Senior Editor Tama Blough wrote an intriguing article on Cafleurebon.com last September describing her trip to a place called Oudimentary. As I read her words I felt drawn in by her experience. I just knew I had to get there. I'd been having a bit of a crisis of faith and suddenly I felt a cause, a force within me. I knew it would be my Mecca and I needed to make my pilgrimage. I started making plans immediately. Oudimentary is an import business in Fremont, California that you can also visit to experience real Oud. And if you don't know what Oud is, you do not live in the Middle East or Asia because everyone there knows Oud. I mean everyone. Oud is a wood. It is also a bark, an herb and a resin. It can come in the form of incense, wood chips, perfumes, and oils. Oud is further differentiated by region and scent and the price varies greatly by the age and content of the resin.
Oud wood, photo by Tama Blough
I am a Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist so Oud is especially interesting to me because it combines my love of perfume with my life in holistic medicine. Aquilaria Sinensis (Chen Xiang) is a common and very useful Chinese herb which is used for many conditions including nausea, asthma and abdominal pain. Oud is also a form Aquilaria but it is the Malaccensis variety, also known as Agarwood or Aloeswood. It is a special tree which has formed antibodies in reaction to an infection and the resinous bark that is formed through this reaction becomes Oud. This bark is highly prized and very expensive and difficult to find and harvest. It is used to burn like incense for scenting homes and clothing, and oils are made to scent hair and skin.
(L)Ona Cocozza with her Aunt and CaFleureBon Reader Sujaan Grimson (they look like sisters)
I called the one person I knew who would embrace the experience as much as I would, my niece Ona. She is the same niece that I convinced to travel to New York to go to Sniffapalooza with me (where is when I first met Michelyn Camen Editor in Chief of CaFleureBon). She adored that and I just knew this smelly experience would appeal to her as well.
Co-Founder Micah Anderson, photo by Tama Blough
Ah, Oudimentary. I was imagining it would be a kind of eastern sacrament and I was right, only it was even more delightful. Micah Anderson and Usama Canon, the owners, are knowledgeable, dedicated, sweet, reverent, and oh so humble. They made us feel special and blessed us with their delectable offerings. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a beautiful woman in a hijab who welcomed us and showed us into the Oud Bar which is a small room with a polished natural wood bar.
Photo: Oudimentary: Co-owner Usama Canon preparing oud tea according to age old rituals
Micah and Usama appeared like magic from behind a divider wall to greet us. They wanted to know what brought us to Oudimentary and what we were interested in sniffing. How could we not be drawn in by these two aficionados who pledge on their website, "Your happiness is our happiness!" and, "Don't hate, fumigate!"
Burning a piece of oud wood, photo by Tama Blough
Our experience began with a ritual: we were given hot towels to wash our hands with, and then Orange Blossom hydrosol was poured on our hands over a wooden bowl to anoint them with a gentle scent that would amplify and compliment the Oud smoke. Then…the smoke. Ahhhhh, the beautiful, rich, calming, energizing, glorious smoke of Oud. We sniffed various grades of Cambodian and Thai while Micah and Usama offered their expertise on the subtleties of each. Ona and I closed our eyes and allowed ourselves to be transported to lands far, far away from that small industrial park in Fremont. I get Oud now. I needed to go to understand. I needed to bathe in it, let it wash over me and carry me away to Oud-bliss. So for anyone who thinks they are "over" Oud, it's because they've actually never smelled the real deal. If they had, they could not be over it because they would be in it – for life.
Oud is like a movie, you either love it or you don't. Watch their fantastic documentary by Mustafa Davis above. I worked in the film industry for many years and from a filmmaker's point of view, Mustafa’s filmmaking draws you in; you feel like you really get to know Micah and Usama. He shows you their dedication and their hardships, the mess ups and the triumphs, the foreign cities and the jungles as they make their way following the Oud trail.
Photo Credit Oudimentary: Morrocan Tea Service and Oudimentary Yellow Gold Tea
These were my people! These were the uncompromising types I wanted to surround myself with. My niece and I were giddy by the time we left Oudimentary. We had not only been impressed by the scents, the rituals, and the Yemeni spiced coffee, but we decided that Oudimentary draws the coolest and most interesting people! We both admitted we wanted to go back, for the Oud, yes, of course, but also to meet the other patrons that came in. They were worldly, aware and interesting kindred spirits, people who love to travel, to experience other cultures and the outer reaches of the world. My niece and I have each traveled quite a bit; we embrace and adore learning about traditions far beyond our American borders and we are grateful to have Oudimentary bring these scented Asian treasures to the people of the west.
