Majnoon

Majnoon meaning in Arabic Slang as “Crazy” or “Mentally ill” but can be twisted in context to mean “Passionate” or “Unbelievable” and of the two definitions I believe this fragrance is more a reflection of the latter. A smokey and dark fruity Oud that feels made in kind to resemble of rolled balls of bakhoor or Turkish coffee. This is the smell of a properly vintage oud attar with a respectfully artistic nod to Eastern Heritage present by the addition of a finely rounded coffee that brings out a peaty and smooth dark chocolate nuance from Hindi oud in Majnoon. Much like perfume influence, coffee is an early example of how Middle Eastern influences were adopted by Europeans changing the traditions of Europe. Coffee was made popular in Europe through Venetian merchants who introduced the bean through their trades from North Africa in the goals of avoiding direct trade to Muslim Caliphates. It is archived that the root of the entire world’s coffee originated from the coffee forests of Ethiopia, initially discovered by a nomadic ethnic group known as the Oromo people. The legend being that the Ethiopian goat herder Kaldi in antiquity had observed that his goats would be energized by consuming this cherry. Later in history coffee would be cultivated in Yemen in the 15th Century making its debut in the world of Arabia, and soon by the 16th century it had been adopted by Egypt, Syria, Persia, and Turkey. The introduction of coffee was an instant success in Europe and was more popularized in the Western world after being deemed a Chrisitan beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600. Coffee brought a new dynamic of leisurely activity to the European lifestyle and was consumed as an alternative to alcohol keeping more men out of Taverns and causing the development of a new establishment known as the “Café” or “Coffee Houses”. Because of this cultural role assignment, coffee became a drink of status in Europe establishing itself as the drink of choice for creatives, scientists, philosophers and innovators. The Hindi oud in Majnoon is beautifully tempered with Coffee. The composition is like smooth incense, bringing out smokey, earthy, nutty, fatty, leathery and finally chocolatey nuances that are typical of the two ingredients working properly with each other instead of against each other. There is a slight floral and fruity top given by champaca and rose that provides a honeyed lift to the dark base giving three dimensionality. A bitter fruitiness that is dark and jammy provided by the hint of pomegranate collaborating with the decayed fruitiness characteristic of Thai oud and the freshness of the rose. And finally a closure of cold clove, warm nutmeg and hot, smokey, tobacco with hot, gummy, liturgical, frankincense that functions as the spine of the entire composition. I would be careful of application, spray exclusively on dark clothes or skin, there is real oud as well as other genuine absolutes and this stains clothes it has stained a tester strip I was using one day to test this. Majnoon is large and bold and may only be accessible in the fall and winter but I will not dock points on its versatility because this fragrance is truly well-done and finally a venture away from your typical “Rose Oud”. The best comparison I can think of for Majnoon is that it is in the camps of a Smokey Coffee Oud like Oud Luwak by Areej Le Doré. A more breathable, tropical, brighter and spicier cousin to Oud Luwak by Areej Le Doré if you may. Magnificent stuff here. I hope Prin continues to always put his best foot forward when creating, it is easy to get lazy.... Test first... ☕️🪵🧆 10/10

Below review is for Oud Extraordinaire version As of now, everyone must have know my eternal love for Majnoon. It might not be my best purchase of last year but it surely was THE best find. So it was only inevitable, that i would go for its Special Edition. Now the question is, is it worth spending additional price per ml? Lets keep this question in the air and talk about the differences. The major difference that i could detect is in its opening. Majnoon starts off with very strong kick of coffee, leather and oud. I consider this to be, its only flaw. I know many people, who complained about this and even sold thier bottles right away. May be, patience is a virtue not many possess. However, Majnoon Oud Extraordinaire shaves off all the rough edges, smoothen things up and present it in a beautiful, more well rounded way. Think of Majnoon as a brash, impateint kid who reveals all his cards quickly where as Oud Extraordinaire as a well calculated, mature man who hides, ace up his sleeves. Being 10% more concentrated, newer variant feels more dense and full. Apart from this, there is no difference in the composition itself. It still smells seductive and elegant with main notes being roasted coffee, red wine (pomegranate), oud, leather and cypriol. So lets get back to the question, previously coined. Is it worth spending around $3.5/ml more? On its own, not at all. But wait, we haven't talked about those two added Oud Oils. Both oils, Assamese and Trat, are of highest quality and when worn with Perfumes, creates a full bodied experience. Assamese does not have usual hindi oud barn and is very smooth. I'm not a big fan of Trat Oud but it lends an important hand in overall layering. Being highly concentrated, Oud Extraordinaire lasts longer than regular Majnoon but does not project that much fiercely. Now for the last time, is it worth it? For me, absolutely. May be, i'm being biased but truth be told, i just love how the slight imperfections of Majnoon has been dealt with while adding much more value to overall wearing experience.

