Arab world’s Oud fragrance wafts into western perfume industry

Manal Muffin always wanted to create a product that would represent her and be liked by others, regardless of where they live.

“Everyone uses perfumes no matter where they’re from. Given that I live in the UAE, an Arab country where fragrance is a huge part of the culture, it just made sense to go ahead with this idea,” she said.

So she launched the Oudh Al Anfar perfume brand, which contains the oud fragrance, one of the most prominent and essential elements in Arab culture. As a fragrance note, oud, known in English as agarwood, holds both cultural and religious significance that intertwines with Islamic heritage and that of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“Every household here knows about oud and uses it in one way or another, whether it’s in the form of aromatic woodchips called ‘bakhoor’ in Arabic or as a fragrance note in their perfumes,” Muffin told The Media Line. “It’s always present and is one of the strongest fragrance notes. When you smell it, you instantly think of Arab culture.”

Muffin’s unisex fragrance blends Arab and French fragrance notes and combines the scent musk and oud.

“It caters to almost all tastes, so everyone loves it. This is one of the biggest reasons why my fragrance has been such a hit and why we’ve sold out multiple times. Our sales have been phenomenal for a new fragrance in the market,” she said.

Deep roots in Islamic history

According to local perfume maker Shaneela Rowah Al-Qama, “Oud as a fragrance note has been mentioned in religious Hadiths, which are the sayings or the teachings of the Prophet Muhammed, and he also has mentioned saffron and musk, which are also two very significant fragrance notes in the region.”

At the Kaaba, the site of the Muslim pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, oud fragrance permeates the air, and this scent has become synonymous with the region, Arab culture and tradition, as well as religion.

Oud is believed to come from the Aquilaria tree, found mostly in southeast Asia. The tree is on the brink of extinction due to harvesting demands. The extract from the tree is known as the oil of oud, or “dihn el oud” in Arabic.

Today, the main and best oud-producing countries include India, Malaysia, and Cambodia. However, some Asian countries have made it illegal to cut and harvest agarwood-producing species, and Malaysia and Indonesia have introduced export quotas.

Within the GCC, oud is used as both incense and perfume. However, it has only recently been adopted by French and other Western perfume houses. Today, the perfume ingredient has become a novelty in the West, bringing a unique element to the composition of fragrance.

“The addition of the exquisite oud fragrance note has helped Western commercial fragrance brands cultivate niche lines of fragrances that attract a higher price point. This has led to skyrocketing sales within the fragrance industry in the Western world and has revamped the fragrance lines of various perfume houses. In general, oud has revived the global fragrance market,” Al-Qama said.

The growing popularity of the oud fragrance note in Western-created perfumes has resulted in a peak in sales of perfume brands that are produced in the GCC region.

“In terms of the local culture, the use of perfume means the use of fragrance oils, since they are the ones that have the highest concentration and long-lasting abilities. Additionally, the weather and environment play a huge factor in the performance of fragrances, and in the GCC region, the high concentration of fragrance oils work the best,” Al-Qama said.

Various sales representatives believe that in response to the current and large consumer trend in the West for perfume sprays, the traditional oud perfume oil is now widely available in the region in spray form.