ART OF OUD
The opening notes of this Oud which hails from Laos are that of, jungle woods, dark nutrient rich soils finishing with big powerful bursts of cresole and leather.
Now this leather note is more of a pronounced dark tanned leather aroma, a note I know well from the many leather shops here in Tuscany, a region of course recognised as one of the finest leather producers in the world and rightfully so. This leather aroma takes us out of the first phase (lasting about 40 minutes) and introduces us into the second phase. Leather notes start to soften and decrease in intensity and in doing so, this paves the way for the introduction of sweet plumes of fruit to burst in to detection. Again this is that classic, distinct oud fruit aroma, reminiscent to me, of exotic fruits sitting together in a fruit bowl and creating an all in one smell. A very tangy fruit sensation, and as a Westerner, also exotic themed to my nose. Also I would like to highlight that this fruity aroma has a fleeting diluted cherry like quality, comparable to how it tastes when eating amarena cherries.
And we continue to progress, slowly and in harmonious fashion all the notes mentioned above begin to become one. Hours go by and the fruits fade out into the background and a day later we end up back at the beginning – albeit in a weaker and dried out fashion, full of dark, old smelling woods, with an injection of extra decay, mulch and green earth. This green earth note by the way is something I encounter a lot in Tamil vetivers and a note I encounter most among the fashion-conscious Italian gents’ perfumes whenever I go to the city at night.
The dry down is an all wood orientated affair, old flaking woods, even powdered wood effects. Whilst I think this can be considered as a perfume in its own
