Agar Aura - Official discussion thread

[joe king]

In the spirit of moving on, today I wore Agar Aura's Hansei, which is a wild Vietnamese oil, paired with Ensar Oud's OSK. One thing about AA oils is I put them on and can't smell them until later but others around me do. Anyway, I put on the EO OSK, which itself is strong, then about ten minutes later decided to swipe the Hansei because I told my brother it goes well when worn with oud neat. When I put on the Hansei it nullified everything, I don't mean as in overpowered the OSK but rather it made me not smell anything but I could perceive the oily texture in my nostrils. It took almost 3 hours before I could smell the oil and perfume again. These two go together like Starsky & Hutch, sticks and clutch.

What are you guys wearing?

following your lead and wearing Agar Aura's Wanmei on one wrist and EO's Kinam Rouge (the oud oil not the perfume) on the other.
Feeling delightfully fragrant!

 

[AZsmells]

I mean, you're accusing me of defamation with no factual basis. That's pretty horrible imo.

So how about some facts from you or PEARL?

Some of you claim to have videos you can't post... WHY?

You claim there's wild agarwood in Vietnam... OK, is it LEGAL? AFAIK, harvesting wild agarwood in Vietnam has been illegal for a long time. How is it wild agarwood is being distilled? How is it vendors who are in this to make a profit can distill high grade Viet agarwood and make a profit? You guys claim to be experts but you haven't explained this AT ALL. You have presented NO FACTS, you have only defamed me and insulted me. I can't believe that this is being allowed by the mods TBH, you've broken the rules so may times and you persist in defaming me by claiming I'm defaming others WITH NO PROOF.

Show me PROOF or admit you have no basis to claim I'm defaming anyone. This is ridiculous, you behavior is insulting and you should be ashamed. Everyone reading this can tell what going on here. I'm expressing my opinions and experiences, and I am being brutally attacked for it with no facts shown to contradict anything I'm saying.

It's a FACT that AA oil degrades over time and this isn't presented to anyone buying the oil. This is from Taha's OWN KEYBOARD and has been posted on Ouddict EXACTLY as I described it. YOU CAN"T REFUTE THIS FACT.

It's a FACT Taha claimed to hate having to make perfumes using oud and considered it only for financial reasons. I DON'T WANT TO WEAR PERFUME MADE BY SOMEONE WITH THIS ATTATUDE. Is this so hard to understand?

Now put up, or shut up and quit it with the personal attacks. I have NEVER personally attacked any of you.

I find this whole conversation bizarre. You most definitely did attack Taha's character by accusing him (and other vendors) of stuff that is not true. The when people call you out on it you get offended and say people are attacking your character. I have know Taha for years and know for a fact that he doesn't just make attar's for "financial reasons." I mean everyone makes oud and perfumes for financial reasons. They aren't giving these away unless you believe Ensar's wild tales of "gifting" us oud with his prices.
I think the burden of proof is to prove your claims against Taha and others since you are the one who started this whole thing by making false accusations. I own ton's of Taha's ouds, some oils from 10-11 years ago. None of them have degraded except ones that I had in sample vials. But that's not just his ouds. I have Oriscent samples that have degraded too in sample vials.

 

[kooolaid]

Going with the wild Vietnamese vibe, I tapped into an incense stick which I only use a few times a year. Quang Nam laterite incense sticks. Simply one of the best meditation purpose incense sticks!

 

[slater93]

Going with the wild Vietnamese vibe, I tapped into an incense stick which I only use a few times a year. Quang Nam laterite incense sticks. Simply one of the best meditation purpose incense sticks! View attachment 326442

does agar aura make these?

 

[thesacredsaguaro]

Going with the wild Vietnamese vibe, I tapped into an incense stick which I only use a few times a year. Quang Nam laterite incense sticks. Simply one of the best meditation purpose incense sticks! View attachment 326442

Since wild Vietnamese Agarwood doesn’t exist anymore I’m gonna burn some City of Cham by Kyara Zen in loving memory of wood that is technically a ghost 😂

 

[kooolaid]

does agar aura make these?

Yes he made these back in 2018. He only made 35 tubes.

 

[Dorje123]

I find this whole conversation bizarre. You most definitely did attack Taha's character by accusing him (and other vendors) of stuff that is not true. The when people call you out on it you get offended and say people are attacking your character. I have know Taha for years and know for a fact that he doesn't just make attar's for "financial reasons." I mean everyone makes oud and perfumes for financial reasons. They aren't giving these away unless you believe Ensar's wild tales of "gifting" us oud with his prices.
I think the burden of proof is to prove your claims against Taha and others since you are the one who started this whole thing by making false accusations. I own ton's of Taha's ouds, some oils from 10-11 years ago. None of them have degraded except ones that I had in sample vials. But that's not just his ouds. I have Oriscent samples that have degraded too in sample vials.

