What Exactly Is Oud?

Sable Yong, Sophia Panych
·16 min read

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When you think of the most expensive fragrances in the world, your mind probably doesn't go to tree fungus. But that's where you'll find the origins of oud—one of the most expensive raw materials in the world.

As with many rare and precious materials, oud takes a long time to develop naturally; it can’t simply be planted and plucked, like other fragrance notes. Oud takes time to cook, so to speak. Certain natural circumstances need to convene for it to form within an aquilaria tree, a species of evergreen. When the tree is damaged by external or environmental forces, the dark, fragrant resin it produces to protect its core is what makes the heartwood into oud over time.

Oud, now a symbol of luxury, has a long and storied past that predates modern perfumery by a couple thousand years. Rooted in religion and spirituality—and then a victim of modern overconsumption—its rarity and intense aroma add to its allure. Ahead, the industry’s top experts shed light on the most fascinating and polarizing ingredient in fragrance.

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What is oud?

Oud essential oil is extracted from aquilaria trees, a species of evergreens native to Southeast Asia and North India. The catch: Healthy aquilaria trees do not produce oud. When the inside of the tree becomes infected with a particular fungus (usually due to an injury to the tree caused by weather or insects boring into it), “a reaction creates a fragrant resin that slowly embeds into the heart of the wood, creating agarwood, known as oud,” explains Geza Schoen, founder of and perfumer for fragrance brand Escentric Molecules. Agarwood is the tree’s immune response to the infection, like how our skin forms a scab when we get cut. The difference here is that it’s a life-and-death struggle between the tree and the infection, which can go on for years, even decades.

The injured tree must be cut down to retrieve the agarwood, which is extracted from the trunk and the root. It can then take years for this heartwood to form a desirable aroma profile, before it’s either chipped away or ground into a powder. The chips can be burned for incense, and the chips and powder alike can then be turned into oud essential oil through steam distillation.

Why is oud so special?

Called “gahara” in Malay, “chen xiang” in Chinese, and “jinko” in Japanese, oud, its Arabic name, has been used for centuries across many different cultures and religions. Long before the advent of modern perfumery, oud was used for a variety of purposes—medicinal, aphrodisiacal, and aromatic (its use as a perfume is depicted in Arabian Nights). But it's the widespread use of agarwood in spiritual practices around the ancient world that makes it so exceptional, earning it the pseudonym “wood of the gods.” It’s mentioned in the Sanskrit epic narrative the Mahābhārata, the Bible, and in several Islamic Hadith, and it's burned as incense by Buddhist monks.

Although oud doesn’t originate in the Middle East, it has always been revered in the Arab world and played a significant part in Islamic culture. In addition to appearing in religious texts, agarwood chips are burned as incense in homes and places of worship, and there are recipes for oud-based perfumes written by Arabic authors that date back to the ninth century CE. Oud is commonly offered as an aromatic refreshment to guests visiting one's home. Givaudan senior perfumer Olivia Jan explains, "In the region, oud is often a focal point and plays a key role in conveying a seductive story within a scent."

How did oud become so popular?

Because of the deep connection with oud in the Middle East, modern oud-based fragrances were produced in the region long before they reached Western markets. "Oud is traditionally known as ‘black gold’ in the Middle East," says dsm-Firmenich principal perfumer Frank Voelkl, noting a nickname for oud that reflects its price and rarity. “Oud is extremely popular. It's beyond popularity—it's a way of life.”

Yves Saint Laurent’s M7, which launched in 2002 when Tom Ford was the brand’s creative director, is often credited for heralding oud into Western fragrances, according to Clayton Ilohalia, evaluations and communications manager for Fragrances of the World, a fragrance classification system. At that time, though, no one would have known that M7 contained oud because it wasn’t common practice to spotlight a perfume’s specific notes in marketing. “People didn’t talk about fragrance notes the way they do today,” Ilohalia says. “In 2004, Tom Ford Oud Wood helped put oud in the spotlight simply by using it in the name.”

