Mr.P

oud<3er
“Barnyard” is an association, not a literal scent. It’s the closest, and shared reference of people who have not smelled that type of agarwood before.

The fragrance that this term refers to is very complex and multifaceted and varies greatly from one source to another. It is complex and profoundly engaging like fine incense or cheese or wine. It’s hard to explain why someone finds a particular fragrance appealing but there is a wonderful pleasant delicious clean fragrance hiding behind that association with the smell of a barn. If you allow yourself to spend a day with one of these oils I suspect you’ll see why by the end of it. Though everyone has different associations and I have people in my family who have never come to appreciate the smell of any type of barn yard oud.
 

Al Shareef Oudh

Master Perfumer
“Barnyard” is an association, not a literal scent. It’s the closest, and shared reference of people who have not smelled that type of agarwood before.

The fragrance that this term refers to is very complex and multifaceted and varies greatly from one source to another. It is complex and profoundly engaging like fine incense or cheese or wine. It’s hard to explain why someone finds a particular fragrance appealing but there is a wonderful pleasant delicious clean fragrance hiding behind that association with the smell of a barn. If you allow yourself to spend a day with one of these oils I suspect you’ll see why by the end of it. Though everyone has different associations and I have people in my family who have never come to appreciate the smell of any type of barn yard oud.

This is one of the best summaries i have read on the description of barn. So often in the online oudh community the discussion on what is barn is side tracked by the 'auxiliary' smoke screen that the real smell-to-term relationship is lost. You hit the nail on the head with this sentence "The fragrance that this term refers to is very complex and multifaceted and varies greatly from one source to another." There are a myriad of barns in the scent world and a decent variety of them in the oudh species as well.

The complexity of it is why many associate it with the closest smell they know, rather than having the ability to split the nuances that make the barn category. The barn note is inherent to a few of the oudh species and it is not the same as the rotten sock smell of bad soaking practice.
 

Woodland Note

True Ouddict
I admit that during my very first minutes with Indian oud I was smelling something that was in some way reminiscent of some kind of barn, that was a closest thing that my mind could make up to name the complex thing... but it wasn't really like barn... and it was way more than that too.... and then it all has changed forever.
 

soulfoud

Oud Fan
Not to put words in the OP's mouth, but abstracting the question to "why do people enjoy off-putting aromas," there's an interesting paper (link) that describes a theory of "benign masochism" - the principal idea being that when done in a "safe" context, people enjoy all manner of aversive substances and activities.
 
Not to put words in the OP's mouth, but abstracting the question to "why do people enjoy off-putting aromas," there's an interesting paper (link) that describes a theory of "benign masochism" - the principal idea being that when done in a "safe" context, people enjoy all manner of aversive substances and activities.
I do find some barns off-putting, and then there are some I like a lot. Strange isn’t it:Alien:
 

Djohn

Oud Beginner
Well I guess if your sitting on camels, the smell of the barn will probably be over written by the smell of the camels.
These days with less camel rides barn type ouds have become more of an acquired taste.
But as some above have rightly stated everyone likes the smell of something, and one mans fragrance is another’s nightmare..personally durians smell heavenly for example..🤣
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
Well I guess if your sitting on camels, the smell of the barn will probably be over written by the smell of the camels.
These days with less camel rides barn type ouds have become more of an acquired taste.
But as some above have rightly stated everyone likes the smell of something, and one mans fragrance is another’s nightmare..personally durians smell heavenly for example..🤣
Yes. Today most camels are of the four wheel drive variety ..
 

ChristianProgrammer

Rabshakeah Oudh
There's some animalistic raw appeal in some "barns" I mean lets face it there are tons of "perfume" ingredients that are legit animal waste products. Urine Bile whale ambergris, deer musk sacks .. Bro no offense but do a little homework the internet is wide open for you to look this stuff up no ??

Civet: the anal secretions from a cat-like animal native to Asia and Africa.
Ambergris: sperm whale secretions.
Musk: animal anal secretions. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a strong odor obtained from a gland of the musk deer.
 

yoob.ye

True Ouddict
There's some animalistic raw appeal in some "barns" I mean lets face it there are tons of "perfume" ingredients that are legit animal waste products. Urine Bile whale ambergris, deer musk sacks .. Bro no offense but do a little homework the internet is wide open for you to look this stuff up no ??

