Oud Stars

Mamluk XerJoff 2012

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7.7 / 10 270 Ratings

A popular perfume by XerJoff for women and men, released in 2012. The scent is sweet-gourmand. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is still in production.

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Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Oriental

Animal

Spicy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Honey

Caramel

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Benzoin Siam

Jasmine

Osmanthus

Base Notes

Amber

Bourbon vanilla

Laotian oud

Musk

Laotian buaya

Ratings

Scent

7.7270 Ratings

Longevity

8.9242 Ratings

Sillage

8.1247 Ratings

Bottle

8.9244 Ratings

Value for money

6.4124 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 24.04.2024.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "Oud Stars" collection.

Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/27/2020

9
Bottle 8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9.5
Scent

Yharnam79
63 Reviews

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Yharnam79

Top Review 33

Gentle brutality

Excursus in advance:

If I had gone by the ratings for this fragrance, I would most likely not even have tested it...
It's a good thing that I have been here for a few years and know better by now...
My introduction is really not intended to attack anyone, let alone instruct them.
But what is always beyond my understanding is why one tests and evaluates an oud-based fragrance and gets upset about the oud smell "which one generally doesn't like anyway"...
We are talking about a fragrance from the "OUD Stars" collection...!
So it should be absolutely no surprise that oud is also used here.

I, for one, hate neroli. But now that I know that this is purely a matter of taste, I don't feel the urge to test and evaluate all scents based on Neroli, only to mention again and again how caustic Neroli smells (to me)...
Neither do I accuse all nerolites of a would-be tendency to snobbery.
So why must I, as a wearer and lover, allow myself to assume that I only wear a fragrance in order to upgrade myself with its costliness as "special"?
Not to mention the "fact" that "everyone" around me thinks that I "haven't showered in weeks". But nobody dares to tell me that either...

I simply think that with all the subjectivity that such an evaluation brings with it, one should still pay attention to how (in the absence of a better and more appropriate word) "personal" one becomes.

Excursus end.

In short: whoever finds oud unpleasant or even fecal, should not have any fun with Mamluk either.
Mamluk shows a strong similarity to Ceylon, especially at the beginning.
And that is probably the biggest challenge.
But where Ceylon takes the harsher, more animalistic path, Mamluk goes in a completely different direction.

Paint-sweet, completely smeared with honey and slightly "urinesque" hits the top note, but becomes more accessible within minutes, softer and much, much softer.
And exactly at this point Mamluk also parted with the initially strong bond to Ceylon.
Mamluk is a brutal yet gentle fragrance.
Sounds paradoxical? It is! Br /> But in fact I have rarely, perhaps never experienced such a high quality oud. Or rather I mean such a skillful embedding of qulaitatively high quality oud.
Not counting Ceylon. He plays for me in the untouched big leagues
The character changes here from spraying on to early drydown from animal sweet-biting to soft-cuddly purring.
Grandiose "made" honey and oud are the main protagonists here, whereby I already think while writing that I do not do justice to the scent picture with it. Far too complex and skilfully coordinated and interwoven are the different components.
The honey-oud composition is surrounded and interspersed with benzoin, vanilla and a slightly smoky note. In the late course the oud even stays almost only in the background.
Animalistically it now appears at best still mini-minimal. Fecal not at all.

Both durability and yield are by the way far above average.

Mamluk is not one and does not want to be an oud club.
If one should try to summarize, one could possibly speak of a honey oud-benzoin, perhaps even vanilla-smoke scent.

Brutal is his appearance, butter-soft is his core.
It radiates gentle strength.
The calm after a violent desert storm.

06/19/2020

8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

DarkWinterCS
136 Reviews

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DarkWinterCS

Helpful Review 9

Mamluk, Jackson Pollock or Beehive?

OMG, WTF and yippie - it's all about me. I think I finally found a suitable successor for my Oud Wood and this from a completely unexpected direction. The Alexandria II was already one of my favourite candidates, but now it is this Mamluk who has surprised and convinced me completely unprepared... simply OMG and WTF.

