Oud is the dark, resin-infused heartwood of the agarwood tree — smoky, animalic and intensely complex — while sandalwood is a soft, creamy, milky wood with a gentler, sweeter character. They are different trees, different scent families, and used for quite different jobs in a fragrance.

Two Very Different Woods

Oud only forms when an agarwood tree is infected by a particular mould, which triggers the tree to produce a dark, fragrant resin as a defence response — the rarer the natural infection, the more prized and expensive the resulting wood, which is why genuine oud carries such a high price tag. Sandalwood, by contrast, is prized simply for the wood itself, traditionally from Indian (Mysore) trees and now more commonly Australian or New Caledonian sandalwood, and does not rely on any disease process to develop its scent.

How They’re Used Differently

Oud tends to be the star note in a composition — bold, leathery, sometimes barnyard-like in the best way, and often the dominant character people are drawn to. Sandalwood is more of a gentle backbone, softening and rounding out other notes rather than shouting for attention. Both are central to Arabian perfumery, but they play different roles, and our complete guide to oud goes into far more depth on how genuine oud is sourced and graded. If you want to experience real oud rather than a synthetic version, our pure oud oil range is worth a look, and the complete guide to perfume covers the wider basics.