Wear it for a day or two before committing to a purchase, as the evolution will be slow and you want to be sure that you love it to the very end. For example, in the Middle East, people actually sell pure oud bark, which is then burned, and people fragrance themselves through the fumes from the oud smoke and then layer with different fragrances. Similar to Tom Ford Oud Wood, it's incredibly dry and clean—in part thanks to notes like oud, sandalwood, cypress wood, and gaïac wood. Many perfumers in the West are now using it as a base to create incredible fragrances for men and women. I’ve been a fan of Byredo’s Super Cedar for years but only tried the super popular Mojave Ghost recently, and I’ve gone back to it time and again.

The thing about the fragrance industry however is that it's full of innovation, and perfumers love a challenge. The Oud Wood EDP pays homage to the wood’s use in temples, heightening the intensity with rose, cardamom, sandalwood and vetiver with Tonka bean and amber at the base. During her career, she’s covered everything from backstage beauty at fashion week to interviews with famous faces like Drag Race royalty and Little Mix. While many oud-based fragrances can be overwhelming, this one has a softer side and is therefore as appropriate for day as it is for night. Inspired by the mix of Persian and Parisian, the rich, woody, amber-like scent then opens into a heart of cedar, angelica seed and galbanum, before settling into a foundation of frankincense, musk, oud and sandalwood.If you haven’t discovered oud yet or are looking to explore it further, these are our picks for the best oud perfumes. La Fumée Alexandrie, created by Miller Harris founder Lyn Harris in collaboration with perfumer Mathieu Nardin, stands front and centre in the line. It is, without a doubt, full of character while at the same time maintaining some faint floral notes.

Having walked in those scented footsteps, I can’t help but feel the enchantment of this aromatic adventure. Fragrance is about as intimate as it gets in the world of beauty, so choosing a perfume is a personal endeavor. The wood sage at the base of this fragrance gives it an earthy scent, while the freshness is brought out by the sea salt.This is an absolute joy of a spicy woody scent that, just like its name suggests, conjures autumn walks through crunchy leaves. If you’re looking for a pure, uninterrupted oud experience this is as austere and authentic as you’ll find. Maybe it's because they're a departure from the overly sweet perfumes of our youth, or perhaps it's just something that happens to your olfactory system as you grow up (much like our taste buds).

European master perfumers started to add it to their olfactive vocabulary from the early 2000s, thanks to Alberto Morillas. Its olfactory profile is bound to get you noticed, while its woody smell is rich with nuances, ranging from leather, earthy, sweet, to spicy fragrances. Combining an opulent bottle with the scent of an Arabian garden, Grape Pearls is the perfect transitional fragrance, taking you from the bounty of summer into autumn.Each fragrance spotlights an iconic Indian material (flowers, spices, herbs and woods) as its muse; Agar Épicé (literally translated as Spiced Oud), obviously takes oud as its leading actor and is one of the collection’s best performances. When picking a woodsy perfume, think about the different scent families: spicy, floral, earthy, fruity,and oriental. We evaluated each one on their top notes, scent profile, and formula, taking into account the ingredients they're made from. It’s an elegant dark scent with a spicy peppery opening, that turns sweetly exotic with heart notes of cardamom and saffron leading neatly to the base of oud, patchouli, and leatherwood. The cumin notes are wonderfully animalistic and greatly enhance the sensual properties of the fragrance.

Oud scents are very potent, which makes them a great choice for colder seasons and any special occasions. The agarwood chip could be carved to assume an artistic shape or be used in incense, which is currently in high demand. I recently had a fragrance consultation with the perfume experts at Guerlain, and was passed a tester of Guerlain Oud Nude to try.

Jo Malone takes the strong notes of oud and balances with a burst of bright bergamot in this Cologne Intense. The scent itself varies considerably depending on the wood used, where the tree was grown and whether the tree itself was cultivated or naturally infected. Created for Linda by Geza Schoen (the perfumer behind Eccentric Molecules), it is Inspired by the Newabs who once ruled over central India and is abundant with extraordinary spices. On skin, it smells even better, and the oud really does take a backseat, while still giving the fragrance the rich warmth for which the note is so famous. The scent story finishes with a base of benzoin Siam, Mysore sandalwood, Styrax, and of course, precious oud.