The Ritual of Oud for Beginners: How to Best Enjoy Oud
Experiencing Oud is a ritual, a moment of mindfulness, and the beginning of a journey.
Experiencing Oud is a ritual, a moment of mindfulness, and the beginning of a journey.
The key to getting the most of a fine Oud oil experience is found mainly in correct application.
To best appreciate a great Oud’s fullness and unique personality, a mindful approach is key, and this guide will show you the way.
As you become more familiar with Oud, there are really no strict rules, and you will likely develop your own application techniques based on your own preferences, your budget, the type of Oud you are using, and your intentions in wearing it. In the beginning, however, it's useful to have some basic guidelines.
Here’s how to approach it if youre new to Oud…
1. Never Judge an Oud Straight From The Bottle: For beginners, smelling an Oud directly from the bottle will usually be an overwhelming experience and not give you any true sense of what that particular Oud has to offer.
How to Apply and Truly Savor A Fine Oud oil
1. Never Judge an Oud Straight From The Bottle: The concentrated aroma directly from the vial, or even the first few seconds on your skin, can be overwhelming and won't give you an accurate impression of the Oud's true character. It needs a few moments to breathe and begin its alchemical dance with your skin, and the “drydown” process, when it will begin to release its unique personality layer by layer. Initially there will be no point in trying to judge an Oud straight from the bottle. It will be a completely different experience once applied to your skin. With experience and study, perhaps you will learn to better interpret the initial impression an individual Oud offers straight from the bottle, but it is still not the best way to assess or properly experience a particular Oud. Apply it correctly and be patient with it.
2. Start With a Clean Canvas: Always apply Oud to clean skin. This prevents the precious oil from mixing with other scents, lotions, or your skin's natural oils and sweat from the day, ensuring you experience the particular Oud in its purest expression. Many aficionados even avoid using scented soap for bathing, or washing their clothes, so that they might more fully and accurately enjoy their Oud.
3. Hands Off! Avoid using your fingers to directly apply or rub in the oil. Your fingers carry their own oils and bacteria which can contaminate the Oud in the bottle if you touch the applicator, and can alter the scent profile of the oil in the bottle over time. Also the portion of (often quite expensive) Oud oil remaining on your fingertips, will end up wasted, either by contact-loss (rubbing off as you go about your normal activities) or through hand washing.
4. Handle With Care: store your Oud oil bottles upright, and keep them upright, while accessing them.
4. Handle With Care: Let The Oil Settle Before Opening The Bottle. if you open and close the bottle while there is a thick layer of oil around the seal between the cap and the opening of the bottle, things will get messy. The bottle closure will become sticky, and you will waste a lot of your precious oil over time. For this reason, it’s also best to store your Oud oil bottles upright, and keep them upright, while accessing them. Never shake your bottle of fine Oud, instead slightly tilt and slowly roll the bottle If you want to see the movement and colour of the oil, and to transfer more oil onto the applicator stick.
5. Let the Applicator Do Its Work: never let the applicator touch your skin. Rather, use it to dispense a small amount of the oil onto your skin.
6. Most commonly, Oud is applied to the pulse points on the inside of your wrists.
5. Let the Applicator Stick Do Its Work: Typically, Oud oils have a small applicator stick built into the bottle. This applicator stick is not meant to actually touch your skin, but rather to release a small droplet of oil onto your skin. Don't use the dipstick or applicator to rub the oil into your skin! A gentle touch is sufficient, releasing a droplet of oil. If the applicator stick is retaining too much oil, wipe it off a little on the edge of the bottle before trying to transfer a smaller amount of the oil to your skin. The oil droplet suspended at the tip of the applicator is what touches and then sticks to your skin, not the applicator itself. This might seem a little finicky but it's essential for proper maintenance, storage, and aging of any fine aromatic oil. To be clear, you're trying to avoid transfer of even invisible amounts of skin particles, oils, lotions, soap residue and any other contaminants that might transfer from your skin to the bottle over time, eventually influencing the scent and even the appearance of your beautiful and often costly aromatic treasures.
6. Where to Apply Oud? Most commonly, Oud is applied to the pulse points on the inside of your wrists. It's also quite common to apply a little Oud to the classic perfume point along the neck just behind the ears. There are no strict rules here however, in fact you can apply Oud oil wherever you like on your body as long as you keep it away from your eyes and mucous membranes. Other common application points might include the center of the chest or just a little on the "third eye" area between the eyebrows. It's also quite common, traditionally, to apply a little Oud oil to clothing items, jewelry, your pillow, and even sacred objects.
