Madawi Gold Edition

I bought Madawi Gold Edition in KL in mid 2023 (not sure why Fragrantica says released in 2024?), during a holiday back to hometown that felt more like stepping back into a former life. One spray and suddenly I was standing again in the city that shaped me, the KL I knew: bright, relentless, ambitious, alive at all hours. The perfume opens with fruity notes and cardamom, and that combination hits with the same immediate energy as a KL morning. The warmth feels like the city’s heat rising from pavement, while the bright fruitiness mirrors glass towers catching the first blaze of sun. It has presence, the kind that subtly makes you straighten your posture, the way I used to when walking into a client meeting after an all‐nighter. As the scent begins to settle, the story deepens. Tonka bean adds a smooth, rounded richness, the kind of steady comfort I used to find in the quietest hours of the night - 10:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m., 12:00 a.m., when the office was empty and it was just me, my sketches and the soft hum of the A/C. The airy brightness of pineapple blossom brings a surprising lift, like the rare moments of joy that broke through those intense workweeks: a colleague cracking a joke, a late-night mamak mi goreng or nasi lemak, laughter echoing down an empty corridor. Jasmine the slips in with its clean, assured elegance, never choosing a side, never conforming, a reminder of KL’s fluidity, its blend of cultures, its refusal to fit into a single shape or identity. This is the part of the fragrance that feels like the creative process itself: fluid, layered, determined and unexpectedly alive. Finally, comes the dry down. Here, vanilla softens everything: warm, comforting, familiar, while patchouli grounds it with a quiet strength. Together, they feel like those weekend overnight stays at the office, when time stopped making sense and the only rhythm was my own persistence. There’s a calm determination in this phase of the scent, the same feeling I had watching the sun rise through tinted glass after working straight through the night. Even as it settles, a faint fruity glow lingers underneath, like the last spark of inspiration that keeps you going long after exhaustion should have won. Wearing Madawi Gold Edition now feels like carrying that whole chapter of my life with me: the ambition, the intensity, the creativity, the pressure, the resilience. It’s a luxurious scent but not loud, more like a quiet confidence that hums beneath the surface. On my skin, it becomes a personal emblem of who I was in Kuala Lumpur: driven, imaginative and endlessly pushing forward in a city that never truly sleeps.

Madawi Gold Edition by Arabian Oud is marketed as a feminine-leaning, unisex oriental gourmand, crafted by master perfumer Dominique Ropion for the brand’s 40th anniversary. The scent opens with warm spices—cardamom and black pepper—alongside “red fruits,” where I distinctly pick up strawberry. As it develops, a pineapple note emerges that smells like pineapple roasted and brûléed with brown sugar, the kind you’d find at Brazilian steakhouses. The jasmine acts as a unifying element, seamlessly tying the composition together, while coumarin and vanillin remain present throughout every stage of the fragrance. The patchouli is very subtle, becoming more noticeable toward the end of the dry-down. Ropion has mentioned using high-quality raw materials for the patchouli, cardamom, and jasmine; however, at this price point, I believe a higher-quality vanilla could have been used. I also feel this fragrance sits somewhere between designer and niche—it would easily outperform 90% of designer releases within its scent family, One Million Elixir being a good example. Performance is not an issue at all. Like most Arabian Oud fragrances, longevity and projection are easily a 10/10.

Got this as my first niche fragrance! It was definitely a very good pick, as for me. It opens with a blast of a very sweet tonka bean, a candy like smell and a litttle bit of florals in the back, it can definitely be smelt if you think about it. In the dry down you get a quite sugary sweet like vanilla, but not too sickening Projection and longevity are strong, maybe even very strong but i get nose blindness quickly from it which is the only downside of this fragrances, and also i didn’t mention it leans a little bit masculine because i get some herbal notes which balances the sweetness Although it smells very good to my nose and fits my taste, it is not a very safe blind buy, i do recommend smelling it first, but if you like vanilla fragrances that lean masculine, not very masculine, it can be safe, but don’t take risks because it is locked behind a high price tag, but i got it from saudi arabia for only 80$!! If you got friends or relatives there, it is more recommended to buy from there. Edit: i didn’t mention, don’t spray too much on clothes, it leaves yellow stains that look like turmeric, because it is high in oil concentration

I really Appreciate Fragrantica adding this. If you know of a fragrance that is not in the system post the information and photo and a link to their website in the fragrantica forum topic "submit the missing fragrance." They literally added this within 24 hours. To the fragrance.. I just love this. It is so much different than the original Madawi. It's floral and sweet and has a blast of cardimom, which I love since I first found La Nuit De L'homme. This is long lasting and projects pretty well. I was in Paris and stumbled across the Arabian Oud shop near the Arc De Triomphe. I was going to Guerlain and saw it. I smelled a few and really liked this. I sprayed it on and I kept smelling it all day it was really nice. I went back a couple days later and got it. The rest is history.

