Oud Stars : Mamluk by Xerjoff, 2012

Mamluk is the Xerjoff's gourmandic take on oud. Honey and caramel are joined in the opening by a refined osmanthus note while a subdued yet sort of dirty, oud note serves as a necessary counterpart to balance the overall sweetness. Everything is so calibrated to never result challenging or particularly exotic. Full bodied yet not heavy but, while extremely nicely executed, a bit too polite and safe to my tastes. If you like a easily approachable take on oud but don't want to sacrifice quality, this is for you. Me? I stick to zafar,

Mamluk is a buttermilky, caramelized floral. I never thought Oud could be so mouth-watering, though it is hard to appreciate the Oud here until a bit later in the journey. Mamluk mellows into a golden woody base with a warm and velvety glow. And yes, completely unisex. Competent and comforting, but at this elevated price point, there are other toffee gourmands out that do this as well. In fact, I find Lira (from Xerjoff´s own Casamoratti line) to be a more adventurous rendition of this delicious Caramel accord in pairing it with some appropriately tart citrus and lavender.

After application I'm picking up a bouquet of musky jasmine and osmanthus which is very pretty and floral with a lovely caramel sweetness in the background. And because these notes dominate the whole fragrance I just cannot pick out the Oud, I'm sure its in the mix but I cannot detect it. Now the balance of the scent is good and the carmel sweetness is not heavy but within the goldilocks zone of been just right. It's this note thats stops the scent been too feminine from the jasmine/osmanthus floral notes. I have to say this is the best smelling one I have tried so far and the caramel sweetness behind the floral bouquet is really lovely. This fragrance is easy to like and approachable for everyone without any of the Oud funk that could be off putting. A thumbs up from me.

Xerjoff's crowd pleaser. A deep, rich, juicy floral oriental. A little powder maybe but not too much. There's something a little too "on the nose" about it. Like an improved version of something we've all smelled before but an improvement that really doesn't take it anywhere. Like colors that become more saturated to no good effect. Or wine with a higher extraction for not good purpose. Comes very close to being garish. Oh the oud? I assume it's in there doing something. Seems a little obliterated with everything else going on. Still I sometimes can't resist Mamluk's lushness, the great floral note and the mouthwatering effect. Operates on me very much like Tom Ford Santal Blush does. Santal Blush is much better.