Mukhalat Malaki

There is nothing particularly special or noteworthy here, just that it’s beautiful. There are four primary accords that, because this is a straight Arabian perfume oil, do not act in the typical French manner of top, heart, base with dry downs as such. There is a bit of that, but it’s minimal. Most notably in reference to that typical structure Western noses are accustomed to is the saffron that opens the perfume. The saffron is beautifully hay-like, a sweet and dried grass, with a touch of florals. It dispenses rather quickly (about an hour; remember this is a perfume oil) to reveal the stars of Mukhalat Malaki: rose, oud, and amber. The rose is pink, sweet, and powdery, and is kept sort of in the background, like a harmony singer of a three-part choral group. Its harmony line comes in and out of focus throughout the nearly twelve hour life of the perfume depending upon how thickly you put it on. The star carrying the primary vocal line is oud. The oud in MM lacks a lot of the funky, fungal, turned-fruit type aspects and relishes in the barnyard animalics. It carries the hay like qualities of the saffron into the rest of the perfume’s life, while also providing the stable animal fecal, woody, and dirty notes we’ve come to expect and love of oud. The amber accord is a seamless deadlock of balsams, to my nose sandalwood and labdanum, playing the role of rhythmic bass, adding a smooth depth, sweetness, and roundness to the whole of the perfume. It works to keep the oud in check, giving the whole a regal and elegant feel. There are hundreds if not thousands of these perfumes out there; this template has been a staple in Arabia for centuries. It’s far from new, and far from being the best, but I love it all the same. I’ve worn it for special occasions throughout the year - including the summer, because you can. It is remarkably well behaved, even in summer heat (just go light on the application). It spends most of its time as a strong skin scent, so it won’t blow away you or others around you. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and well-done example of this very old genre, I’d point to this more often than not.

You wake to find yourself face first in her pillow. It smells like her perfume, musky roses, Ombre Rose maybe?? She sits opposite you, her long, tan legs protruding from a satin kimono the colour of tropical water. Drifts of the powder she is applying to her face and neck make your nose. She's smoking. Somehow you missed that last night. Your head is pounding. You go to sit up but fail to notice an ashtray. It falls onto the bed, sending up an ash cloud that leaves you choking. Do not take the above as a criticism. I love this scent. It is an incredibly high quality, sweet rose with a good whack of powder and backed up with cigarette ash. That sounds awful but it's a fascinating dirty note, bitter, dark, a little smoky and very complex. It takes this to the next level. It shares this note with Gres Cabochard. If you do not like that scent, back away now. In fact this scent could be described as the ladylike version of Cabochard. The longevity it spectacular. Strong recommend.

Firstly: I love how people are saying they got a sample and “sprayed it on,” my peoples: Swiss Arabian does not do samples of Concentrated Perfume Oil (CPO), and it’s too thick to be sprayed on... (take from that what you will). Now onto the review: I love this scent, it’s sweet saffron, meets bitter rose and slightly skanky Oud, brilliant combination, especially if you want to layer this. Lasts forever (14 hours +) on my skin, arms length projection and average sillage. Layer with something barbershop/fresh (Drakkar Noir/BdC) and you have an interesting combo! The best. Combo I’ve found is this CPO with CDNIM Limited edition, addictive! Not a safe blind buy, test it out first. Recommend: Sample first Rating: 4.75/5

I have sampled quite a few different CPOs from Swiss Arabian and this is by far the best one. Honestly I am surprised they are the makers of this quite lovely oil because it's a whole lot better than anything else in this price range from them. It's a gorgeous balance of rose, saffron, amber and oud. The saffron is the standout imho and is really lovely. The rose gives it a luxurious lift and the amber and oud base anchors the whole composition beautifully. The performance is great and this is really luxurious and smells expensive. A great value for a really good oil.

It's a rich & opulent saffron fragrance first and foremost, which was exactly what I was looking for. The rose supplements wonderfully with a warm amber backdrop and just a hint of oud. I was fortunate to visit an official Swiss Arabian store (twice) and sampled EVERY SINGLE fragrance both spray & oil, and while I was disappointed on how much European influence is in the brand and how cheap some of the fragrances smelled, this one stood out for being authentic and of higher quality!