Malabah 2003 Eau de Parfum

Malabah (Eau de Parfum) by Penhaligon's
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7.5 / 10 348 Ratings
Malabah (Eau de Parfum) is a popular perfume by Penhaligon's for women and was released in 2003. The scent is spicy-citrusy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Spicy
Citrus
Fresh
Oriental
Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Earl Grey teaEarl Grey tea LemonLemon CorianderCoriander
Heart Notes Heart Notes
GingerGinger CardamomCardamom NutmegNutmeg RoseRose IrisIris
Base Notes Base Notes
MuskMusk AmberAmber SandalwoodSandalwood
Ratings
Scent
7.5348 Ratings
Longevity
6.5244 Ratings
Sillage
5.6245 Ratings
Bottle
8.0242 Ratings
Value for money
6.217 Ratings
Submitted by Seglein, last update on 21.08.2023.

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions
7
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Serenissima

608 Reviews
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Serenissima
Serenissima
Top Review 14  
was the tea cook probably in love?
Penhaligon's is now not exactly a company whose fragrances can score with me particularly.
Therefore, I was already surprised when a bottling of "Malabah" reached me on the occasion of my birthday.
But what was right to a Queen Victoria, who raised William Penhaligon towards the end of her reign in the rank of "barber and perfumer of the English royal court", should also not be untested "pushed off the edge of my bed".
(Five years after the death of the monarch, by the way, this privilege expired.)

So I tried "Malabah" a few times and at different times of the day; the result didn't change much.
"The cook must be in love!" is generally said when the food is salty.
Here I have the feeling that the tea cook had a new treasure when she put this creation together: for me, a little too much of everything seems to have gone into the mixing tube; in keeping with the motto: "A lot helps a lot!"

More than forty years ago, a friend introduced me to the fascinating world of tea, and since then I've been celebrating tea time whenever possible.
Earl Grey tea with its fresh and yet at the same time dampening bergamot note, I therefore also like very much in fragrances.
"Earl Grey & Cucumber" by Jo Malone, to which I also dedicated an affectionate comment, is at times like these, when the heat is outside the windows, a gladly seen and with joy worn companion.
Especially after sports or but as a "hair crap" this fragrance fabric is extraordinarily suitable.

So grew my curiosity about Penhaligon's "Malabah" now yet.
Already at the beginning, this actually beloved teen note is very clearly covered by lemon and the spiciness of coriander also occurs somewhat strongly. That is a pity!
Also because the lemon always smells a little chemical; is that probably because of my skin?
The "spice aria" is continued, because the popular kitchen spices cardamom, nutmeg and ginger harmonize with each other and also include coriander and lemon nicely in their circle.
Only now the Earl Grey tea suffers total shipwreck - at least with me.
The flower beauties rose and iris can also no longer do too much.
They round off the fresh spice, but let the tea aroma even further away from this composition.
Up to here, the Earl Grey experience known as so beautiful has finally taken flight.
Musk and lemon unfortunately for my olfactory perception so not at all compatible with each other: the warm, wadded musk blanket becomes under the influence of citrus felt a bit "flaky": I would like to use here the example of curdled milk.
Please, this is my very personal feeling: this can be quite different with the next user!
So just also the addition of amber and sandalwood, two of my absolute fragrance favorites, is greeted as not quite so happy.

Obviously, the chemistry is just not right between Penhaligon's and me.
This is not changed by the knowledge that both the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales still testify to this company their favor.
May they be happy with these, according to the reading certainly very interesting fragrances.

Pleased I was only that the shelf life is not breathtaking and we could both but quite quickly separate.
So I took my proverbial "hat" at "Malabah" and made me out of the dust.

This bottling ends up with the "Wanderpröbchen"!
Maybe it still reaches a person who can fully appreciate and also love this fragrance creation.
8 Comments
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Augusto

164 Reviews
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Augusto
Augusto
Top Review 12  
Summer Oriental. Chai smell. Blue sky and glistening sun...
AugustA smells in here: After an orangey-mountainy citrus opening with a slight, almost imperceptible coriander spice, the fragrance quickly becomes a tea scent. Very strong tea, a dark black tea, very aromatic. Orange in fragrance and colour. After about an hour it is both slightly spicier and finer, perhaps the rose and some cardamom. Ah, also ginger, of course, and nutmeg, but not bitter.

All in all very light, refreshing like a lemonade and also strengthening like a strong slightly sweetened Earl-Grey or Chinese tea due to the tea flavoring tannin illusion. Of course it is summer-compatible.

The spicy-rose mixture is somewhat peculiar, as it is tasty and soapy at the same time. So something you like to eat together with something you wash off with on the outside. Perhaps a fragrant oriental (before the) breakfast scent?
From the second hour on, this divergent mixture of components unites into a delicate veil. Slightly sweet, but above all citric - more orange even, I stick to it, I like it.

Summer oriental, chai scent, it all kind of hits you. A little sand and a warm breeze, blue sky and glistening sun.
He tells a nice little story, but doesn't fascinate me completely. But that's what makes it so charming. It is playful, exotic, not arbitrary, different and simply very fragrant.
3 Comments
Flavia82

15 Reviews
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Flavia82
Flavia82
Less helpful Review 4  
It shoots through my head: A No-Go
Every now and then I treat myself to a scent from the TK Maxx lottery. Malabah was one of them. The first time I tried it, I didn't like the smell. Now I have tested it again, after I have rummaged here at Parfumo Penhaligons fragrances; Sprayed on a piece of chlorine-free bleached Klorolle - in memory of the bad experience the last time.
I think I know coriander from DS & Durga, I don't smell it, I've drunk Earl Grey tea before.
Short lemony. But almost immediately this almost unbearable flower scent comes into my nose, which I cannot classify. What is this sweet pungent smell? Is it a combination? Or artificial. I call it hyacinth.... first in lulled in, say, bergamot lavender later then almost in... like a bad soap...

...all speculation! And only half an hour..
13 Comments
SystemeD

58 Reviews
SystemeD
SystemeD
Helpful Review 4  
A spice lover's dream
Oh, Malabah is one of my absolute favorites from Penhaligon's.

I get lemon tea at the opening, but that is quite brief.

I can definitely perceive both the orris root and the rose in the heart, but on me, the ginger and cardamom really stand out.

There's a gorgeous woody drydown, with the spices abiding long into it.

This one is a spice lover's dream.
1 Comment
TeaWithMilk

27 Reviews
TeaWithMilk
TeaWithMilk
Helpful Review 4  
Chai Tea - My Fave!
I love and worship chai tea. I am a cardamom-obsessed weirdo. I want to eat it and smell like it at all times. That being said, Malabah is one of the best cardamom chai perfumes I've come across. It starts out fresh with citrus and tea, but it quickly becomes creamy with a touch of smoky amber for depth. It's the smokiness here that I really swoon over and that "makes" the perfume.

My screen name isn't TeaWithMilk for nothing! I'm on a quest for the best tea fragrances I can get my hands on, and this is way up there on my list. The only think I can add is that I *wish* it were stronger. If this were a sillage monster I would truly be in heaven!

The notes above are incorrect--it's cardamom here, not cinnamon, says the Penhaligon's website.

SUMMARY: Sipping real Indian chai and eating rasmalai--my cardamom heaven
0 Comments
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Statements

1 short view on the fragrance
ShemsmellerShemsmeller 8 months ago
8
Bottle
5
Sillage
4
Longevity
4.5
Scent
Similar with god of fire shl with a smell of tchae.not my cup of tea.more féminine élégant and for summer and Spring
0 Comments

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