The info I shard about degradation of oils is from TAHA HIMSELF, not from me... how is this so difficult to understand? I am also sharing my own experience of degradation of oils, and oils that were sold to me in bottles with 2/3rds airspace without any warning that this would lead to degradation is to me, completely unethical.

How about addressing the FACT that distilling rare incense grade and even higher grade wild Viet agarwood is financial suicide? You yourself just said:

everyone makes oud and perfumes for financial reasons.

So how is this done? Again, is it LEGAL? Stating you have videos as proof and refusing to post them makes me thing those videos might get one in trouble if posted, a reasonable assumption I think. If you think I'm wrong here, then ADDRESS THE ISSUE, and stop attacking my character! So far nobody here has made a case for the financial viability of distilling high grade wild Viet agarwood, and the only way I can think it may be possible is the fact the wood is highly regulated and illegal to harvest, so its made into an oil. And these vendors are of the highest ethical character its been stated? Show me some proof or at least give me a reasonable argument! So far NOTHING. That tells its own story...

And my opinion that wearing perfume made by someone who doesn't want to do so and considers it a waste of oud oil is not something I'm ok with. Bad energy, imo. But you're free to have your own views on this, just as I am, hopefully.

Look, I'm allowed to share my own experiences, if you have some of your own to share that's fine, but attacking my character is absolutely not fine and once again, contrary to the rules of this forum. Stating that I'm making false accusations, that I'm defaming others, is insulting and an attack on my character. Address my post, not myself... if you can. So far it seems like nobody here can do so...

 

[thesacredsaguaro]

The info I shard about degradation of oils is from TAHA HIMSELF, not from me... how is this so difficult to understand? I am also sharing my own experience of degradation of oils, and oils that were sold to me in bottles with 2/3rds airspace without any warning that this would lead to degradation is to me, completely unethical.

How about addressing the FACT that distilling rare incense grade and even higher grade wild Viet agarwood is financial suicide? You yourself just said:


So how is this done? Again, is it LEGAL? Stating you have videos as proof and refusing to post them makes me thing those videos might get one in trouble if posted, a reasonable assumption I think. If you think I'm wrong here, then ADDRESS THE ISSUE, and stop attacking my character! So far nobody here has made a case for the financial viability of distilling high grade wild Viet agarwood, and the only way I can think it may be possible is the fact the wood is highly regulated and illegal to harvest, so its made into an oil. And these vendors are of the highest ethical character its been stated? Show me some proof or at least give me a reasonable argument! So far NOTHING. That tells its own story...

And my opinion that wearing perfume made by someone who doesn't want to do so and considers it a waste of oud oil is not something I'm ok with. Bad energy, imo. But you're free to have your own views on this, just as I am, hopefully.

Look, I'm allowed to share my own experiences, if you have some of your own to share that's fine, but attacking my character is absolutely not fine and once again, contrary to the rules of this forum. Stating that I'm making false accusations, that I'm defaming others, is insulting and an attack on my character. Address my post, not myself... if you can. So far it seems like nobody here can do so...

I’m currently waiting for Taha’s response to verify what you’re saying And if he actually said OR if maybe you misunderstood him. Taha has always been very transparent on these matters.

 

[Dorje123]

I’m currently waiting for Taha’s response to verify what you’re saying And if he actually said OR if maybe you misunderstood him. Taha has always been very transparent on these matters.

Sounds good, I look forward to Taha's reply! I was wrong about the website though, it was not ouddict, it was on gaharu around 4-5 years ago. The oil he sold me, not even one gram in a 3g bottle, was Ceylon 1. There were a few others that went off as well. All light colored oils.

After learning about degradation and how not having so much airspace was very important despite the fact I was sold oils in bottles with a lot of airspace, plus and the fact he thought his attars were a waste of oud and he never wanted to make them, that he ONLY did so for financial reasons, he never contacted me about any of this, despite the fact I spent a good amout of money with him. I thought he was my friend. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

I seriously can't believe you folks here can't understand my POV on this and understand my disappointment and the feeling I was let down by what I thought was a friend after trying to support someone's small business startup.

 

[Olympe de Gouges]

I would be curious what the verbatim of what TS said about the attars being a waste of oud. I am a total AA n00b, I have only purchased a few perfumes, no attars and no oud oils (yet) from TS.