Civet: the anal secretions from a cat-like animal native to Asia and Africa.
Ambergris: sperm whale secretions.
Musk: animal anal secretions. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a strong odor obtained from a gland of the musk deer.
There's definitely a parallel there. In his defense, this site is part of the internet, and posting this question was likely part of his wider research. If I google why barnyard oud, ouddict is the 3rd result after basenotes and fragrantica. I'm a barnyard noob who has read and smelled a lot but hasn't developed that appreciation (at least not yet) but I still found value in this thread.

Not to mention, he posted this 2 and a half years ago so he's probably much further along now.
 

Dr B1414

True Ouddict
Honestly, the reason why I love the "barnyard" aroma of some oud oils, is because it reminds me of my childhood at the countryside, where my grandparents lived. I've spent the best years of my childhood there. So I immediately am reminded of those nostalgic memories, unconsciously, by the "barny" aroma. It also touches a primal, animalistic chord deep within me, much like musk, ambergris, civet, and so on. I find the aroma incredibly addictive.
 

mahmadna

Oud Fan
I'm assuming the barn we are talking about is related to the stinky note.

Let's go even further.

Is barn in oud a part of cultural thing?

For instance, would people in certain countries/region prefer barns over the other? Or is it just a stereotype?
 

ChristianProgrammer

Rabshakeah Oudh
Oooooh your treading on touchy ground hahahaha .

I'm a light skinned ( multi racial ) ( that means black in America last time I checked....) mid west city boy software engineer ( cloud now ) but I digress.

I have run into plenty of hindi (Eastern Indian) developers if you want to call them that I'll stop there and try to be nice.
I should poignantly note that I have met many excellent Hindi / East Indian software developers over the years that were excellent at our craft but they were the exception IMHO... Enough said .... AGAIN No offense intended -

Anyhoo... many of these developers chose to not wear deodorant in favor of various degrees (quality - amount ) of Oud Oils .
It almost stopped me from being interested in Oud. It was a NASTY NASTY indescribable Funk --- Oud and fermenting body odor. Regarding Barn I'm no elite oudh specialist but I believe ( My 2 cents) that many Hindi Oils have been attributed to having that barn yard olfactory experience. ( if I recall correctly )
Literally sheep shit. Horse manure. Wet hay etc... etc... Thus a barn ..

I, again not claiming to have any superior olfactory expertise, have found in my personal oudh journey that a certain Fragrance house that offered an Oud Trat had an original batch was supremely Barnyard-ish and I loved it.
So much so that I didn't even care how or if it offended other people. ( wifie mostly but she hates ALL ouds nothing specific about the barn yard notes there )

A few rare ( I don't recall which ones ) expensive PREMIER oudh samples from HIGH end connoisseur ELITE houses like Ensar Oud gave me the superior experience of supra clean elite complicated barn yard notes and again I'm kind of a fan.
I like the complexity in them, earthy depth. Almost a funky earthy Petrichor. There's something masculine and dominant and powerful, if you are--- please excuse the terminology --- ALPHA AF enough to wear something like that with confidence.

So back to your question of cultural. There are some cultures apparently where human body odor is an attractive fragrance. I dunno bro, that's too Krazy complex for me to even begin to care about.

I obviously like some funky Oudhs. But if it smells too much like sheep shit I'm out ...
Honestly, there are some Tom Ford Elite fragrances at like $350 / 50ml
(give or take) that have some barn notes in them. its a complex game
and well preference is subjective.
 

yoob.ye

True Ouddict
Oooooh your treading on touchy ground hahahaha .

I'm a light skinned ( multi racial ) ( that means black in America last time I checked....) mid west city boy software engineer ( cloud now ) but I digress.

