectrum, somewhat dry and tangy but all the while pleasing. The tuberose never challenges the real heart and soul of this scent, its ouds, but somehow manages to give it a slightly narcotic feel.

   I haven’t tried the other two oud caravans but I must say I find this one very well balanced and lovely to wear.

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   The_good_life – July 30, 2015

   I described No. 2 as the least “oudy,” but on smelling it now, find a powerful presence of what I associate less with barnyard than with decomposing foliage – as a kid I used to spent lots of time playing offside a park on three huge hills of leaves turned/turning into topsoil – sorrounded by a fruity-estery smell of rot and life. This oud note is quite close to my memory. It also reminds me of Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s eco-philosophical manifesto “Shit Culture – Sacred Shit” where he writes:
   “Humus ist the true black gold. Humus has a good smell. Humusscent is more sacred and closer to God than the smell of incense. Whoever walks in the forest after rain knows this smell.” To him, this is the smell of life understood as a cycle. No life without death, no sustenance without decomposition, food to feces, feces to food.
   Well, Salaam has given this sacred scent of life a worthy frame that Hundertwasser would be proud of and that it would encase a childhood memory of mine makes it even more precious to me. And since the powerful oud introduction settles into a gentler, woodier-floral heart (but without ever fading) on-smellers may find it pleasing as well.