I honestly love this wayyyy more than I thought I would! I can see the comparison to 1 million elixir because the fruity notes are done similarly (I.e. erba Pura style fruity notes but different scent profile). The tonka and vanilla in this create an incredible sillage and pushed this up to my number one choice for date night! I personally find it very unisex because I feel that the tonka/vanilla/patchouli make it a crowd pleaser and a fragrance that will likely smell really good on most people. I will say that you have to enjoy the fruity profile of 1 million elixir to like this; definitely more similar to that than anything else, but again, it's just the way that the fruity notes are implemented. Gorgeous scent profile and this definitely makes me want to snatch the OG Madawi!

Since I asked fragrantica to add this almost 2 years ago, I'm very happy people seem to like it as much as I do. This was an accidental discovery for me when randomly visiting the Arabian Oud boutique in Paris. The vanilla is not the star. It is a blend of florals, fruits, cardamom and Tonka. It does not have an overpowering patchouli. It doesn't have an overpowering anything, for that matter. Masterfully created. One of the best from the brand and a hidden gem. Arabian Oud is not a clone company like most other Arabian brands. They present themselves as originals and higher quality.

I've had an interesting experience with this fragrance. The first week or two the sillage was really disappointing, but right after that this fragrance turned nuclear with the sillage. it was genuinely amazing how the projection upgraded after curating for a while. The smell itself is also really nice, its like the OG madawi but less sweet. You still feel the sweetness but its no where near as a punch compared to the OG. Also the fruity addition to this fragrance makes it stand out muchhhh better imo. Also a 12+ hour lasting fragrance. in my experience 5-6 sprays is the way to go

Madawi Gold Edition is a Tonka Bean, red berries, spicy, vanilla bomb & smells nothing like Madawi. This & Al Fareed are my absolute favorites & smell masculine in different vibes, gold edition is a gourmand masculine vibe for sure. I’ve received so many compliments in the past 1 month it’s surprised me a lot. Not many fragrances smelly like this, Tonka Bean dominate red berries & vanilla scent that has florals and spice in the background. 10/10 in terms of smell, longevity, projection & uniqueness.

The opening is cardamom heavy, it reminds me a bit of The Most Wanted just in the opening, as the two are sweet cardamom bombs, with Madawi being less sweet. Soon, the vanila and tonka bean amp up (more tonka than vanilla), together with the fruitness, giving a red berries compote with a slight bitterness. As it dries down, tonka becomes the main note and together with patchouli never lets this frangrance become too sweet. Reading the comments, I was expecting this to be really sweet, but it isn’t

I’ve been dwelling on this perfume for a month now and finally made the purchase. Arabian Oud had it at 50% off which was a bargain but still higher than your average prices at Abdulsamad and Ahmed Maghribi. Today is the first day I use it, can’t judge sillage and longevity because I got nose blind really quickly. It does have nice fruity opening with vanilla which can be mistaken for a feminine scent if you don’t air it out for a minute or so.

🇺🇸🇹🇷 I bought this one at Arabian oud in Taksim Square in Istanbul Turkey. Sales guy said it was a #1 seller along with Resala. My god this smells so good. I have about 30 designer and niche brands and this one is the most potent. Probably why I keep going back to it. Check out the notes if you love them then I can promise you will love this. Ok maybe not promise because it’s my opinion.lol but it’s a beautiful fragrance.

Where to start with this one. I’ve had this one for a few months when Arabian Oud had a 50% off sale. Since then this has become a staple in my collection. This opens up with cardamom and fruity notes. It’s pretty loud for the first hr but calms down to a nice sillage. This is going to last 10+ hrs and I’ve gotten plenty compliments with it mainly from women. I love this stuff

I bought it yesterday, big wow for Madawi gold edition, I love it , very strong one, vanilla and Tonka make the difference, I recommend it , when you will wear it definitely all the people will smell, still I did not wear it out , today I will, see if I will get the complements, then I will edit my review,

I blind bought this for half price, a steal imo. Man this smell is so beautiful. It's a super smooth, creamy, velvety, fruity vanilla blended with tonka that's not too sweet. Perfect fragrance when going to sleep

عطر جميل جدا انصح به وبقوه ١٠/١٠ في كل شيئ واتعجب في من يقولون انه عطر نسائي بالعكس الاصدار الاول منه هو ما كان قريب للعطور النسائيه اكثر اما هذا اصبح ملائم للرجال اكثر .

peach yogurt with abit of mint but no milky or tart smell. sensational. reminds me alot of Essence of casablanca.

Very nice scent, but very weak performance. Was expecting good performance, as Arabian our is known for this.

I love this perfume!!!!!! its so unique and pretty. 10/10. lasts all day and night literally.

smells like a cousin of slut elixir 90% the same; with some without some

Smells like Sultani mixed with Essence of Casablanca! I like it