SOTD

AA Au Luong and Kanzen. Two very different profiles. The Kanzen is instant gratification. It is very close in profile to the Khmer Special K which is one of the finest oils I ever tried. There is a dark and delicious base with some Kinam notes in the background. Just a stunner for the price.
The Au Luong profile is for me totally unique. A brighter oil with very defined oolong tea notes, melon and a more oudy drydown. This one is growing on me in a huge way but I confess it really did not ‘get’ it at first. Very complex and an oil that requires some study.

You guys have been painting some fantastic descriptions of Taha's new stuff lately.
I hope I get to try them in the future.

From Pennsylvania 'dutch' to the actual.

Greetings to one and all from waterlogged but verdant NL. This is a country largely at peace with itself, tidy and orderly.

Think of a flat Switzerland but much more reasonably priced, a reverse sticker shock land where the cost of living is like 'Murica in the early 90's again.

Swiping some FO Old School Thai.

A jarring contrast indeed. The incense and tropics contrasted with the canals and green flatlands really evoke a feeling of otherness. Living so close to Schipol it tempts me to rife a jet to warmer climes where exotics are in abundance.

FO Hainan Arabi. Rich, oily, leathery. Rain on dry earth. An ancient wood paneled library, not musty, and well-lit with tallow candles. Makes me think of places that are used for important gatherings but are now abandoned. I don’t detect any incense character or florals, but maybe a wisp of orangey fruit. It’s earthy. Not spiritual like recent Vietnamese offerings from Ensar and Taha.

If you’re familiar with Slumberhouse fragrances you’ll know they’re scent-poems about memory. I think the guy who makes them would like Hainan Arabi.

I’ve used several oils recently that have a strong smell of green snapped twigs, and I’ve thought that if I wanted that smell I could go in my back yard and break some branches off bushes. I certainly see no reason to pay Oud prices for them. (Maybe they’re from prematurely harvested plantation trees, or maybe my old nose isn’t detecting their beauty.). I bring up these experiences to differentiate Hainan Arabi which gives no immature green woodiness or farm raised lignins. It smells instead wild and regal and full of character.

au luong for me is like a gathering of heirloom and rare citrus fruits. the zest taken off and gently extracted. with the faintest of raw wood notes in the back. summer oil. up north at the moment the mind and body craves something rounder, warmer and spicier.

I totally agree this is more of a hot weather/season oil. But the tea notes do have a slight warming effect.

Today is a dark and rainy day here. Syed’s Succor, Oud Mostafa No. 5 and Manek II. What dreary weather?

Clouds, rain, drizzle of miserable damp here too, Kesiro. You poor Californian dweller with all that sun leaving you sorely wounded when a stray cloud has the impudence to wander through your general direction.

I will send you a care package of UV lamps, tanning butter scent and a tola of cholcalciferol posthaste.

If you are still befuddled at your predicament, never fear, others have undergone such tribulations, instructional video below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=abFJuqp867g

My SOTD was patriotic.

An odd choice of words to describe a scent anywhere but here. The king of these parts is of the Orange-Nassau line on the distaff side and I was peeling organic mandarins for the little monsters as chance would have it.

So, rubby-rubby onto my beard and cheeks the peel went and my goodness me, it really was refreshing.

Your posts are always such a breath of fresh air my friend. LOL. Yup, the Maui Jim's are stowed away for the winter and the St. John's Wort is coming out to deal with the inevitable affective consequences of not having anything but blue sky and sunshine like we had for the last 7 months. Oh, the suffering. Even the dog looks a little down. May be time for the canine psychology appointment.

Extra swipe of Manek II to boost the spirits.

Ensar Oud~Pursat 2005

A beautiful day needs a beautiful oud - Suriranka Senkoh in the sunshine.

Oud of the day:
One of my own.. A wild Vietnamese with a beautiful twist. Releasing soon.

To add, I also just fumigated my room with cambodi oud, Sarawak Oud, Mysore sandalwood, and ASO Gharb.

ASO Gharb Bukhoor is NUCLEAR. Nuclear is an understatement. It's a supernova. The rose and frankincense are really crisp in this one.

Happy Jummah / Friday everyone
Oud Mostafa 5 today.

Kiyosumi and Sultan Abdus Selam. Kiyosumi is an oil which seems to gain power for hours after application. It is a mixture of the things that make Vietnamese oud my ultimate oils. Deep, transcendent, and deeply introspective.
Abdus Selam is happiness in a bottle.

sotd the just arrived brunei hue house of misk. this oil like a few others,seems closed and shy at the moment from all the travel time over seas.

brunei cooked assamese and it really shows that.
On the skin I totally see the assamese effect. The white pepper and super light barn notes associated with it are present while there is mild bitter green tea and light ferment oolong notes. touch of green cardamom. No sign of florals or fruits or mint or camphor.

Shall re-try in a few days to a week.

a very original and unique oil. fans of borneo and those seeking subtler notes of assamese oils should rejoice. hint of gyrinops on low heat (both guinea and walla patta) also lurks in background.

I took a friend with me to work today. I am not one to enjoy overly floral and pretty oils, but this one is definitely growing on me. You just can’t go wrong, whether Sultan or Organic.

and sotn before was AA kanzen.

initially i remembered this oil for its subtle yet present green oil kyara notes along with a very mild hainan/yunan like bitterness. not orange zest but more green like bergamot or keylime. @kesiro challenged me to have another go at it and boy am i glad i did. a rare quiet night and post-cold recovery, my nose was open and fresh and ready to go hunting

last night, kanzen presented itself more as a vanilla pana cotta served with green ooolong. there is a very mildly sweet, very subtle vanillic and creamy/milky round quality to this oil. the bitterness of the tea grounds it and keeps the oil away from becoming too top note heavy. for the first time i am getting some mild tuberose and or other white floral notes like gardenia and jasmine prior to bloom (4am kind) that i tend to get in oils from koh kong.

note: this oil like many others from Taha needs a trained nose or at least a patient inquisitive nose. at a glance it comes across as super simple and straightforward. but that my friends is not all. the subtleties here are layered so fine that a casual nose needs a magnifier glass on to pick out more. give these oils more time. they deserve it and like ensar's senkoh oils, they will in turn shower you with other worldy sensations and pleasures.

final notes: kanzen is simpler than kenmei and of not the same high level breeding, but nonetheless a beautiful oil for a steal of a price. if i may and as discussed with @keriso: kanzen is poor man's speical K and kenmei is middle manager's special K

yusuf for me is all about sun-dried apricots, peaches and papaya. i get the munchies when i have it on.

Two of my faves

Sotn
EO Assam organic on one hand and EO Assam 05 on another.

Few seconds in and I knew I had made a mistake going head to head. One oil always suffers unfairly.

Long story short I am not into Assam oils despite how many I try and from far and wide producers. Some are really nice but none grab me enough to make me crave them and keep wanting to put my nose to my wrist.

I shall take a break from them and come back in few months or later and start fresh. Press reset.

To counteract I swiped a Mysore sandal from tony Bolton. Nice sandal even mysorian but not at top level. Grade b+. His frangipani in sandal perfume is lovely though. Really strongly recommended.