The designer Tom Ford can take credit for bringing the intense, earthy smell of oud, or agarwood, to the Western mass market, but his Oud Wood perfume simply tapped into a traditional scent used in the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years.
— From For a Coveted Resin, the Scent of Rarity Takes Hold at the New York Times. (But if Tom Ford can take credit for bringing oud to the Western mass market, surely it is because of Yves Saint Laurent M7, not the Private Blend Oud Wood).
At first glance, I read this as “a coveted raisin”. So the fruity-floral market has moved on to dried fruits now? – I asked myself, then realized it was time to put my contacts on.
LOL! Yes, contacts help 🙂
If you can call the Tom Ford line “mass market.” And surely Montale’s existence helped a little. And Corso Como. (And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few!)
Yes, isn’t that funny? And that they chose Oud Wood, which is rather tightly distributed.
M7 is a gem!!! As I’ve commented here before, when I first smelled I din’t like it: it was too strong, sweet and medicinal for my taste that time. But it became hidden in my mind (I always remembered it). About six years later I gave it a second chance. Result: it became one of my favourite fragrances. I known that’s oud is a little bit clichè nowadays, but i love that smell…
It’s a great scent. Admittedly, I have not tried it lately & I would assume it has changed.
I was lucky. I found the old version to buy. I haven’t tried the new version. I’ve heard it has been changed, but YSL do not confirm this. Is it true???
I don’t know if it’s true because I haven’t tried it. But nearly everything that old has been reformulated, so it seems likely.
I totally agree: if Tom Ford is to take credit for bringing oud to the Western mass market, it’s because of Yves Saint Laurent M7 not the Private Blend Oud Wood–which, while a superior oud, is actually not as warm and accessible as M7.
Tom Ford fragrances to me are the perfect “proper” perfumes, they just smell like “perfume”.
I indulge in walking by the Tom Ford counter in Harvey Nichols, such heavenly smells.