Yet I am well aware from reading stuff TS has written that he sort of thinks all his perfumes/attars are a waste of oud. Not because they are bad and he knows it, but because I got the impression he is an oud purist and is really most interested in his pure oud distillations. I think he has a blog post on the AA website where he literally says the point of the perfumes/attars is to try to get people interested in his pure oud oils because that is what he is really passionate about and wants to sell. The perfumes and attars are supposed to be stepping stones to get people interested in straight up oud oils.

His comments on waste attars were of course earlier in his career, so I do not have any idea what he was doing and I have not smelled anything from the time period, but based on my experience thus far, I would be a bit surprised if he was actually releasing attars/perfumes he actively thought were terrible with the intention of fleecing ignorant customers just seeing “rare wild oud” in order to make money.

 

[PEARL]

There's also an issue with claiming some of his oils were distilled from wild Viet stock. EO made a couple vids demonstrating the impossibility of this claim. I don't know, but worth looking into imo.

No one is questioning your right to your opinion about oil degradation or why anyone choses to use an oil and you not wanting to patronize someone who thinks using oils is waste in perfume; that is your prerogative and opinion, which we've all shared our own experiences to the contrary.

What is not Ok is the thing that you conveniently omit when responding, which is your above statement, which I directly quoted from what you wrote on last Friday. One that has not been edited.

You statement is false and based on what a competing vendor said in a video, without mentioning any other vendors or oils at that. You took it upon yourself to extrapolate that he's talking about other vendors and not himself and you have perpetuated and have defamed, damage the good reputation of by making false claims, slander/libel, the vendors you attribute it to.

Basically, what you are doing is calling those vendors who are recently and currently producing oils made from wild Vietnam stock and marketing it as such liers.

That is the sole crux of the issue, which you have yet to address.

 

[PEARL]

Going with the wild Vietnamese vibe, I tapped into an incense stick which I only use a few times a year. Quang Nam laterite incense sticks. Simply one of the best meditation purpose incense sticks! View attachment 326442

If I would have realized what I had I would have not burned what you shared with me so quickly, and no that's not your generous que to send me any more. Enjoy them in good health Insha'Allah. They are truly Zen level wild Vietnamese incense.

 

[AZsmells]

If I would have realized what I had I would have not burned what you shared with me so quickly, and no that's not your generous que to send me any more. Enjoy them in good health Insha'Allah. They are truly Zen level wild Vietnamese incense.

I forgot about these incense sticks! I still have a bunch of these Quang Nam sticks. Mine are in a black tube. They smell amazing.
Pearl I will send you some.

 

[PEARL]

I forgot about these incense sticks! I still have a bunch of these Quang Nam sticks. Mine are in a black tube. They smell amazing.
Pearl I will send you some.

I don't want some AZ, I want the whole tube, just kidding. Anyway, you're going to get me in trouble with @kooolaid who I just told not to send me any and to enjoy them. I appreciate your generosity, can you hold them for me? Jazak Allah Khayr AZ!

 

[thesacredsaguaro]

I would be curious what the verbatim of what TS said about the attars being a waste of oud. I am a total AA n00b, I have only purchased a few perfumes, no attars and no oud oils (yet) from TS.

Yet I am well aware from reading stuff TS has written that he sort of thinks all his perfumes/attars are a waste of oud. Not because they are bad and he knows it, but because I got the impression he is an oud purist and is really most interested in his pure oud distillations. I think he has a blog post on the AA website where he literally says the point of the perfumes/attars is to try to get people interested in his pure oud oils because that is what he is really passionate about and wants to sell. The perfumes and attars are supposed to be stepping stones to get people interested in straight up oud oils.

His comments on waste attars were of course earlier in his career, so I do not have any idea what he was doing and I have not smelled anything from the time period, but based on my experience thus far, I would be a bit surprised if he was actually releasing attars/perfumes he actively thought were terrible with the intention of fleecing ignorant customers just seeing “rare wild oud” in order to make money.

Taha replied but honestly it makes all of this so much worse. It’s not my story to tell so I won’t but some people are cowards. Tahas only crime here is he has too much integrity and I can assure you he loved perfumery, distills wild Vietnamese Oud oil and has sacrificed everything in his life to get to this point.

 

[thesacredsaguaro]

Oh and Taha said and I quote in pics…

 

[PEARL]

Taha replied but honestly it makes all of this so much worse. It’s not my story to tell so I won’t but some people are cowards. Tahas only crime here is he has too much integrity and I can assure you he loved perfumery, distills wild Vietnamese Oud oil and has sacrificed everything in his life to get to this point.

