Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
Rate
Collection
Classify
Notes03/13/2022
Carlitos01
378 Reviews
Carlitos01
Top Review
14
The Beauty or the Beast?
Commercially available natural oud is mainly harvested and distilled in the Far East. It is normally very pleasant, but according to "connoisseurs", nowhere near as pleasant as real oil extracted by hand from wild oud. Large companies such as Givaudan and Firmenich are currently producing synthetic essences to replace natural oud. Products like "Oud Synthetic 10760 E" and "Black Agar Givco" are often used in cheaper oud perfumes. These chemical compounds only show a single fragrance profile and not the broad spectrum that natural oud offers. The difference is even more pronounced when comparing synthetic oud with wild oud. Synthetic oud often has notes of cedar or leather and attempts to mimic the aroma of natural oud harvested and mass-produced in India.
The distillation of natural agarwood oil also has its secrets. The different techniques used by commercial distilleries affect the quality and final aroma of the essential oil. When agarwood chips are soaked in water for a long time before distillation, they gain volume and increase the final amount of oil that can be extracted. The most careless distillers can soak the wood chips for months without even changing the liquid. This sets off an anaerobic fermentation that produces hydrogen and nasty-smelling sulphur compounds. The wood becomes completely saturated and begins to decompose. Saturated wood produces more oil when distilled, but the smell of this oil is rarely appreciated as it comes from rotting wood. This distilled oil often has a cooperage or faecal profile. This is the cause of the misconception that oud has a foul, offensive, leathery faecal smell.
There have been several tributes to deep oriental fragrances by the world's finest perfume houses in the last two decades. Frederic Malle launched four perfumes with Arabic labels, namely The Night, Dawn, Promise and The Moon. With list prices ranging from €225 (10 ml) to €2200 (250 ml) on the brand website, The Night can hardly be called an affordable perfume. Malle claims that the best available raw materials have been used to achieve the best possible perception of an oud perfume. I can question that, at least with regard to the oud distillation process that has been used. Malle's website has the following teaser for this perfume:
"Life at Night.
An unprecedented amount of natural oud blended with Turkish rose and saffron on a lush bed of incense and sandalwood makes this perfume the most precious on the market and irresistible to oud connoisseurs. As the sun sets in the Middle East and people stream excitedly into the streets, beauty lies in a single sway of the hips or a glance.
A touch of unattainability".
This perfume is a powerful oud and rose fragrance with saffron flavours, an incense frame and an oud and sandalwood base. The Turkish rose scent is clearly perceptible in the top notes, as are nuances of saffron. But the oud in the heart sets the pace and creates an animalistic and leathery foul ambience. Frankincense can also be detected in the background. The sandalwood only becomes more evident later and during the dry-down phase.
Is The Night fiery and dark? Yes, it is, but only in a mild way if you are used to Middle Eastern oud scents. I think newcomers to these dense, woody oud scents will find it intrusive or even "barnyard" to say the least. People who test it with me, complain of a faecal smell. You won't find any sweetness to soften the initial scent conflict for your senses. Thank God it's not a linear perfume and the evolution is awesome.
Also, be prepared to enjoy "The Night" for a long time. Don't use more than two sprays. It will last for more than 12 hours and will be reasonably shower-proof. The good news is that when it dries down, the scent is heavenly.
I have already used this perfume four times in the last week. Although I am a lover of intense (aggressive?) oriental perfumes, I realise that "The Night" will at least evoke mixed feelings in the opening phase. I am sure that many users will hate it. The good news is that I can really feel the perfume growing inside me with each (very expensive) puff from the atomiser.
May I say that I really love it now? Yes, I certainly will assure you that!
Can I say that my wife still hates it? Yes, I surely can!
Let me rate this fragrant gold bullion:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
- Opening: 8.0 (Wonderful Turkish rose, saffron nuances and intrusive barnyard oud).
- Dry Down: 10.0 (Heavenly oud scent, plus sandalwood and incense)
- Longevity: 9.5 (2 sprays last well over 12 hours, maybe close to 18 hours; more than two puffs may be considered as over-spraying)
- Sillage: 9.5 (fills a room and provides more than 3.0 hours of strong projection, with only 2 sprays)
- Uniqueness: 9.5 (Quite unique, but the scent reminds you of some other strong and pungent oriental oud fragrances)
- Wearability: 7.5 (Avoid any type of hot weather; it's a night perfume).
- Versatility: 8.0 (Any place at night, preferably outdoors).
- Praise: 7.0 (Like any other strong oud, many people will like it, but it's far from consensus)
- Quality: 9.5 (A question mark behind the oud distillation process; otherwise, it's perfect)
- Presentation: 8.0 (In line with almost all Frederic Malle flacons)
- Price: 3.0 (For oligarchs only; on the Frederic Malle website, list prices range from "low cost" €225 for a 10 ml travel diffuser to €2200 for a 250 ml bottle for large consumers)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Overall rating: 8.12 / 10.00
- between 7 and 8 = above average;
- between 8 and 9 = recommendable;
- above 9 = definitely not to be missed;
My opinion about this beasty but loveable perfume:
My average rating suffers from the low price mark.
