Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
Hello!

Today, my first shipment from Ensar will arrive. Two more from Imperial Oud and Rising Pheonix are en route. Here's my attempt to document the journey:

The Backstory

You might say I'm taking a bit of a blind leap into this world of artisinal oud. Here in New York City we have some very good retailers (Enfleurage, to name one), and I have certainly come to appreciate the therapeutic and transformational powers of high-grade essential oils and absolutes, but I'm no connoiseur.

So, why oud, why now? Well, life in NYC is unceasingly intense, but last few months have been particularly and profoundly challenging on a personal level. I endured a painful ending to the most important romantic relationship of my life. I've also begun to transition away from my primary income sources, private teaching and lawyering in the mental health field, towards a greater devotion to music and composition. (Perhaps not the best time to take an interest in liquid gold?)

So as I've moved through these experiences, I've wanted to be tapped in to my deepest self, and to be grounded in my emotions and intuition. A couple weeks ago I noticed that I was craving oils and aromas, so I reached for an essential oil blend I had around the house, consisting of spruce, ho leaf, frankincense, and blue tansy. Pleasant and grounding, but familiar and not particularly powerful. Unsatisfied, I checked out a few online retailers for any new or exciting natural fragrances, and I came upon an interesting find: agarwood attar! The words in the description ("Earthy, sensual, animalic, grounding, powerful . . . euphorically relaxing while enhancing mental clarity and purpose) caught my attention, so I did some more research . . .

WOW! The depths and details of oud are intoxicating, even before I've smelled it! I watched some youtube videos, read some articles . . . needless to say, I was intrigued and eager to have my first experience.

But where to start? What to buy? I knew I wanted to experience artisinally crafted wild oil, but had NO IDEA what scent would suit my tastes. I'd read on some other website (basenotes.com?) that Ensar, Imperial Oud, and Rising Pheonix are three consistently top-notch vendors, so I chose some oils somewhat randomly from among those three houses, and here is the motley crew of ouds that I have on the way:

The Oils

Ensar Oud: Assam Wilde (.3g sample)
+ a mystery gift sample ?!?!

Imperial Oud: Sinensis III (.3 g sample)

Rising Pheonix: Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation (1g)
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk Oud Oil - 2017 (.3g sample)


Since ordering these oils, I've been insatiably reading and researching, taking in as many oud reviews as I could find, and I found this forum! It's funny; I'm beyond excited to recieve my oils, but already wish I'd known then what I know now before ordering these particular choices for my first impression. IO Sinensis, I've since learned, is not even a distillation, but a CO2! Maybe I should have aimed to sample oils from each of the main fragrance profiles (barnyward, resinous-woody, green, fruity-floral, if my newfound understanding is roughly accurate?).

In any event, I can't wait to find out what treasures I've discovered. I'll post again once my first oil arrives. The journey begins!
 
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Abdullah

Junior Member
Hello!

Today, my first shipment from Ensar will arrive. Two more from Imperial Oud and Rising Pheonix are en route. Here's my attempt to document the journey:

The Backstory

You might say I'm taking a bit of a blind leap into this world of artisinal oud. Here in New York City we have some very good retailers (Enfleurage, to name one), and I have certainly come to appreciate the therapeutic and transformational powers of high-grade essential oils and absolutes, but I'm no connoiseur.

So, why oud, why now? Well, life in NYC is unceasingly intense, but last few months have been particularly and profoundly challenging on a personal level. I endured a painful ending to the most important romantic relationship of my life. I've also begun to transition away from my primary income sources, private teaching and lawyering in the mental health field, towards a greater devotion to music and composition. (Perhaps not the best time to take an interest in liquid gold?)

So as I've moved through these experiences, I've wanted to be tapped in to my deepest self, and to be grounded in my emotions and intuition. A couple weeks ago I noticed that I was craving oils and aromas, so I reached for an essential oil blend I had around the house, consisting of spruce, ho leaf, frankincense, and blue tansy. Pleasant and grounding, but familiar and not particularly powerful. Unsatisfied, I checked out a few online retailers for any new or exciting natural fragrances, and I came upon an interesting find: agarwood attar! The words in the description ("Earthy, sensual, animalic, grounding, powerful . . . euphorically relaxing while enhancing mental clarity and purpose) caught my attention, so I did some more research . . .

WOW! The depths and details of oud are intoxicating, even before I've smelled it! I watched some youtube videos, read some articles . . . needless to say, I was intrigued and eager to have my first experience.

