A STALL has opened on Blackburn Market — selling oils containing one of the world’s most desirable perfume ingredients.

Oud is one of the most expensive oils in the world, due to the painstaking lengthy process of extraction and its rich balsamic aroma.

The prevalence of oud perfume and oils has arrived in Blackburn, thanks to Mehek Heavenly Scents and Perfumes.

Since opening a stall in Blackburn market just six months ago, Anjam Sheikh has drawn interest to the luxurious scent in appealing bottles.

Originating in Assam, India, it is distilled from the Agarwood Aquarilla tree, which after being infected by parasitic mould leads to the scent of oud. The fragrance is a sweet, woody and balsamic scent, which lingers long after application, unlike most perfumes.

Mrs Sheikh sells oud oils, air fresheners and traditional home incense — ranging from £8 to £60. The 47-year-old mother of one, said: “There is a lot of interest in them, especially the oils, because the bottles will be dressed in gold and look majestic.

“I have seen diversity in the people coming to buy them, and it is not just South Asians.”

Countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, China, Japan, Pakistan and India all sell the perfume, but in Dubai is it the most expensive scent to buy.

On why she decided to bring this luxury to Blackburn, Mrs Sheikh said: “There weren’t many places local to us that we could buy these from, and there is nothing in the market that sells oud.

“The smell stays all day too. Over the course of the day any perfume smell will fade, but the oud base will stay.”

Such is the trend of oud that now even perfume brands like Tom Ford, Gucci, Versace and Dior have incorporated it into their perfume.

They retail for high prices, with Dior’s Purple Oud set costing £200 a bottle, while pure oud can be more than £2,000 per bottle.

Prices depend on a number of things such as concentration, whether it is synthetic or not and how old the tree was before the oud was extracted. It is often called ‘liquid gold’ as, at one time, its value was estimated to be 1.5 times of the value of gold, giving it gold status.