If you're new to oud, the catalog can look confusing fast: chips, bakhoor, oils, attars, grades, origins. This is the plain-English version, written for someone buying their first piece, not the collector who already knows the difference between Sinking and King grade.

The Three Formats You'll See

Almost everything we sell falls into one of three categories, and they're used differently. Oud chips are raw pieces of agarwood, cut straight from the tree with nothing added. You burn them for scent. Bakhoor is also burned, but it's oud wood chips that have been infused with other ingredients, rose, amber, sandalwood, saffron, so the aroma is layered rather than pure wood. Oud oil (attar) is a concentrated liquid, distilled from agarwood or other botanicals, worn directly on skin rather than burned.

None of these is "better" than the others, they're just different ways of wearing the same family of scent.

Oud Chips: Raw Wood, Nothing Added

These are 100% pure agarwood, hand-sorted, nothing added and nothing removed. If you want the true, unblended smell of oud wood, this is the format, resin dense enough that the surface of each piece has a visible sheen. Chips are graded by resin density, AB, Super, Super Plus, Muhassan, Sinking, King, which we cover in detail in our grading explainer. For a first purchase, AB grade is the easiest entry point: real resin, real aroma, and the most affordable of the raw grades.

Bakhoor: Chips Infused With Other Ingredients

Bakhoor starts with the same oud wood chips, but the wood is infused with other ingredients on top, rose, amber, sandalwood, jasmine, saffron, cinnamon, depending on the blend. It's not raw agarwood, and we say that plainly on every bakhoor listing, but it's what most people picture when they think of a traditional Gulf or Levantine home scent. If you want something warmer and more rounded than pure wood, or you're buying as a gift, bakhoor is usually the easier starting point than raw chips.

Oud Oil: Wearable, Not Burned

Oud oils and attars are worn on skin like a perfume oil, not burned. Apply a small amount to pulse points, wrists, neck, behind the ears, and let it develop over the next hour; oud oil evolves as it warms on skin, so the first ten minutes rarely tell you the full story. Our oils are graded Grade A or Grade AAA, AAA being reserved for a small handful of oils where the source wood, aging, and extraction are all a step above the rest of the line.

How to Burn Chips or Bakhoor

Both raw chips and bakhoor are burned the same way.

Charcoal method: light a charcoal disc until it glows and ashes over, place it in a heatproof burner or censer, then set 1-2 pieces on top. Don't place the wood directly in the flame, it should sit on the hot charcoal, not burn in it.

Electric burner: set to low-medium heat and place the pieces directly on the heating plate. This method is gentler and gives a longer, more even release than charcoal.

Either way, start with 1-2 pieces per session. Pure oud and bakhoor are both concentrated, and a little goes a long way, especially with higher grades.

Storing What You Buy

Keep chips, bakhoor, and oils in a cool, dry, airtight container away from direct sunlight. Heat and light break down resin and aromatic compounds over time, so a sealed container in a drawer or cabinet will keep your oud in better condition than an open dish on a shelf.

Picking Your First Purchase

If you're not sure where to start: AB grade chips are the lowest-commitment way to try raw agarwood. A bakhoor blend is a safe, crowd-pleasing gift. And if you want to sample several oud oils side by side without committing to a full bottle of each, our Oud Discovery Trio is built for exactly that.

Questions about what would suit you, or a specific gift, email us at support@noblearoma.com. We'd rather point you at the right product than have you guess.