But where to start? What to buy? I knew I wanted to experience artisinally crafted wild oil, but had NO IDEA what scent would suit my tastes. I'd read on some other website (basenotes.com?) that Ensar, Imperial Oud, and Rising Pheonix are three consistently top-notch vendors, so I chose some oils somewhat randomly from among those three houses, and here is the motley crew of ouds that I have on the way:

The Oils

Ensar Oud: Assam Wilde (.3g sample)
+ a mystery gift sample ?!?!

Imperial Oud: Sinensis III (.3 g sample)

Rising Pheonix: Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation (1g)
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk Oud Oil - 2017 (.3g sample)


Since ordering these oils, I've been insatiably reading and researching, taking in as many oud reviews as I could find, and I found this forum! It's funny; I'm beyond excited to recieve my oils, but already wish I'd known then what I know now before ordering these particular choices for my first impression. IO Sinensis, I've since learned, is not even a distillation, but a CO2! Maybe I should have aimed to sample oils from each of the main fragrance profiles (barnyward, resinous-woody, green, fruity-floral, if my newfound understanding is roughly accurate?).

In any event, I can't wait to find out what treasures I've discovered. I'll post again once my first oil arrives. The journey begins!
welcome louis. i'm glad we could be of assistance. i'm confident you will be very very pleasantly surprised with Sinensis III. If anyone at IO can assist you further with anything then please do not hesitate to drop us a message.
 

EHV

Oud Fan
Hey Louis,

Glad you are here!

I know that you will enjoy this first go round' :)

My only advice would be to try them one at a time and just savor and evaluate slowly. I'd suggest keeping notes because it' really interesting how things change as you progress in your oud journey.

To me, oud is medicine first and scent second. The excellent oils are psychoactive and for me, usually anxiolytic but they can also serve to help me focus.

P.S. I was a musician for many years in and around NYC. Mostly NJ and the NYC Suburbs, where I grew up.

I wish you the best in both journeys as well as some quick healing from the recent insult.

Please report back with your findings!


Eric
 

Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
welcome louis. i'm glad we could be of assistance. i'm confident you will be very very pleasantly surprised with Sinensis III. If anyone at IO can assist you further with anything then please do not hesitate to drop us a message.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting to know your products, and I didn't mean to imply that I was displeased at having purchased a CO2. I'm sure Sinensis will be a unique, worth-while oud.
 

Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
Hey Louis,

Glad you are here!

I know that you will enjoy this first go round' :)

My only advice would be to try them one at a time and just savor and evaluate slowly. I'd suggest keeping notes because it' really interesting how things change as you progress in your oud journey.

To me, oud is medicine first and scent second. The excellent oils are psychoactive and for me, usually anxiolytic but they can also serve to help me focus.

P.S. I was a musician for many years in and around NYC. Mostly NJ and the NYC Suburbs, where I grew up.

I wish you the best in both journeys as well as some quick healing from the recent insult.

Please report back with your findings!


Eric
Thanks, Eric. I too am hoping to transcend scent and approach fragrance-facilitated inner journey.
 

Woodland Note

True Ouddict
Looking forward to read about your olfactory adventure :Thumbsup:

CO2 supercritical extraction is just another method of extraction. The difference is that CO2 in certain temperature and pressure acts as solvent that makes juices flow, the temperature is much lower in that case (around 31C) compared to steam/hydro distillation. (100C+) This way some of natural aromas might be better preserved, because high temperature is not degrading some heat sensitive molecules. It might be even desired for various materials. You know, a boiled carrot is not the same as a fresh one... at least that’s my logic. Though, I’m just another newbie too :) without much practical expertise with oud, so I don’t really know which one is better and/or what is the difference in the scent profile of differently extracted agarwood oils. But either way, you are getting pure agarwood oil from IO. :Thumbsup:

Welcome on board! :Thumbsup:
 
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Rai Munir

Musk Man
All the best.

The road mapped by someone else doesn't work during the voyage in Oscent. Your olfactory is the only guiding star. Here I would suggest acquiring samples from Feel Oud and Habzoud as well.

It is an intelligent step that you went for the samples. Please try Mysore Santal as well.
 

Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
It's 3 a.m., I'm just now heading to sleep after a night out at a jam session in Greenwich Village. To my surprise, JK DeLapp's Rising Pheonix delivery arrived two days ahead of schedule, and Ensar's delivery was postponed because DHL required a signature and I was running an errand when they arrived. So, for my first day with oud, I had three of JK's oils to choose from:

Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk
Kopondai Flores 2018


The "Kopondai" was a special gift sample which I suspect is a preview of an oud that has yet to hit the market. How exclusive!

Heeding Eric's advice, I decided to choose a single oil and give it the full day's undivided attention; "Cambodi Fusion" would be my oud of the day. My first whiff of the appliator was quite a moment! The scent was certainly surprising and foreign to me, but somehow still felt like a smell with which I was intimately acquainted, a sort of Deja Vu.

Once I swiped and dabbed onto alternate wrists, the opening notes were clear as day: Smoke and leather. No sweetness to soften the impact, instead a sort of green olive sourness made sure I knew the leather was raw. There were no florals and no fruit to be found, and I sensed a dark smokey tonality that one might place somewhere between black and balsamic vinegar red. (sorry to mix sense metaphors. This oud doesnt smell balsamic . . .)

It was a hot, humid night in New York, so my perspiration hastened the dry-down process. As the first two hours passed, the olive sourness faded away and revealed a powdery, woody glow. Leather remained the centerpiece throughout the next few hours, but I've not yet detected anything particularly funky or "animalic." With literally no other other ouds to compare this to, I would call this Cambodi Fusion from Rising Pheonix tonally dark and quite focused. Sobering yet sophisticated.

I was fascinated throughout the experience, calmed by the grounding aroma, and excited to continue the journey.
 
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Grega

True Ouddict
It's 3 a.m., I'm just now heading to sleep after a night out at a jam session in Greenwich Village. To my surprise, JK DeLapp's Rising Pheonix delivery arrived two days ahead of schedule, and Ensar's delivery was postponed because DHL required a signature and I was running an errand when they arrived. So, for my first day with oud, I had of three of JK's oils to choose from:

Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk
Kopondai Flores 2018


The "Kopondai" was a special gift sample which I suspect is a preview of an oud that has yet to hit the market. How exclusive!

Heeding Eric's advice, I decided choose a single oil and give it the full day's undivided attention; "Cambodi Fusion" would be my oud of the day. My first whiff of the appliator was quite a moment! The scent was certainly surprising and foreign to me, but somehow still felt like a smell with which I was intimately acquainted, a sort of Deja Vu.

Once I swiped and dabbed onto alternate wrists, the opening notes were clear as day: Smoke and leather. No sweetness to soften the impact, instead a sort of green olive sourness made sure I knew the leather was raw. There were no florals and no fruit to be found, and I sensed a dark smokey tonality that one might place somewhere between black and balsamic vinegar red. (sorry to mix sense metaphors. This oud doesnt smell balsamic . . .)

It was a hot, humid night in New York, so my perspiration hastened the dry-down process. As the first two hours passed, the olive sourness faded away and revealed a powdery, woody glow. Leather remained the centerpiece throughout the next few hours, but I've not yet detected anything particularly funky or "animalic." With literally no other other ouds to compare this to, I would call this Cambodi Fusion from Rising Pheonix tonally dark and quite focused. Sobering yet sophisticated.

I was fascinated throughout the experience, calmed by the grounding aroma, and excited to continue the journey.
A splendid review, makes me want to try the Cambodi!
Kopondai Flores is the new RP sandalwood from Indonesia.
 

Edward Muller

True Ouddict
It's 3 a.m., I'm just now heading to sleep after a night out at a jam session in Greenwich Village. To my surprise, JK DeLapp's Rising Pheonix delivery arrived two days ahead of schedule, and Ensar's delivery was postponed because DHL required a signature and I was running an errand when they arrived. So, for my first day with oud, I had of three of JK's oils to choose from:

Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk
Kopondai Flores 2018


The "Kopondai" was a special gift sample which I suspect is a preview of an oud that has yet to hit the market. How exclusive!

Heeding Eric's advice, I decided choose a single oil and give it the full day's undivided attention; "Cambodi Fusion" would be my oud of the day. My first whiff of the appliator was quite a moment! The scent was certainly surprising and foreign to me, but somehow still felt like a smell with which I was intimately acquainted, a sort of Deja Vu.

Once I swiped and dabbed onto alternate wrists, the opening notes were clear as day: Smoke and leather. No sweetness to soften the impact, instead a sort of green olive sourness made sure I knew the leather was raw. There were no florals and no fruit to be found, and I sensed a dark smokey tonality that one might place somewhere between black and balsamic vinegar red. (sorry to mix sense metaphors. This oud doesnt smell balsamic . . .)

