The Best Oud Perfumes Are Pure Luxury in a Bottle

While we love many fragrances, from juicy cherry to delicate rose, we reach for the best oud perfumes when we want to feel—or rather, smell—impossibly fancy and undeniably rich. (What can we say? Sometimes, a craving for the champagne lifestyle just strikes.) Among the most luxurious perfumes in the world, oud fragrances get their distinctive scent from an aromatic resin found in infected agarwood trees. The raw material is rare and its extraction method complex, which is why oud fragrances tend to fall into the splurge category.

That said, there’s a reason perfumers refer to the woody ingredient as “black gold.” Sultry, earthy, and mysterious, the note gives anyone who wears it an olfactory aura of pure luxury. “If you love a perfume that's noticeable and complex, you might fall in love with oud,” says Alexandra Monet, a perfumer with DSM Firmenich. “Its rich, luxurious smell is beautiful on everyone. Wearing oud is more than just wearing perfume—it's expressing yourself. It shows confidence, elegance, and your own unique style." And, she notes, it's a lasting scent—so it sticks with you. With that, consider these eight oud perfumes loved by our editors.

Our Top Picks

• Best Oud Perfume Overall: The Maker Lover Eau de Parfum, $175
• Best Musky Oud: Juliette Has a Gun Another Oud Eau de Parfum, $155
• Best Creamy Oud: Diptyque Oud Palao Eau de Parfum, $240
• Best Budget Oud: Salt & Stone Black Rose & Oud Body Mist, $45
• Best Aquatic Oud: Tom Ford Oud Minérale Eau de Parfum, $160
• Best Floral Oud: Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum, $315
• Best Gourmand Oud: Kayali Oudgasm Vanilla Oud Eau de Parfum Intense, $140
• Best Smoky Oud: Armani Privé Oud Royal Eau de Parfum, $330

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is oud?
• How do you pronounce oud?
• Meet the Experts
• How we test and review products
• Our staff and testers

Best Oud Perfume Overall: The Maker Lover Eau de Parfum

Why it’s worth it: It’s all in the name. The Maker Lover Eau de Parfum smells and feels like a lingering hug, with notes handpicked to give off a sensual, flirtatious vibe—making it a great oud for newbies. The vegan fragrance opens with notes of jammy fig before winding through earthy vetiver and honeyed jasmine sambac. As it dries down, the perfume settles into what the brand describes as an “arousing oud.” Made with post-consumer-recycled glass, the bottle was inspired by an antique inkwell—take it as a nudge to send a handwritten love letter.

Tester feedback: “When The Maker launched Lover, our executive beauty director Jenny Bailly called it a good choice for the ‘oud-curious’ and I think that description holds true," says commerce producer Sarah Hoffmann. "You definitely get the warm richness of the oud, but there are a few other woody notes in the mix that might be more familiar to you—like cedarwood—to help ease the transition into wearing this iconic note. The fig top note is really beautiful, and there's a soft sweetness to the whole scent that makes it stand out among the darker scents in my collection.”

Notes: sandalwood, fig, jasmine sambac, narcissus, vetiver, oud | Available sizes: 1.7 oz

Best Musky Oud: Juliette Has a Gun Another Oud Eau de Parfum

Why it’s worth it: Roman Ricci has a way with musks. His best-known scent, Not a Perfume, comprises a single note, ambroxan—but it can be polarizing. The perfumer’s take on oud is also laced with the musky, ambery note of ambroxan. Touched with a kiss of raspberry, too, Juliette Has a Gun Another Oud Eau de Parfum has the distinction of being lighter and more ephemeral than some other scents in its category. So, in the end, it’s not just another oud. The perfume is also housed in a particularly chic bottle, made of milky white glass with a gleaming cap.

Editor’s tip: The one-note musk mentioned above is ideal for layering, and it’s just the thing to add a smidge more sultriness to Not a Perfume. “[Not a Perfume] has a seductive element, with a tinge of spice,” Allure’s assistant editor Jennet Jusu says.

Notes: raspberry, bergamot, oud, musk, ambroxan| Available sizes: 3.3 oz

Best Creamy Oud: Diptyque Oud Palao Eau de Parfum

Why it’s worth it: Spritz on Diptyque Oud Palao Eau de Parfum if you want to feel like you’re winding through a moonlit path in a tropical forest, with rose petals scattered everywhere. With a notably strong sillage—all the better to enchant everyone you walk by—the French scent has a cozy, creamy vibe. It’s infused with vanilla, sandalwood, and tobacco, which gives it a particularly craveable quality. If you want more, consider rounding out your collection with the brand’s oud candle. It will fill any room with the perfume’s rich, forested scent.

Editor’s tip: The fragrance’s namesake ingredient, oud Palao, is derived from trees found only in Northern Laos.