7. How Much Oud to apply? A small amount is all you need. And it's probably less than you think. Typical applications of Oud oil will leave an initial droplet of oil on your skin (before rubbing in) of between 1 and 5 millimeters in diameter, representing a very light application to a much more intense application, respectively. Especially with higher quality Oud oil, a little goes a long way! A 5 millimeter in diameter droplet of high quality wild Oud is a strong dose and will probably be noticed by everyone around you! While getting to know an Oud, a smaller amount is probably advisable. There are no strict rules, however. The amount of oil you apply has more to do with personal preference as well as the density and intensity of the unique Oud oil you are using. For your own personal enjoyment of an especially valuable Oud, perhaps keep the application limited to your wrist, and apply only the tiniest amount. You may then check in regularly with the scent as it evolves simply bringing the anointed wrist close to your nose for focussed consideration. When you get more comfortable with a particular Oud you might want to show it off to those around you, increasing “dosage” slightly and experimenting with application to different locations on your body or on your clothing. Environment and activity level are also important factors in deciding on how much to apply. (explained later in this article)
8. The Essential Final Rub: gently and briefly rub your wrists together. Just the right amount of rub results in optimal olfactory unfolding.
8. The Essential Final Rub: After applying a droplet to the wrist (usually via the dipstick attached to the cap as discussed), gently and briefly rub your wrists together. Just the right amount of rub distributes the oil and helps it begin to embed into your skin and sets off the dry down process, the optimal olfactory unfolding. Vigorous rubbing doesn't improve absorption or olfactory expression and can potentially "bruise" or mute the more volatile top notes before they've had a chance to express themselves harmoniously. At this point you might also like to rub your wrists briefly and gently behind the ears for additional projection, especially when applying a slightly more generous dose of Oud where your intent is to share the scent with those around you.
9. The all important “Drydown” - The Olfactory Journey Through Time. The "drydown" refers to the evolution of the scent after it's applied to your skin. A fine Oud is not a static fragrance; it’s a living, breathing journey of scent notes that unfolds over hours. The initial impression will morph, revealing different facets and nuances as time passes. “Drydown” refers to the experience of the scent through time and the changes that take place from initial application to complete dissipation.
7. With great Oud, a small amount is all you need.
10. The Remarkable “Tenacity” of Oud. Oud is famous for its staying power. The best wild Oud oils can easily last 8 to 12 hours on the skin, sometimes even longer. On fabric or other inanimate surfaces, the scent can linger beautifully for days. It’s essential to note that your environment and your activity level will affect the tenacity of Oud. Heat, movement, sweating, and wind or airflow, We all diminish slightly, the tenacity or even the specific old factory experience offered by Oud. Conversely, enjoying a sample of Oud On dry skin in a climate controlled environment without any kind of excessive activity will tend to both extend and harmonize the overall experience offered by a particular Oud, enhancing a deep, mindful exploration of everything it has to offer. All of that said, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wearing Oud more casually as you get to know your collection.
11. The Height of “Complexity” - A Key Feature of Oud. The aromatic profile of a fine Oud can be incredibly diverse. A decent Oud oil generally contains an incredible number of individual aromatic notes. This is one of the key features of Oud oil that makes it so unique and special. Common notes found in most Oud oil include a vast spectrum of fruit (from fresh apple to ripe berries to dried apricots or raisins), a huge variety tobacco notes (which is very different from smoke), very light to very intense leather notes, various honey or caramelized sugar notes, an array of woody aromas (from polished antique wood to damp forest floor), and deep resinous or "balsamic" notes. Less common, but especially delightful, are hints of florals, fresh green notes, or even intriguing herbal facets… for the scope of this article, we are only touching the surface here, and we will not attempt to list more than the basic most common notes here. However, an attentive nose will easily identify dozens or even hundreds of distinct aromatic notes through the drydown of a single Oud. You don't need to be a professional or have any special training. The more time you spend with an Oud, the more your nose will learn to discern and luxuriate in these individual notes.
12. What's All This Talk About "Barn"? If you've spent any time researching Oud, you've likely encountered the term "barnyard" or "barn." This refers to a specific range olfactory notes present in some Ouds, particularly those oils from certain regions or processed in traditional ways. It can range from a subtle, animalic muskiness to more pronounced notes reminiscent of fermentation, animal dung, or strong body odor – not necessarily unpleasant in the right balance, and often a sign of a traditionally processed, bolder, often wild Oud. For those new to Oud, it can be surprising. You may learn to appreciate these notes, or you may decide to avoid them all together. Its your choice. We delve deeper into this specific characteristic in our article, "Understanding the "Barn" in Oud: A Guide to Animalic Notes in Agarwood Oil" – we encourage you to read it for a deeper understanding.
13. Mixing and Layering Oud with Other Scents: for beginners seeking to comprehend Oud, to fully grasp the depth and breadth of what Oud encompasses, we generally recommend avoiding actively blending and layering Oud with other scents. (For now.)Better Oud oils are a complete, satisfying, and dynamic aromatic experience all on their own. We recommend that you become familiar with everything great Oud has to offer on its own; it's unique profundity that is arguably unmatched for any single-source natural aromatic. We also reccommend that you first contemplate each new Oud oil you acquire in the way we describe in this article. Then, with a little more familiarity, and a deeper understanding, there are no rules or restrictions. You can just relax and enjoy the ride.
