{"id":2076425,"date":"2026-08-29T18:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/2026\/08\/29\/maison-francis-kurkdjian-oud-as-velvety-as-can-be\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T18:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T16:30:24","slug":"maison-francis-kurkdjian-oud-as-velvety-as-can-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/2026\/08\/29\/maison-francis-kurkdjian-oud-as-velvety-as-can-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Maison Francis Kurkdjian: Oud as velvety as can be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oud wood entered French perfumery much like spices entered court cuisine: late, with caution, and often misunderstood. Francis Kurkdjian approached it differently. As early as 2012, he made it the focus of a long-term research project, not to exoticize it, but to integrate it\u2014just like vetiver or sandalwood\u2014into what he calls his \u201cWestern perfumer\u2019s palette.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Oud Velvet Mood<\/em> is the third installment in this exploration. Following Oud Silk Mood<\/em>\u2014whose structure evoked the dry rustle of raw silk\u2014and Oud Satin Mood<\/em>, built on a smoother fluidity, this new creation draws on the world of haute couture for its textural vocabulary: velvet. This constraint is not merely decorative. It dictates a precise olfactory architecture\u2014a scent trail that must both envelop and hold its ground, warm without being heavy.<\/p>\n\n

The composition is based on a harmony whose logic is well-documented: the raw character of oud wood is tempered by a note of peach, to which are added the leathery and apricot-like facets of osmanthus. The result produces what Kurkdjian calls a \u201cskin effect\u201d\u2014a sensual sillage enhanced by a suede accord. He explains it himself with a precision that has less to do with communication than with method: \u201cOud wood naturally possesses fruity nuances and honeyed accents, which I wanted to accentuate in a new fragrance to reveal the colorful and luminous facets of this mysterious wood. The velvety notes of peach soften the ruggedness of oud without altering its essence.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

This choice reflects a broader observation about the state of contemporary perfumery. Oud fulfills a role that other ingredients no longer provide. \u201cAt a time when animal notes such as castoreum and civet have disappeared from our palette, oud allows us to bring a wild, feral quality\u2014one that has become rare\u2014to our compositions<\/em>, \u201d<\/em> he says. What IFRA regulations have gradually taken away from perfumers\u2014that animalistic, slightly beastly tension\u2014oud wood can partially restore. Not as a chemical substitute, but as an ingredient in its own right, with its own complexity.<\/p>\n\n

The Form of the Extract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Oud Velvet Mood<\/em> is a perfume extract, the highest concentration in the hierarchy of formulations. Kurkdjian offers a straightforward definition: \u201cI have always considered the perfume extract to be the ultimate olfactory form of a fragrance\u2014its quintessence in terms of concentration and the use of fine ingredients, both synthetic and natural.\u201d \u201d<\/em> The square bottle is derived from a silhouette originally designed for a travel toiletries set: faceted sides, sharp angles, and a gold-plated, monogrammed cap that contrasts with the dark-tinted glass. The double \u201cKK\u201d is engraved as a signature mark.<\/p>\n\n

The Oud Mood<\/em> collection thus functions as a repeated formal exercise: the same raw material, the same creator, but different compositional constraints for each installment. This approach is less reminiscent of a fragrance launch than of a series in the visual arts\u2014an exploration of a motif until its possibilities are exhausted, or until the version that requires nothing more is found.<\/p>\n\n

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Oud wood entered French perfumery much like spices entered court cuisine: late, with caution, and often misunderstood. Francis Kurkdjian approached it differently. As early as 2012, he made it the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2055601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2076425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty-and-perfumes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2076425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2055601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2076425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2076425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2076425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}