Mamluk Xerjoff

Desirability: Decant

Source: Fragrantica

Honey overload. You definitely need to like honey, lots of it, to enjoy the ride with Mamluk. The main player in Mamluk from start to finish is honey and you will literally drown in the stuff as good as it smells so don't go trigger happy with your Mamluk. It has massive projection and sticks around forever and a day. 

Mamluk reminds me very much of Ginestat Botrytis but with that little pungent extra that turns it from a grown up gourmand to a boudoir scent. I will call that little extra...salty dirty musk. Don't get me wrong, Mamluk has nothing on Mona di Orio Nuit Noire when it comes to dirty, maybe one level of condensed skank below Maison Francis Kurkdjian Absolue Pour le Soir? 

A thick amber coloured honey laced with a bit of naughty ( I assume that this is what represents the oud in Mamluk), a sprinkling of spices and on a base of resins and wood notes. 

Xerjoff Mamluk= Honey + a little animal funk + Wood + Spices

Ginestat Botrytis= Honey + Ripe Fruits dripping in syrup + Spices

In my opinion Mamluk is worthy of a full bottle purchase and I am eyeing up the Xerjoff Oud Stars Discovery Set (6 x 15 ml: Al-Khat, Fars, Gao, Mamluk, Zafar and Zanzibar/Najaf) which is financially more viable for me than to purchase the individual scents that might require the sale of a kidney on the black market.  

Fiore d`Ulivo Xerjoff

Source: www.nobaharshop.com

A light floral citrus and the odd one out of the four scents in my Casamorati discovery box. The citrus isn't jarring but instead its pale yellow freshness gives a bit of a kick to the watery floral notes. The drydown is a "clean as fresh bed linen" floral musk and overall the scent feels like the pastel colours of candied Easter eggs without the sugar coating. Fiore d'Ulivo has the same style as Amouage Reflection for Women but Reflection despite being made up of "light" notes manages to keep itself heard the whole day whereas Fiore d'Ulivo becomes a skin scent by the third hour. 

Source: suchprettythings.typepad.com

It's nicely done, a refreshing floral citrus with an elegant demeanour and although it's too mild tempered for my tastes, I will enjoy my little bottle from the discovery set. 

Bouquet Ideale Xerjoff

Source: www.coccio.de

Having more perfume than I could finish in several lifetimes, I try to purchase new scents in the smallest size bottles possible. Which is why I'm very pleased that Xerjoff has both the Oud Stars collection as well as the "female" Casamorati scents in discovery boxes at reasonable prices. 

I smell no flowers in Bouquet Ideale. No matter. It's very yummy from beginning to end, if you like all-fattening, no calories spared vanilla that is. The opening is dry, spicy and sweet but the aridness of the festive spices disappears quickly to be replaced by a thick, creamy almond and vanilla combination that cannot fail to conjure up images of sinful desserts. As if one is indulging more than the vice of gluttony, there is a rich and aromatic pipe tobacco scent in the background which adds to the decadence of the scent. There are soft woody notes and warm musky undertones in its drydown and overall it feels quite linear, a tobacco vanilla lightly laced with spices, woods and musk. Beautiful and alluring.

Average projection and good longevity, unless you are a man who adores his sweets and can wear them with aplomb, I find this more suited to women, there's something playful even flirty about Bouquet Ideale, irresistible feminine wiles for every woman's arsenal.

Lulu, Pandora's Box. Source: wn.com

Dama Bianca Xerjoff

I've tried my best to avoid testing Xerjoff because falling in love is not as Aerosmith claims "hard on the knees" but expensive on the pocket when it comes to perfumes. As Fate would have it, a sample came my way from a generous perfumista.

Dama Bianca shares similarities with some of my loves, like Tauer's Pentachords White, a major stakeholder in violet and orris root, but Dama Bianca feels softer and smoother than White; the initial part of Le Labo's Ambrette 9 where it's a light fluffy cloud before its unfortunate dry down; the sweet sensual vanilla and creamy sandalwood of Musc Ravageur.

white fairy, courtesy of s765.photobucket.com

A powdery vanilla opening, not as powdery as Teint de Neige, not as sweet as a gourmand, near to Musc Ravageur's level of sugar and cozy. The vanilla and powder share the spotlight for a short while before introducing the rest of the cast, but always remaining in the forefront. The other members are introduced as a group, first you notice the tartness of the citrus, subtle but with an important part to maintain in the scent. More major players are iris and musk/musk mallow(ambrette), that give Dama Bianca its earthy sensuality and creamy sandalwood that enhances the vanilla, these are all more prominent with time, Dama Bianca projects quite well for near five hours on me and thereafter becomes a skin scent. Lastly you have flowers in a featherweight role, adding a sheer gossamer veil over everything. Putting it simply, it's something I picture a fairy wearing, pretty dreamy stuff.