Now, of course, I'm glad that this fragrance was warmly recommended to me by a well-known "Oud Stars" connoisseur and that the corresponding bottling was sold to me. What a happy coincidence and what a great experience. Because I would probably have tested a few other things before I would actually have chosen this one. The reviews also show how divided opinion is on the fragrance, as it is already described as very oriental and animalistic. First of all, I belong to the category that doesn't hear anything very animalistic in this fragrance. OK, at the beginning something tries to make itself noticeable, but in the course of the fragrance development I never have the feeling to smell unwashed, dirty or even in the direction of urine. For me it is almost astonishing that I now find this kind of scent so much celebrating and so wearable. For me it is even very suitable for everyday use and pleasant, but I also have very strong smelling and tolerant colleagues who are already relatively hardened by my tests. Similar to the Civet, I am painless on the road and wear it even at 20 degrees - so what if I do, because I do.

But Mamluk is once again one of the fragrances that I can't quite take apart, because the mixture is so complex and deep. On my skin, all the notes combine so easily without showing any negative qualities. It is also so soft and sensual, dark and then again light.

As I have already written above, the scent tries to let something out at the beginning, which I do not perceive completely, but my wife does. According to her description something musty and sour. From hearsay (without ever having had the scents under your nose) it seems to remind you of descriptions of the Kouros. Strange that I do not notice this chord very much and that there are no disturbing elements for me. There is also a light and subtle sweetness, which I associate with vanilla rather than caramel.
But then I hear the further development and the status quo and this is very flattering for my nose. Even if I cannot break down everything, I try to reproduce the notes. The mixture, which sticks so softly to my skin, definitely contains oud, benzoin, musk and osmanthus. No notes that play in the foreground and balance each other so well that the musk doesn't do its work too dominant. Vanilla and amber I could also detect in light strokes, which give the whole thing a great depth.
But why Jackson Pollock in the headline? Well, it's the uniqueness of the scent. Like the famous drip-painting, it seems so trivially elegant thrown together and then so perfectly creative smeared. A work of art.

Gradually, vanilla, resinous notes and osmanthus/musk develop more to the fore and are embraced by fine smoke. This already smells really good and unique. The thought is right that it smells very oriental and is definitely a variation of the common oud combinations.
I still have to report an addition for the further development, because after three hours such light chords of fresh, warm sawdust came up. Somehow cool :-)

As usual with Xerjoff, durability and sillage are in a league of their own, which are already just below the firmament. For the first two hours you can see whole clouds behind you and proudly present the applied scent to your surroundings. Nothing else I hoped for, because this is what this great scent deserves. Until the fourth or fifth hour the wearer himself is still enclosed in a mist that is clearly audible. After that, the fragrance doesn't throw its notes into the free world quite as intensively anymore, but continues to convince with a very great durability, which is in no way inferior.
P.S. My experiences in this regard are based on the test with a TZ and the rather soft mist of spraying art that goes with it. As soon as a bottle should arrive at my place, I will adapt the addition.

I was definitely so turned on by that smell. It sniffs on my skin extremely horny, tolerable and ends in my perception the all kinds of rose ouds. Seldom have I fallen in love with a fragrance so quickly, seldom have I got the urge to buy so quickly and seldom have I had a fragrance that is seen so divided.

It's amazing that my selection of bottlings is currently connected with such a good hand and a lot of good scents land with me. It is very surprising that so many samples were able to record high scores and that some of them inspired me.

I take my hat off to the recommendation and especially to the scent, THANK YOU for making it under my nose. You won't regret it, because I'll thank you with a place in my collection.
Above all, this is where my search for an Oud Wood successor ends, which has presented me with some unique fragrances. Through these many new experiences have been added, new insights and discoveries. I have enjoyed it.

Also many thanks to the perfume users, who have followed my comments and made suggestions

01/03/2024

8
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 9
Longevity 8.5
Scent

NeonNoir
2 Reviews

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NeonNoir

Better Laotian than chaotic? Mamluk or Ceylon?

Admittedly, the headline may seem a little bold. But the fact is, both are "honey" oud stars and are actually the most similar of all within the line. So it's not surprising why these two fragrances are so often compared.

So which one should you go for?

This question could be answered relatively quickly if you only pay full attention to the respective price tag for a brief moment. However, if you don't let this fact put you off too much and still dare to make a comparison, you will find that both have earned their right to exist and that it really does depend on individual taste, as it always does, which one you prefer, as both take slightly different paths.

