Visible Monday: Oudh Edition

This dress has a hand-sewn label that reads Woolf Brothers.  I found it in a Salvation Army one day this winter and snagged it, remembering that as a teenager Woolf Brothers was a luxury department store in my area.  The store has been out of business since 1992, but when I investigated today, I was surprised to learn that the Woolf Brothers were distant relatives of Virginia Woolf!  The colors are not especially Easter-y, but more something one might wear in late summer, but I loved the bold stripes and the double row of brass buttons.

For kicks I added the lacy gloves, and the small navy bag by Liz Claiborne.  (The gloves made setting my timer interesting.)  The shoes are navy Etiene Aigner, out of the depths of my closet.  I purchased them new 7-8 years ago.

The golden egg was out of the grandson's Easter basket, but it brought to mind an impulse purchase I made this past week when I had been on the internet too late.  A week ago I read this enchanting post about an intriguing aroma that wafted in the air in Doha, Qatar.  The writer identified the scent as oudh, a fragrance achieved from either from smoke of  agarwood chips (a dark resinous heartwood that forms in an evergreen native to southeast Asia when it becomes infected with a mold) or distilled into an essential oil.

The more I researched this aroma I'm convinced I've never sniffed, the more intrigued I became.  It is mentioned in the Sanskrit Vedas and its complex scent is said to change throughout the day.  Quality oudh can smell woody, incense-y, sweet and rich, smoky, floraly resinous, and fruity, in a rich long lasting multifaceted way. The smell is calming and richly beautiful. But, Poor quality oil can produce oily, sharp, leathery, sour and bitter smells. Smells that are acrid and irritating. (source)

A number of sights mentioned its spiritual and healing values...as well as the fact that it is more expensive than gold.  One reason for this is that its popularity in the middle East has led to the depletion of the natural resource the oil is manufactured from.  I have ordered two tiny samples, vials, for the whopping price of $50!

Have any of my readers ever smelled this scent?  Have I been taken in by site after site that described it in poetic language?

This post is part of Patti's weekly Visible Monday post at Not Dead Yet Style.  Come join the fun!