Oud, more oud, rose, cypriol, coffee, chocolatey to me. There are more delicate notes that lend complexity and nuance to these. Beautifully blended, seamless. So many aspects and facets to explore. So complex and so intense. This was one of those rare bell-ringing first sprays that I go chasing around because I want those good brain chemicals! But of course, everyone's buttons are pushed differently. In addition to not going nose blind to it, (it keeps me company all day long) it's rich, gorgeous, comforting and distracting. yes, it does keep coming to my mind. Even when I'm not wearing it, even when I'm wearing something else sometimes- I crave it. Is that the interplay between passion and madness illustrated in the name? I could see this distracting someone I might wear it around, in a good way. I'm a woman but Majnoon has no gender just depth and magnetism. I get strong wafts 6+ hours into the wear. This is a one-spray situation unless announcing yourself is more important to you than being polite. The wafting is magnificent. When it wafts to you it's softer and more floral than when inhaled directly. It's *so* intense. Even the wafts are intense. I have become more obsessed over time. This fragrance is inappropriate in many situations and I become a little annoyed if I don't have the opportunity to wear it. Sometimes I spray it on when I first wake up and shower before I do my thing, but I can still smell it on my skin after scrubbing in the shower. Majnoon is also the most fabulous find of 22 for me. I interact with it almost every day, some times I just pick up the bottle and get wafts from the nozzle. I just picked it up about 10 min ago. I'm not sure a fragrance has ever had this effect on me.

I received sample of Majnoon 2 weeks back. Although, i had read up about it on forums but i had no idea, it would encaptivate, rather enchant me like that. I passed on the sample to a very close friend and fellow freaghead as per my norms and ordered a bottle straight away. But boy, i started missing it the very next day. I could not stop thinking about it, fantasizing about how i would write about it, where would i wear it and so on. Whether it is a crush or love, only time will tell. But what i can tell you for sure is, this is THE best find of 2022 for me personally. Majnoon is an expression of abstract art, an idea that may sound ridiculous on paper but the execution and end result is absolutely breathtaking. I can think of dozen of adjective but one word that would sum it up is "seductive". As i'm writing, whiffs of it is distracting me. The intoxication of red wine, the darkness of coffee, the smokiness of incense, the funk of hindi oud, the wet woodiness of thai oud and all of this laid on back of defusing cypriol. Oh! how i wish, i can make my words such that, you would get a whiff of it. Oh! how is wish, it was as popular, as hyped up, as some other non-deserving fragrances. Whether the idea of releasing such fragrance was madness, i cannot say. But it would be madness, if you don't atleast give it a try. It would be an insult, if i speak about its performance. But if you must know, know performance is absolutely phenomenal.

I have Areej Le Dore Chinese oud a nice citrusy fit for the hot weather. Very friendly and bright. Majnoon is a nicely, rounded, challenging but smoothly blended, smoky oud for the cold weather. A wonderfully dimensional oud. This oud blend really strikes me as something that fits just right at times. I find it warm and atmospheric I would say intelligently blended using a juicy pomegranate and green and creamy champaca to replace the pairing of what would otherwise be a typical sweet Turkish rose used in this combination. This combo has some uniqueness from anything I've experienced from ouds on the independent side. I think this one was the fourth fragrance the perfumer had ever used a pomegranate note. It's impressive he'd take such a risk on a release for a new house that is not his own. A resulting inventive and very unique take on oud. It takes on rich coffee, tobacco, incense, chocolate, and freshly cured leather effects. A lovely adventure into the exoticness of oud and its facets. I admit it could be quite challenging, taboo for those enjoying, rose ouds, saffron ouds or oud patchoulis because it is actually a delicate assembly of all of those profiles into one, which you can experience holistically. This displays a rich oud and deep smoky ambered goodness over a large span of time. It has relaxed natural transitions which are calming, quenching and it fits just right.