I’m not an oud expert at all. I’m not even sure what white oud smells like, I surmise, but I am not sure, it’s a refined, cleaned, more wearable, and lighter version of the medicinal agarwood similar to what soft patchouli is versus the dark one. That said, I would never describe it as having an oud note in the ingredients. I can smell exactly the pyramid they drew. Top notes are spices and saffron, then vanilla and sandalwood creep in following the musk, and if they say a white oud, it would probably be in the base. It’s a very smooth oud. I can’t even say it smells medicinal, nothing like the screaming oud colognes I have, but if it’s in there, it’s cute. It is powdery but not baby powder, its creamy and spicy vanilla-sandalwood combo. I imagine it as a bowl of vanilla ice cream, hand-beaten Italian ice cream. It is so creamy and delicious. Opulent, but perhaps not the dream of luxury it claims to be. Luxurious vanilla, tastefully done, adult and classy. Deeply warm, softly rounded, almost disappointingly harmless: it’s so carefully polished that the oud appears more like a general woody sweetness than the truly magnificent smelly forest the oud can be. The Malik Al Oudh bottle is in the Middle East style, brown opaque glass like chocolate with a golden rose decor and cap.
Malik Al Oudh is not opulent Oriental, Arabic or too oudish, notwithstanding its brand and name. It is rightfully a reasonably modern and western iteration of Arabian perfumery. The top is a little fizzy and playful to me; it could be because of the spiciness and pepperiness. Right off the bat, Malik Al Oudh greets me with a blast of bitter and spicy saffron, slightly camphorous, with a tad of bright citrus. Freed at the beginning, a complex and intense blend of bergamot and dry cedar tickle the senses up to the soft heart notes, with a whisper of blossoms yet to come laying on top of cosy vanilla.
During mid-development, romantic jasmine emerges once the leathery saffron calms down. In the heart, it is all about jasmine and cedar with a hint of animal musk.
A hidden carnal secret awaits, while the amber wraps smooth vanilla and sandalwood to create a mouthwatering melange, an aura of refinement and sophistication, balancing the delectable with the aphrodisiac. It gradually becomes woodier and softer as it dries. I smell creamy sandalwood and vanilla. This part is sexy, elegant and exquisite. Very subdued, but extremely pleasant. When it soothes, it goes tender vanilla all the way and reveals the precious leather facets of a Black Vanilla pod. A sweet leather fragrance with slight smoke and a lot of vanilla. Luscious, soft, tender and suede-like redolence rather than genuine leather.
The projection is quite exuberant at first, even if the smell itself is so sweet that it doesn’t overwhelm; it doesn’t project beyond the first hour of wearing it, and the rest of its longevity is a scent for the skin. It has decent longevity, at least 5 hours, longer on fabrics. I feel it softly on my skin and clothes a few hours later. It remains moderately linear. And even in the evening, it smells like vanilla. But not loud. It’s cute, but not too attractive. A luminous, cuddly smell. Pleasant feel-friendly atmosphere. Don’t judge it quickly, be patient, and ask the surrounding people, and you will be happy when they say they can smell you.
Probably a safe blind buy, if you like powdered perfumes and don’t enjoy spending money. It’s a safe blind buy for vanilla lovers. It’s not even childish vanilla; it's an elegant and straightforward vanilla—good sweeter smell. For me, absolutely a vanilla scent with few trimmings and an unusually adult aura, rather than an all-round oriental.
-Elysium
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
Elysium
