Oud/Oudh

[CheshireCat9999]

Hi, new to Mumsnet and wanted some help from you lovely ladies.

Where can I buy/try some authentic Oud/Oudh??

There's a guy at work who wears it and he smells devine
He wears Tom Ford Oud Wood but also some niche Arabic/Asian ones. Too embarrassed to ask him where he gets them from

Can anyone recommend somewhere in the North West I could go and try??

Oud based Perfumes are really popular in the Middle East but the more expensive perfume brands tend to do some versions.

Jo Malone does a nice oud and bergamot which is lovely. If you can find an Arabian oud store in the north west (there are a couple in London) that would be a good place to go and have a sniff. Otherwise try dept stores and ask at the counters they will know if they have any in stock. Good luck!

Oh, go to to maxx and see if the have any L'Artisan perfumes left. I got my old one from there. It's not everyone's cup of tea though.

Cheshire, I have lots of western oudh perfumes. Just about any perfume house has one these days. The one I like best is the pungent Leather Oud from Dior's boutique line. Francis Kurkdjian also makes an understated work-appropriate one and YSL M7 Oud Absolu (a masculine) is nice too, you might find it in your local department store. I was recently in UAE and bought a couple of oudh perfumes there from Ajmal, a local perfume house. You can buy them from eBay if you'd like to. Lots of other purveyours out there, but I'd recommend trying a sample/ a small amount first as it can be stinky and perfumes containing natural oudh will be expensive. I don't know if the Ajmal stuff is real or high-grade synthetic but I love it - wearing it today. They do both alcohol based and oil based perfumes.

Here is a guide to oudh perfumes from the perfume blogger Persolaise. Great info on Fragrantica as well.

I worked in the Middle East and theArabian Oud store is by far the best. I don't think they have any outlets in the North West but after searching there is Oudhhperfumes.co.uk located on Cheetham Hill Road in Manchester.

Montale have an Oud sample set you can order from Europerfumes for just postage I think .Maison Francis kurkdjian sell samples of their oud perfumes on their website - 4 for 14 Euros.Van Cleef and Arpels have Precious Oud as part of their exclusive collection which is a lovely floral Oud ( as is Maison Francis k.Amyris Femme).These are 'entry-level' ouds that are easy to wear and test.

Good luck if you have the gumption to go straight on to full-on Ouds.

ive got the l'artisan oudh which is glorious but i dont wear it out of the house as it is pretty carnal and sweaty

Thank you all so much for the recommendations and feedback I'm definitely going to try by buying some samples from eBay and will be visiting Oud Perfumes and Arabian Oudh when I get the chance. Really looking forward to finding my signature oud scent

From what you guys have said, there's been a proliferation of Western based oud fragrances, then how come I don't smell it more often? I work in a large office and the blokes, apart from Oud Guy, all smell the same. I wonder if it's an issue of being able to carry off a fragrance?

Is there a Harvey Nichols near you? They do lots of lovely niche Arab fragrances

Cheshire lots of people prefer use close-to-skin scents for office. Oudh is a trendy thing, but the Western oudh phenomenom got rolling with niche lines, so those perfumes are not something you'd smell everywhere. I also think lots of perfume houses are courting the Middle Eastern market and offering things customers there expect. You will smell lots of oudhs and oudh blends there on people.

Anyway, hope you'll find some nice ones. You might get a blast of off notes in the opening, let it stay on your skin anyway, it will become delicious later on.

I've ditched all of my fragrances and now only wear Al Rehab fragrance oils.

Example here
www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Al-Rehab/Sultan-Al-Oud-20164.html

I buy from eBay or Amazon and they are inexpensive but wonderful fragrances. Our features in many of them.