The Oud Question

Oud is the most misunderstood ingredient in modern perfumery. Over the past decade, it has become ubiquitous — every brand has an "oud" fragrance. But the vast majority of them contain no real oud at all.

True oud — agarwood oil — is produced when the Aquilaria tree is infected by a particular mould. The tree responds by producing a dark, aromatic resin. This process takes decades. The resulting wood is among the most expensive raw materials on earth.

"Real oud or synthetic? The answer is more nuanced than the industry wants you to believe."

At olfactory, OUD 17 uses genuine oud from aged agarwood sourced in Laos. We pay more for it than for any other ingredient in our collection. But we believe you can smell the difference — the complexity, the depth, the way it changes on the skin over hours.

Could we use a synthetic oud molecule and lower the price? Yes. Would you notice? Perhaps not immediately. But over time, the synthetic flattens. The real oud keeps evolving. That evolution is what we are selling.