Just wanted to update you with a review of some Ouds I recently tried...(I have noticed it is sometimes spelled "Oudh", but I stick with Oud if you don´t mind)

Since I am based within the EU, I did not order from the QT-store, but from a UK-based company instead.

I ordered a "Starter pack" consisting of three different ouds:

Black Assam (indian)
Samarinda Oud (Borneo)
Malaysia Oud

For three consecutive days I tried them on the back of my hand in the morning to see how it wold develop during the day and see how the drydown was.


The Malaysian Oud I tried the first day.
At application it has a quite sharp burnt/smoky/woody note, that mellows after about 10-15 minutes to a pleasant smoky note, reminding me a little of how your clothes smell after you have been sitting around a campfire. The drydown is quite a lot of hours. I applied a very small amount, not even a drop and I could still note the scent in the evening. The color is light brown.

Granted, it is not that warm now where I live, around 10 degrees Celsius so I am unsure how long this oud would last in a warmer climate.

I tested to spray a layer of my quite woody sandalwood perfume from "Santa Maria Novella" (Google it! It´s a really nice perfume-house) on top of the Malaysian Oud which added an interesting burnt/smoky undertone/basenote to the perfume.

This is a oud I could very well thinking of buying (although the sample will last quite some time, albeit being only a few drops. This is potent stuff...)

The Samarinda Oud from Borneo I tested the second day. It had a more "warm" sweet smooky smell. As the Malaysian it has a quite strong burnt/woody/smoke scent direct after application, but mellows down quite well. The color is darker brown, darker than the Malaysian.

When I compare it to the Malaysian Oud it is quite hard to describe. This one smells more sweet and warm and gives me an impression of a warm fire when I smell it. It is hard to describe exactly what I mean...this one is nice too, but if I had a choice between the Malaysian and Samarinda, I would go with the former.

They are both good, but I like more the smoky/woody scent than the sweet/smoky/woody scent.

Now, the Assam...I tried that on today and - man! - I had to scrub my hand with detergent and some clear alcohol to get rid of the scent.

In my taste this one smelled kinda awful.

It starts out with a fecal note with a hint of the scent of a stable and goes downhill from there. I could only stand it on my hand for like 10 minutes before I had to get rid of it...

I amused myself to perform a test with my mother that was visiting and made her close her eyes and smell the three different ouds. First the Malaysian, which she liked, then the Samarinda, which she liked, then the Assam and she makes a face and says "it smells of horsedung!" which it kinda does.

This Assam oud was not for me..