Notes: oud, vanilla, rose| Available sizes: 2.4 oz

Best Budget Oud: Salt & Stone Black Rose & Oud Body Mist

Why it’s worth it: This hair and body mist offers a splash of oud that’s light and easy on the skin—and on the budget. Infused with glycerin and red algae to hydrate and refresh, the scent has a heart of oud and mahogany. Its top notes, a mix of black rose and lily of the valley, feel like inhaling a fresh bouquet. Meanwhile, the base of vetiver, santal, and amber brings a grounding, earthy element to the scent.

Editor’s tip: According to the brand, the mist should be spritzed all over the body, and it can be layered under a signature scent or worn on its own.

Notes: black rose, lily of the valley, oud, vetiver, santal, amber| Available sizes: 3.4 oz

Best Aquatic Oud: Tom Ford Oud Minérale Eau de Parfum

Why it’s worth it: Oud was once a relatively obscure ingredient in the West. Then, along came a designer with a penchant for decadence. “In 2004, Tom Ford Oud Wood helped put oud in the spotlight simply by using it in the name,” Clayton Ilohalia, evaluations and communications manager for Fragrances of the World, previously told Allure. In 2017, Ford included oud in this Best of Beauty award-winning fragrance that smells like a secluded beach. Weaving marine notes with oud, fir balsam, pink peppercorn, and ambergris, the scent is aquatic, earthy, spicy, and downright sexy.

Tester feedback: “One spritz and Oud Minérale lasts all day,” Allure contributor Brennan Kilbane said. “It ensconces you, not in a heady or pungent way, but in a private bubble of beachy, woody warmth. It is unforgettable.”

Notes: pink peppercorn, fir balsam, oud blend, ambergris accord, marine notes| Available sizes: 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz

Best Floral Oud: Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum

Why it’s worth it: Feeling French? Opening with powdery notes of violet accord, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum settles into an oud that’s wrapped in the fragrance of rose. In a sapphire-blue bottle that hints at the preciousness of its contents, the fragrance is also infused with amber, benzoin, and vanilla. The mix of ambery, woody, and floral notes has a luxurious, warming feel—after a spritz or two, you’ll feel like you’re seated by a fireplace, draped in cashmere.

Editor’s tip: Derived from tree resin, benzoin has a honeyed, woody smell with notes that evoke caramel and vanilla. It’s often used to perfume Orthodox churches and Buddhist temples.

Notes: violet, rose, oud, amber, benzoin, vanilla| Available sizes: 2.4 oz, 6.8 oz

Best Gourmand Oud: Kayali Oudgasm Vanilla Oud Eau de Parfum Intense

Why it’s worth it: Kayali’s portfolio is akin to the poshest ice cream shop on earth—if everything were sprayable, rather than edible. The brand’s pistachio, marshmallow, and vanilla scents sate the craving of any perfume-lover with a sweet tooth, and even its oud is fit for the dessert menu. With notes of vanilla and praline, plus a dash of saffron, this oud is dolloped in sweetness and spice, while its packaging nods to tradition. Kayali’s diamond-shaped bottles, topped with jewel-like caps, pay homage to historical oud bottles from the Middle East.

Editor’s tip: Kayali’s vanilla scents were designed to be layered, and Allure editors have a soft spot for Vanilla 28. “It's like cake batter for the most luxurious wedding cake you've ever seen (or smelled),” former digital beauty editor Sable Yong says.

Notes: vanilla, praline, oud, saffron | Available sizes: 0.34 oz, 1.7 oz

Best Smoky Oud: Armani Privé Oud Royal Eau de Parfum

Why it’s worth it: In the Middle East, oud incense wafts through mosques, and spiritual ceremonies at home are fragranced with wood chips soaked in oud oil. Infused with myrrh and incense, Armani Privé’s oud highlights the mystical appeal of the note; that said, each of the notes in this gold-dipped scent brings out a different facet of its star ingredient. Amber accord adds a musky depth to the oud, while saffron lends a dose of warming spice and rose ties it up with a bow of floral sweetness.

Editor’s tip: The perfume is part of Armani Privé’s Les 1001 Nuits collection, which is filled with heady oriental scents including Rose D’Arabie.

Notes: oud, amber, saffron, myrrh, incense, rose | Available sizes: 3.4 oz

Frequently asked questions

“Oud is a precious ingredient that is released from the resin of the Agar (Aquilaria) tree,” says Monet. “When the tree falls ill with infection, the oud is then harvested by stripping and distilling the tree’s bark.” As you may have noticed by now, this doesn’t come cheap. “In the Middle East Oud is traditionally known as ‘black gold’ as the Agar tree is one of the rarest and most expensive woods in the world,” Monet says.

According to Monet, “oud” rhymes with “mood” and is pronounced as “ood.”

• Alexandra Monet, a DSM Firmenich perfumer

When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that's included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.

For our list of the best oud perfumes, we considered each product's performance across five primary categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance, texture, and product wear. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from a fragrance expert. To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.

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