SOTD & SOTE - Lootah Signature Oud (chips)

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10h (edited) • SOTD 🍊

WIthout getting too much into the details, let's just say I did a fair amount of research, conversing with various shop owners and studying all things oud on my recent trip to Dubai at the "fragrance souk" (the marketplace in the old part of town.) The shop owners couldn't have been more helpful educating me about this fascinating topic. I bought several different forms of ouds (e.g. pure oils/attars, wood chips, incense.)

This morning I thought I'd try the more traditional, Middle Eastern way of applying an oud scent given that I wasn't going to see anyone until dinner tonight. I've already burned a few chips of this particular oud in the burner, that was given to me by a shop owner. From those first few burns I got a real good idea as to the smell and strength of this oud, and there was no real surprise from what I remembered back in that shop.

To "apply" the smoke from the burning oud chip (soaked in pure oil) I waved the fabric of my shirt through the smoke for about 15 seconds. Then I cupped the smoke with my hands and basically patted it onto my head and neck. Yep... I REALLY did this today. BTW, if it's the real deal, you should be able to put your face in the smoke and it will not burn your eyes. If it's fake, it'll smell like a cigarette or worse.

So the big question some will ask is; Where are the chips sourced? Lootah does not specifically say where they're sourcing some of their chips from because, like blended Scotch, their chips are generally from India, Cambodia and Indonesia, but the important thing for most Houses is the consistency of the fragrance among their various products. This one shop owner gave me some Indian oud, Vietnamese oud, Cambodian oud and others, so I can distinguish the general aromas from the various countries. However as he explained, it's more complicated than simply where it's sourced. You can have oud that is wild vs. plantation grown, sinking vs. floating, and of course there are various grades within all that. The scent profiles can be woody, earthy, animalic (sometimes down-right barnyardy), sweet, smoky, etc, with regional styles often dictating the characteristics.

I wouldn't call this particular selection of mine a "crowd-pleaser", because afterall, we're talking oud. Oud in Western/European fragrances are generally VERY easy to take and sometimes downright sweet. I think my selection with this jar was a very middle of the road representation of East meets West. It's a beautiful scent, but it will definitely offend some, while others will appreciate it. I have a few other jars to sample, but this little experiment was really a blast!!

The scent lasted on me for a solid 10+ hours and it's still on my shirt. By dinnertime and after a shower, the scent was off of me but I understand that it'll take days for the scent to leave the fabric.

I think I have enough oud now to last me for at least 10-15 years!

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