Oud is the resin-filled heartwood of certain Asian trees in the genus Aquilaria, also known as agarwood. The resin only forms after the tree is wounded, usually followed by an infection, which makes it rare and expensive. Perfumers use it as a distilled oil or, far more often, as a reconstructed accord.
A wood born from a wound
Aquilaria trees grow in the tropical forests of Asia, from India to Southeast Asia. Their healthy wood is pale, light and of no use to perfumery. Everything changes when the trunk is damaged: a broken branch, an insect attack, a cut. Fungi often settle in the wound. To defend itself, the tree produces an aromatic resin that soaks into the wood around the damaged area.
This takes years. The resin-laden wood turns dark, dense and fragrant. That wood is what we call oud, or agarwood. Botanical studies point out that the wound alone is not always enough. If the tree seals it with new wood, resin production stops. In the wild, only a minority of trees produce any, and there is no way to tell from the outside whether a trunk contains it.
This scarcity explains the price. It also explains the overharvesting of wild trees, which are often cut down at random in the hope of finding resin inside.
Scarcity, plantations and CITES protection
CITES, the convention that regulates international trade in endangered species, first listed Aquilaria malaccensis in its Appendix II in the 1990s. In 2004, every species in the genera Aquilaria and Gyrinops, the other genus that produces agarwood, was added to that appendix. The listing took effect in January 2005.
Appendix II does not ban trade. It regulates it. Exports of wood, chips or oil must come with a permit issued by the country of origin, certifying that the harvest does not threaten the survival of the species.
To meet demand, Aquilaria plantations have spread across Southeast Asia. Growers trigger resin formation by deliberately wounding the trees, sometimes by inoculating them with fungi. A growing share of the agarwood on the market comes from these plantations. Old wild oud remains rarer and much more expensive.
Distilled oil or synthetic accord
Oud oil is obtained by distillation. Chips of resinous wood are ground, often soaked in water for several days, then distilled. The yield is low. It takes a large amount of wood to get a small amount of oil, which makes it one of the most costly materials on the perfumer's palette.
Most perfumes with oud in the name contain none, or very little. Perfumers rebuild its effect with an accord: woody, leathery, smoky and animalic molecules blended to suggest agarwood. There are practical reasons for this. The natural oil is expensive, varies from batch to batch and is subject to trade controls. An accord is stable, reproducible and easier to dose.
A well-made accord has qualities of its own. It can give a clean, smooth oud that many people find easier to wear than the raw oil. A natural oud, on the other hand, has rough edges that no accord fully captures. Both approaches coexist, sometimes in the same formula. A product page that states the origin or percentage of oud gives you useful information. It does not tell you everything about the final quality.
What oud really smells like
If you have never smelled it on its own, oud can be a surprise. The pure oil has animalic facets, with leather, smoke and a dried-fruit note. The base is woody and resinous. It is a complex material that keeps changing on the skin for hours.
Origin matters. Thai ouds, often from Aquilaria crassna, are frequently described as less animalic than other origins, with a fruity side. The product page for Oud by Aaron Terence Hughes, for example, contrasts a resinous Thai oud with a leathery Burmese oud. These descriptions are general tendencies. The quality of the wood, the age of the resin and the distillation method all change the result considerably.
In perfumery, oud is very often paired with rose and saffron. That is the classic Middle Eastern accord, and Western perfumery has borrowed it widely. You will also find oud with leather, tobacco, dark fruits or vanilla, which soften its animalic side.
Oud perfumes from our catalog
The perfumes below list oud in the note pyramid published on their product page. Several specify its origin, which makes comparison easier.
Two origins in one bottle
Oud, by Aaron Terence Hughes, combines Thai and Burmese oud in its base, along with benzoin, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla and ambergris. The top notes pair rose with sweet orange, the heart notes date, raspberry and amber. The product page lists a 35% extrait with an extra 5% oud. The date and raspberry echo the fruity side often attributed to Thai ouds. Like everything from this house, one or two sprays are enough. Our profile of Aaron Terence Hughes explains the thinking behind these concentrations.
Thai oud
Oud Noir, from the same house, is simpler. Cinnamon and saffron up top, plum and amaretto in the heart, then Thai oud, benzoin and vanilla. The short pyramid keeps the oud easy to read, rounded out by the fruit and resins.
From MysNyx, Home Town N°Lon-02 goes further in geographic detail. Its base blends oud from Nakhon Si Thammarat and from Trat, two regions of Thailand, beneath a guava leaf opening and a heart of tree jasmine. Our profile of MysNyx describes it as softer than Film Noir, the house's other oud extrait. Availability depends on incoming stock.
Burmese oud
Tabac, by Aaron Terence Hughes, opens on tobacco leaf. The heart brings together Madagascar vanilla absolute, tobacco and Turkish rose, and the base Burmese oud, cedarwood and ambergris. Tobacco and oud share a dry, smoky register, softened by the vanilla. From MysNyx, Film Noir N°Lon-01 also sets a Burmese oud in its base, with castoreum, beneath tuberose and a leather heart.
Oud with rose and saffron
Mansa, by Pernoire, shows the classic pairing. Blackberry, pink pepper and orris root up top, then oud, rose, amber, blackcurrant and saffron, over patchouli, heliotrope, moss and musk. The blackcurrant and blackberry give it a fruity start. Our profile of Pernoire calls it the house's most approachable oud. It was a finalist at the Art and Olfaction Awards in 2023.
Oud with leather
Oudian, by the same perfumer, Andreas Wilhelm, takes the opposite approach. Durian, saffron, tropical fruits and Sichuan pepper up top, cistus labdanum and frankincense in the heart, then oud, leather and vetiver. The base brings out the dry, leathery side of oud. At 30% extrait, it is the most powerful perfume in the house.
Oud as a heart note
Baniyas, by Widian, uses oud more quietly. It appears in the heart, with geranium and cedarwood, after an aromatic opening of bergamot, mugwort and lavender. The base brings together patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver and evernyl. Here, oud adds depth to an aromatic fragrance without taking over. The Abu Dhabi house is covered in detail in our article on Widian.
You will find more oud compositions in our oriental collection. To see where this family sits among the others, read our guide to the eight fragrance families.
Frequently asked questions
Is oud the same as agarwood?
Yes. Agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood and oud all refer to the same resinous wood from Aquilaria trees. The word oud comes from Arabic. In perfumery, it means both the natural material and the accord that imitates it.
Why is oud so expensive?
The resin only forms in wounded trees, over several years, and only some trees produce it. Distillation takes a lot of wood for very little oil. On top of that, trade in all species has been regulated by CITES since 2005.
Do oud perfumes contain real oud?
Not necessarily. Most perfumes sold under that name use a reconstructed accord, sometimes topped up with a little natural oil. When a product page gives an origin or a percentage of oud, that is worth noting. On its own, it does not guarantee how the perfume will smell on your skin.
Can you wear oud during the day?
Yes, as long as you go easy on it. A perfume where oud stays in the heart, like Baniyas, is easy to wear during the day. Extraits heavy in oud need only one spray, especially indoors.
Is oud a men's fragrance?
No. In the Middle East, men and women both wear it. Every perfume mentioned here is presented as unisex. Whether you like its animalic or smoky side is a matter of taste, not gender.
Further reading
Oud sits alongside the other materials covered in our Perfume materials guide. To compare a Thai oud, a Burmese oud and a softer accord on your own skin, every perfume mentioned is available as a 2 ml sample on our samples page.