Beware of the initial stale smell in your nose. I learned to love The Night only after using it a few times. It's semi-dark and dense. After thirty minutes the oud becomes wonderful while the strong Turkish rose is still there. The finish is quite fantastic and the power is tremendous. For its price, however, the perfume should be kept in a bank safe. Never buy it blindly.
Music: Avicii - "The Nights"
The distillation of natural agarwood oil also has its secrets. The different techniques used by commercial distilleries affect the quality and final aroma of the essential oil. When agarwood chips are soaked in water for a long time before distillation, they gain volume and increase the final amount of oil that can be extracted. The most careless distillers can soak the wood chips for months without even changing the liquid. This sets off an anaerobic fermentation that produces hydrogen and nasty-smelling sulphur compounds. The wood becomes completely saturated and begins to decompose. Saturated wood produces more oil when distilled, but the smell of this oil is rarely appreciated as it comes from rotting wood. This distilled oil often has a cooperage or faecal profile. This is the cause of the misconception that oud has a foul, offensive, leathery faecal smell.
There have been several tributes to deep oriental fragrances by the world's finest perfume houses in the last two decades. Frederic Malle launched four perfumes with Arabic labels, namely The Night, Dawn, Promise and The Moon. With list prices ranging from €225 (10 ml) to €2200 (250 ml) on the brand website, The Night can hardly be called an affordable perfume. Malle claims that the best available raw materials have been used to achieve the best possible perception of an oud perfume. I can question that, at least with regard to the oud distillation process that has been used. Malle's website has the following teaser for this perfume:
"Life at Night.
An unprecedented amount of natural oud blended with Turkish rose and saffron on a lush bed of incense and sandalwood makes this perfume the most precious on the market and irresistible to oud connoisseurs. As the sun sets in the Middle East and people stream excitedly into the streets, beauty lies in a single sway of the hips or a glance.
A touch of unattainability".
This perfume is a powerful oud and rose fragrance with saffron flavours, an incense frame and an oud and sandalwood base. The Turkish rose scent is clearly perceptible in the top notes, as are nuances of saffron. But the oud in the heart sets the pace and creates an animalistic and leathery foul ambience. Frankincense can also be detected in the background. The sandalwood only becomes more evident later and during the dry-down phase.
Is The Night fiery and dark? Yes, it is, but only in a mild way if you are used to Middle Eastern oud scents. I think newcomers to these dense, woody oud scents will find it intrusive or even "barnyard" to say the least. People who test it with me, complain of a faecal smell. You won't find any sweetness to soften the initial scent conflict for your senses. Thank God it's not a linear perfume and the evolution is awesome.
Also, be prepared to enjoy "The Night" for a long time. Don't use more than two sprays. It will last for more than 12 hours and will be reasonably shower-proof. The good news is that when it dries down, the scent is heavenly.
I have already used this perfume four times in the last week. Although I am a lover of intense (aggressive?) oriental perfumes, I realise that "The Night" will at least evoke mixed feelings in the opening phase. I am sure that many users will hate it. The good news is that I can really feel the perfume growing inside me with each (very expensive) puff from the atomiser.
May I say that I really love it now? Yes, I certainly will assure you that!
Can I say that my wife still hates it? Yes, I surely can!
Let me rate this fragrant gold bullion:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
- Opening: 8.0 (Wonderful Turkish rose, saffron nuances and intrusive barnyard oud).
- Dry Down: 10.0 (Heavenly oud scent, plus sandalwood and incense)
- Longevity: 9.5 (2 sprays last well over 12 hours, maybe close to 18 hours; more than two puffs may be considered as over-spraying)
- Sillage: 9.5 (fills a room and provides more than 3.0 hours of strong projection, with only 2 sprays)
- Uniqueness: 9.5 (Quite unique, but the scent reminds you of some other strong and pungent oriental oud fragrances)
- Wearability: 7.5 (Avoid any type of hot weather; it's a night perfume).
- Versatility: 8.0 (Any place at night, preferably outdoors).
- Praise: 7.0 (Like any other strong oud, many people will like it, but it's far from consensus)
- Quality: 9.5 (A question mark behind the oud distillation process; otherwise, it's perfect)
- Presentation: 8.0 (In line with almost all Frederic Malle flacons)
- Price: 3.0 (For oligarchs only; on the Frederic Malle website, list prices range from "low cost" €225 for a 10 ml travel diffuser to €2200 for a 250 ml bottle for large consumers)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Overall rating: 8.12 / 10.00
- between 7 and 8 = above average;
- between 8 and 9 = recommendable;
- above 9 = definitely not to be missed;
My opinion about this beasty but loveable perfume:
My average rating suffers from the low price mark.
Beware of the initial stale smell in your nose. I learned to love The Night only after using it a few times. It's semi-dark and dense. After thirty minutes the oud becomes wonderful while the strong Turkish rose is still there. The finish is quite fantastic and the power is tremendous. For its price, however, the perfume should be kept in a bank safe. Never buy it blindly.
Music: Avicii - "The Nights"
8 Replies
Carlitos01
Shemsmeller
Estbienla
Hermesh
Traian1999
