What is Oud?

It is strong and it is mystical, you can even say it is animalistic in its sensuality. Some people love it while others find it provocative.

This is oud, one of the most expensive raw scent ingredients in the world. In the Middle East and Asia, the oud fragrance is a classical one, used at home and different occasions since centuries. It is considered a cultural staple and highly prestigious.

Pronounced as oud or oudh, this scent comes from the forests of Southeast Asian agar tree. When this wood becomes infected with a particular type of mold, the tree reacts by producing a dark, scented resin, which is popularly called liquid gold.

The resin-soaked wood (agarwood) and the oil distilled from it is known as Oud. The reason why oud is so expensive is because of its rarity; less than 2% of wild agar trees produce it. Some experts claim that the best oud comes from the oldest trees, which are even more scarce.

Pure oud oil can sell for $5,000 a pound and more. According to the International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, oud oil can cost as much as $30,000 per kilogram depending on its purity. Chandler Burr, author of The Emperor of Scent says “Oud is astonishingly rare, it has a very particular scent and there is nothing like it on the market. It’s dark, rich and opaque.”

The use of this extraordinary oil was only reserved for the ruling families in the Middle East. At Oudlux we pride ourselves with composing our products only with high-quality oils through the addition of oud, amber, incense, jasmine and saffron.

The royal oriental smell will take you to a thousand and one nights.