Qayyum Shaikh

Oud Beginner
3 ml. Of Rose Otto can last you for a very long time to experiment with blends, very powerful stuff.
The most I enjoyed the smell is like 1 drop in 3 ml. Of sandalwood oil. It makes the smell nice like you are actually smelling a rose flower in the garden.
The rose oil itself smells completely different than smelling the actual rose in a garden.
Also the absolute smell very different from the Otto.
We have to use rose very miserly otherwise it will spoil the whole blend specially if it is an absolute always add drop by drop like civet.musk.
 

Qayyum Shaikh

Oud Beginner
I decided to make more musk macerations. I felt that the Ali Bros. oil was worthy to use for my best batch of Siberian and my Kashmiri. The Siberian is 45% musk to oil, and the Kasmiri is 33% musk to oil. No heating.
I used my New Years day-off to catch-up on macerations. I made some Styrax Benzoin, Green Royal Hojary, Myrrh, Amber (Pinus Succinifera), and Civet. All in vintage Sandalwood oil. Plus tinctures of them as well.
Sounds great !!!
 

Ahmaoud

True Ouddict
I've had this Frankincense oil I love the scent of, but anytime I wear it neat, it vanishes super quickly. Recently I've been able to source some wonderful Ruh Khus, and tonight I took the plunge into combining the two.

I'm not the biggest fan of the top notes in the Ruh Khus, often just enduring them until I get to the mid and the base, but I'm hoping the Frankincense with somehow "iron out" those top notes, while the vetiver acts as a fixative. Thinking about what else I had, I chose to add two types of sandalwood oils, one which is quite fizzy, and should help the Frankincense out, while another is quite buttery and I'm hoping both act together to add a fullness to the Ruh Khus base.

Then wanting to boost the Frankincense even more, and knowing some blends where True Cedar's been used successfully in combination I chose to add a couple of drops of two particular Cedar oils I had. Then I choose some Sandalwood macerated Ambergris, and added that in. Lastly I felt as though I wanted another herbal base note in the mix. I considered added a resin absolute, but then settled on some Oakmoss absolute, and being warned of its profound effect on a blend, used a trace amount of a trace.

Looking forward to seeing how this develops, for now it needs to rest. Measurement are bit shady on this run, but I have a volumetric approximation of the amounts used. If it works out, this sort of Frankincense, Sandalwood, Vetiver mixture might be the holy grail of a green camphrous attar I've always been on the lookout for!
 

Scentlover98

Oud Fan
I've had this Frankincense oil I love the scent of, but anytime I wear it neat, it vanishes super quickly. Recently I've been able to source some wonderful Ruh Khus, and tonight I took the plunge into combining the two.

I'm not the biggest fan of the top notes in the Ruh Khus, often just enduring them until I get to the mid and the base, but I'm hoping the Frankincense with somehow "iron out" those top notes, while the vetiver acts as a fixative. Thinking about what else I had, I chose to add two types of sandalwood oils, one which is quite fizzy, and should help the Frankincense out, while another is quite buttery and I'm hoping both act together to add a fullness to the Ruh Khus base.

Then wanting to boost the Frankincense even more, and knowing some blends where True Cedar's been used successfully in combination I chose to add a couple of drops of two particular Cedar oils I had. Then I choose some Sandalwood macerated Ambergris, and added that in. Lastly I felt as though I wanted another herbal base note in the mix. I considered added a resin absolute, but then settled on some Oakmoss absolute, and being warned of its profound effect on a blend, used a trace amount of a trace.

Looking forward to seeing how this develops, for now it needs to rest. Measurement are bit shady on this run, but I have a volumetric approximation of the amounts used. If it works out, this sort of Frankincense, Sandalwood, Vetiver mixture might be the holy grail of a green camphrous attar I've always been on the lookout for!
That sounds just incredible !!!
I am looking forward hearing from you how it developes 👍🏼
 

Mr.P

oud<3er
I've had this Frankincense oil I love the scent of, but anytime I wear it neat, it vanishes super quickly. Recently I've been able to source some wonderful Ruh Khus, and tonight I took the plunge into combining the two.