He has not distilled any non-wild Vietnamese oils. In fact ask yourself a question (not you @thesacredsaguaro), how many "organic" or plantation wood oils has he distilled? Only 2 that were experimental that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong. Even the other Thai distillations have been from wild harvested agarwood. That is how committed he has been to using wild agarwood, even if it has meant not distilling.

 

[kooolaid]

He has not distilled any non-wild Vietnamese oils. In fact ask yourself a question (not you @thesacredsaguaro), how many "organic" or plantation wood oils has he distilled? Only 2 that were experimental that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong. Even the other Thai distillations have been from wild harvested agarwood. That is how committed he has been to using wild agarwood, even if it has meant not distilling.

One of the many conversations I have had with Taha was the fact how adamant he was to only making oils with wild agarwood.
Testing upon testing to ensure the finest end product be before us.
One of the reasons, why Taha’s oils are unique. Anyone who says otherwise, well they are entitled to say what they like but for me personally having been there with him and seeing it with my own eyes just affirmed what he is doing is justice to wild agarwood.

 

[Shadowartisttxl]

Of all of the figures I know in oud, I would put the weight of my word as a perfumer, business owner, and fragrance lover behind Taha as being the most trustworthy, honest, kind and upright.
Anyone who has anything bad to say about him becomes immediately questionable in my eyes, for whatever small thing it's worth.

 

[Scent Detective]

Of all of the figures I know in oud, I would put the weight of my word as a perfumer, business owner, and fragrance lover behind Taha as being the most trustworthy, honest, kind and upright.
Anyone who has anything bad to say about him becomes immediately questionable in my eyes, for whatever small thing it's worth.

My experience with Taha has been the same.

 

[kooolaid]

I don't want some AZ, I want the whole tube, just kidding. Anyway, you're going to get me in trouble with @kooolaid who I just told not to send me any and to enjoy them. I appreciate your generosity, can you hold them for me? Jazak Allah Khayr AZ!

Too late! 😁😅

 

[Olympe de Gouges]

This is absolutely the wrong place for this, it is just that I think I saw a similar conversation bubble across this thread a few weeks/months ago. After more and more coming to enjoy perfumes with real oud and realizing I should probably learn to actually appreciate oud if I think it might like it in perfume and putting it off because the topic is so complicated and fraught (c.f. this thread recently 😅😆) , I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting to know oud oils, I might as well just start. I just ordered whatever happened to currently be available in sample size from Agar Aura, but to get an actual idea of oud varieties and origins and whatnot I should probably get a broader selection (I think two of the available AA oils with samples were both from Myanmar? maybe?).

Considering the discussion that just happened on this thread, I want to preface this by saying as a practical consideration given limited income I have a long standing personal moratorium on anything Ensar Oud. Mostly just because I know I am definitely too poor to get into that house right now. This is not a political statement or ethical manifesto, just literally a pragmatic decision. If I improve my career, I would absolutely love to get into EO, but I do not think it is a good idea currently.

So with that said, I remember someone mentioning something about a good brand to get a variety of samples from. Was it Habzoud? That is the one that I have in my mind, but I cannot remember. Currently I am looking at starting sampling from Agar Aura, Feeloud, and possibly Habzoud if I am remembering correctly. I can branch out from there, but I am trying to start with distillers/resellers with good reputations in the oud world. I know there is a premium attached to that, but I figure knowing nothing it is probably the wiser way to start.

Sorry, I know I should just start a new thread in the oud section of the forum, but I gather most in this thread are familiar with the topic and honestly, with peace and love to the overall Basenotes community, I just really did not want to have to filter through a bunch of people recommending I start with Oud for Greatness or to go to Swiss Arabian or to try some amazing oud oil where they got 10 grams of real kinam oil for $79.99 from RandomOud.co.uk or something. Everyone’s opinions and tastes are valid, but I have a pretty specific personal education project in mind.

 

[Cheetah1919]

This is absolutely the wrong place for this, it is just that I think I saw a similar conversation bubble across this thread a few weeks/months ago. After more and more coming to enjoy perfumes with real oud and realizing I should probably learn to actually appreciate oud if I think it might like it in perfume and putting it off because the topic is so complicated and fraught (c.f. this thread recently 😅😆) , I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting to know oud oils, I might as well just start. I just ordered whatever happened to currently be available in sample size from Agar Aura, but to get an actual idea of oud varieties and origins and whatnot I should probably get a broader selection (I think two of the available AA oils with samples were both from Myanmar? maybe?).

