Dubai

Quite the lovely fragrance this is. Dubai was one of my favorite fragrances from the Bortnikoff discovery set off first impressions, and now that I've given it a full wear I'm pleased to say I still like this a lot. It reminded me very strongly of Oud Maracujá on paper, and thankfully on skin that resemblance is still there, although Dubai's fruitiness also definitely brings to mind Promise from Frederic Malle. To my nose Dubai is much better than Oud Maracujá, however, as this isn't as sharp and screechy as the Maison Crivelli, this is much smoother and better blended in comparison. It's not listed as a note but I do get a raspberry feel from this, although I think it might be the combination of the "passionfruit" note's acidity combined with the green apple. Dubai's fruitiness is interesting because in my brain it's shifting between green apple and raspberry, it's like my brain can't determine which one it is every time I smell this. There's some rose alongside this morphing fruitiness, but to me the latter is much more predominant. The base has a lightly skanky oud that grounds this floral fruitiness perfectly, and it feels like a step up from Oud Maracujá in terms of oud "challenging-ness". As the fragrance dries the oud becomes more dry and leathery, a touch smokey as well. Is it the most innovative fragrance in the market? No. Is it Bortnikoff's most innovative fragrance? Absolutely not, but it is a really well done fragrance and I love it. Performance overall is pretty good. Projection seemed to be more on the moderate side, whereas sillage was on the dense side for a few hours and even several hours into my wear (6-7 hours in) I can still catch light whiffs of this in the air. I thought I was going through a general nose blindness episode but I guess the fragrances I've worn during the past few days simply didn't have dense sillages like this (or maybe my smell receptors love some of the compounds used here). Longevity is great, 8 hours with relative ease.

Purchased the last bottle available they had at MaxAroma. Yes, I have tried Oud Maracujá, but never liked the fact that, yes, it's overpriced and doesn't contain real oud; among other things. I have in my possession The Moon, Promise from Frederic Malle and Alahambra Oud from Ramon Monegal, and it does resemble this last one a bit; as well as Mana from Nishane. I've been wearing it for the last three days. Yes, I know it is not enough time to know everything about it, but this is what I know... It smells very natural, well blended, extremely long lasting. It lasts 12 hours plus on my skin, projects beyond arms length for over 4 hours, and doesn't get close to the skin (but not so close) until the 8th hour mark. Yes, this is a true beast that behaves similar to The night and The Moon from Frederic Malle. The fruits show their face at the beginning, specially passionfruit, peach and apple. Then it transitions/blends with the florals, specially rose and jasmine. I also have to say that, in the beginning of the experience, the Indian oud and leather are present on the background, but during the transitions from the top notes into the heart, the oud comes out stronger; then stronger/more present on the dry-down, together with the leather and Nargamotha. At the MaxAroma gender recommendation under this specific fragrance, it reads that it leans more feminine. In my opinion this is absolutely inaccurate. This fragrance is unisex, leaning masculine. Is this fragrance worth the price tag? Again, in my opinion, it absolutely does. This fragrance is everything Oud Maracujá only dreams to become, but will never do. It is one of the best purchases I've made so far this year, together with "Atardecer" from Navitus.

I got a 2ml decant of this and I immediately loved it. Amazing smell, longevity, everything I could ever want. Then I read the reviews below and saw the comparisons to Promise by Fredrick Malle and of course Swedish Wood is very similar to Promise, so I got both of these to compare. Promise is of course nuclear.... that apple shisha smell is sharp and very distinct. The quality of the ingredients is amazing and I'm sure when it came out it was something very special. Swedish Wood to me is 95% similar to Promise... not as strong. But slightly better blended. Dubai is very similar.... like 70%... but different. I would say Dubai is the best blend of the 3, so smooth, you get the apple but you get much more. This reassured my decision and I bought a bottle of Dubai right away. This also kind of reminds me of The Moon.... with the same basenotes (oud, leather, patchouli, amber) but completely different top notes (that one has raspberry, lychee, other berries)... compared to Dubai which is more apple, passionfruit and peach... but Dubai to me is like The Moon but of a different flavor. There's nothing not to like about this. Opening is amazing, heart is amazing, dry down is beautiful. It lasts 12+ hours for me which is more than enough. I don't need it to last 24 hours like Promise. Is it the most unique smell ever? No. But it smells amazing, has complexity to it, and is 99% different than everything else out there. Signature worthy can be worn anytime if you ask me but maybe not hot summer weather out in the sun. But I will be wearing this for an indoor summer wedding. Perfect for special occasions. Perfect 10/10 fragrance.