I'm not the biggest fan of the top notes in the Ruh Khus, often just enduring them until I get to the mid and the base, but I'm hoping the Frankincense with somehow "iron out" those top notes, while the vetiver acts as a fixative. Thinking about what else I had, I chose to add two types of sandalwood oils, one which is quite fizzy, and should help the Frankincense out, while another is quite buttery and I'm hoping both act together to add a fullness to the Ruh Khus base.

Then wanting to boost the Frankincense even more, and knowing some blends where True Cedar's been used successfully in combination I chose to add a couple of drops of two particular Cedar oils I had. Then I choose some Sandalwood macerated Ambergris, and added that in. Lastly I felt as though I wanted another herbal base note in the mix. I considered added a resin absolute, but then settled on some Oakmoss absolute, and being warned of its profound effect on a blend, used a trace amount of a trace.

Looking forward to seeing how this develops, for now it needs to rest. Measurement are bit shady on this run, but I have a volumetric approximation of the amounts used. If it works out, this sort of Frankincense, Sandalwood, Vetiver mixture might be the holy grail of a green camphrous attar I've always been on the lookout for!
It’s interesting hearing your thought process as you developed the blend. This kind of post (along with thoughts on the results) are invaluable for other novice perfumers like myself.

I actually think the idea of someone developing secret recipes and accords is great - fun stuff! I wish there was a primer outlining a variety of simple 2-3 ingredient starting points for perfume creation. Likewise approaches to blending. There has to be a lot of material that could be shared openly while still leaving plenty of room for trade secrets. Something i would like to tackle as a side project.
 

Ahmaoud

True Ouddict
Couldn't agree more, a primer on traditional Indian attars, such as Majmua and Jannat ul Firdous (which is what I was kinda envisioning in my head) would perfect (and I believe something you've mentioned in the past)! Even something with rough fractions would be a wonderful starting point. Of course with different price brackets being targeted maybe the ratios themselves would be basically useless.

I'm hoping for the best, but I know the best I can hope for, is something that won't smell terrible. That being said I did try to approach this in a similar manner to how I combine oils on my arms. Sandal and Ruh Khus work in an almost magical way together, but with even a light, full swipe of Ruh Khus and a heavy swipe of Sandal, something feels out of place. Instead, dots of Ruh Khus alongside a fat swipe of Sandal work the best for me, so I used that as an outline. Let's say 1:5 Ruh Khus to Sandalwood, and even might be pushing it.

Wanting to highlight the Boswellia Serrata, I chose some 2020 Ruh Khus from An Najwa, feeling this was a slight bit fuller and refined than the 2021. For Sandalwood oils I used Habzoud's Fawz and mesOud's NTT. At this stage, even thought the primary note I was getting was the Frankincense I could already sense the Ruh Khus and Sandal, "filling out" the original scent, somehow making it denser, more tenacious without sacrificing the minty top I wanted!

The choice of materials was very much, what smells like it could complement the Frankincense. Sandalwood Ambergris had an airiness which I hoped would add to the top and further fill out the base. Cedars I used were Atlas and Himalayan varieties, again to add to the pine-yness but for some sweetness as well. I chose the oakmoss feeling something was messing, I wanted a heavier resin feel to the blend. Initially thought of Patchouli but then settling on the Oakmoss Absolute, because there's something in it which feels like full perfume, but again using the tiniest of tiny amounts.

Might make a Sandalwood and Oakmoss blend next, again I think both notes would complement each other.
 

Sproaty

Sproudy
Staff member
Couldn't agree more, a primer on traditional Indian attars, such as Majmua and Jannat ul Firdous (which is what I was kinda envisioning in my head) would perfect (and I believe something you've mentioned in the past)! Even something with rough fractions would be a wonderful starting point. Of course with different price brackets being targeted maybe the ratios themselves would be basically useless.

