Introduction
At Abd Majid Oud and Aquiroma, we believe that knowledge should travel with the material. Our role is not only to produce and supply agarwood oil. It is also to explain what shaped it, what can be verified, what remains uncertain and why those facts matter in perfumery.We share what we have learned through more than four decades of production and distillation and through our continuing work with perfumers, fragrance houses and students. The aim is simple: to make agarwood easier to understand, evaluate and use.
Oud Is Not One Olfactive Profile
Oud is often reduced to a familiar vocabulary: dark, smoky, animalic, rare and luxurious. These words may describe certain oils. They do not define agarwood oil as a category.The resinous wood known as agarwood forms through the tree’s response to injury and other forms of stress, often with microbial activity involved. This process is biologically complex and does not happen in exactly the same way in every tree or production system.By the time the oil is distilled, its character may have been influenced by the species, growing environment, development of the resin, material selected for distillation, preparation of that material, extraction method, process conditions, fractions collected and the way the oil is rested and stored.Origin matters, but it is not a complete specification. Two oils from the same country can have very different profiles. A species name alone does not predict the finished odour. An extraction method can influence composition, but it does not guarantee one fixed olfactive result.For a perfumer, this changes the question. Instead of asking what oud smells like, it becomes more useful to ask what shaped this particular oil and what it can contribute to a formula.
From Source to Formula
Our educational sessions follow the material from the tree to the perfumer’s blotter. We explain how resin forms, how wood containing resin is identified and selected, what material enters the still and how preparation and extraction can influence the finished oil.We examine hydrodistillation, steam distillation and other extraction approaches through real production examples. We also discuss variables within each method, including the preparation of the wood, contact with water, temperature, pressure, duration and collection of fractions.The purpose is not to teach rigid rules. It is to show why two oils carrying the same broad description may still behave very differently.For fragrance houses, understanding the material also means understanding the evidence around it. We consider sensory evaluation alongside origin, species, batch history, technical data, GC-MS analysis, traceability and the relevant CITES documentation.No single document or analytical result can answer every question about authenticity or quality. A reliable assessment comes from several forms of evidence considered together.
Learning Through Comparison
Comparative smelling is at the centre of our sessions. Participants evaluate oils from different origins, species and production methods side by side, with the available production information placed beside each sample.This makes the diversity of agarwood immediate. One oil may be dry, woody and transparent. Another may be dense, animalic and leathery. Others may move through smoky, earthy, floral, fruity, spicy or balsamic facets.These are not fixed categories. A single oil may reveal several of them as it develops.We encourage participants to look beyond a list of notes. A perfumer also needs to consider diffusion, development, impact at different dosages, interaction with other materials and the role an oil could play within a composition.An evaluator or buyer may need to consider repeatability, batch character, documentation and supply alongside the olfactive profile.Smelling the materials together allows these questions to become concrete. The conversation moves away from general ideas about oud and towards the behaviour of the actual oil in front of us.
The Right Oud for the Work
We do not use our sessions to declare one oil the best. That question is usually too simple.The right material depends on the brief. One perfumer may want a distinct animalic signature. Another may need a dry woody structure, a softer balsamic effect or an oud that integrates without dominating the formula.A fragrance house may also need reliable supply, a consistent batch profile, technical documentation, traceability and the relevant CITES documentation for the intended trade.A striking oil is not automatically the most useful oil for every composition. Suitability depends on purpose, dosage, desired character, performance and practical requirements.Our aim is not to make everyone prefer the same material. It is to help each participant ask better questions and choose with greater purpose.
Working With Students and Professionals
We have shared our knowledge with perfumery students, professional perfumers, evaluators, fragrance company teams and luxury management students.Our educational work has included sessions at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, ISIPCA, the Italian Perfumery Institute and SKEMA Business School, as well as dedicated training for fragrance companies.Each audience comes with different questions. A student may need a clear foundation in the tree, resin and oil. A perfumer may focus on olfactive development and formulation. An evaluator may want to compare profiles and understand batch variation.A sourcing, regulatory or sustainability team may be more concerned with species, origin, traceability, supply and CITES documentation.We adapt the depth and structure of each session to the people in the room while keeping the discussion practical and connected to real materials.The exchange also works in both directions. Questions from students and professionals reveal where production language and fragrance industry language do not yet meet. They show which assumptions need to be challenged and which subjects need clearer evidence.Every session therefore improves not only what participants understand, but also how we explain our own work.
Beyond the Scent of Agarwood Oil
This continuing exchange led Khalid Iqbal to write Beyond the Scent of Agarwood Oil.The book grew from questions gathered over years of conversations with perfumers, customers and students:
- What is agarwood?
- How does resin develop?
- Why can oils from the same origin smell so different?
- What changes during preparation and distillation?
- What can analysis tell us, and what can it not tell us?
- How should a perfumer approach oud as a working raw material?
The book brings these questions into one practical reference. It follows agarwood oil from cultivation and resin formation through sourcing, production and distillation, then into authenticity, analytical testing, sustainability and use in perfumery.It also includes perspectives from perfumers and fragrance professionals, connecting knowledge from the source with the experience of those who formulate with the material.It does not ask readers to accept one fixed view of oud. It gives them a stronger foundation from which to smell, compare, question and form their own judgement.
A Continuing Responsibility
Knowledge sharing is not a separate campaign for us. It is part of how we work.Through institutional sessions, professional training, comparative material presentations, written articles and our book, we want to support a more informed conversation around agarwood.Better understanding leads to better sample evaluation, more precise selection, more purposeful formulation and more responsible sourcing. It also reduces the industry’s dependence on vague language and unsupported stories.We do not claim to have every answer. The science of resin formation continues to develop. Agarwood oil is naturally variable, and production knowledge includes both measured evidence and experience built through repeated practice.We believe it is important to distinguish between what we have observed, what analysis can support and what remains an interpretation.After more than four decades in agarwood production and distillation, our contribution is to connect the sample on the blotter with the material and decisions at the source.We share this knowledge because the future of agarwood depends not only on producing and trading it responsibly, but also on understanding it properly.