Tom Ford Oud Wood Decant

Oud Wood is the fragrance that introduced most of the West to oud, and it did so by sanding off everything difficult about the material. There is no medicinal sharpness and no animalic funk; instead you get a soft, creamy sandalwood-and-oud blend lifted by cardamom and rosewood, with tonka and vanilla adding a light sweetness in the base.

It is smooth to the point of being effortless. Sillage is modest and intimate — this is a fragrance people smell when they are close to you — and it lasts six to eight hours. That restraint is why it works in an office and at dinner equally well, and why it has been Tom Ford's steadiest seller for nearly two decades.

If oud sounds intimidating, start here. If you already love oud, this will probably strike you as too polite, which is a useful thing to learn from 2 ml rather than from a bottle.