It was a hot, humid night in New York, so my perspiration hastened the dry-down process. As the first two hours passed, the olive sourness faded away and revealed a powdery, woody glow. Leather remained the centerpiece throughout the next few hours, but I've not yet detected anything particularly funky or "animalic." With literally no other other ouds to compare this to, I would call this Cambodi Fusion from Rising Pheonix tonally dark and quite focused. Sobering yet sophisticated.

I was fascinated throughout the experience, calmed by the grounding aroma, and excited to continue the journey.

All excellent oils from RRP - I loved the Sumba Walla sample I was given and I actually ordered a full bottle! I think u will love it.
Kopondai, a recent sandalwood oil release is very breathtaking as well! Make sure you check out Habzoud’s offerings too!
Welcome to this kickass community Louis
 

Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
Hello!

Today, my first shipment from Ensar will arrive. Two more from Imperial Oud and Rising Pheonix are en route. Here's my attempt to document the journey:

The Backstory

You might say I'm taking a bit of a blind leap into this world of artisinal oud. Here in New York City we have some very good retailers (Enfleurage, to name one), and I have certainly come to appreciate the therapeutic and transformational powers of high-grade essential oils and absolutes, but I'm no connoiseur.

So, why oud, why now? Well, life in NYC is unceasingly intense, but last few months have been particularly and profoundly challenging on a personal level. I endured a painful ending to the most important romantic relationship of my life. I've also begun to transition away from my primary income sources, private teaching and lawyering in the mental health field, towards a greater devotion to music and composition. (Perhaps not the best time to take an interest in liquid gold?)

So as I've moved through these experiences, I've wanted to be tapped in to my deepest self, and to be grounded in my emotions and intuition. A couple weeks ago I noticed that I was craving oils and aromas, so I reached for an essential oil blend I had around the house, consisting of spruce, ho leaf, frankincense, and blue tansy. Pleasant and grounding, but familiar and not particularly powerful. Unsatisfied, I checked out a few online retailers for any new or exciting natural fragrances, and I came upon an interesting find: agarwood attar! The words in the description ("Earthy, sensual, animalic, grounding, powerful . . . euphorically relaxing while enhancing mental clarity and purpose) caught my attention, so I did some more research . . .

WOW! The depths and details of oud are intoxicating, even before I've smelled it! I watched some youtube videos, read some articles . . . needless to say, I was intrigued and eager to have my first experience.

But where to start? What to buy? I knew I wanted to experience artisinally crafted wild oil, but had NO IDEA what scent would suit my tastes. I'd read on some other website (basenotes.com?) that Ensar, Imperial Oud, and Rising Pheonix are three consistently top-notch vendors, so I chose some oils somewhat randomly from among those three houses, and here is the motley crew of ouds that I have on the way:

The Oils

Ensar Oud: Assam Wilde (.3g sample)
+ a mystery gift sample ?!?!

Imperial Oud: Sinensis III (.3 g sample)

Rising Pheonix: Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation (1g)
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk Oud Oil - 2017 (.3g sample)


Since ordering these oils, I've been insatiably reading and researching, taking in as many oud reviews as I could find, and I found this forum! It's funny; I'm beyond excited to recieve my oils, but already wish I'd known then what I know now before ordering these particular choices for my first impression. IO Sinensis, I've since learned, is not even a distillation, but a CO2! Maybe I should have aimed to sample oils from each of the main fragrance profiles (barnyward, resinous-woody, green, fruity-floral, if my newfound understanding is roughly accurate?).

In any event, I can't wait to find out what treasures I've discovered. I'll post again once my first oil arrives. The journey begins!
you are very welcome here Louis. a great community of likeminded people. at first it may appear we are divided into barn and no barn crowd (joking), but at the end we are all the same.

enjoy the journey of oud discovery. the variety offered is mind boggling and will take a long time to get a good idea of the lay of the land. so many different agarwood producing sub species, combined with the locale and method of distillation makes for a whole world to be discovered. seek out incese and agarwood itself for heating (like vaporizing) or burning (not lighting on fire but using high heat source like subitism style heater or a charcoal with a good layer of ash formed on it). the wood itself is unbeleivably beautiful and therapeutic.

great start. also look out for agar aura (avant garde, minimal, cleanest most crytaline oils) and al shareef (traditional) and many many more local residents on this forum.

looking forward to our exchanges.
 

Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
It's 3 a.m., I'm just now heading to sleep after a night out at a jam session in Greenwich Village. To my surprise, JK DeLapp's Rising Pheonix delivery arrived two days ahead of schedule, and Ensar's delivery was postponed because DHL required a signature and I was running an errand when they arrived. So, for my first day with oud, I had three of JK's oils to choose from:

Cambodi Fusion, Vintage 1999 Co-Distillation
SumbaWALLA Emerald Incense - Sumbawa Gyrinops Musk
Kopondai Flores 2018


The "Kopondai" was a special gift sample which I suspect is a preview of an oud that has yet to hit the market. How exclusive!

Heeding Eric's advice, I decided to choose a single oil and give it the full day's undivided attention; "Cambodi Fusion" would be my oud of the day. My first whiff of the appliator was quite a moment! The scent was certainly surprising and foreign to me, but somehow still felt like a smell with which I was intimately acquainted, a sort of Deja Vu.

Once I swiped and dabbed onto alternate wrists, the opening notes were clear as day: Smoke and leather. No sweetness to soften the impact, instead a sort of green olive sourness made sure I knew the leather was raw. There were no florals and no fruit to be found, and I sensed a dark smokey tonality that one might place somewhere between black and balsamic vinegar red. (sorry to mix sense metaphors. This oud doesnt smell balsamic . . .)

It was a hot, humid night in New York, so my perspiration hastened the dry-down process. As the first two hours passed, the olive sourness faded away and revealed a powdery, woody glow. Leather remained the centerpiece throughout the next few hours, but I've not yet detected anything particularly funky or "animalic." With literally no other other ouds to compare this to, I would call this Cambodi Fusion from Rising Pheonix tonally dark and quite focused. Sobering yet sophisticated.

I was fascinated throughout the experience, calmed by the grounding aroma, and excited to continue the journey.

i havent had this particular oil, but age can bring abouts leather like notes and also sour fruit. micro oxidation...

cambodi oud is very very difficult to wrap ones head around. so many species, so many styles, so many sub regions. cooked assamese style (fermented before distillation) or no soak at all. low vs high temp. steel vs copper vs glass. each of which impart their nuances.

some cambodi are super fruity, tooti fruity and zesty, some are gamy/animalic, some as you saw, are more leather and sour fruit....

in comparison i find oils from different regions, styles and distillers from new guinea, papua, walla patta (sri lanka) to have more in common rather than differences.

of current offerings i know of:

khmer xtreme from ensar is a more animalic, fermented, barny cambodi
pursat and kampot from ensar are more psychedelics, extra terrestrial florals and the kind of fruits UFO eat

kuzen/kanzen/auluong from agar aura are all super clean, super pure, come across as top note hand picked notes. ethereal, lithe and finessed. zero off notes. bitter tea notes run thru all but each has its own set of unique top notes.

i dont think imperial oud has a cambodi on offer now. they used to have the imperial koh kogn which was sunshine, jasmine and a milky sweet note captured in a bottle. its a very different and lovely one.

layth from al shareef is a combo of delicious sticky dried fruit like apricot and peaches, along potpurri, bitter notes, tons of cinammon/clove/cardamom like spice and a certain earthy note.
 

Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
i havent had this particular oil, but age can bring abouts leather like notes and also sour fruit. micro oxidation...

cambodi oud is very very difficult to wrap ones head around. so many species, so many styles, so many sub regions. cooked assamese style (fermented before distillation) or no soak at all. low vs high temp. steel vs copper vs glass. each of which impart their nuances.

some cambodi are super fruity, tooti fruity and zesty, some are gamy/animalic, some as you saw, are more leather and sour fruit....

in comparison i find oils from different regions, styles and distillers from new guinea, papua, walla patta (sri lanka) to have more in common rather than differences.

of current offerings i know of:

khmer xtreme from ensar is a more animalic, fermented, barny cambodi
pursat and kampot from ensar are more psychedelics, extra terrestrial florals and the kind of fruits UFO eat

kuzen/kanzen/auluong from agar aura are all super clean, super pure, come across as top note hand picked notes. ethereal, lithe and finessed. zero off notes. bitter tea notes run thru all but each has its own set of unique top notes.

i dont think imperial oud has a cambodi on offer now. they used to have the imperial koh kogn which was sunshine, jasmine and a milky sweet note captured in a bottle. its a very different and lovely one.

layth from al shareef is a combo of delicious sticky dried fruit like apricot and peaches, along potpurri, bitter notes, tons of cinammon/clove/cardamom like spice and a certain earthy note.

