Rare Essential

Oud is difficult to source with an esoteric fragrance, but that hasn’t deterred perfumers from reviving it with a modern update.

Here’s a quick perfume history lesson for you. In 2002, Yves Saint Laurent launched a men’s fragrance called M7. One of its selling points was that it was the first “Western” scent to contain oud. This near-mythical substance had been used in Asian perfumes and incense for centuries but was little known west of the Arabian Gulf. Produced by certain varieties of the aquilaria tree in response to a fungal infection, it is overwhelmingly pungent, displaying an astonishing range of olfactory facets, from spicy to petroleum-like, medicinal and woody to leathery. To say that it’s an acquired taste would be an understatement, but, according to James Craven of London specialist perfumery Les Senteurs, those who fall under its spell liken it to “something drifting down from the gates to Paradise”.

As the formation of oud is difficult to control and its supply severely limited – its “host tree” is listed as an endangered species – the extreme odour is matched by the price tag, with some qualities fetching in the region of £30,000 per kilo and beyond.