Oud Malaki
Chopard (2012)

I did not like this. It smells like Red Tobacco, sweet tobacco, fruits, and oud. Sharp, fruity, and unpleasant. Way too heavy. Sledgehammer.

Oud Malaki opens with a slightly sweet warm spiced tobacco before moving to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the tobacco vacates, leaving the slightly sweet, smooth saffron and clove led warm spice to co-star with a faux Oud/dark woody accord with just a hint of underlying aromatic lavender in subtle support. During the late dry-down the spice recedes, leaving its remnants to pair with the now subdued synthetic dark woods through the finish. Projection is excellent, and longevity outstanding at around 15 hours on skin.

I blind bought a bottle of Oud Malaki many years ago after learning my favorite perfumer Dominique Ropion was behind the composition and my bottle seemingly has been in stasis ever since as I worked through my ever-growing perfume backlog. After finally getting around to wearing it again many years after purchase, I'm reminded of the positive first impression it made on its arrival from overseas back then. While I would like to say that the composition was comprised of real Oud, I'm afraid at this price-point that would be a near impossible feat, and sure enough, the perfume has the trademark fingerprints of nagermatha to approximate the Oud wood, and norlimbanol (sigh) for the vague dark synthetic woods. I am really not a fan of either of these ingredients, but under Ropion's skillful hand, disaster is deftly averted by balancing the woods with some relatively warm, smooth spice that is just as much the focus as the (fake) Oud, maybe more. There is also a hint of sweetness that permeates the composition's relatively linear development after the tobacco led open, but the sweetness never approaches anywhere near "yellow flag" territory even to the sweet averse like this writer. At the end of the day, Oud Malaki may not take the ridiculously crowded Oud genre to new heights, but it does ultimately impress for what its worth. The bottom line is the $67 per 80 ml bottle Oud Malaki may not be particularly innovative, but perfumer Ropion tames the worst aspects of its relatively inexpensive ingredients, yielding a "very good" 3.5 stars out of 5 rated result that is recommended to fans of warm spicy-woody compositions like Royal Oud from Creed.

This one just doesn't really cut it for me. It smells a little rough and unpolished, and synthetic.
It pales in comparison to TF's Oud Wood, and YSL's M7 Oud, or AdP Colonia Oud.
Yes, it's less expensive than those, and that's reflected in the less refined fragrance, so not worth the price for me.
If you're in the market for a less expensive but decent oud scent, maybe try Varvatos Oud. Probably a better bang for your buck.

An elegant, wearable take on the Middle Eastern spicy-woody masculine. As someone who values compositional balance as much as distinctiveness, I'd say that this qualifies as a best-in-class option from the designer segment, largely due to Ropion's accomplished blending.

Middle Eastern styles are sometimes blunt and chaotic in a way I find unpleasant, but this is a kind of quasi-barbershop take on that DNA. Ropion creates a lavender-sandalwood-amber throughline in there amidst the spices and darker synthwoods, hinting at the green-herbal textures of the fougere. The dark woody textures and spices take it in a smokier direction. There's a hint of a skank in there (this is a dense blend), but in the air this wears warm and woody, with some nice herbal facets and dusty spices.

Oud Malaki was recommended to me as a tobacco fragrance, and, yes, there's a nice tobacco note sitting there among the other components, but it only emerges from the tight blend now and then. I also get cedar and some cardamom and clean leather. The "oud" is an abstract impression created from synthwoods.

Oud Malaki is more mannered than playful or opulent, so it has a slightly formal feeling.

I find Oud Malaki to be a solid oud offering with a deliberate lack of polish, but nonetheless rendered smooth enough for an easy wear. It reveals three distinct phases, beginning with a rich, woody aroma with an emphasis on spicy wood notes and a hint of tobacco. Around a couple of hours later it mellows out as the roughness around the edges is softened. The fragrance exhibits soft leathery aspects with a touch of amber, as a complement to the woods. The final phase is vaguely sweet with an amber-woods finish.

Oud Malaki is roughly in the same class of perfumes as Armani's Oud Royal and Tom Ford's Oud Wood. It is less polished than either, and more full-bodied than the latter. Additionally it has a casual appeal that is absent in the Armani. It more or less shuns any fruit aspect. I perceive Oud Malaki as more of a middle compromise of 'east meets west' in the oud realm, rather than any glorious fusion. Nonetheless,
given its solid construction and robust sillage and duration, Oud Malaki is a recommendation for anyone looking for an affordable oud fragrance.

3/5

I blind bought this based on the online reviews here and on youtube. I seem to be in the minority on this one. This is skanky in a bad way for me. Not a fan of this at all. Two sprays were enough for me to list this on Ebay. As Bavard noted, this has a menthol note that totally ruined this for me.. Close to two hours in and the menthol is almost gone and what's left is in no way that interesting for me to wear this again. Overall a TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.