The Heritage
The Story of Feel Oud
Feel Oud crafts pure agarwood (oud) oils and attars for fragrance lovers who seek depth without dilution. The brand sources resinous wood from Burma, South Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, then distills it in small copper stills to preserve the natural character of the resin. Each bottle delivers a single‑note experience that can stand alone or blend into a personal perfume. Feel Oud positions itself as a bridge between traditional oud craftsmanship and modern minimalist aesthetics, offering collectors a transparent view of origin, method and scent profile.
Heritage
The story of Feel Oud begins with a student known online as “Russian Adam”. While studying engineering in Australia, Adam encountered Islam and its rich cultural relationship with agarwood. His curiosity led him to travel across Southeast Asia, where he met Bortnikoff, a longtime trader of sandalwood and oud. The two decided to combine Adam’s scientific background with Bortnikoff’s market knowledge, forming Feel Oud in 2018. Their first laboratory was a modest loft in Melbourne, where they experimented with steam and hydro‑distillation techniques to extract oil without using solvents. By early 2019 they released three inaugural fragrances—Oud Sub Lime, Fleur Oud Santal and Lotus Oud—each highlighting a distinct regional oud profile. The launch attracted attention from niche‑fragrance blogs, which noted the brand’s commitment to raw, undiluted oil. In 2020 Feel Oud secured a direct supply line with a family‑run forest in the Kachin region of Myanmar, allowing the brand to control harvest age and ensure sustainable practices. The following year the company opened a small warehouse in Dubai to serve Middle Eastern markets, a region historically linked to oud use. 2023 marked a milestone with the introduction of Oud de Grand, Oud Balsam, Sunrise and Set, and Maroky Incenza, expanding the portfolio beyond pure oils to scented colognes that retain the brand’s hallmark purity. Throughout its growth, Feel Oud has kept production volumes low, typically releasing fewer than 500 bottles per scent, a strategy that preserves exclusivity while maintaining quality. The brand’s evolution reflects a blend of personal journey, scientific rigor and respect for centuries‑old agarwood traditions.
Craftsmanship
Feel Oud’s production begins with field selection. The team travels to certified farms in Burma, South Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, where they identify trees that exhibit a high resin content and a minimum age of three decades. Harvesters make a precise incision in the trunk, allowing the sap to exude and harden into resinous chips. These chips are air‑dried for several weeks to concentrate aromatic compounds. In the studio, the dried chips enter a copper still heated by low‑temperature steam; the process runs for 8 to 12 hours, capturing volatile molecules while preserving heavier notes. The resulting distillate is filtered through fine muslin and stored in amber glass to protect it from light. Quality control includes gas‑chromatography analysis to verify the presence of key sesquiterpenes such as agarol and javanol, benchmarks that independent labs in Singapore have confirmed for several batches. Each batch yields less than one liter of oil, a figure the brand cites to explain its limited release schedule. After distillation, the oil is decanted into hand‑blown bottles sealed with wooden corks that match the natural aesthetic of the product. For scented colognes, Feel Oud blends the pure oil with a minimal amount of ethanol, using a temperature‑controlled mixer to ensure homogeneity without stripping the oil’s depth. The brand documents every step in a digital ledger, allowing customers to view batch numbers, source coordinates and analytical reports on the website.
Design Language
Feel Oud’s visual language mirrors the simplicity of its scents. Bottles are crafted from dark amber glass that softens the oil’s rich hue while shielding it from UV exposure. The label features a single line of Arabic calligraphy that spells the fragrance name, rendered in brushed gold foil for subtle contrast. Caps are made from sustainably sourced sandalwood, sanded to a matte finish that feels warm to the touch. The brand’s website adopts a clean, monochrome layout with high‑resolution photography of the forests and the distillation apparatus, reinforcing the narrative of origin. Packaging boxes are unlined kraft paper, stamped with the same calligraphic logo, and sealed with a thin leather strap. In retail spaces, Feel Oud displays its products on reclaimed wood plinths, allowing the natural grain to echo the wood‑derived scent. This restrained aesthetic avoids flashiness, instead inviting the viewer to focus on the tactile and olfactory experience.
Philosophy
Feel Oud believes that oud should be experienced in its most authentic form. The brand’s creative vision rests on three pillars: transparency, sustainability and respect for the tree’s natural chemistry. Transparency means publishing the country of origin, tree age and extraction method for every batch, so consumers can trace the scent back to a specific forest. Sustainability drives the partnership with local harvesters who follow age‑based selection, allowing trees to mature for 30 to 50 years before tapping. The company also invests a portion of revenue into re‑planting programs in Myanmar and Vietnam. Respect for chemistry guides the decision to avoid alcohol or synthetic additives; instead, the brand offers the oil neat or blended with carrier oils that do not mask the resin’s intrinsic notes. Feel Oud’s editorial voice treats each fragrance as a conversation between the wearer and the forest, encouraging users to explore the shifting facets of oud over time rather than chasing fleeting trends. This philosophy resonates with collectors who value provenance as much as scent.
Key Milestones
2018
Feel Oud founded by Russian Adam and Bortnikoff in Melbourne, Australia.
2019
Launch of first three fragrances: Oud Sub Lime, Fleur Oud Santal and Lotus Oud.
2020
Secured direct sourcing agreement with a family‑run forest in Kachin, Myanmar.
2021
Opened distribution hub in Dubai to serve Middle Eastern markets.
2023
Released Oud de Grand, Oud Balsam, Sunrise and Set, and Maroky Incenza, expanding into scented colognes.
2024
Implemented a re‑planting program in Vietnam, planting 5,000 oud saplings annually.
At a Glance
Brand profile snapshot
Origin
Australia
Founded
2018
Heritage
8
Years active
Collection
1
Fragrances released
Avg Rating
3.9
Community sentiment
Release Rhythm