Magnificently Dubai

Dirty, stinky, in your face critrus peel opening, and its the type of smell that reminds me of some specific desserts that use lemon peel, combined with a lemon peel that was left to dry for a while under the sun. It is a very strong, even obnoxious citrus peel opening, combined with typical middle eastern spiciness. This is one of these fragrances that list only three notes listed here, but this does not match the description on ZARA's own website, and its much more going on under the hood here. The actual notes listed by ZARA are - Bergamot, Saffron, Oud, Leather, Vanilla. The opening has quite the staying power, but fortunately the spices come to the rescue here taming the citrus peel tart with warm, sweet, and aromatic influence. Give it an hour on your skin, and the composition start to mellow and the citrus peel moves to the background, while the saffron sweet floral, slightly honeyed hay like aromas come to the forefront. Unlike No 2 Bergamot and Leather Spritz i cannot claim i feel any middle eastern oud influences here, despite what ZARA's website says, but the drydown takes from the saffron influence and goes in a magical, creamy, velvety almost gourmand mixture that is better experienced rather than described, and settles into a soft, faintly spiced, warm creamy and comforting vanilla drydown that in the deep drydown can also come out with subtle hints of smoke, woody and leathery sensations. All and all, i would say while the opening is definitely not your typical run of the mill citrus, it was not exactly my cup of lemon/bergamot peel, the drydown is simply magical and one of the best drydowns i have experienced on a designer fragrance in a very long while - not quite as challenging and multifaceted as the top niche brands, but the quality certainly is punching WAY above its weight class. Overall these Jo Malone ZARA's keep showing to me why she is considered a master perfumer much more clearly than her own in house creations were ever able to.

I saw the notes on this and had to try it, but didn’t have very high hopes as I ALWAYS struggle to smell saffron and leather even though they’re my favourite notes. This opens up very sparkly, bright, citrusy and gingery, and smells exactly like being in a Lush shop, which I was so disappointed about. Thankfully for me, as someone who hates citrus, this disappears almost entirely within the first hour. I never usually notice changes in dry downs, and maybe it’s just my skin or my hatred of citrus, but this one changes entirely. After that, you’re left with a very smooth, creamy leather. The saffron is definitely there but doesn’t smell at all medicinal, it just adds a little bit of spice, and maybe some sweetness? The nutmeg in this is what stands out most for me. It’s warm, nutty, spicy, creamy, and just sweet enough to make it truly unisex rather than masculine, with a hint of cocoa to keep some bitterness. It reminds me of Shay & Blue Oud Alif, which is a more masculine, dry leather/saffron, and has more cocoa. I sprayed this ~7-8 hours ago and I can still smell it on my skin. It’s insanely affordable and doesn’t smell cheap in the slightest. Definitely suitable for autumn and winter, but if that bright opening lasts on you then it could work all year round!

This beautiful, scrumptious fragrance has now officially become my reach when I have the blues. It is so comforting, soothing, delicious and happy while also sensual and enticing. I have no idea where the hate is coming from with some of the other reviews, but on me I get all love: opens with a sprinkle of mandarin orange, and then comes the soothing saffron, and warm, sweet, spicy nutmeg that are ride or die, especially in the dry down which is like hours of dessert — I can swear there is also tonka bean and maybe even a trickle of bourbon vanilla. The leather is there but only in the background at the opening for me. For this price, I can not believe the chef’s kiss of the performance at about 6-7 hours and the sillage is certainly not beast but it is not shy. Just the way I like it. I got a second bottle because I can not run out of it. Not taking that risk. I keep smelling my wrists all day, and each time I get a burst of scrumptious, peaceful, lovely, joy. I mean damn who are we kidding, this is really just a mix of serotonin and oxytocin notes in a bottle. Magnificently Dubai is a perfect date fragrance — be it with a lover or just because you need a date with yourself to remind yourself that you are, indeed, delicious and alive.

The “This fragrance reminds me of” section is going to give me some serious anger issues. You lot think, that just coz saffron is listed in both this and Oud for Greatness that they smell alike? Are you crazy?! They don’t smell anything alike! If you think you smell Oud in this, you need to try more ouds to know what Oud smells like and then you’ll realise this has none of it! Anyway... rant over. This starts of fresh, citrusy and zingy coming from some bergamot and ginger (yes, there’s definitely some ginger.) Then it starts to dry down and gets a little warmer and creamier and for about 10 minutes, during this gingery, creamy warm stage, it smells like Ani by Nishane. If Ani was introduced as a potent linen spray or a hair spray or something, I think this is what it would smell like. Afterwards, when this stops being like Ani, a beautiful soft suede like leather note appears. It’s my favourite cheapie in my collection. Although the price tag is cheap, nothing about this smells cheap. It smells like you went to a department store and dropped some major coin to get this. All in all, this is quite wonderful!

Magnificently Dubai is warm, spicy, and beautiful, to my nose. It's all sweet spices & soft leather. At the opening, the nutmeg smells like cinnamon, along with an unlisted citrus note (Maybe a saffron note reads as citrus!), with the leather becoming more prominent in the drydown. It's absolutely warm, comforting, and unisex. My one issue with it is poor longevity; I'm sad the gorgeousness is over far too soon! I'm going to try laying down a base of iso e super and apply Magnif. Dubai on top of it to see if that increases its staying power; this trick has worked really well with a couple of beautiful 4711 Acqua Colonias I have and extended their scents for many more hours, so hopefully it will work. Strangely, some of the other selections in the Vibrant Cities collection that you would expect to have great staying power, don't (Energetically NY and Stunningly Venice), while some of the selections you would expect would dissipate quickly (Elegantly Tokyo, Fashionably London, & Creatively Shanghai) DO stick around well.

I can't get enough of Magnificently Dubai...I mean really... it's one of the best oriental scents I ever had, complemented a lot (same as with elegantly Tokyo), quite people pleasing in it's category and, I mean, of course there are better out there, but when it comes to the price point , Magnificently Dubai wins the race. It's quite good lasting and quite moderate projection, but you don't have to scream "I am wearing perfume,smell me" , cause that's not the point of wearing perfume. MD is pleasantly creamy, even for people like me that don't like creamy perfumes, it smells warmth and sexiness at the same time. And for the price tag...you've got nothing to lose. Love it!

I love Arabic scents and had to pick this up as a rollerball. I put it on my skin and it instantly reminded me of a slightly zesty version of something I have smelt before. I went through my whole collection to no avail, only for my husband to put on 'Stronger with you intensely' and at that moment I got it. It is almost identical to that, and I LOVE the fact that it is a unisex version for me. I get so many compliments wherever I go, people tell me it smells expensive and it is basically now my best kept secret and every day perfume, due to the incredible price and luxury smell.

I've seen comparisons to Dubai being this collections Ebony Wood and I have to agree. Instead of woods, this is warm saffron and spice but with the same richness and vibe as EW. The nutmeg and saffron have lemony touches while the leather note is blended really skillfully into the background so I would not describe it as leather forward.This is a fantastic fragrance and very unisex - I'm sharing with my husband. The largest bottles were already sold out so I had to settle for the 40 ml for now. I bought the sample set and also ended up getting London and New York.

I love this. Definitely Jo Malone DNA here. Opening reminds you that Jo made Lime, Mandarin and Basil. This frag is its sister that moved to Dubai that no one in the family talks to apart from Bronze Wood and Leather and possibly Myrrh and Tonka, who will text her once a week to check she hasn’t died. Dry down is a lovely lingering soft spicy sweet fresh leather that takes over the initial citrus top. I love it. Just wished it had a better sillage after the initial spray and that the longevity lasted as long on skin as a flight from Dubai to London.

An alluring, sultry, scent. I associate it with a specific time in my life, making it uniquely special to me, but it is undoubtedly exceptional. This smells like a winter love affair, in a snowed-in chalet. It reminds me of fur coats, designer bags, entering a steamy and strange bar to escape the harsh dark night. This scent is very powerful, sweet, and can be overbearing/headache inducing if you are not in the right mood to wear it. Overall, I truly love this perfume and i is perfect for a night-out or a stroll during the cold winter months.

Just bought this one. I cannot stand the opening which smells like citrusy zesty cleaning spray, but the dry down is delicious - so deep and warm and rich. How can the opening nad the dry down can be so different like it is not the same perfume? why combine such citric opening with a deep warm perfume? I am gonna use it since I think in 15 min the zesty part is gone, what do you guys think - how long it takes for citrus part to go away?:)

This smells literally like a lobby of an expensive hotel in Dubai. Whether that is good or bad thing I leave up to you. Certainly the winner from Vibrant cities collection. Jo Malone ranges are among Zara’s most exciting offerings, I hope they keep this mutually beneficial relationship alive, especially as she has no longer anything in common with the eponymous brand since her departure in 2006.

A really warm, cozy oud scent. I don't smell saffran or leather, but straight-up oud, mixed with a little bit of nutmeg or cardamom. The scent smells very expensive and refined, almost niche. Due to the strong oud scent, it is reminiscent of Montale and its middle-eastern luxurious vibe. Longevity and projection are really good as well. I can still smell it on my arm, even after washing it off.

I adore this! Bright and astringent bergamot turns to spicy leather. Very reminiscent of Cremo's Spice & Black Vanilla, along with Armaf's Radical Brown (like those two scents layered together). Smells amazing, lasts around 5-6 hrs on the skin and clothes. Perfect in cool weather, wonderful for the season, very much a worthwhile purchase.

This scent last me 7+ hours, which is impressive for Zara & Jo Malone! It was far too strong for the morning and at work. Highly suggest for the evening. It starts out energizing with a spiced orange note followed my an oud leather blast. It finally fades into a powdery cozy experience reminiscent of snuggling on the couch by the fire!

If you have some arabian scents like Shaghaf Gold, just know this is similar. I love the leather and sweetness of the nutmeg in the Dubai. Its a little softer and more feminine than Shaghaf. If you love leather and spices and dont have any arabian scents I highly recommend this! Its gorgeous and so affordable. Great for anyone!

Warm leather, tobacco, spicy fireplace delight for me :) Definitely unisex with a slight balance towards masculinity. Smells like a much pricier brand, you couldn't possibly imagine you can get this gorgeous juicy for less than 20€. If you like tobacco, leather scented fragrances, you'll definitely love this one.

Reappeared online in the mens section, hehe. Along with the remaining Jo Malone's frags from Cities and Emotions, consistent with the new styling. Although I think I have not spotted Bohemian Bluebells on there, so maybe not every scent got brought back.

What is with some of the haters on this website? I’m starting to think that people are just slandering “cheapie” fragrances like because they feel the need to justify their $300+ niche purchases. It’s $40, it lasts, and it smells good.

Very easy going unisex oud with some leather notes, nice for layering or on it's own.Much better than the previous Malone collection. I also like Tokyo which I bought today. Those are the two I recommend.