Oud - the most abused fragrance material

Oud - the most abused fragrance material in modern history.

I was watching a recent interview with a seller of pure oud oils and was inspired to write this article.

I totally agree with everything he has said on this issue.

What is oud to the average person?

Many will point to their favourite Roja, Montale, Mancera, Creed or any other number of brands operating under the pretence of faux luxury. Many of these brands will market their products as oud fragrances when in actual fact they are pumped full of synthetics, placed in a fancy bottle with a shiny crystal cap and marketed to the masses seeking a little luxury in their lives.

These people pay their hard earned money and are never once told this “oud” fragrance they are buying actually contains no oud or is a synthetic alternative. Simply put, this is theft and fraud committed against the consumer. After all, if Tiffanys sold you a “diamond” necklace and didn’t tell you it was actually cubic zirconia what do you think would happen? It would be all over the news!

What a mess we have found ourselves in. The big brands have taken something as beautiful, pure, spiritual, clean and innocent as oud and turned it into a marketing campaign.

The question here is what do we do about it?

What chance do a small community of nomadic Oud lovers have against the oligarchy of huge corporations with billions of dollars to throw at marketing, lawsuits and PR. The answer is that we have no chance, the community of vendors and distillers is divided and has been for some time.

The only chance we have is if we come together to raise awareness on this issue.
Knowledge is power, United we stand divided we fall!