To put it plainly, ouds are
intoxicating. As seductive as a snake
charmer, as hypnotizing as Houdini, ouds
have the capacity to lower your
resistance and leave you panting for
more.
Literally, oud is the Arabic word for
"wood" - but that definition alone
doesn’t begin to explain the
centuries-old fascination with this
potent resin that forms in the heartwood
of the agarwood, a conifer indigenous to
southeast Asia. So important and
powerful is oud to the nose, mind, and
soul that it is referenced in one of the
world’s oldest written texts, the
Sanskrit Vedas.
Perfumer Stéphane Humbert Lucas created
soOud to celebrate this heady elixir
that recently has become one of the more
provocative trends in fragrance. soOud
is a collection of eight scents,
available in parfum nektar with a
concentration of 35% - or for those who
wish something lighter, an eau fine with
a concentration of 11%. Regardless of
which composition you choose, you are
certain to find yourself swooning in
delight at Lucas’s creations.
The protégé of a Flemish master
perfumer, Henri Sorsana, Lucas was
inspired by the beauty that lingers
behind the Arabian veil. Using the burqa
as a metaphor for hidden mysteries,
Lucas explores the notion of inner
beauty that develops over time and is
revealed discreetly.
SoOud’s Burqa is very nearly a liquid
incense comprised of the most noble
ingredients associated with an ancient
world. Almost immediately, with only one
inhalation, you are transported back in
time, slipping into a world where
Nefertiti and Cleopatra reign. SoOud’s
Burqa is the fragrance about which
Lawrence Durrell wrote in his Alexandria
Quartet - and Burqa might well have been
worn by Durrell’s heroine Justine.
Mystical and mysterious, Burqa segues
from its rose and jasmine top notes,
into a realm of black violet and
cardamom, with the burn of sage and
leather. Leaving behind her sleeping
husband, Justine has slipped away, into
the night, making her way through the
labyrinthine quarters of old Alexandria.
There’s myrrh in the heavy air, and
black ink and black amber. Coal is
burning in private quarters and the
smell of rubber and sap, with patchouli
from the souk, hangs about the buildings
as Justine hurries down the ancient
streets. This is midnight in the Middle
East - the new world is still distant -
and for now, there is only the pleasure
to be derived from an illicit
rendez-vous in a secret garden.
As deep and interior as imagination,
SoOud’s Burqa is a plunge into
irrational romance.
PRICE: $265.00 / 30 ml Nektar
$225.00 / 60 ml Eau Fine
LINK:
soOud: Burqa Parfum Nektar |