Considering the discussion that just happened on this thread, I want to preface this by saying as a practical consideration given limited income I have a long standing personal moratorium on anything Ensar Oud. Mostly just because I know I am definitely too poor to get into that house right now. This is not a political statement or ethical manifesto, just literally a pragmatic decision. If I improve my career, I would absolutely love to get into EO, but I do not think it is a good idea currently.

So with that said, I remember someone mentioning something about a good brand to get a variety of samples from. Was it Habzoud? That is the one that I have in my mind, but I cannot remember. Currently I am looking at starting sampling from Agar Aura, Feeloud, and possibly Habzoud if I am remembering correctly. I can branch out from there, but I am trying to start with distillers/resellers with good reputations in the oud world. I know there is a premium attached to that, but I figure knowing nothing it is probably the wiser way to start.

Sorry, I know I should just start a new thread in the oud section of the forum, but I gather most in this thread are familiar with the topic and honestly, with peace and love to the overall Basenotes community, I just really did not want to have to filter through a bunch of people recommending I start with Oud for Greatness or to go to Swiss Arabian or to try some amazing oud oil where they got 10 grams of real kinam oil for $79.99 from RandomOud.co.uk or something. Everyone’s opinions and tastes are valid, but I have a pretty specific personal education project in mind.

Nothing wrong for this post here! I wish you good luck going forward!

 

[heavy black heart]

I asked a similar question either on this thread or the Ensar one like a month ago & got some really good pointers - maybe you can find those posts

Rising Phoenix seems to be highly regarded & not as expensive as some others

a good bit of advice I got from Paddington I think was that you absolutely do not need to buy more than a wee bit of each oil to enjoy as they are very potent & satisfying even smelling out of the vial

it’s been a fun ride so far - hope you enjoy

This is absolutely the wrong place for this, it is just that I think I saw a similar conversation bubble across this thread a few weeks/months ago. After more and more coming to enjoy perfumes with real oud and realizing I should probably learn to actually appreciate oud if I think it might like it in perfume and putting it off because the topic is so complicated and fraught (c.f. this thread recently 😅😆) , I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting to know oud oils, I might as well just start. I just ordered whatever happened to currently be available in sample size from Agar Aura, but to get an actual idea of oud varieties and origins and whatnot I should probably get a broader selection (I think two of the available AA oils with samples were both from Myanmar? maybe?).

Considering the discussion that just happened on this thread, I want to preface this by saying as a practical consideration given limited income I have a long standing personal moratorium on anything Ensar Oud. Mostly just because I know I am definitely too poor to get into that house right now. This is not a political statement or ethical manifesto, just literally a pragmatic decision. If I improve my career, I would absolutely love to get into EO, but I do not think it is a good idea currently.

So with that said, I remember someone mentioning something about a good brand to get a variety of samples from. Was it Habzoud? That is the one that I have in my mind, but I cannot remember. Currently I am looking at starting sampling from Agar Aura, Feeloud, and possibly Habzoud if I am remembering correctly. I can branch out from there, but I am trying to start with distillers/resellers with good reputations in the oud world. I know there is a premium attached to that, but I figure knowing nothing it is probably the wiser way to start.

Sorry, I know I should just start a new thread in the oud section of the forum, but I gather most in this thread are familiar with the topic and honestly, with peace and love to the overall Basenotes community, I just really did not want to have to filter through a bunch of people recommending I start with Oud for Greatness or to go to Swiss Arabian or to try some amazing oud oil where they got 10 grams of real kinam oil for $79.99 from RandomOud.co.uk or something. Everyone’s opinions and tastes are valid, but I have a pretty specific personal education project in mind.

 

[joe king]

This is absolutely the wrong place for this, it is just that I think I saw a similar conversation bubble across this thread a few weeks/months ago. After more and more coming to enjoy perfumes with real oud and realizing I should probably learn to actually appreciate oud if I think it might like it in perfume and putting it off because the topic is so complicated and fraught (c.f. this thread recently 😅😆) , I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting to know oud oils, I might as well just start. I just ordered whatever happened to currently be available in sample size from Agar Aura, but to get an actual idea of oud varieties and origins and whatnot I should probably get a broader selection (I think two of the available AA oils with samples were both from Myanmar? maybe?).

Considering the discussion that just happened on this thread, I want to preface this by saying as a practical consideration given limited income I have a long standing personal moratorium on anything Ensar Oud. Mostly just because I know I am definitely too poor to get into that house right now. This is not a political statement or ethical manifesto, just literally a pragmatic decision. If I improve my career, I would absolutely love to get into EO, but I do not think it is a good idea currently.

