Agarwood Oil (Oud)

What Agarwood Oil (Oud) smells like

Oud (agarwood) oil is consistently described as woody, smoky and animalic: a perfume dictionary calls it animalic, earthy, dark and rich-woody; others add leathery and balsamic nuances and slightly sweet undertones. It smells different depending on age and origin, and grades range from sweet to smoky to animalic; a 'barnyard' character attributed to fermentation appears only in weaker sources.

Leading note

Dark animalic wood

Clear facets

Smoky

Supporting facets

Leathery, balsamic, sweet

Faint facets

Medicinal

Character

Dark, rich, complex, tenacious

• woody
• animalic
• smoky
• leathery
• medicinal

What makes Agarwood Oil (Oud) distinctive

Resin-infected wood: dark, animalic and smoky in a way that varies from one oil to the next.

How Agarwood Oil (Oud) is used

Used in traditional attars and in oriental, woody and leather compositions.

Typical role: backbone (used in large proportions as a structural material of an accord); fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes).

How Agarwood Oil (Oud) differs from similar materials

Cypriol Oil (Nagarmotha)

Cypriol is a drier, cold-smoky earth often used to suggest oud; oud is more animalic and balsamic.

Ambrocenide*

Ambrocenide is a mineral ambergris sometimes compared to oud; oud is the darker, animalic natural wood. (compared directly by a cited source)

Black Agar Givco 215/2

Black Agar Givco is an oud replacer built on olibanum and amber, brighter and without the animalic side.

An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Aquilaria species are listed in CITES Appendix II, so international trade needs permits. Adulteration is common; buy from documented sources. No single CAS number is given because composition varies so widely.

Identity and classification

Type

Essential oil

Origin

Natural

Odour family

Woody / Animalic

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Viscous liquid

Also known as

Oud oil, Oudh

Botanical source

Aquilaria spp.

No CAS number is shown: suppliers use different identifiers for this material, and none could be confirmed as its own.

Safety and compliance

CITES: Aquilaria spp., Gyrinops spp. is listed in Appendix II. All parts and derivatives, with exceptions that include finished products packaged and ready for retail trade. Checked on Species+ on 11 October 2026; see CITES and perfume materials.

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

• Rose Oil (Rosa damascena)

  Essential oil · Floral / Fruity — rose, honeyed, spicy, fresh

• Cypriol Oil (Nagarmotha)

  Essential oil · Woody / Leather — smoky, woody, earthy, leathery

• Guaiac Wood Oil

  Essential oil · Woody / Resinous — smoky, woody, rosy, sweet

• Safranal

  Aroma chemical · Spicy / Leather — saffron, leathery, spicy, warm

Agarwood Oil (Oud) is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Azarbre, Black Agar Givco 215/2 and Ethyl Safranate.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 5 published formulas

Agarwood Oil (Oud) is an ingredient in 5 perfume formulas in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Agar Lantern

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Agarwood Oil (Oud) 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

• Bright Wolf

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Agarwood Oil (Oud) 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

• Myrrh Lantern

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “Agarwood Oil (Oud) 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

• Night Jasmine Foundry

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Agarwood Oil (Oud) 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

• Saffron Lacquer

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Agarwood Oil (Oud) 10% DPG”, at 10% in DPG

Further reading

• Oud in Perfumery: Agarwood, CITES and Oud Accords

  What oud is, what shapes an oud oil, CITES Appendix II and trade, how oud accords are built, and working with natural oud.

• CITES and Perfume Materials: Oud, Rosewood, Myrrh and More

  Which perfume materials are CITES-listed — agarwood, rosewood, guaiacwood, spikenard, myrrh since 2026 — what each annotation covers, and the records to keep.

• Essential Oil Adulteration: How It Is Done and How to Catch It

  How essential oils are adulterated — dilution, substitution, added synthetics — how GC, chiral GC and physical checks catch it, and what a small lab can do.

• Woody Notes in Perfumery: Naturals and Aroma Chemicals

  A map of woody materials — cedarwoods, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, smoky woods and woody aroma chemicals — and how to build a woody base.

Questions about Agarwood Oil (Oud)

Sources

• CITES — Species+, checked 11 October 2026.
• Phlur — Oud scent in perfumery — published perfumery reference.
• Frédéric Malle — Oud: the most precious wood in perfumery — published perfumery reference.
• Khaleej Times — An ode to the oud — published perfumery reference.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.