Oud, agar tree, aquilaria (Aquilaria Agallocha), family of wolfberry (Thymelaeaceae) Parts of the plant that are being processed: wood that has been exposed to a parasite fungus Types of raw materials obtained: essential oil Production methods: hydrodistillation Olfactory group: woody Position of the oud note in the olfactory pyramid: middle and base notes with possible presence in the upper phase In modern perfumery since the beginning of the XXI century, there is no more fashionable woody element than oud. By itself, the wood of the agar tree has no pronounced odor and becomes precious only after infection with a fungus. Once infected, the plant begins to secrete a dark resin to neutralize the parasite. It is called agar and is processed to obtain essential oil. Oud essential oil has a condensed consistency, color characteristics from pale yellow to dark brown and is a traditional element of Arabic perfumery. It has a deep, dark woody aroma with smoky, vetiver, sweet, fecal, animal and balsamic characteristics. It is rightly called the black gold of perfumery, because real oud oil is extremely expensive — its price can reach up to 60 thousand euros per kilogram. The aroma of the oil depends not only on geographical factors, but also on time. The longer the raw material was aged, the more noble and multifaceted its flavor. However, due to its price and rarity, natural oud is almost not used in perfumery and is replaced by perfume bases that imitate its smell. These can be mixtures of natural and synthetic components, as well as exclusively synthetic formulations. It is believed that the fashion for oud fragrances in Europe was introduced by Pierre Montale (Montale Paris), and since then the oud boom has not abated. Every self-respecting niche brand strives to release a fragrance with a woody note of oud, or even entire collections. The agar note has been used in all perfume genres without exception, including gourmet, musky and even the cologne genre. Some luxury brands have also succumbed to the long-term trend and produce wood-oud compositions. In the Arabic perfumery tradition, the oud is given a meaning-forming role. Brands and fragrances based on the aroma of agarwood oil: Montale Paris (many oud fragrances and individual oud collections), The House of Oud (the entire collection contains references to agar, but emphatically uses it as one of the elements of the perfume composition, and not the main component), Rouh Al Aoud Abdul Samad Al Qurashi, Oud Al Rehab Al-Rehab, Oudh Al Khaloud Amouage, Wonderoud Comme des Garcons, Wonderwood Comme des Garcons, M7 Yves Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli Tiger Oud Roberto Cavalli, Otro Poema de los Dones Fueguia 1833, Oud & Rose Lanvin, Musk Oud By Kilian and many more, many others.