So with that said, I remember someone mentioning something about a good brand to get a variety of samples from. Was it Habzoud? That is the one that I have in my mind, but I cannot remember. Currently I am looking at starting sampling from Agar Aura, Feeloud, and possibly Habzoud if I am remembering correctly. I can branch out from there, but I am trying to start with distillers/resellers with good reputations in the oud world. I know there is a premium attached to that, but I figure knowing nothing it is probably the wiser way to start.

Sorry, I know I should just start a new thread in the oud section of the forum, but I gather most in this thread are familiar with the topic and honestly, with peace and love to the overall Basenotes community, I just really did not want to have to filter through a bunch of people recommending I start with Oud for Greatness or to go to Swiss Arabian or to try some amazing oud oil where they got 10 grams of real kinam oil for $79.99 from RandomOud.co.uk or something. Everyone’s opinions and tastes are valid, but I have a pretty specific personal education project in mind.

The 3 you mentioned (AA,FO & Habz) are trustworthy in my book and you won't get ripped off. Do you have the website of random oud, I would like to get some of their kinam? Does it come from a Sultan?

 

[Tilt]

This is absolutely the wrong place for this, it is just that I think I saw a similar conversation bubble across this thread a few weeks/months ago. After more and more coming to enjoy perfumes with real oud and realizing I should probably learn to actually appreciate oud if I think it might like it in perfume and putting it off because the topic is so complicated and fraught (c.f. this thread recently 😅😆) , I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting to know oud oils, I might as well just start. I just ordered whatever happened to currently be available in sample size from Agar Aura, but to get an actual idea of oud varieties and origins and whatnot I should probably get a broader selection (I think two of the available AA oils with samples were both from Myanmar? maybe?).

Considering the discussion that just happened on this thread, I want to preface this by saying as a practical consideration given limited income I have a long standing personal moratorium on anything Ensar Oud. Mostly just because I know I am definitely too poor to get into that house right now. This is not a political statement or ethical manifesto, just literally a pragmatic decision. If I improve my career, I would absolutely love to get into EO, but I do not think it is a good idea currently.

So with that said, I remember someone mentioning something about a good brand to get a variety of samples from. Was it Habzoud? That is the one that I have in my mind, but I cannot remember. Currently I am looking at starting sampling from Agar Aura, Feeloud, and possibly Habzoud if I am remembering correctly. I can branch out from there, but I am trying to start with distillers/resellers with good reputations in the oud world. I know there is a premium attached to that, but I figure knowing nothing it is probably the wiser way to start.

Sorry, I know I should just start a new thread in the oud section of the forum, but I gather most in this thread are familiar with the topic and honestly, with peace and love to the overall Basenotes community, I just really did not want to have to filter through a bunch of people recommending I start with Oud for Greatness or to go to Swiss Arabian or to try some amazing oud oil where they got 10 grams of real kinam oil for $79.99 from RandomOud.co.uk or something. Everyone’s opinions and tastes are valid, but I have a pretty specific personal education project in mind.

Getting sample packs from Agar Aura, Feel Oud, and Habzoud would be an amazing education in oud. Samples last so long as well

 

[zeedubbya]

TL;DR

Taha didn’t want to make Attars because they didn’t sell well and detracted from his vision as a distiller. A bunch of us (his fans and friends) pushed him VERY hard to do it again. His caring about what people think has been his biggest downfall so far.

Long Version:

This debate has raged on for far longer than many people know. Lots has been said here by people way way more educated on this subject than me. I will always take the writings of @PEARL @kooolaid @AZsmells and @joe king as FACT. So, I am in agreement with all they have said. The part which hasn’t been addressed and I would like to is the Attar part. I have first hand knowledge of this subject and had 100s of back and forth chats with Taha about this issue. Hopefully I am about to clear this one up.

In June of 2020, I received an old AA Attar from member here, @harper it was Soryo No Kaori. As soon as I swiped it I said to myself, this would blow the fragrance communities mind. It’s sooooo well done. At the time I was in almost daily contact with Taha and told him what you see below 👇🏽 . He came back to our previous discussion about making attars and how they were a waste of time for him as they sat for a long time and the cost vs. final retail price wasn’t worth doing. Also, since he had/has his known obsession with creating oils which are as close to smelling the actual wood on low heat, he believed Attars were detracting from this. He really didn’t want to make any more Attars ever again. @kooolaid and I spoke in depth about pushing Taha to release Attars again. I think we did it a bit for selfish reasons but also because we knew he was such a talented Attar creator. What you see below, began the process of him working in another direction to make Attars and ultimately move to Extraits.

I have never posted this anywhere. I consider myself a humble person and the intent is not to say “I made Taha make perfumes.” The intent is to show in the CORRECT light why he believed Attar making was a bad venture. #1 He didn’t personally enjoy making them and #2 He felt them to be a waste of money, because they sat unsold for too long and they used his resources as a distiller to compose them and market and sell. The prodding to make Extraits was done by a whole slew of people who talked with him a lot and finally he decided to take the plunge. I do believe he would have never done this if SO many people hadn’t been so persistent in reminding him how great of a nose for fragrance he has and that it would please many people—a lot of us were asking for this from him. A LOT.

He found a way, and I do believe it’s been an amazing experience for him personally and for us. Of course, there’s been misses as well as major hits but that’s part of it. You’re never going to please everyone, and it’s my firm belief Taha Syed is a person who tries to do this and I know for certain when a product comes out and it’s not to someone’s liking he actually takes it personally. My friends, there’s very few people in the world like this and a big part of the reason I’ve been such an adamant Taha supporter is due to this—he cares. It’s a rare thing.

 

[Folkwinds]

What are AA fans experiences with Bois Noir like? I've noticed the most recent crop of oils don't have the typical reaction tab up yet.

 

[kooolaid]

TL;DR

Taha didn’t want to make Attars because they didn’t sell well and detracted from his vision as a distiller. A bunch of us (his fans and friends) pushed him VERY hard to do it again. His caring about what people think has been his biggest downfall so far.

Long Version:

This debate has raged on for far longer than many people know. Lots has been said here by people way way more educated on this subject than me. I will always take the writings of @PEARL @kooolaid @AZsmells and @joe king as FACT. So, I am in agreement with all they have said. The part which hasn’t been addressed and I would like to is the Attar part. I have first hand knowledge of this subject and had 100s of back and forth chats with Taha about this issue. Hopefully I am about to clear this one up.

In June of 2020, I received an old AA Attar from member here, @harper it was Soryo No Kaori. As soon as I swiped it I said to myself, this would blow the fragrance communities mind. It’s sooooo well done. At the time I was in almost daily contact with Taha and told him what you see below 👇🏽 . He came back to our previous discussion about making attars and how they were a waste of time for him as they sat for a long time and the cost vs. final retail price wasn’t worth doing. Also, since he had/has his known obsession with creating oils which are as close to smelling the actual wood on low heat, he believed Attars were detracting from this. He really didn’t want to make any more Attars ever again. @kooolaid and I spoke in depth about pushing Taha to release Attars again. I think we did it a bit for selfish reasons but also because we knew he was such a talented Attar creator. What you see below, began the process of him working in another direction to make Attars and ultimately move to Extraits.

I have never posted this anywhere. I consider myself a humble person and the intent is not to say “I made Taha make perfumes.” The intent is to show in the CORRECT light why he believed Attar making was a bad venture. #1 He didn’t personally enjoy making them and #2 He felt them to be a waste of money, because they sat unsold for too long and they used his resources as a distiller to compose them and market and sell. The prodding to make Extraits was done by a whole slew of people who talked with him a lot and finally he decided to take the plunge. I do believe he would have never done this if SO many people hadn’t been so persistent in reminding him how great of a nose for fragrance he has and that it would please many people—a lot of us were asking for this from him. A LOT.

He found a way, and I do believe it’s been an amazing experience for him personally and for us. Of course, there’s been misses as well as major hits but that’s part of it. You’re never going to please everyone, and it’s my firm belief Taha Syed is a person who tries to do this and I know for certain when a product comes out and it’s not to someone’s liking he actually takes it personally. My friends, there’s very few people in the world like this and a big part of the reason I’ve been such an adamant Taha supporter is due to this—he cares. It’s a rare thing.
View attachment 326745 View attachment 326744

Thank you for this Sir!

 

[zeedubbya]

Thank you for this Sir!

I owe much to you and your knowledge my friend, without it I would have been totally lost in the world of Agarwood, Incense and Oud. It is indeed a challenging world, filled with mis-information, deceit and all around unfriendliness. If not for you and some other helpful people I probably would have given up long ago…. not unlike some others have.

 

[AZsmells]

What are AA fans experiences with Bois Noir like? I've noticed the most recent crop of oils don't have the typical reaction tab up yet.

I really like Bois Noir. It doesn't have the mind zapping buzz of his higher end oils but a very unique Borneo. Smells like a mix of Borneo-Malay. Probably due to the species used.

 

[BryanI]

TL;DR

Taha didn’t want to make Attars because they didn’t sell well and detracted from his vision as a distiller. A bunch of us (his fans and friends) pushed him VERY hard to do it again. His caring about what people think has been his biggest downfall so far.