Fantastic! Thank you for lending a hand in these my first baby steps. I am happy to learn that yesterday's experience with the sour olive oud was in fact not atypical, given the broad tonal range of Cambodis that you mention.

Today's oud experience could not have been more radically different! I decided to dive into Sumbawalla Emerald Incense, a gyrinops distillation from Rising Phoenix Perfume.

Off the bat, I can say that JK's choice of visual to delineate the oil is on-point:
il_570xN.1528077318_d45l.jpg



The scent was so full of energy that I rushed to jot down some notes from my first impressions. They read:

"Emerald is the perfect visual for this fragrance - sugar crystals of grassy-spicy-sweet, almost sticky, with smoke lingering in the background. Compared to yesterday's Cambodi fusion, this oil feels playfully decadent; I'm getting hits of peppery cinnamon ribbon candy. It's even a bit boozy, like vapors from an open bottle of spiced green liquor. Energizing, adventurous, and fun!"

The opening is the high-point for this oil, but the dry down was quite pleasant as well; the initial boozy flavor left its aura behind, and was never fully forgotten even as incense and musky wood took center stage.

Threre's something tropically exotic about this oil. I want to say that it's sweet, but its more like a naughty, pyschedelic turquoise syrup that eludes easy identification. :D This jaded New Yorker is thoroughly impressed.

On a side note, I can feel my sensitivity to ambient smells expanding as a result of my intense focus on Oud. I went for a run in Prospect Park earlier today, a couple hours after a double-swipe of SumbaWalla, and -whoa- I was aware of scents that I handn't noticed before. MMM, that grass smells great on a humid day, ahh this stretch of path has some hints of hay, PHEW that algae bloom by the pond is PUNGENT. This is what I'd hoped for! My senses are expanding, the better to connect deeply with myself, the moment, and world around me. Thanks, Agarwood!
 
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Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
Fantastic! Thank you for lending a hand in these my first baby steps. I am happy to learn that yesterday's experience with the sour olive oud was in fact not atypical, given the broad tonal range of Cambodis that you mention.

Today's oud experience could not have been more radically different! I decided to dive into Sumbawalla Emerald Incense, a gyrinops distillation from Rising Phoenix Perfume.

Off the bat, I can say that JK's choice of visual to delineate the oil is on-point:
il_570xN.1528077318_d45l.jpg



The scent was so full of energy that I rushed to jot down some notes from my first impressions. They read:

"Emerald is the perfect visual for this fragrance - sugar crystals of grassy-spicy-sweet, almost sticky, with smoke lingering in the background. Compared to yesterday's Cambodi fusion, this oil feels playfully decadent; I'm getting hits of peppery cinnamon ribbon candy. It's even a bit boozy, like vapors from an open bottle of spiced green liquor. Energizing, adventurous, and fun!"

The opening is the high-point for this oil, but the dry down was quite pleasant as well; the initial boozy flavor left its aura behind, and was never fully forgotten even as incense and musky wood took center stage.

Threre's something tropically exotic about this oil. I want to say that it's sweet, but its more like a naughty, pyschedelic turquoise syrup that eludes easy identification. :D This jaded New Yorker is thoroughly impressed.

On a side note, I can feel my sensitivity to ambient smells expanding as a result of my intense focus on Oud. I went for a run in Prospect Park earlier today, a couple hours after a double-swipe of SumbaWalla, and -whoa- I was aware of scents that I handn't noticed before. MMM, that grass smells great on a humid day, ahh this stretch of path has some hints of hay, PHEW that algae bloom by the pond is PUNGENT. This is what I'd hoped for! My senses are expanding, the better to connect deeply with myself, the moment, and world around me. Thanks, Agarwood!

Excellent. You are doing well. Congrats. You will be officially an Ouddict very soon.

A word of warning though. If spendings and enjoyment is not kept under check and exercised with discipline, it can wreck havoc on ones life. And not just financially. Allow me to be brutally frank,oud is addictive. Like coffee. Maybe a bit more. Not all oud. But what you will soon see for yourself. All of ensar sultan oils. Also senkoh oils. Taha’s gen3 oils. Most. Imperial ouds shah jahan. Almost all walla patta oils with their piercing overloaded top notes.
I myself am going thru an oud fast at the moment and regularly do so. Having said that going on days of multi mega swipes are something special. Gotta live hedonistically every now and then.