Oudimentary Private Reserve Cambodi, Super Assam and Gazelle Musk
My flight back to New York was leaving soon and so we had to break ourselves away. On the way to the airport I needed to stop for some food for my flight. We walked into a sandwich shop and while we were waiting my curious niece asked the man behind the counter if he could smell us. At first he seemed a bit taken aback by the question but then his smile grew. He sheepishly said yes, clearly not wanting to offend us. My niece assured him we were ok with our sillage and explained a bit of where we had just been. Then he divulged…"As soon as you opened the door to the restaurant I looked around and realized it was you two who brought the fragrance in". Ona and I grinned wide at each other. Fragrance is like spreading a gift of joy wherever you go and there we were in a Togo's sandwich shop spreading the gift we had just received. Everything about the experience was fantastic except that it was too short. I am left dreaming of my return. I am sitting on an airplane on my way back to New York as I write this. I know I smell fabulous! And I'm thinking to myself, these people around me are so lucky to be enjoying a bit of Oudimentary with me.
–Sujaan Grimson, LAc, MTOM, Guest Contributor and CaFleureBon Reader
Photo Oudimentary: Private Reserve Burmese Raw Oud
Thanks to the generosity of Oudimentary, we have a swag bag of an assortment of samples to give to any reader in the US. Please let us know what you enjoyed about Sujann's jouney to Oudimentary / your favorite oud perfume. Draw ends July 8, 2014.
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.
Editor's Note: We have always had an open door policy and welcome submissions from budding writers and perfume bloggers! If you are a ÇaFleureBon reader and would like to guest post, please email us. We cannot guarantee your article or review will be published but as in Sujaan's case, it was! Since our inception in 2010, we have a wonderful tradition of readers who have contributed amazing posts, including Liza Wade who wrote Is Their A Little Black Dress of Fragrance in Your Wardrobe (which was a Fragrance Foundation Finalist For Editorial Excellence 2010), Michael Devine's poignant Heart Notes, another Fragrance Foundation Finalist for Editorial Excellence 2012 (and a founding member of The Goodsmellas) Harper Hilton who helped us discover Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids, Mario T. Gomez who is now a perfumer and launched his own fragrances, Mario Tomas, Olga Rowe, Jasia Julia Nielson ,(who recently started her own blog The Sounds of Scent), Nick Gilbert who is now with Penhaligon's London, Horror Stories from behind the Counter (which was about a previous job), Vanessa Musson (of Bonkers about Perfume), Brie who was a Sonoma Scents Studio fangirl and tea drinker, Mary Beth Devine, (who is truly missed), Maggie Mahboubian, perfumer and founder of FRAGments who wrote Persian Poetry and Perfume خانه-سفر, Hernando Courtright, who covered a Jo Malone Wine and Fragrance Event, Steve Porkpie Johnson now Creative Director of Pickwicks Mercantile, Perfumer Douglas Bender of Charenton Macerations Queer History of Fashion and Untapped Potential for Fragrance Series, Lauryn Beer's The Scent Trail of Ann Boleyn Jessa Moore (her grandfather worked with legendary Estee Lauder), Eddie "Frunkinator" youtube perfume reviewer, a founding member of the Goodsmellas and blogger for Scent Trails, Leslie Campbell's series of The Divine Feminine, Jane Daly of Daly Beauty, Maria Angelidou's perfume review of Viktor & Rolf Bon Bon, Claudia Kroyer's National Library Week Post, Stevie Wilson of L.A Story who covered the Art and Olfaction 2014 awards and FRAGments 2014 events, Katherine Chan of The Mad Perfumista interview with Anicka Yi, Judith Tabron of The Unseen Censor Molton Brown Navigations through Scent , Pierre Benard of Osmoart,and of course our most illustrious perfumer and Guest Poster- Michel Roudnitska. who invited us into the Garden of his father Edmond Roudnitska . (Our first article about Oud appeared March of 2011 and was written by reader Donna Hathaway of the Portland Examiner The Mysterious Oud Wood and its Ancient Heritage). If you have contributed and I forgot you, please accept my apologies.
Did I mention that Managing EditorTama Blough was a CaFleureBon reader before her first post Purple Prose An Etude in Iris (The Orris Chronicles featuring Xerjoff Iriss and Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist amongst other Iris perfumes), September 12, 2011 –Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief