Text: Irina Malkova, Igor Shevkun IN THE WORLD OF ELITE PERFUMES, THE OIL OIL IS CONSIDERED PRACTICALLY LEGEND. FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF MILLENNIUM, IT WAS APPRECIATED BY THE ROADER GOLD, AND THE FIRST MENTIONS ABOUT IT ARE found in ANCIENT SANSKRIT AND PERSIAN MANUSCRIPTS. WHAT ARE THE REASON FOR ITS TODAY'S POPULARITY?
Wind from the east
In the East, men from childhood are accustomed to the fact that the use of perfume is an act of showing goodwill towards others. Allowing another person to enjoy the pleasant aroma is the same as giving him a present. The Prophet Muhammad, who not only had a beautiful appearance, but always exuded a very exquisite and pleasant aroma, once said: "Women and incense were made pleasant for me from your world, and prayer was a joy for my eyes." This statement reflects three things that he loved in worldly life, but out of these three pleasures, incense is the only material object, the only earthly treasure that was dear to him.
Fumigating a house, scenting body and clothes, getting rid of evil spirits that can't stand good scents, praying to God are just some of the reasons for using incense. And one of the main roles in this is allotted to oud and bahuru, obtained from agar wood, or paradise wood.
This valuable incense perfectly embodies the hospitable, generous and generous nature of the people of Arabia and has become an integral part of many cultures of Asia and the Middle East, where it has been used since time immemorial.
Silk road
The most powerful aphrodisiac - agar tree - is grown on special plantations in the jungle of Southeast Asia. Real agar smells magical - it is a warm aura with velvety tints, full of smoky, woody and balsamic shades. It has a unique, deep and persistent aroma that people perceive differently. To some, the smell will seem too harsh, but over time, you can get used to it as well as the taste of wine. The older the oud, the more pronounced is its smell.
But what makes satisfying scents so fashionable and appealing these days? According to Emma Henry, Regional Director for Middle East, Du Bois, a company specializing exclusively in natural oud perfumes, the secret lies in his interaction with the skin. “This is a complex product that changes its properties when in contact with other ingredients. For example, in combination with a rose it acquires the aroma of honey, in combination with vanilla - the aroma of coffee or good cognac. At the same time, oud is a rather rare product: in natural conditions it is produced less than 7% of agar trees around the world, which makes it extremely popular in perfumery. "
However, unlike the popular belief, oud is not the aroma of wood. In fact, this is the result of a tree disease, and is formed as a protective reaction to a fungal or bacterial infection. Attacked trees begin to release protective resin, which builds up in the affected areas. Gradually, the resin literally impregnates the wood, becoming harder and getting dark brown, sometimes almost black. At the same time, the core of the agar tree is the most defenseless against infection. For this reason, in order to obtain an extract of oud, it is often necessary to destroy the whole tree, although it would be more profitable to cut off only infected areas. Varieties of Aquilaria agar tree, which produce udov oil, grow mainly in South and Southeast Asia.
For many centuries, India has been the main supplier, but since the mid-twentieth century, due to increased demand and shrinking trees, the production of agar oil has intensified in Indochina, and later in Indonesia and Malaysia. Today oud plantations exist in a number of countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Aromamagy
Nowadays, in the Emirates, uda oil is still compared to liquid gold. And this is no accident. The price per ud is about 150 dirhams per gram, which is more expensive than gold (the price per gram of gold in the Emirates is from 100 to 130 dirhams).
This cost is affected by the low yield of oil from plant materials and the complexity of the extraction process - as a rule, a minimum of 20 kg of wood is required to get 12 ml of oil. At the same time, the highest quality oud is obtained when processing trees older than 100 years. This, of course, does not mean that young trees do not give a good aroma, but this is not quite the level of quality, heritage and traditions. Nevertheless, sales of perfumes based on oud continue to grow every year.
"The oud perfumes have a rather strong odor, so it’s enough to apply only a drop to the skin to leave a trail of amazing aroma," Emma Henry advises. Depending on the person who uses it, oud smells differently, and using it, you will always exude a special, your personal aroma. In the East, in addition to numerous perfumes with a satisfying extract, it is also customary to apply pure satisfying oil to the skin by lightly touching the pulse points on the wrists and neck with a finger.