I'm hoping for the best, but I know the best I can hope for, is something that won't smell terrible. That being said I did try to approach this in a similar manner to how I combine oils on my arms. Sandal and Ruh Khus work in an almost magical way together, but with even a light, full swipe of Ruh Khus and a heavy swipe of Sandal, something feels out of place. Instead, dots of Ruh Khus alongside a fat swipe of Sandal work the best for me, so I used that as an outline. Let's say 1:5 Ruh Khus to Sandalwood, and even might be pushing it.

Wanting to highlight the Boswellia Serrata, I chose some 2020 Ruh Khus from An Najwa, feeling this was a slight bit fuller and refined than the 2021. For Sandalwood oils I used Habzoud's Fawz and mesOud's NTT. At this stage, even thought the primary note I was getting was the Frankincense I could already sense the Ruh Khus and Sandal, "filling out" the original scent, somehow making it denser, more tenacious without sacrificing the minty top I wanted!

The choice of materials was very much, what smells like it could complement the Frankincense. Sandalwood Ambergris had an airiness which I hoped would add to the top and further fill out the base. Cedars I used were Atlas and Himalayan varieties, again to add to the pine-yness but for some sweetness as well. I chose the oakmoss feeling something was messing, I wanted a heavier resin feel to the blend. Initially thought of Patchouli but then settling on the Oakmoss Absolute, because there's something in it which feels like full perfume, but again using the tiniest of tiny amounts.

Might make a Sandalwood and Oakmoss blend next, again I think both notes would complement each other.
That sounds like a well thought-out blend! I appreciate the walkthroug of your line of thiking, thanks!
 

Ahmaoud

True Ouddict
Thank you for the kind words, and encouragement Sproaty and Kabir!

Right now I'm waiting on some sandalwood oils to arrive, and assess whether they'd be good candidates for some musk macerations I'll be doing. In the process I'll have some empty bottles I can repurpose for the oakmoss and sandalwood blend. Oakmoss concentration in sandalwood is gonna be tricky, I'm guessing the upper limit should be 0.5%, or even 0.1%.

Rose is an option, I'm also really partial to jasmine sambac, and also have some nice neroli. I need to think about getting some lavender, galbanum and bergamot.
 

mesOUD

Resident Artisan
Thank you for the kind words, and encouragement Sproaty and Kabir!

Right now I'm waiting on some sandalwood oils to arrive, and assess whether they'd be good candidates for some musk macerations I'll be doing. In the process I'll have some empty bottles I can repurpose for the oakmoss and sandalwood blend. Oakmoss concentration in sandalwood is gonna be tricky, I'm guessing the upper limit should be 0.5%, or even 0.1%.

Rose is an option, I'm also really partial to jasmine sambac, and also have some nice neroli. I need to think about getting some lavender, galbanum and bergamot.
Brother,some labdanum will be better than galbanum i think in this blend,bcz your are almost doing a chypre accord,also congratulations that you matched these ingredients
 

Ahmaoud

True Ouddict
Brother,some labdanum will be better than galbanum i think in this blend,bcz your are almost doing a chypre accord,also congratulations that you matched these ingredients
Not at all Brother, I've known about these accords for ages, the only unique thing I've done now, is smell the individual ingredients and accept the wisdom of people before me 😂

Thinking out loud, smelling some labdanum I can see why it would work well with oakmoss, maybe benzoin and opoponax could be combined to offer a similar feeling to labdanum. There's often a vanilla like base I enjoy in some classic fragrances. It takes an edge away from the harsh fougere like top and heart.
 

Mr.P

oud<3er
I have been working on a chypre myself… this one is largely the same as an old recipe but with several substitutions and additions to give it some character with materials i have on hand.

Oak moss

Violet flower accord ( using violet leaf, orris, some florals)

Vetiver
Patchouli
Bergamot
Clary
Rose oils

Clove accord (tincture plus floral with eugenol)

Amber accord (I just plugged in the 17th iteration of this Amber perfume. I am working on here)

And a few more tasty materials for balance and character.

I have made it 2 iterations - the eden violet leaf is a beast and hard to ignore even in very small amounts, working to get it in balance.

It smells pretty interesting, and I enjoy it because of my love of the ingredients. I don’t know what it would smell like to somebody who didn’t spend so much time sniffing these things.

IMG_3492.jpeg
 
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