Agar Aura - pure oud products

Al-Syed Ceylon No.2

This product has gone the way of all those before it...
Gone, never to come back.

Grab our other oud oils, before they are gone too!

Description
Reviews

I am delighted to release our first ever Syed Series oud oil publicly. Up until now, these oils were offered privately to a handful of individuals. However, considering the cost, yield, and significance of this batch of oud, it is now available for one and all.

As with all Syed Series oils, the batch of wood that was used for extracting Ceylon No.2 displayed remarkable properties, most significantly the property of emitting a strong ambient aroma even without being exposed to heat.
This property is an indication of the quality of the tree itself: as the tree gets extremely big and old decade after decade, it reaches a point where it continuously compresses the heartwood inside, leading to something very interesting: a special anoxic 'aging' of the oeloresin inside the tree.
Agarwood from such trees displays the beautiful quality of ambient aroma, along with a higher concentration of some very yummy scent notes (vanillin notably being one of them) – a type of scent profile that many folks often mistakenly associate with kinam.

Like all Syed Series distillations, this is a gift. Please note: the typical price for an oil of this calibre, extracted from wood of this grade, would go for about $900/bottle wholesale-priced.
But Ceylon No.2 is released in memory of my past struggles and losses in Sri Lanka. Coupled with Agar Aura's yield-boosting techniques (and the fact that all Syed Series oils are practically sold near cost price), you're getting this oil for about a quarter of the price it would otherwise command elsewhere.

The opening notes are diffusive, bright, and otherworldly. Green, crystalline, with hints of honey and mint. Like all Syed Series oils, this is a Gen3 oud with extra emphasis put on the ambient aroma more than the heated aroma of the wood. And so, very soon the aroma of spices and crushed vanilla pods simmering in butter emerges, along with mouth-watering ripe pawpaw, juicy guava and mee amba Ceylonese mango between crimson and ochre. The drydown is an extension of all the preceding scent notes, but with more emphasis on the resinous and sweet-woody accents. Sweet in its bitterness, and bitter in its sweetness.
Simply put: the aroma is the most accurate depiction of Sri Lankan Walla Gyrinops agarwood.

As for her sister distillation, Ceylon No.1, then the cost was far higher due to a high concentration of sinking grade wood comprising the raw material. Its aroma is something that we mere mortals aren't quite ready for.. at least not yet. I myself have not been able to wrap my head around its unearthly scent. Every time I smell it, I encounter an aroma that is not of this world. And so, until I am able to put it in words (if I ever manage to) that oil won't see the sun of day.
Were it not for that, Ceylon No.1 would have been our first Sri Lankan release.

If you have smelled any of our other Syed Series oils (2 sandalwood and 5 oud distillations), you'll have a good idea what to expect from Ceylon No.2.
If you haven't, prepare yourself for an incredible olfactory journey.

For your enjoyment, here is a video capturing the birth of Ceylon No.1 & No.2:

It is extraordinarily beautiful...and so refined. And there is that wonderful mysterious walla patta note right at the heart of it which I adore. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
R.S. (UK)

I have tried no 2 twice so far. Is it me or do I find a 'squeezed wood aroma' similar to that of NG1? Not saying they are exactly the same but it has this light incensy sweetness. ;)
M.A. (Singapore)

The honey note is also there in Ceylon No. 2. Strong and sweet. Like a type of natural sugar. Neither of your Al-Syed Ceylon oils were anything like I imagined they might be. I must say that they are both astounding. Truly astounding.
M.I. (USA)

Today is a wonderful day as my hand is blessed with the aroma of Ceylon No.2. A gorgeous smell...to me it appears supremely refined and elegant. Crystal green with tropical sweetness.
R.S. (UK)

Top note : smelling it from the applicator has very medicinal smell almost like a Chinese herbal shop. There is a animalic - civet , minty menthol floral notes from another planet when applied on the skin. Not a barnyard at all. Amazing & 1st for my nose . Never encountered this profile, SubanAllah! ( & definitely has the kinam scent back drop , very medicinal)
Middle note : vanillin and floral notes coming back-and-forth , little vibe of Borneo but not in scent profile. I profile in its own. Medicinal top notes still punches in.
Base note : menthol powdery musky and dry down is relaxing and interesting .
What a journey in a bottle , my 1st Srilanka Oud experience, JazakAllah Taha Bhaia for experiencing a new scent profile for my olfactory sensors!
I.R. (Canada)

The oils are, of course, amazing! The translucency of the scent each one emits is unparalleled. When wearing them both, you develop a clear image of how they relate to each other on the olfactory spectrum. It's obvious they're nearly identical in note composition, but it's as if #1 reverberates on higher frequency when compared to it's sibling, #2. The notes are really interesting. Here's what I get: (in no particular order) bergamot preserves, crushed mint leaves dipped in luscious Borneo oil, lavender absolute, white tea, your Tan Xiang No.1 sandalwood oil (seriously!), honey-roasted sunflower seeds, a hint of cilantro leaves and fresh ginger. These notes are so tightly woven, I think I could pick this yarn apart indefinitely, discovering brand new strands of aroma.
This has been so much fun!
C.G. (USA)