Over the next four to five years, niche brands like Le Labo and Bond No. 9 began using oud, sparking a trend that took off in 2012. According to the Fragrances of the World online database, there were just 46 oud fragrance launches globally in 2009; that number nearly tripled by 2012, with 141 launches. By 2015, the oud trend hit its stride with 275 launches, and oud took off again in 2019 with 397 launches. While the number of oud-based launches has plateaued since then (there were 269 in 2023), Ilohalia says, interest in the note certainly hasn’t.

According to analytics tool Spate, Google searches for the word “oud” were up 19.2% in 2024 when compared with 2023, and the phrase “oud perfume” was up 22.9%. On TikTok, the hashtag #oud had 1.9 million average weekly views in 2024, an astounding 143.6% rise from the previous year.

What does oud smell like?

Oud is warm, musky, animalic, and slightly sweet—a deeply rich and complex scent. "Each version [of oud] has its own olfactive specificity ranging from herbal to woody," says Jan, pointing out the regional differences of agarwood trees. "Across other countries there are different variations, like aquilaria crassna from Laos and aquilaria sinensis in China." Oud derived from aquilaria crassna leans more musty, woody, nutty, and animalic, while aquilaria sinensis-based oud is often softer and sweeter.

Many describe oud as a bit earthy and damp, perhaps mixed with notes of golden amber. Christina Christie, senior perfumer at Givaudan, equates it to the experience of walking through the woods. “Maybe you step on a log that crumbles apart because it has reached the end of its life,” she says, “and when you do, you get hit by that earthy, damp smell of soil. [Oud] is very natural, sometimes aggressively so.”

Perhaps you've had a whiff of some popular fragrances featuring oud—such as Armani Privé Oud Royal, Initio Oud for Greatness, or Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood—or you’ve come across niche options—like Strangelove Dead of Night, BDK Parfums Oud Abramad, or House of Bo Infinitoud. They are distinctively different compositions, but they all share telltale qualities of oud. It's difficult to describe, but once you've smelled oud, you can probably recognize it anywhere. On its own, it's quite polarizing, but when combined with the note composition of a fragrance, it can add depth and complexity to any scent. Says Jan, "Perfumes containing oud notes are often intense and dark; their scent evokes facets of leather, saffron, and smokiness."

Armani Privé Oud Royal Eau de Parfum

$315.00, Nordstrom

Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum

$285.00, Nordstrom

Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum

$315.00, Nordstrom

Deadofnight Eau de Parfum

$598.00, Strangelove

Oud Abramad Eau de Parfum

$230.00, Neiman Marcus

Infinitoud Eau de Parfum

$365.00, Saks Fifth Avenue

What does oud bring to a fragrance?

Oud has a brooding quality that gives it the ability to amplify a person’s individual skin chemistry, enhancing muskiness in a way that suggests something intimate and animalic at the same time. "[It lends] a unique, woody warmth to a fragrance with a slight leathery aspect," Voelkl says. "It is a unique way to add depth and sensuality to the dry down.”

Oud is also one of the longest-lasting ingredients perfumers have at their disposal. The essential oil’s diffusion is extremely powerful, a quality that many consumers are now seeking in perfume, a consequence of TikTok’s #beastmode fragrance trend. Oud is the quintessential example of the kind of high-impact perfume that announces your presence when you enter a room. Even after an oud fragrance dries down on the skin, you can still detect a trace of its musky, earthy, woody scent radiating from body heat.

More abstractly, there’s also an otherworldly quality to oud fragrances. “The smell is originally associated with energy, religion, closeness with God, and closeness with nature,” says Christie. “It’s very ceremonial. It’s a spiritual wood that elevates the fragrance to something unique—you’re taking perfume to another realm, almost.”

Echoing the note's power, Mona Kattan, the Dubai-based founder of Kayali fragrances, says she feels confident and empowered every time she wears an oud fragrance. Voelkl believes oud can add a level of mystery to a scent.

