Aoud

Inspiration
When Roja launched at Harrods in 2011, Aoud Parfum sold out immediately. New bottles were carried into the store every day just to keep up with demand. A decade on, it is still the scent with which the house wins over oud lovers around the world.

Fragrance Family
Woody and oud

The Olfactive Composition
Top notes: Lemon, bergamot, verbena
Heart notes: Geranium, rose de mai, jasmin de Grasse, ylang ylang
Base notes: Rhubarb, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron, patchouli, cedarwood, casmir wood, sandalwood, aoud, vanilla, leather, ambergris, musk

Perfumer
Roja Dove

The Signature of Aoud
Oud, the resin that forms in infected agar trees, can smell animalic, medicinal or sweet. Roja Dove chooses a rich, European reading: lemon and verbena up front, Rose de Mai with geranium next, and finally oud beside leather, saffron and rhubarb. That rhubarb is a striking choice: it gives a tart, juicy edge that lets the heavy wood breathe. Ambergris and musk make the scent skin-like and long-lasting.

What our ParfuMaria team thinks of this fragrance
For us this is the classic of the oud line, the scent all others are measured against. It opens surprisingly fresh, almost citrusy, but within a quarter of an hour the leather steps forward and the rose darkens. What remains is a smoky, faintly sweet wood trail that clings to skin and even longer to wool. It shines brightest in winter and on special evenings. Here is oud as a perfumer sees it: refined, not raw.

© ParfuMaria