There are some things that are SO beautiful, you
just want to keep them for yourself.
And then there are things that are even more beautiful, so much
in fact that you can't help but need to share them
with others.
Kekasihku, my hand-made "too beautiful for this world"
Brunei oud, is one such thing.
If you tried our old Brunei oud oil, Oud Darussalam,
you'll remember it was an extremely bold woody oil. Powerful
silage and excellent tenacity.
Kekasihku is even more powerful, but this time its not only many
MANY grades higher in quality (see
for yourself, the bag on the left), but it captures
something far superior to the scent of the wood: the scent of
the oleoresin inside the wood, and nothing but.
The raw material that was used for crafting this oil was
collected from a very well-known wild agarwood tree in Brunei.
Years ago, it had been felled, and it turned out to contain some
truly amazing agarwood. Recently, the hunter went back to the
stump that had been left behind in the jungle and he collected
the small black tid-bits left behind inside that stump. As you
can see from the photo of the raw material above, this is some
seriously high grade wood.
This, my friends, is the rare Klampei species of
agarwood, endemic to Brunei (and a tiny strip of Sarawak
immediately bordering Brunei), and one out of the two species
that scream BRUNEI. Yes, there are a few other species
in Brunei as well (such as Malaccensis) but they smell too
'common'.
As for Klampei, then it suffices to say that one of two things
happen when you place a wood chip on your incense heater: either
your eyes will inadvertently roll back in your head, or you'll
need some duct tape to keep your jaw in place when the wisps of
smoke greet your nose.
Lovingly hand-crafted by me in a Spanish copper still, this
distillation was the third costliest I have ever conducted, and
as usual it was choreographed and executed with relentless care
and precision.
No clever tricks to amplify "interesting" auxiliary notes, or to
introduce (or remove) anything.
The aim: pure Klampei.
The result: precisely that.
Frosty minty sugary top notes, warmed spices and sweet herbs in
the heart, wildflower honey and gooey resinous syrup in the
base.
This is as Brunei as Brunei gets.
Today, virtually all "Brunei agarwood" available today is
actually from neighboring Sarawak, smuggled in from Lawas,
Limbang, and Marudi. It is brought to Brunei, and then sold as
Bruneian agarwood (which easily commands 2x the price). Take it
from someone who has focused on agarwood hunting solely in this
region for four months non-stop; I know all too well what goes
on here.
Kekasihku on the other hand is 100% genuine Bruneian oud,
distilled from a well-known tree in the Brunei wild.
To say that the chance to get an oil like this is rare, is an
understatement.
Kekasihku is naturally going to take me some time to unravel.
There are so many notes there taking me in so many different
directions. On the one hand there exists a majestic woodiness,
and a thrum of green-gold basenotes, and yet there are these
sparkling top notes - bursting like bubbles of carbonated
water. They are impossible to pin down - every time I think
they smell like something different.
R.S. (UK)
I just purchased a bottle of your Kekasihku oud. It is
absolutely stunning. Totally entrancing, hypnotic and
otherworldly. Serene, majestic. Not wood or flower. I barely
know Kyara but I think this is a different kind of Kyara
because the Kekasihku smells like truth. Thank you.
L.K. (USA)
The Klampei smells almost similar to the Malaccensis. I even
inquired the proper biological name of the Klampei with one of
the botanists at the Brunei university, he never heard of it.
Maybe, as you said it is already extinct or the agarwood genus
of Brunei was never properly documented or catalogued. As
mentioned, I was particular keen on getting my hands on the
Klampei oudh as being a Bruneian, I felt compel to collect
oudhs from Brunei agarwood.
Anyway, though I said the Klampei smell was similar to
Malaccensis, I found it to be less woody and towards the end
it smelt like honey. The smell and thought of oudh lingers for
quite a long time after the initial hit. I found the latter
mesmerising or as you put it, the salient quality was
hypnotic. Quite difficult to shake off and it brought back
memories of my siblings and I as kids traipsing around the
tropical rainforest looking for wild fruit trees on my late
grandmother's land. This is quite new to me as so far, no oudh
has had this effect on me. So Klampei is a keeper.
N.A. (Brunei)
Kekasihku has that hypnotic note to it. One of finest elite
Oud. A treasure in reality.
S.P. (UK)
Wow, Masha Allah. All nice, but out of all 4 Kekasihku really
got me. It sure is hypnotic... Im not the best at describing
scents, especially complex ones, but I can get a honey note in
it which is lovely, also a ceylon no.1 vibe to it. Ofcourse
they're different, but i mean theyre both sweet and have a
honey note.
W.H. (UK)
The beuaty of this oil is very hard to truly describe. It must
have been on a strength training regimen since i got it over a
month ago. There is a 'coolness' to it, like when you have a
mint or menthol lozenge, but it is not really minty. Along
with the coolness, there is sweet burning incense which slowly
builds in intensity into the strength of a chiseled Adonis.
There is a faint note of the lightest honey you can imagine,
balanced with delicate bitterness of reminiscent of some of my
favorite Vietnamese oils. An immensely graceful and powerful
oud which demands serious study and may be one of the most
meditative concoctions I am privileged to posses.
This oil easily falls into the true elite category in my
collection.
P.O. (USA)
Man, this stuff is pheromonelly sexy.
P.O. (USA)
I loved Brunei
M.D. (Abu Dhabi)
Drops of peetroot juice on lugumes-flavored sweet sugarcane
and wood garnished with salary stick and bell pepper with
pinch of salt and Stachys herb on top served in clay bowl with
a slice of wet bread on side. Then gee-flavored sandalwoody
incensy resinous sweetness keeps getting intensfied throughout
its development turning it into a beauty; no bugs here. One of
the most unique oud oils aroma from the rare Klampei agarwood
species.
A.I. (USA)
Going to make it harder to sleep at night. I told u bro, big
fitna
T.G. (Dubai)
Ok, so now I've fully discovered Kekasihku. Wish that hadn't
happened... it's truly magnificent, but outside of my current
budget. Ahhhhhhh!
I hate to even ask, but what discount would be possible on a
bottle of Kekasihku?
H.A. (USA)
Thank you for the super fast delivery of the Kekasihku and the
sample of the Syed's Succor. They are definitely some of the
finest Agar fragrances I have found. Thank you for making
these special oils available. They are truly works of art.
E.S. (USA)