Oud Rex: Chinese Exclusive

Those that knew Ensar from his Oriscent days will highlight a handful of ouds that reshaped the oud world for good. One of those was Chinese Exclusive.

Collectors consistently rank it among the most complex and addictive oud oils ever bottled. Reviews describe it as “mythical,” “primeval,” “warm and instantly wearable,” and “one of the most complicated scents” they’ve experienced. It hits hard on first sniff, then settles into a warm, musky, deeply grounding drydown that oud connoisseurs consider transcendent.

This distillation is its successor that carries on its name and soul: a raw, unapologetic sinensis profile for those who appreciate the musky, animalic depth of true Chinese agarwood.

Oud, not for the Maharaja or the Sultan, but for the Crown. A decadent potion brewed from fermented grapes marinated in potent tobacco leaves. A ravishing motley of rose de mai and cacao and clove for a dainty glacé born from that oak barrel lined with the sweet earthy scent of dried tobacco stuffed with lactating grape serum as you stir black pepper and black tea into the thick brew before dunking in the oud, the oud, the oud!

Chinese Exclusive’s zesty sinensis swagger whose ancestral roots go back to old cauldrons sans all the tech tweaks that propel modern distillation, with nothing but mega resin inside. Its bittersweet orange-peel flash that slides into wet earth, mossy timber, and full-bodied animalic depth. Its humid, pheromonal bite locks perfectly into the leather-tobacco frame, amplifying the perfume’s darker gravitational pull.

A primal, pheromonal aroma meant to amplify the skin’s natural scent rather than hide it.

Old-school oud that gives you leathery chords brimming with notes of tobacco, hay, and subtle citrus, all with an animalic bite. In other words, oud destined to one day go into our gift to the king, Oud Rex.

And I’m not just flaunting the heritage of Chinese Exclusive here. This edition comes decked out with 3 grams of Chinese Exclusive per 30ml (that’s 5 grams per 50ml and 10 grams per 100ml!).

This not only pushes up the overall concentration to over 41%, but injects the profile with an even oudier aroma. Flowing into Tonkin musk, Hojari frankincense, rather than adhering to a typical oriental profile, Oud Rex embraces the sophistication of French perfumery while channeling the untamed creativity of an audacious oud connoisseur.

A scent the perfume-obsessed Louis le Grand would have become infatuated with – but couldn’t dream of smelling. Tripura gaharu infused with Tonkin musk, Malaysian and Myanmar agarwood that would continue to touch the sky for centuries before anyone learned of their hideout. That gnarly, aged sinensis oud bomb drenched in Hojari frankincense. All smells a king of old would have killed to acquire, but never knew they could.

Instead of composing an oud perfume I would feel confident presenting to the Sultan (Oud SQ), Oud Rex ditches your typical oriental facets and embraces the Western-French tradition to create an oud perfume fit for a European monarch…

… filtered through a non-conformist Oudhead’s abandon and style.

I feel a scent pyramid doesn’t do anyone any favors – its simplicity cannot capture the intricacy of Oud Rex, which contains ~70+ ingredients that bathe together in a super-ornate composition that wafts in layers that demand to be explored – you’ll discover different facets under the sun compared to a stroll under moonlight.

Oak and bourbon vanilla will come out more in cooler autumn nights, while diffusive wafts of aged ruh gulab carry notes of pear and sweet civet on a clear blue sky. But even if you think you pick up individual notes, you’d find them having emerged from a pool of purple tigerwood while Chinese Exclusive’s incense entangles everything.

There’s nothing ‘lite’ or masstige about Oud Rex. Too much oud that’s too good, right down to the carrier (which contains raw wild Borneo Kinam oud resin and precious Borneo oud hydrosol we personally flew into the atelier) is okay by me. And I’m sure His Majesty would love nothing more, either.

Reviews…

I know you are only here for customer service but I honestly thought I had to share my experience with someone who would understand. I’m still in school so I don’t have any money and I spent loads on a tiny sample of it, but I honestly would have paid 10x as much if I knew how good this was. When I first smelt it had no words, it was a scent no word could describe. The oud is so incredible, my favourite smell is smoke and it is such a beautiful smoky oud which is so deep and complex.