Just my 2 cents.
 

Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
Excellent. You are doing well. Congrats. You will be officially an Ouddict very soon.

A word of warning though. If spendings and enjoyment is not kept under check and exercised with discipline, it can wreck havoc on ones life. And not just financially. Allow me to be brutally frank,oud is addictive. Like coffee. Maybe a bit more. Not all oud. But what you will soon see for yourself. All of ensar sultan oils. Also senkoh oils. Taha’s gen3 oils. Most. Imperial ouds shah jahan. Almost all walla patta oils with their piercing overloaded top notes.
I myself am going thru an oud fast at the moment and regularly do so. Having said that going on days of multi mega swipes are something special. Gotta live hedonistically every now and then.

Just my 2 cents.

I appreciate your preemptive intervention. A the moment, you are right - I'm fueled by a raging curiosity that will need some moderation. Your warning about oud's addictive quality is something I hadn't considered; I thought 'Ouddicts' was a light-hearted term something like 'foodies,' but this oil is psychoactive, after all . . .

Addicition is always about more than just a substance; the more isolated you feel, the less socially engaged you are, the easier it can be to slip past the point of no return. I realize that, in my introduction, I wrote about enduring a painful break up, and that I might seem to be lonely or emotionally vulnerable, perhaps in danger of losing myself to a destructive habit. In fact, Rasoul, I am so fortunate as as to be be reminded, by your warning, that I am not isolated or depressed. I have excellent friends and supportive family, I'm physically active and artistically engaged. With those things in place, I know I won't be led too far astray. I can say so because I have been lost before. Others are not currently so lucky.

For what it's worth, my bank account will certainly not sustain any sort of compulsive spending. Certainly not o_O

Thanks again for your kindhearted messages. You touched a nerve.
 
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Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
Fantastic! Thank you for lending a hand in these my first baby steps. I am happy to learn that yesterday's experience with the sour olive oud was in fact not atypical, given the broad tonal range of Cambodis that you mention.

Today's oud experience could not have been more radically different! I decided to dive into Sumbawalla Emerald Incense, a gyrinops distillation from Rising Phoenix Perfume.

Off the bat, I can say that JK's choice of visual to delineate the oil is on-point:
il_570xN.1528077318_d45l.jpg



The scent was so full of energy that I felt compelled to jot down dome notes from my first impressions. They read:

"Emerald is the perfect visual for this fragrance - sugar crystals of grassy-spicy-sweet, almost sticky, with smoke lingering in the background. Compared to yesterday's cambodi fusion, this oil feels playfully decadent; I'm getting hits of peppery cinnamon ribbon candy. It's even a bit boozy, like vapors from an open bottle of spiced green liquor. Energizing, adventurous, and fun!"

The opening is the high-point for this oil, but the dry down was quite pleasant as well; the initial boozy flavor left its aura behind, and was never fully forgotten even as incense and musky wood took center stage.

Threre's something tropically exotic about this oil. I want to say that it's sweet, but its more like a naughty, pyschedelic turquoise syrup that eludes easy identification. :D This New Yorker is thoroughly impressed.

On a side note, I can feel my sensitiviy to ambient smells expanding as a result of my intense focus on Oud. I went for a run in Prospect Park earlier today, a couple hours after a double-swipe of SumbaWalla, and -whoa- I was aware of scents that I hand't noticed before. MMM, that grass smells great on a humid day, ahh this stretch of path has some hints of hay, PHEW, that algae bloom by the pond is PUNGENT. This is what I'd hoped for! My senses are expanding, the better to connect deeply with myself, the moment, and world around me. Thanks, Agarwood!


I appreciate your preemptive intervention. A the moment, you are right - I'm fueled by a raging curiosity that will need some moderation. Your warning about oud's addictive quality is something I hadn't considered; I thought 'Ouddicts' was a light-hearted term something like 'foodies,' but this oil is psychoactive, after all . . .

Addicition is always about more than just a substance; the more isolated you feel, the less socially engaged you are, the easier it can be to slip past the point of no return. I realize that, in my introduction, I wrote about enduring a painful break up, and that I might seem to be lonely or emotionally vulnerable, perhaps in danger of losing myself to a destructive habit. In fact, Rasoul, I am so fortunate as as to be be reminded, by your warning, that I am not isolated or depressed. I have excellent friends and supportive family, I'm physically active and artistically engaged. With those things in place, I know I won't be led too far astray. I can say so because I have been lost before. Others are not currently so lucky.

