Alien Oud Majestueux

Oud Majestueux is the realization of the golden-gowned Alien that the first Alien EDP hinted at. While the original is a magnificent and larger-than-life perfume, Oud Majestueux brings a different, greater opulence that really gives the impression of luxurious golden robe. It is a special perfume, and I like it even better than Alien Essence Absolue, which is another stunner. Essence Absolue pushes Alien too far into sweet/smooth/resinous territory at times, and loses needed contrast. That said, it is still a keeper. Grab Oud Majestueux while you can, and before L'Oreal neuters it. I'll walk you through the Oud Majestueux experience: the first spray reveals Alien's cosmic jasmine, as well as syrupy vanilla'd amber and a distinctly barn-yardy oud. Yes, this oud is a little dirty, and if you hate oud, you will not enjoy this phase. But this oud is not overbearingly skanky, and it relaxes as the scent dries. The next stage introduces a deliciously tangy cardamom, which, when combined with the vanillic tones in the amber, sometimes makes Oud Majestueux a little foodie at times. The saffron also fully asserts itself, bolstering the sharpness of the oud and cardamom, and bringing out the contrast between classic and smooth Alien jasmine-cashmere and the oriental notes. In the drydown, much of the heavier cashmere and sweetness evaporate, and a delicate, dry, clean, and elegant oud predominates. It is balanced with a soft dose of absolutely gorgeous jasmine and saffron. This is NOT just a lazy flanker of Alien EDP with oud haphazardly thrown on top. Oud Majestueux is a reinterpretation of Alien, designed with Eastern tastes in mind, that features oud as a prominent note. Also, this Alien is much more similar to older formulations, not the terrible soapy beast of the most recent reformulation. It is just as strong as old Alien. Two sprays filled a room, and I go noseblind quickly.

So listen... Coming across something like this takes all the discretions it is out there to be advised. I always like to Interpret her as the untamed, less domesticated version of the original almighty miss Alien, where her nails are longer and more serrated, the extraterrestrial wildlife scarring patterns are more prominent on her skin, has toned limbs and sharper fangs, is malefically alert and ornery and if you just decided to dislike her due to your weak visceral reactions, just know she wasn't there to take that kindly to you as a Homosapien anyways... It opens up with one of the loudest ouds I've ever smelled in perfumery. some say barnyard.. I mean sure, but I say as rotten & forsaken as a paleontological rune you salvage from the deepest parts of the terrain. it sets off into a Jasmine that's as heady and unapologetically screechy as it gets, all under a heavy residue of an ancient amber. The experience is like touching a damp, semi greasy swollen wood while biting and tasting copper as you smell an unknown genus of flower. I mean it's sumptuous! ...In an intimidatingly exotic, raunchy & primally suggestive type of way... & as long as you decide to partake in the role, just know It goes purrrfectly with wild cat's printed fabrics, feather earrings & exotic stone pendants from lands far far away, Khaki, Earthy & every shade there is out there of the color brown. Oh & by the way... there's no possible way you can convince me that Santanico Pandemonium doesn't smell like this as she walks on the the scene in From Dusk till Dawn!

So I'm still a relative novice, and with a lot of these really popular or well-known notes, I have no idea what they smell like. But as soon as I smelled this, I thought, "Oh! THAT'S oud!" My aunt is from the Middle East, and one of my favorite people in the world. Visits with her always involved pajama parties, living room dance parties, makeovers, etc. She's the one who told me I have cool-toned skin when we were trying on hijabs, and she taught me how to wing my eyeliner. And apparently, the scent she always wears is oud-heavy, because this immediately made me think of her. So it definitely has a pleasing, nostalgic feeling associated with it. Objectively, I feel like oud is probably one of those notes that can either be super awesome or super horrible, depending on your skin chemistry and the fragrance formulation. On me, this scent is utterly gorgeous. And it smells just like Alien, which I love, with oud added, which I now love. Also, being a fan of cashmeran and amber, this is heaven in a bottle. Easier to wear than the original Alien, but still dark and deep and heavy. Luscious and sensuous. I have four sample bottles, because I cannot get a full-sized one at the moment. But as soon as I can get my hands on a full bottle, this very well might become my new signature.

My first introduction to oud years ago! I was warned that this was a challenging scent. This, coupled with the fact it was discontinued and I love Alien was enough to make me hunt it down and blind buy. I'm a sucker for a flanker of classic fragrance that's "this, now with Oud!" such as Roja Dove's Enigma Aoud. This truly feels like a scent that isn't for humans, but for some fantastical, regal being. In true Mugler fragrance fashion, it walks that line between intense, hypnotic, simplistic, challenging, other-worldliness and wearability. Because it's still simple in note composition, The cold feeling from Alien is still present here. The intensity of the oud I don't find challenging personally, but I am an oud lover. The synthetic-ness of the oud is obvious even if you're inexperienced with it but it matches the synthetic feel of all the other notes seamlessly. This is a heavy hitter, with strong performance and designed to stand out. I find it extremely formal, not exactly fun-loving, inviting or flirty. It is however even more entrancing than the og Alien. It's regal and almost stoic. Good for special occasions year-round.

Oh my goodness! I got this bottle on sale a couple of years ago, during COVID lockdown as I was sooo curious about the scent of oud. At first spray I got what many are complaining about, a weird scent and I wasn’t sure oud was for me. It definitely gave off middle eastern vibes, got camel shed vibes. Oud is a special scent and I guess you love it or you hate it. I put it back, didn’t test again until months later, still found it a bit odd, and just now I grabbed the bottle again, as I was thinking maybe I should sell it. I sprayed it on lightly on my underarm and all I could get out was WOW! WOW! WOW! Maybe this has to sit a bit or maybe I am a hoarder that doesn’t want to sell any of her fragrances, but this became an instant love and the weirdest thing: it’s summer! I am keeping this for now as I would love to see what this does in autumn and winter. It’s really beautiful, intoxicating, with still some clean vibes to it too, it’s really a special fragrance and not like anything I own. For anybody who did not like it, you might want to try again, as I did not see this coming, but I am definitely keeping this one!