How is oud incorporated into fragrances?

Oud is commonly used as the base of a perfume’s olfactive pyramid to “enhance woody notes and add depth to the fragrance,” says Christie. It’s mostly incorporated with other woody notes like sandalwood, patchouli, or vetiver (although it plays really well with musk and amber too).

For such an aggressive note, oud is surprisingly versatile and great for layering with other scent profiles, says Kattan, whose brand has combined oud with vanilla, tobacco, rose, and a coffee accord. It pairs beautifully with rose, in particular, creating a seductive contrast with the flower's delicate, dewy scent, says Jan. Dior Oud Ispahan, Hermès Oud Alezan, and Molton Brown Rose Dunes are all captivating examples of that very combo.

Oud Ispahan Eau de Parfum

$330.00, Dior

Oud Alezan Eau de Parfum

$371.00, Saks Fifth Avenue

Rose Dunes Eau de Parfum

$180.00, Molton Brown

Similarly, oud’s dark earthiness enhances lighter citrus and aromatic notes, helping them smell more “alive and effervescent,” says Christie. You’ll often see bergamot and oud brought together, as in Juliette Has a Gun Another Oud and Jo Malone Oud & Bergamot Cologne Intense, and niche brands have started experimenting with oud and herbaceous ingredients, such as DS & Durga Notorious Oud (which combines the note with lavender absolute), Parfums de Marly Haltane (clary sage), and Chantecaille Oud Fumé (rosemary).

Another Oud Eau de Parfum

$155.00, Sephora

Oud & Bergamot Cologne Intense

$160.00, Nordstrom

Notorious Oud Eau de Parfum

$210.00, D.S. & Durga (1.7 Oz)

Haltane Eau de Parfum

$345.00, Nordstrom

Oud Fumé Eau de Parfum

$185.00, Blumemercury

Ouds also go incredibly well with gourmand and fruity notes, taking the sweetness down a notch with dark smokiness. The past two years have seen a surge in these edible-inspired ouds, including Kayali Oudgasm Café Oud (an oud with a cappuccino accord), Byredo Rouge Chaotique (an oud blended with bergamot, lemon, plum, and praline), and Edeniste’s Oud Ghazal (a dizzying, delicious eau de parfum that smells like oud has been drizzled with black cherry liqueur).

Oudgasm Café Oud Eau de Parfum

$140.00, Sephora

Rouge Chaotique Extrait de Parfum

$375.00, Nordstrom

Oud Ghazal Eau de Parfum

$345.00, Edeniste

Can oud be found in other fragrance formats?

The oud frenzy in the West is pretty limited to personal fragrance, but that doesn’t mean ancillary oud products aren’t out there—you just have to know where to look. Wood chips scented with perfume oil, called “bakhoor” in Arabic, have been used in the Middle East for centuries, including agarwood chips soaked in oud. Kattan created bakhoor versions of her Kayali Oudgasm collection, as well as a Rose Oud Hair Mist. “It is very common in the United Arab Emirates to layer your oud oils with your perfumes and finish your fragrance routine by burning oud as a way to scent your hair and clothes,” she explains. “I use them as a way to complement my fragrance layers, but also to help extend the longevity of my scent.”

Oudgasm Café Oud 19 Perfumed Oud Wood

$119.00, Huda Beauty

Oudgasm Rose Oud Hair Mist

$54.00, Huda Beauty

Dior and Molton Brown both have hand soap and body lotion versions of their popular oud-based perfumes, while Tom Ford and Maison Francis Kurkdjian offer oud-scented bar soap. For wash-off products and bigger items like lotions, Christie says, it’s primarily synthetic versions of oud being used because of the larger sizing (more on that below), although Mexican brand Amoraria uses real oud essential oil in its Saffron Oud Room Spray, which you can buy if you happen to visit one of the company’s boutiques in London, Mexico City, Cancún, Los Cabos, or the Four Seasons Miami.

