Dark, enigmatic, charismatic and moody. No, we're not talking exes— we're talking oud. The rare and precious oil found in agarwood has been inspiring perfumers of late, leading to a bounty of scents based on this compelling note. One of our favorites is this luxurious potion by Calice Becker. She has mastered the critical element of balance – showcasing all of the wonderful strangeness of oud, while taming it just enough to keep it from becoming overwhelming. Pure Oud opens with the dark glitter of obsidian, as saffron swirls over a deep animalic growl, then takes us on a long and twisty journey to secret places: a deliciously murky lair filled with mysterious smoke; a hidden chamber redolent with ink, leather and ancient wood. Make no mistake, this is powerful stuff: the ink is extremely inky, the leather is enveloping and rich, the animalic elements are so vivid that you can feel the lion's breath on your neck— and yet Becker has taken all of these prickly components and spun them into velvet. The end result is so astonishingly smooth and well-blended that you could wear it every day. Oud lovers will adore this, naturally, but this also gets our vote for the oud fragrance most likely to win new converts-- not because it is a simplified version, but because it gets all the complications perfectly right. Magical.