Mamluk

Mamluk takes a bunch of great but tricky notes, caramel and honey and flowers and oud, and manages to combine them into a wonderful scent that is heavy but not overpowering or "too much" at all (at least if you don't overspray). I love it! The caramel and honey are dominant here, and very realistic; it makes for a very sweet scent, but it's not sickly, synthetic or even very sugary at all. The floral notes also help with that: they're not as dominant as the gourmand notes, but they're certainly noticeable, and they add some surprising but very welcome lightness and even coolness to the fragrance. It's a delightful contrast with the heavier, warmer notes, and in my eyes a big part of what makes Mamluk so unique and interesting. What I'm describing here is the heart of the fragrance, by the way. My tastes lean towards the bright and innocent or even goody-goody, so I'm not as fond of the opening which is wilder; murkier, dirtier, more animalic, a bit chaotic and confusing. This phase doesn't last long, though, it quickly goes on to the heart which lasts for ages. Lucky for me it's not the other way around! So this is great, but is it great enough to justify the 250 euros price tag? I don't really know, is anything? I'm glad I have my little decant; with the amount of perfume I've amassed this year alone I'll probably never get through it, so I won't have to answer that question...

This is perfection. Pure and utter perfection. I always thought that I were too picky to find something that's amazing straight through, whenever I wear it. Nearly all perfumes have that disadvantage to me, the notes that are great in one situation smells less attractive in another situation, even if I love them. Mamluk is perfect and I could wear it every day for the rest of my life, without a doubt. Mamluk is sweet, very very sweet. But it isn't sweet as candy, the heavy honey gives it an animalic (or maybe "human" is a better way of putting it) feel that helps it keep a foot on the ground, compared to if it would have been sugar coated. It's like the difference between condensed milk and the smell of a newborn nursing baby. Both smell of milk, yes, but one of them makes your heart throb while the other one might make you a bit thirsty at most. Sorry for a weird train of thought. The fantastic honey is paired with a fantastic caramel note. A silky creamy caramel made with bare hands, boiled down heavy cream and butter. Not powdered and cute as in let's say Prada Candy. Some resins and a tad of vanilla on top and there's the masterpiece. Might not sound like much but if you even lean towards liking this kind of notes, try it at your own risk. You will fall in love. Or eat your own arm off like a zombie. Or get eaten. Be warned.

Mamluk ( arabic for owned/slave) opens up on my skin with an overdose of honey, showcasing all of its facets, sweet but somewhat animalic, even rancid, with a bitter contrast, this stage of the fragrance lasts for around half an hour and it could be a bit challenging to some, but if you're a bit patient you will be rewarded with one of the most intoxicating orientals ever made. Rounding off the second half hour of Mamluk’s development on my skin a sweet jasmine pops up alongside osmanthus adding a sweet caramelized fruity facet to Mamluk, almost apricot like, and this is where the fragrance becomes a true liquid aphrodisiac, this is a long lasting heart, the caramel accord is heart melting, intoxicating in every possible way. At this stage Mamluk has a very slow development, the transitions from this point forward are smoother than anything I've ever smelled before, it takes hours before the vanilla and oud start to show a sensual woody facet as the caramelized osmanthus honey meets them in the base. Mamluk possesses huge sillage and projection, carrying a gourmandish aroma with semi animalic facets throughout its entire lifetime on skin. The composition has the tenacity and power of a true Mamluk warrior, Without a doubt an Arabic olfactive treasure.

Mamluk by Xerjoff Honeyed Oud Kafkaesque wrote an amazing review on this prompting me to test Mamluk right away. I knew I would be in love with this, I love my bottle so much! The first spray is a loud, harsh bergamot. The honey made a dramatic entrance. The honey is bold, thick, slow-moving, rich, gorgeous! As the fragrance progresses, indolic jasmine becomes evident then it blends with with honey, this honey on my skin causes a acidic urinous scent. I love this skanky pee note on my skin, it stirred up the fragrance making it even more alluring. The honey and caramel dominates on my skin. After a time on my skin, the scent becomes even more sensual! The oud comes through, it is not heavy or too soft on my skin because of course the star of Mamluk is the honey. The oud has a medicinal quality, it is dirty, I thought it would be then be engulfed by the honey, the oud is very present on my skin and provides depth. The drydown is honeyed benzoin. Longevity is about 9 hours and sillage is a beast for a few hours but it is still noticeable all day.

Absolutely the best... love love love this! This perfume is everything... It's comforting, empowering, festive, sensual; feels like a blanket that surrounds you. The scent is the warmest warm that exists, it does have a definite animalic tone due to the oud, but in the right circumstances (skin chem and appropriate weather) it acts more as the warm part of the scent. Right after spraying, it does smell somewhat like plastic-y pee, that goes away after a few minutes though; what comes next is the best honey-caramel scent that exists, it's very well blended, the oud-honey acts as a carrier, all the other notes radiate from this base beautifully. In my opinon, you need to dress a bit darker for this one, not necessarily elegantly but slightly classy - perfectly fits a decadent eccentric! Overall, this is a pricey one, but so sooo worth it. The quality is impeccable, the scent is perfection, it's quite uniqe (there's some similarity to Prada Candy, I'd say that's more like a little cousin to Mamluk though)