About the fragrance:

Compared to the entire Oud-Stars range, Mamluk has a very rounded and harmonious composition and is one of the sweeter fragrances in this series. It starts fresh and floral. The sweetness contained in the flowers combines directly with that of the honey. The honey here is not sweet and pungent, artificial, as is often the case with honey fragrances, but really creamy and smooth. Caramel-like notes possibly support this creamy appearance, but do not make Mamluk seem overly sweet or intrusive. The gradually recognizable fruity fragrance component in the heart can probably be attributed to osmanthus, brings with it a certain complexity and is also wonderfully balanced. In addition, the fragrance creates a beautiful warmth and depth on the skin, has slightly woody notes and a slightly earthy, dark touch. This is where the oud comes into play. If Laos oud was really used, no sour notes can be detected here, which makes the interplay even more harmonious. Only fruity and minimally smoky notes are favored in the fragrance.

In comparison, the honey note in Ceylon is somewhat more striking, as it starts off with slightly sour-animalic notes right from the opening. This makes it more striking, of course, but also significantly less pleasing. For some, it may also be a little overwhelming or even chaotically arranged. So if sensitive noses are already struggling with Mamluk, Ceylon could well give them the final coup de grace. However, I don't want to go into the "cheese anecdotes" or cowsheds that are wildly circulating in the forum, because I don't really smell them in either fragrance. Mamluk has a relatively mild and tolerable oud characteristic here, whereas Ceylon's Malay oud, paired with the musk, which in this case is really animalic, pushes these specific notes a little further to the fore. Mamluk also lacks the amber/musk intensity, but that doesn't make it unpleasantly pungent at any time and I really like it.

After 6 hours at the latest, however, you notice how the two fragrances get closer and closer to each other. Especially when it comes to the vanilla sweetness. Mamluk remains more floral throughout. Ceylon is somewhat darker, denser, warmer and, above all, spicier. Mamluk manages without any spices at all. Both fragrances easily last a day on the skin. Several days on the test strip. Mamluk remains a little quieter at the end. Personally, however, neither of them are sillage monsters for me, I'll just say that much at this point. Sensitive noses in particular will still have fun and get their money's worth. :-)

Overall, I would consider Mamluk to be the floral, perhaps even more feminine and definitely more finely balanced version of Ceylon. If you want to live out the somewhat louder, edgier and wilder version of these oriental creations, you will have to dig a little deeper into your wallet for better or worse.

For me, who tends to avoid honey fragrances, both are beautifully composed, harmonious and therefore wearable without being annoying. Nevertheless, definitely not blind buys. A test is therefore highly recommended.

07/29/2014

7.5
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 5
Scent

GothicHeart
86 Reviews

GothicHeart

I wonder...

Mamluk is exactly the type of scent that will make people in social events look at you with desbelief, all raised eyebrows and such, trying to decipher whether you haven't bathed for two weeks, covering your stench by spraying huge amounts of Angel in the meantime, or you are simply wearing some outrageously priced, high-end niche perfume. And just out of political correctness, or maybe fear of embarassing themselves, they'll never dare to ask for an answer, allowing you to deliberately suffocate people in your wake, and get away with it.

12/17/2020

10
Bottle 9
Sillage 10
Longevity 7.5
Scent

SvenScent
50 Reviews

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SvenScent

Honey oud with heart weakness

Mamluk from the 'Oud Stars' series by Xerjoff is an interesting fragrance. This is, as otherwise often, neither pejorative nor disrespectful meant.

He opens with a wonderfully natural honey accord underpinned by a bar of dark chocolate.
In the heart - and here lies, in my opinion, its weakness - it then unfortunately develops a certain, probably mainly due to the osmanthus, mustiness, which goes hand in hand with 'older' floral notes, which make the fragrance in my eyes appear less attractive in this phase.

Here the nose then already wants to turn away, would not the mustiness evaporate after some time again and lead over to an extremely successful comeback of honey. This is subsequently also underpinned by a wonderfully gentle oud, which together inexorably leads to the well-known 'I-can't-let-the-nose-from-my-skin-anymore effect'. And this for a long, long time, because the durability of the fragrance is enormous and covers almost 24 hours.

Without his 'heart weakness' it would be an overall wonderful fragrance. So, however, he is then but only limited to recommend. Whereby the Drydown but probably possible some may compensate for the weakness...

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