Dubai by Bortnikoff was instantly on my purchase list the second I smelled it. Make no mistake, Dubai is absolutely an oud-forward fragrance, but it's actively competing with the myriad fruits, florals, and spice. This fragrance is quite honestly overwhelming when you first smell it. A strong oud, green apple/passionfruit sweetness, and a distinct spicy edge from the cardamom and woods. The oud is not animalic at all, more of a smoky, sweet oud. The fruits are juicy and candy-like, and the florals are bright and powdery. The fragrance opens as a melange of competing scents, but it settles into one cohesive experience. As the fragrance dries, the oud mellows out, the fruits lose their sweetness, and the woods/florals have time to shine. It's incredibly hard to summarize this fragrance in less words, and I'm still discovering its character after multiple full wears. If you want a daring, oud-forward, middle eastern style fragrance, this is for you. 9.5/10

@born2drv... I agree with the comparison to The Moon, but there are differences. The dry down for this has a much more vanilla toned base, whereas The Moon has a much more deeply woody toned base. The amped vanilla in this is a great counter to the sourness of the fruits though. I believe that you could wear them on consecutive days and not feel like they are the same scent. I bought both bottles because I think they give different emotions too.

This is what Oud Maracuja wishes it was. Wonderfully balanced. A rare example of a fragrance featuring real oud that you can wear in the highest of heat and the most frigid of cold. Sometimes a brand like Bortnikoff comes along and does a popular idea better than the original and it's exactly what someone like myself wanted. It may not be original, and it may not be "Bortnikoff", but it's a very high quality offering.

Picked it at the BW2025. Love the scent, not the performance.

Typical middle Eastern oud fragrance. Nothing more, and definitely nothing I would wear.

A bold opening with animalic Indian Oud vibe mixed with a fruity sweet nuances...like a smell of an apple pie mixed with Indian Oud...strong & deep with warm sweetness...the little funky Oud smell soon fades leaving fruity Oud vibe similar to that in Oud Maracuja but here more smooth & natural with rounded edges... With time it changes slowly with appearance of fruity jasmine vibe mixed with Oud ( no more funky smell but fruity with leathery nuances )...at the late dry down I can feel little smokey woody vibe with hints of creamy vanilla... The performance is excellent with good projection & longevity... unisex & most suitable for cold winter days...❤️ افتتاحيه قويه و جريئه من العود الهندى بلمحه حيوانيه خفيفه محلاه بنوتات فاكهيه دافئه ، ( تخيل رحيق من فطيره التفاح الممزوجه بالعود الهندى )...اللمحه الحيوانيه تهدء و تختفى سريعا و يبقى العود الفاكهى ( قريب من عود ماراكوجا و لكن هنا انعم و جوده المكونات اعلى ...مع العود الطبيعى )... مع الوقت يظهر القلب الزهرى ( ياسمين بلمحات فاكهيه ) مع لمحات من الجلود و الاخشاب المدخنه و قليل من الفانيليا الكريميه... الاداء رائع من الفوحان و الثبات و مناسب للجنسين و ليالى الشتاء البارده ....❤️ Instagram@ Egyptian_jasmine 📸

For me, if you look at the accord stack at the top of this page, this fragrance is all about the Oud, Woody, Leather, and Earthy accords. All other listed accords are either nonexistent or smothered by those dominant ones. The Citrus and Fruity accords are, if not nonexistent, certainly subsumed so deep as to be virtually undetectable. A Fresh accord? Not a chance. Its a nice dominant oud, not too barnyardy. A common smell. Not too dissimilar to the base of several Spirit of Dubai fragrances. Many others too. Its Bortnikoff, so its a real oud, right?

Dubai definitely have a middle eastern Vibe.I believe it’s mainly from nagarmotha and Hindi Oud.Very realistic fruity opening with passion fruit,lemon and apple.Nothing is off putting here to be honest.Hindi Oud is mainly a supporting player here.Its dense and all season wear.Again,quality ingredients here but very familiar blend genre.Leather is also present.

Very reminiscent of fragrances like Oud Maracuja, Ombre Nomade, and The Moon. Just too overdone for my taste. The raspberry or peach, ambrocenide, cypriol, and balsams. Not bad, just very mass appealing and over done. 5/10

I get a chocolate-orange top note. Overall, the oud in this smells nice and projects well.

A poor attempt to clone the promise of the Frederic Malle.