Oud Ispahan Hydrating Body Lotion

$95.00, Dior

Oud Satin Mood Scented Soap

$50.00, Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Why is oud so expensive?

Compared with notes like rose and vetiver, organic oud sources are quite rare. In natural forests, approximately 10% of wild aquilaria trees produce agarwood (although some estimates put that number as low as 2%). Then it can take at least 25 years for the tree to naturally produce harvestable oud, Voelkl says. Additionally, the amount of oud an infected tree produces can vary greatly; just because a tree is big doesn't mean it will contain a lot of agarwood. Given these factors and the fragrance note’s global popularity, natural oud sourcing has become fraught to keep up with demand.

Plus, determining whether or not an aquilaria tree contains oud is not an exact science. Even if the tree looks sick from the outside (yellowish leaves, dry bark, bare branches), it may contain very little oud or none at all. This means that a lot of uninfected trees have been cut down in pursuit of the precious ingredient, in turn decimating the species’ population.

The aquilaria tree is now protected under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), while the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed all 20 aquilaria agarwood species for the organization’s Red List, which provides information about the status of the world’s natural resources. According to the assessment, 13 of the 20 species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and illegal and unsustainable harvesting. “This has led to these trees becoming scarce," Voelkl says. CITES estimates the wild population of aquilaria trees has dropped by about 80% over the last century.

There are sustainable oud growers in Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and even in Australia, where the aquilaria trees are manually infected by the fungus. This method, according to some farmers, results in a higher infection rate among the trees, which then reduces the number of trees that get cut down but contain no agarwood. It’s not a perfect solution, or even a great one, but it’s at least a step toward a more responsible direction.

Scarcity and environmental restrictions mean the price of “real” oud has become astronomical. The pure stuff can go for as much as $100,000 per kilogram, according to Business Insider, making it the most expensive raw fragrance ingredient in the world. “It’s like the Bitcoin of essential oils,” says Christie. “One drop on your finger will cost you thousands.”

So, is my perfume made with synthetic oud?

To both keep up with demand and protect the environment, synthetic oud is the most common form of oud used by Western fragrance houses, a trend that goes back to the aforementioned Yves Saint Laurent M7. In general, synthetic fragrance notes are a very effective way for perfumers to formulate scents without overharvesting entire plant species; they also help ensure the stability of a fragrance. Naturally derived essential oils are difficult to stabilize and can fade or change over time, giving your perfume a shorter shelf life from the first spray to the last.

Many fragrance houses, such as dsm-Firmenich and Givaudan, have developed synthetic oud substitutions that involve combining several different molecules to create an agarwood accord. These synthetic alternatives are beautiful, but the reality is they will never capture exactly the aroma of the natural oud essential oil. Says Christie, “Remember, the wood [of the aquilaria trees] is decaying, and you can't really mimic decay or that true earthiness with a synthetic molecule.”

Perfumers have developed some workarounds. Voekl, at dsm-Firmenich, sometimes combines natural ingredients with synthetic molecules when replicating the smell of natural oud. “I like to use some of these alternatives in my formulas as they are generally 'softer' compared to that of natural oud extract,” he explains.

Re-creating oud synthetically does have some benefits, especially for Western consumers who may not be as accustomed to the intensity of the natural essential oil. "Oud is incredibly complex in its raw form," says Schoen, who adds that a composition designed to smell like oud could omit elements of the note that you don't want in your fragrance. For example, for Edeniste’s Oud Ghazal, founder Audrey Semeraro asked perfumers to remove the animalic quality from the note to ensure a smoother, more sensual fragrance.

Synthetic oud has been fine-tuned to cater to a range of perfume tastes that are broadening as the world we live in becomes more globally connected and our curiosities, and the possibility of indulging them, become increasingly within reach. While it's not entirely realistic to travel the whole world smelling all the smells, perfume has always been a way to travel through time and space via the free airline in your olfactory receptors.

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