Oud Lail Maleki

"Lail Maleki | Lattafa / لطافة" and Oud Lail Maleki are two Lattafa perfumes that have always attracted my attention every time they appeared on online sites, with that beautiful Arabian horse imprinted both on the box and the bottle, but in the end, I always gave up and opted to buy other perfumes from the same brand. And perhaps I was always wrong because in my last purchase, I also added this, and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I’ll tell you that I’m not sure I can perceive exactly the olfactory notes reported here or on other sites, and that I haven’t found any information on the official website since it has been discontinued in the meantime and only the original perfume is present. But I will try to describe my sensations, the notes and the chords that I perceive on my skin. Oud Lail Maleki, which comes in a transparent bottle with brownish amber juice, is an intense oriental perfume with floral and woody notes, with a heavy slant towards Arabic fragrance. Its name in Arabic should translate as Royal Night, and it opens with a blast of camphoraceous and leathery accords, right in your face, and oud, so dominating from the very beginning. For the sake of clarity, it is not an unpleasant out, not barny, not fecal, not tarry, not skanky, but just a tad medicinal. Behind this dense and deep aroma, there is the presence of a note reminiscent of forest honey or honeydew, the slightly dark wild one, with all those bittersweet nuances typical of that variety of honey. Incidentally, forest honeydew, unlike other classic kinds of honey, is not produced starting from the nectar of flowers but rather from the bees’ collection of the sugary secretions present on different plant species in wild forest environments. The initial phase is therefore very leathery, woody, and medicinal, almost camphorous, which could make hasty and impatient people immediately throw in the towel. Once the initial impact fades, the perfume evolves into a beautiful scent that keeps getting better and better, transitioning into a sweeter, fruitier, and more floral phase. I smell aqueous accords, those characteristics of freesia, but not marine accords of ambergris or calone, together with something dense, a gelatinous and dried fruit, that smell released by ripe fruit dried in the sun, like California plums. It’s a little caramelized without taking on the toffee or praline tones. Meanwhile, that balmy and medicinal undertone remains, which now joins a bouquet mainly composed of jasmine, lily of the valley, and gardenia, which emerge dense, carnal, and hypnotic. The iris is strongly tamed. It gives just a powdery veil, but it is not dominant and does not present its buttery lipstick side. The honeyed accord persists, perhaps thanks to flowers such as ylang-ylang, and in this phase, the perfume could have momentum towards fragrances associated with the feminine gender, while maintaining its virile and dark side. The accords of the middle phase last a few hours before the perfume takes a new direction, this time rich in woods and vanilla notes. The base consists of several elements, but the ones that I get most are the creamy sandalwood and sweet vanilla, with just a hint of leather and musk. The last stage is warm, less scary and less powerful than the initial blast. The overall trail is sugary, but not cloying, rather caramelized but not burnt. Finally, I found Oud Lail Maleki an irresistible oriental perfume that is lavish with its appeal and very suitable for late afternoon, evening, and night events or festive occasions. Definitely a perfume to wear during the colder months of autumn and winter, and perhaps even early spring. I would exclude the summer months, the presence of accords that are too dense and sweet because of the high temperature. High performance, both in projection and in persistence on the skin. It is obvious that it is not a perfume designed for the masses, but I recommend it to those who love the Arabic genre, a perfume that leaves its mark, stands out, is affordable, and underrated. I'm basing my opinions on a bottle I've owned since April 2024.

The notes may be accurate, but they really don't line up with how the fragrance smells. I get little to no fruitiness, and I don't really detect any spices either. Honey? Nah. Carmel? Not really. The florals are very subtle too. On to the fragrance, definitely leans more masculine. It's a very simple, slightly soft, woody fragrance. Very easy to wear. It's definitely got a hint of plum or something fruity. But it has very little sweetness/fruitiness. It's not complex but any means. Not a powerhouse or master performer either. I don't think I've ever received a compliment wearing this. This is not a compliment getter type of fragrance. But, there's something I really adore about this fragrance. Something about this is very comforting. I will actually pick it up at random times just to smell it. While this isn't complex, it still doesn't smell like other lattafa fragrances I've tried. So many middle eastern fragrances will tend to have a ton of oud, rose, and sweetness, this just doesn't have that. Maybe that's why I enjoy it so much, because it's not only overly sweet/and there's absolutely no rose in this. It just smells so nice, especially in the fall. When that wind picks up.... ❤️ To note. The bottle on this is beautiful, but the cap is so lightweight and cheap. Don't go picking it up by the cap. Lol

Lattafa Oud Lail Maleki is a classy fragrance! The first notes I perceive are Saffron (spice), which gives Maleki its leathery scent. Beautiful soft Honey notes for the softest sweetness and Sandalwood for its warm woodiness. There is a titch of smoke to it but not an in your face Oud. I smell no fruits, florals or citrus to this point but I’m picking up a gentle essence of sweet caramel which rounds out this lovely fragrance perfectly. Amber and musk are present in the lovely dry down. So elegant and so beautiful. I’ll still wear this as I let it mature since I love how it smells just as it is. I’m just interested to see if the florals, fruits including citrus do/don’t develop with time. It’s a love for me and the price comparison to the Amouage fragrance it’s compared to is a no brainer. I’ll have to get a backup bottle of this for sure. Definitely a Unisex fragrance that’s a bit linear but we’ll see if that changes as it develops. I’ve had this just over 2 months and I have to say this is an absolutely wonderfully blended fragrance. I’m still smelling a lovely sweet leather that’s smooth, creamy and velvety. The saffron and sweets in this with soft hints of gardenia are dreamy. Definitely down the middle unisex. I’d love to smell this on a man, I’m sure it would suit him as well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I bought this from a Middle Eastern grocery store for $26 as soon as I smelled it. I didn't even bother checking online, otherwise I could've saved $10 but it's WELL worth it regardless. It is incredibly sweet with honey in the opening which is basically all you get along with wood notes but the honey definitely overpowers everything else for about an hour then it dries down, allowing for the fruitiness and spice to come through more. After a couple hours, I noticed that the scent turned into something quite reminiscent of A&F Fierce with a touch of wood. Since I have a bottle of that, I compared the two on my skin later on with the same conclusion. So, naturally, I layered Fierce over this one day on a test run and it was PHENOMENAL. Anyfuckingway, this shit smells beautiful if you like honey and it performs like an EDP. Sillage is within 6ft and longevity is around 6hrs but I'm really tame with my sprays (2-3). It's best suited for the evening and fall, it would definitely make a killer date fragrance.

Lail Maleki Oud is not really an oud at all. I think it is slightly middle eastern smelling though. It has a honeyed fruity woods with florals amber, Carmel, and musk. What does that mean? At first it smells like it should be a real heavy fragrance for only cold weather, but it's actually somewhat light, and airy and could be worn in all but real hot weather(not weak at all just crispy and airy). This doesn't really smell like anything in particular that I can recall. It does smell like a twist on the original Lail Maleki, but it's less floral and powdery, and more masculine leaning(still unisex). This stuff smells awesome, and to my nose it's like a more mature version of something modern and fruity like 1Million. Now that I think about it it's kind of like a sharper lighter One Man Show Gold Edition. This is highly underrated and deserves more hype. Good stuff!