I have run into plenty of hindi (Eastern Indian) developers if you want to call them that I'll stop there and try to be nice.
I should poignantly note that I have met many excellent Hindi / East Indian software developers over the years that were excellent at our craft but they were the exception IMHO... Enough said .... AGAIN No offense intended -

Anyhoo... many of these developers chose to not wear deodorant in favor of various degrees (quality - amount ) of Oud Oils .
It almost stopped me from being interested in Oud. It was a NASTY NASTY indescribable Funk --- Oud and fermenting body odor. Regarding Barn I'm no elite oudh specialist but I believe ( My 2 cents) that many Hindi Oils have been attributed to having that barn yard olfactory experience. ( if I recall correctly )
Literally sheep shit. Horse manure. Wet hay etc... etc... Thus a barn ..

I, again not claiming to have any superior olfactory expertise, have found in my personal oudh journey that a certain Fragrance house that offered an Oud Trat had an original batch was supremely Barnyard-ish and I loved it.
So much so that I didn't even care how or if it offended other people. ( wifie mostly but she hates ALL ouds nothing specific about the barn yard notes there )

A few rare ( I don't recall which ones ) expensive PREMIER oudh samples from HIGH end connoisseur ELITE houses like Ensar Oud gave me the superior experience of supra clean elite complicated barn yard notes and again I'm kind of a fan.
I like the complexity in them, earthy depth. Almost a funky earthy Petrichor. There's something masculine and dominant and powerful, if you are--- please excuse the terminology --- ALPHA AF enough to wear something like that with confidence.

So back to your question of cultural. There are some cultures apparently where human body odor is an attractive fragrance. I dunno bro, that's too Krazy complex for me to even begin to care about.

I obviously like some funky Oudhs. But if it smells too much like sheep shit I'm out ...
Honestly, there are some Tom Ford Elite fragrances at like $350 / 50ml
(give or take) that have some barn notes in them. its a complex game
and well preference is subjective.
Body odor is more common in warmer climates for obvious reasons. I think your experience with co-workers has more to do with engineers becoming excellent in their craft while neglecting other sections of their social life. I'm an engineer as well and have smelled that problem before. It's usually men in their 20s who haven't taken optics seriously but they tend to grow up eventually. I had the same problem with presentation but for me, it was uncombed hair or wearing sandals and shorts when everyone else was dressed professionally.

Deodorants/Antiperspirants are becoming more popular in that part of the world but scented powders like these are still more popular: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224412679528 I find scented powdered to be preferable overall but the ease of application for a stick of deodorant is hard to beat.

It's also an age deal with culture. My family is primarily in the Yemen and KSA and even younger people in Arabia are more likely to look into the non-barn options. But since their mothers, uncles ...etc used traditional Hindi ouds ... they usually grow into that themselves as they get older.
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
I am comfortable with the barn note. Born in Ireland, we are not averse to the rolling smell of farm animals and farming smells in general....though not so much now.
I like it and find it comforting in a way.
Am an animal person my self....so animals smells are good with me..
But even among the "type barn smells" some can be too much...😇
 

yoob.ye

True Ouddict

.... the latest trend in fragrance.
 

ChristianProgrammer

Rabshakeah Oudh

.... the latest trend in fragrance.
HAHAHAHAH yes the world has lost its Mind

OK So despite the profanity this video might ( I doubt it but -- Might) educate a few white people on
how casually some of us ( black people) throw the N word around. He referred to his buddy by the N word the Lady selling the farts by the N word the world at large by the N word... Just my quick Observation No judgement
 

yoob.ye

True Ouddict
Apparently, she was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago and the doctors told her to stop her diet to get back in good health. She was eating only eggs, beans and protein shakes to maximize her flatulence and will no longer be selling jars.

You would think that previously sold jars would be skyrocketing in cost because of the scarcity … but none of the collectors seem to be reselling. In due time, we might see them in the ouddict marketplace.
 

Rogi1

Oud Fan
Some people like to smell other peoples farts, other peoples body odor, their own farts, or their own body odor. Also, I recently read that quite a few folks enjoy the not-so-awesome smells of their mates skin because the brain registers it as comforting.

As for Oud, I’m new but I tend to get wafts of barnyard on certain occasions from certain fragrances. Like I can wear a perfume with real Oud in it for 5 days straight and only get barnyard notes on 2 of those 5 days… same perfume. I have yet to find a perfume that is straight barn every time I wear it. Maybe someone here would recommend a straight barnyard Oud for me.
 
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