Ingredient

Oudh Oil

Aquilaria crassna

To obtain the rich and fragrant ingredient, a certain tropical tree, the agarwood tree, needs to be infected by a certain type of mould (Phialophora parasitica seeing as you asked!) The infected tree reacts by producing the precious and rare resin called oudh.  

It’s not as simple as it sounds, as not all agarwood trees get affected by the mould and not all trees affected actually produce the oudh. This complicated process means it is all very random making oudh extremely rare and highly sought after.

Due to all these factors, oudh is one of the most expensive oils in the world costing more than gold by weight. The dark and woody base note tones it provides are worth all the trouble and expense.

Lush buys oudh oil from a Thai company founded in 2005. Since agarwood trees are considered an endangered species, harvesting wild trees has been banned since 2004. Lush’s supplier is certified by CITES (an international convention to preserve wild specimens) and has its own nursery, plantation, and harvest system for the sustainable management of its valuable plants.