Oud (Agarwood)

Oud (or agarwood) is the resin produced when aquilaria trees are infected with a specific mold. Real oud is one of the most expensive materials in perfumery — both because the trees are slow-growing and because the infection process is unpredictable. Real-oud fragrances skew toward niche prices ($300+). Most "oud" in commercial fragrances is a synthetic accord that reads as dark, smoky, leathery, and slightly medicinal — recognizable as oud without being the real material. Tom Ford Oud Wood, Amouage's house style, and most Lattafa releases use the synthetic accord; only a few houses (Maison Lubin, Roja Dove) use significant amounts of the real distillate.