For what it's worth, my bank account will certainly not sustain any sort of compulsive spending. Certainly not o_O

Thanks again for your kindhearted messages. You touched a nerve.

Dear Louis I didn’t mean it that way. I mean I could tell that you must be going thru a tough time yet is evident that you have joy and dealing with your heartbreak as well as one can. Either way is great to hear you have a great support system and doing well :)

Let me try again. For me and most that I know, real oud enjoyment is done when one is alone without other distractions to enjoy the nuances and enjoy the intellectual pleasures of oud. Evenings and hours leading to bedtime are particularly the best time. The mildly psychoactive qualities of many ouds can encourage more solitude and dependency for sleep time.

I also found myself relying on wearing oud before 90 minute yoga practice. If I didn’t swipe, then the practice wouldn’t go as well. My mind would wonder more, meditation practice wouldn’t be as effective. I also would find myself waiting for the practice to be over sooner.

These stories and similar ones are not unique to me. I didn’t know of oud’s inherent qualities and it’s power and influence on the mind when I started. As such I thought I share my experience to hopefully be of help to someone else.

Enjoy in moderation as the tried and true saying goes. But also practice moderation in moderation. Mega Miku swipe days are needed and plenty of fun and good times ;)
 
Today
A double shot of HO Mukhmil
Opens with a tiny sourness which quickly fades away.
The Barn is smooth and mildy animalic with nothing fecal or feral, definitely not overdone.
There is an ethereal nature to this oil a la Dr. Hindi.
It’s pollenous....yum yum:Thumbsup:
Fruits and sweets are far away.......bye bye:D
Regions such as Cambodia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh come to mind....oh! the complexities:Alien:
The second swipe revealed more facets....xyz?
The kicker is the agarwoody note, not wood...Hindi chips! (Break out the subitism :p)



Oooops! Wrong thread:confused:
Should be OOTD/N
Sorry Mods:Whistling:
 
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Louis Miller

Oud Fanatic
All excellent oils from RRP - I loved the Sumba Walla sample I was given and I actually ordered a full bottle! I think u will love it.
Kopondai, a recent sandalwood oil release is very breathtaking as well! Make sure you check out Habzoud’s offerings too!
Welcome to this kickass community Louis

Thanks, Edward, for your recommendations. I did quite like the Sumba Walla . . . blown away by how powerfully unique this turquoise-sticky aroma was. Not of this world . . .

For my third day with oud, I chose to move on to Ensar's Assam Wilde.

AssamWildePrdt.jpg


I was reluctant at first; this would be my first Hindi, perhaps my first exposure to the notorious "barnyard." I had a three-hour rehearsal to attend in the evening, and wondered if my fellow musicians might be offended by my "animalic" aura. As it turns out, Assam Wilde is no scary beast, but more like a wise, soothing companion. Compared to the sobering sours of RPP's Cambodi and the dizzying green vapors of their SumbaWalla, this Hindi was earthy. It opens warm and spicy, radiating a pleasant auburn glow. On closer inspection, animalic wildness lurks within, and yes, there is a BARN somewhere in here! As a city dweller, I don't spend a ton of time on the ol' farm, but the closest comparison I can find would be to the dankness of a wet dog, or maybe the way my hand smells after I pet a goat. That said, I don't find anything "fecal," and the opening remains primarily warming and soothing.

I must say that this oud feels comfortable to wear. The words "rich," "smooth," and "balanced" come to mind. I don't feel intimidated, I feel supported. The oil dries down into a mellowing, hazelnutty dark chocolate. What's not to like??

This week has been HOT and humid in New York, so my new Hindi companion dried down and faded away well before my rehearsal. I'd read that Hindis are at-home ouds, but I dare say that this Assam Wilde would have made some friends tonight had it been given the chance.






 
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Edward Muller

True Ouddict
Glad you liked it! I was really surprised by it as well!
Great review on Assam Wilde - I always wondered what ouddicts think about this oil... don’t seem to see a lot of review about it.

Try Smoke (the name says it all) and Zamarad from Habzoud, Malay Cola and Mandalay Signature from LMK if you have the chance since they are all fairly affordable in comparison and in my opinion all very different (but really good oil) from what you have tried the past couple of days.
They are like a bunch of indie rock bands playing a twist on the classics
 
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