Obviously there is so many other scents in this incredible perfume but my nose is mainly picking up a smoky oud, a slight cocoa scent which i don’t usually nice but it is so well blended, and a mix of a grape and floral which is all blended so incredibly well nothing is overwhelming (aside from the oud which is absolutely lovely and wouldn’t change at all, but still doesn’t overpowering, just takes the mains stage) yet you can still pick apart and smell each scent individually. I don’t know what magic was used when creating this perfume but I’m honestly shocked. It’s almost a bittersweet feeling, owning such a small (I only have 0.5ml) yet perfect scent, and knowing I’ll probably never own a bottle since it’s so expensive on secondary market. I’m still also only in grade 10 so my focus is on school and my parents don’t want me getting a job until I finish school. I know I’m rambling on, but I just needed to get it all out, when I smell it, I genuinely get emotional and I know it sound stupid but when I smell it it nearly brings a tear to my eye it’s so good. I could go on all day about all things I like in this perfume, I have tried a lot of different perfumes and I honestly think this is the only perfume I would consider perfect.

—Jakob

/ Australia

Reviews of Previous Editions…

Here we see another true masterpiece clearly from Ensar Oud, where each oud blends perfectly with the other notes. There are many releases, but this is one of the best. I’m glad to have this fragrance and want to thank a brother for everything🤲🏻♥️

—Thomas W

/ Germany

Oud Rex is a shapeshifter in a bottle. Every time I wear it, it feels like a different story, a new experience. One moment it’s lush fruits and creamy vanilla, the next it’s deep medicinal oud with waves of black tea and green incense swirling around me.

Totally hypnotic.

The opening is a dazzling blast: bright Yuzu, sharp grapefruit, juicy pear, and a touch of grape sweetness, but it’s the dark ouds – Indonesian, Borneo, Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese – that start to pull you deeper. There’s a resinous green heart full of spicy carnation, smoky myrrh, and a mystical, rich frankincense that fills the air like a temple in a forgotten forest….

—Miskbrother

Resinous champ traveling in Malaysia. Sophisticated flower bouquet with musky breath. Other oud regions are calling. The reigning king follows the call.

—Home L

Considering I make the oud sultani series my benchmark, this one has that bourbon Vanilla I love. The oud in here is very fruity and sweet. I get hints of blackcurrant but very faint.

I got this one for the European aesthetic and have been very impressed so far…

—Jesse G

/ Canada

Resinous ouds – flower tonkin musk cocktail – incense malay borneo vanillic flavor – rose safran black tea – royal scent.

—HomeL

The perfume itself is probably one of the most mysterious scents that I’ve smelled from EO. Every time when I’ve applied it, it smelled slightly different. Sometimes I got a lot of musk, other times it’s super oudy with nice florals and fruits and sometimes it’s just a mixture of all.

Oud Rex is probably one of the most wearable oud centered scents that I’ve tried, it’s quite mass appealing and luxurious at the same time. I’ve shared some decants of this perfume and there wasn’t one single tester who didn’t like it.

Until this day I’d say that Oud Rex is one of the most mysterious perfumes in my collection. It’s been a few months since I’ve got it and I’m still trying to figure out what it smells like.

It’s a very complex brew, you get sweet creamy notes, dark mineral oud vibes, loads of musk and medicinal oud notes.

It’s kinda weird to put it in words but every time when I spray it I’m like: Wait do I know that smell from somewhere?

But when I think that I know it, it turns 180 degree and smells completely different – a real shapeshifter.

Some parts of it remind me of Tonkin musk, but in a way darker and medicinal way on the other hand you get that sexy smell of tigerwood (probably one of my favorite oud oils ever). It’s very heavy on the ouds, smells masculine and elegant.

I really like that it seems like it’s giving you a slightly different experience every time you spray it, not every perfume can do that.

The sillage is very intense and the longevity is decent for such an oudy perfume.

A variety of ouds, florals and animalics… spraying this perfume gives you quite a different experience everytime and it never gets boring.

—Chris A

/ Germany

Hard to describe this one. It’s a resinous scent and has lot of stuff going on. You’ve seen reviews talking that one day they’ll get a blast of flowers from Oud Rex, next day it’s an oud scent and after that again it completely shifts away showing other notes. I do get a very strange rose note from time to time too!

So, after all, I can say that this is one of those fragrances you have to experience for yourself and be astonished every time you smell it because of the different notes you’ll perceive.

—Dardan Z

/ Germany

This is where the buck stops on green incense. This takes a detour from the sultanis purple signature and goes rich in green incense notes. The frankincense is so present but in the correct balance but boy will you be in a cloud of Oud the entire time.

—Travis H

/ USA

There’s nothing ‘lite’ or masstige about this perfume…