STEP FORWARD IN PERFUMERY

If you choose a cashmere sweater from a high end brand because you think about the quality of the material and the longevity of having & enjoying it, then you’re already a step forward.

Are you also ready to take a step forward in your choice of perfume? Now, you can experience something entirely different and totally unexpected out of the Oud Mood collection from Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
Especially for the Indonesia’s launch of these unique perfumes, Marc Chaya, President &co-founder of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris kindly shared with me and fellow press about the goods of Oud.
“Oud is a very powerful scent, used by people in the middle east,” explain Marc. He later explained that most perfumers mixed Oud with incense to make it more acceptable. “It’s not a DNA of French perfumery. French school of perfumery is all about floral.” Even though Francis Kurkdjian himself did resistant about adding Oud to his perfumer palette at the first place, this raw material become OUD, the embryo for Oud Mood collection in February 2012, after Marc convinced him.
“The Oud that we’re using, come from Laos when they’re growing naturally like a fungus. They’re like a disease which formed white resins around trees. Oud is the second most expensive essential oil in the world after Iris. It cost us US$65.000 per kilo, and we need 5 tons to make 1 liter of essential oil.”
Just like its’ predecessor, the trio in Oud Mood Collection are not all about Oud. We will only feel a fraction of Oud which wrapped with other interesting scents. “Rough and brutal Oud, wrapped up with the softness of rare and soft fabrics,” said Marc about the Silk Mood, Velvet Mood & Cashmere Mood, three extraits de parfum from Oud Mood Collection. No ordinary perfumes indeed, as they’re concentrated with 30% pure essential oil (that’s 10% more than ordinary Eau De Parfum).
Smooth as silk, Silk Mood is the lightest and the most feminine of them all. Created in Francis’ mind as a genderless perfume, this perfume extract wrapped up Oud with Bulgarian Rose, Blue Chamomile from Morocco and Papyrus. Expect to scent a very Oud scent became airy like a caressed rose petals on our skin.
Luxurious like cashmere, Cashmere Mood is definitely not for the faint of heart. Imagine walking inside an all leather store, as it’s very leathery, thanks to Moroccan Labdanum, Benzoin from Laos and Vanilla which enhanced the Oud. I imagine a very sophisticated man (with a nice leather shoes) owned this.
Mysterious like velvet, Velvet Mood is the purest and closest interpretation of OUD, the predecessor, released with cinnamon from Ceylon, saffron and exotic Copahu Balm from Brazil. It goes dark yet give those majestic and royal sense.
After attending the exclusive launch of Oud Mood in The Library at The Dharmawangsa Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia, I really believe that Oud is not for those commercial (read: mass market) type. For those who embrace life and of course, Oud fanatics, Oud Silk Mood, Oud Cashmere Mood & Oud Velvet Mood will be a permanent collection. Available in 70ml Extrait de Parfum (price TBA in Indonesia), it’s a perfect way to enjoy your fine life just like the cashmere parable mentioned above.