Long Version:

This debate has raged on for far longer than many people know. Lots has been said here by people way way more educated on this subject than me. I will always take the writings of @PEARL @kooolaid @AZsmells and @joe king as FACT. So, I am in agreement with all they have said. The part which hasn’t been addressed and I would like to is the Attar part. I have first hand knowledge of this subject and had 100s of back and forth chats with Taha about this issue. Hopefully I am about to clear this one up.

In June of 2020, I received an old AA Attar from member here, @harper it was Soryo No Kaori. As soon as I swiped it I said to myself, this would blow the fragrance communities mind. It’s sooooo well done. At the time I was in almost daily contact with Taha and told him what you see below 👇🏽 . He came back to our previous discussion about making attars and how they were a waste of time for him as they sat for a long time and the cost vs. final retail price wasn’t worth doing. Also, since he had/has his known obsession with creating oils which are as close to smelling the actual wood on low heat, he believed Attars were detracting from this. He really didn’t want to make any more Attars ever again. @kooolaid and I spoke in depth about pushing Taha to release Attars again. I think we did it a bit for selfish reasons but also because we knew he was such a talented Attar creator. What you see below, began the process of him working in another direction to make Attars and ultimately move to Extraits.

I have never posted this anywhere. I consider myself a humble person and the intent is not to say “I made Taha make perfumes.” The intent is to show in the CORRECT light why he believed Attar making was a bad venture. #1 He didn’t personally enjoy making them and #2 He felt them to be a waste of money, because they sat unsold for too long and they used his resources as a distiller to compose them and market and sell. The prodding to make Extraits was done by a whole slew of people who talked with him a lot and finally he decided to take the plunge. I do believe he would have never done this if SO many people hadn’t been so persistent in reminding him how great of a nose for fragrance he has and that it would please many people—a lot of us were asking for this from him. A LOT.

He found a way, and I do believe it’s been an amazing experience for him personally and for us. Of course, there’s been misses as well as major hits but that’s part of it. You’re never going to please everyone, and it’s my firm belief Taha Syed is a person who tries to do this and I know for certain when a product comes out and it’s not to someone’s liking he actually takes it personally. My friends, there’s very few people in the world like this and a big part of the reason I’ve been such an adamant Taha supporter is due to this—he cares. It’s a rare thing.
View attachment 326745 View attachment 326744

I can testify to the attar subject as I had the same discussions with him in 2017 and 2018 begging for more attars as I felt he had a true gift in this area.

 

[In Amber]

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interesting

 

[heavy black heart]

exciting!

if you google the name you get a blurb that says:

“Solafa Scents is a branch of Agar Aura, and a brainchild of Agar Aura's distiller-cum-perfumer, Taha Syed. Being hyper-sensitive to the majority of synthetic ...”

 

[Mak-7]

Frankly i dont understand the point of sister company. If he will continue to create stuff himself, with same materials (higher or lower quality) its still Agar Aura.
Anyone knows why?

 

[Olympe de Gouges]

I mean, just guessing based on little information, but it sounds like it could be because these scents will take a different approach than the top tier Agar Aura line. Maybe these will use plantation oud, maybe less or none of TS’ personal distillations of things and more/all ingredients natural or otherwise from other distillers or perfume material companies.

It sounds like it could be a bit like what Prin Lomos does with Prin/Pryssana/Strangers. I think Francesca Bianchi recently launched a second house/line for perfumes that were a bit different in theme than her main line. RA basically did that with Feeloud and ALD. Feeloud sometimes does attars and ALD sometimes does attars, but the themes seem a bit different perhaps.

 

[Mak-7]

What was the price for the 3 offerings? Wasnt it around $300 or im imagining that?
Thing about dorection is solved by "collection" title, as new houses feel cumbersome to me.

 

[haope]

Frankly i dont understand the point of sister company. If he will continue to create stuff himself, with same materials (higher or lower quality) its still Agar Aura.
Anyone knows why?

He wants the Agar Aura main line offerings to remain all natural, these next three are mixed media so hence the sister brand

 

[Mak-7]

He wants the Agar Aura main line offerings to remain all natural, these next three are mixed media so hence the sister brand

Aaahhh...i must have missed the point that it was a mixed media. Interesting.
Do we know what is the pricepoint for this new line?

 

[haope]

Aaahhh...i must have missed the point that it was a mixed media. Interesting.
Do we know what is the pricepoint for this new line?

Karama 345, Jungle Song 295 and Oud de Grasse 275
All should be 30ml in new bottles and presentation