Oud Salahuddin Ensar Oud / Oriscent 2023
1
The Smell of History
Ensar Oud, Oud Salahuddin.
I thought after Oud Ahmad, there was no more to surprise me. There cannot be an aromatic that boasts more complexity and sheer awe than Oud Ahmad. I was wrong. Oud Salahuddin was the key to unlocking a new olfactory realm. Can it go further than this?
This oil was distilled in 2001, next to two other legendary oils which I hold dear to my heart. Oud Sultani and Oud Ahmad. Sinking grade wood, but instead of using just Malaysian (Kelantan) Agarwood they decided to throw Cambodian into the pot, as well. The result is something that I cannot relate to any perfume, attar, or oud oil. It is its own beast. If I had to describe the smell in one word, it would be ANCIENT. The smell of an old castle chamber, an old library, old terracotta pots, or old musical instruments. I have a very old piano at home, maybe 80 years old. Sometimes I lean to smell its keyboard. It has a beautiful smell. I looked for many years to capture that scent in perfumes yet to no avail. Oud oils came closest but none as close as Oud Salahuddin. It also smells like red terracotta pots. Or old chambers inside a Medieval castle. Ancient. That is the overall feel this oil has upon smelling it. Its complexity and scent profile, however, go way beyond that if one spends time analyzing it. And it seems to change depending on how much I apply, and skin temperature. I would say it is akin more to Vietnamese oils than either Cambodi or Malay. Like a Red Vietnamese oil boasting that bitter-sweet, earthy medicinal aroma.
The opening is either an explosion of red powderiness or red incense smoke. When it is red powder it goes hand in hand with a slight golden honey sweetness and a vivid red terracotta pot smell. When it begins as a red smoky incense accord, it feels much darker, akin to Oud Ahmad. Most of the time, it starts as the red powdery terracotta smell, laced with faint pollen-honey-like sweetness, adjoined by a bitter and sharp green facet that feels like the jungle and earth being struck by the summer rain. Dusty almost, in texture. Green, red, earthy, and slightly sweet. Akin to the Vietnamese profile or old Cambodis. I can sense faint traces of Oud Ahmad and Kambodi 1976. The first part is bright red, like a landscape during daylight. As it progresses, it gets darker. The green hues turn brown and finally black. The blast of red powder shapes into a fine red incense smoke that tingles your nostrils. An incense stick, burning in a dark ancient chamber, its aroma permeating the room and throwing your mind into a limbo. I feel words cannot do justice to this oil. I only write this so that people can get a glimpse of what Oud Salahuddin can offer. It is an aromatic that, at this point, exceeds my power of putting into words what my nose tries so hard to decipher. Oud Ahmad is Ancient and Dark. Oud Salahuddin is Ancient and Wise. If I were to name this oil, I would have called it Confucius.
IG:@memory.of.scents
I thought after Oud Ahmad, there was no more to surprise me. There cannot be an aromatic that boasts more complexity and sheer awe than Oud Ahmad. I was wrong. Oud Salahuddin was the key to unlocking a new olfactory realm. Can it go further than this?
This oil was distilled in 2001, next to two other legendary oils which I hold dear to my heart. Oud Sultani and Oud Ahmad. Sinking grade wood, but instead of using just Malaysian (Kelantan) Agarwood they decided to throw Cambodian into the pot, as well. The result is something that I cannot relate to any perfume, attar, or oud oil. It is its own beast. If I had to describe the smell in one word, it would be ANCIENT. The smell of an old castle chamber, an old library, old terracotta pots, or old musical instruments. I have a very old piano at home, maybe 80 years old. Sometimes I lean to smell its keyboard. It has a beautiful smell. I looked for many years to capture that scent in perfumes yet to no avail. Oud oils came closest but none as close as Oud Salahuddin. It also smells like red terracotta pots. Or old chambers inside a Medieval castle. Ancient. That is the overall feel this oil has upon smelling it. Its complexity and scent profile, however, go way beyond that if one spends time analyzing it. And it seems to change depending on how much I apply, and skin temperature. I would say it is akin more to Vietnamese oils than either Cambodi or Malay. Like a Red Vietnamese oil boasting that bitter-sweet, earthy medicinal aroma.
The opening is either an explosion of red powderiness or red incense smoke. When it is red powder it goes hand in hand with a slight golden honey sweetness and a vivid red terracotta pot smell. When it begins as a red smoky incense accord, it feels much darker, akin to Oud Ahmad. Most of the time, it starts as the red powdery terracotta smell, laced with faint pollen-honey-like sweetness, adjoined by a bitter and sharp green facet that feels like the jungle and earth being struck by the summer rain. Dusty almost, in texture. Green, red, earthy, and slightly sweet. Akin to the Vietnamese profile or old Cambodis. I can sense faint traces of Oud Ahmad and Kambodi 1976. The first part is bright red, like a landscape during daylight. As it progresses, it gets darker. The green hues turn brown and finally black. The blast of red powder shapes into a fine red incense smoke that tingles your nostrils. An incense stick, burning in a dark ancient chamber, its aroma permeating the room and throwing your mind into a limbo. I feel words cannot do justice to this oil. I only write this so that people can get a glimpse of what Oud Salahuddin can offer. It is an aromatic that, at this point, exceeds my power of putting into words what my nose tries so hard to decipher. Oud Ahmad is Ancient and Dark. Oud Salahuddin is Ancient and Wise. If I were to name this oil, I would have called it Confucius.
IG:@memory.of.scents
DrB1414
