Elysium

If Sumou Platinum were a comic book character it would be Dylan Dog, loved by entire generations of teenagers and adults, he is also known worldwide for his “always the same” look, i.e. red shirt with open collar, fitted black blazer, jeans in light blue, black leather belt and, on his feet, beige suede ankle boots. When I smelled this perfume for the first time, I was immediately reminded of this character, Dylan Dog. Sumou Platinum is another of the Lattafa Arabian fragrances that has nothing to do with Middle Eastern scents. 

Initially, it releases a fresh, mainly citrus and peppery accord, with a salty amber and semi-sweet burnt sugar lying underneath. From the first notes, the fragrance screams and calls out the hot summer, with a predominantly masculine edge, that kind of fresh, green and aromatic aroma that most men prefer to wear. The bitter grapefruit and bright bergamot are there, so well-blended that it is nearly impossible to distinguish one another individually. This is so far what I get out of my skin. From the blotter instead comes an aroma that reminds me of Baileys Irish Cream made of milk, whiskey and a touch of green apple. It’s strange, but that’s what I get. Refreshing, aromatic, and sour is the initial blaze.

Then, Sumou Platinum takes a turn as the initial acid blast mellows out a bit. It becomes more aromatic, smoky and papery. I get mostly the dewy, leafy violet, even though it’s not listed, with a good dose of black pepper berries and papyrus leaves. The violet leaves add a veil of wateriness while the salty ambroxan continues its journey without weighing down the fragrance. In the central phase, moist violet dominates the scent, while on the paper, the fruity green apple prevails.

The tones of the violet leaves do not give up and reach the finish line. In the dry-down, I begin to perceive the presence of resinous and earthy elements more clearly. Patchouli and incense give depth and thickness to the final stage, which on the skin gives a musky, soapy, clean, and slightly semi-sweet toasted veil. I love incense and incensed notes, in all its nuances, from the most clerical to the most resinous ones. Unfortunately, they are only mentioned here, in passing. the sweetness that was present in the opening is stronger, but it is a dusty and vanilla sweetness, like that found in coumarins. The trail remains dusty and musky, without ever being too dirty or earthy. The dark notes of patchouli and incense are perfectly balanced. 

Sumou Platinum is the kind of perfume that you can easily wear to go to the office, in your free time, or for an outing with friends, from morning until evening, versatile, mainly in the warmer months. It belongs to the genre of fresh fragrances defined as “blue”, without wanting to replicate "Sauvage (Eau de Toilette) | Dior" or "Bleu de Chanel (Eau de Toilette) | Chanel". On my skin, I get a moderate performance, both in projection and durability. It’s not a bomb, but given the very low cost, it can be reapplied several times.

These are my impressions based on a bottle I have owned since April 2024 (BC M02- 230702011, PD 08.2023, 12,45 €)


-Elysium

If you’re intent on blindly buying this Arabian perfume, do expect something Middle Eastern-style, unlike its twin Royal Delight Silver. This fragrance is fruity, sweet, sticky, spicy, and woody, with a feminine lift on my skin. The almost dominant presence of fruity and amber notes helps the perfume release those traits that we find in "Erba Pura | XerJoff" and "Kirkè (Extrait de Parfum) | Tiziana Terenzi", even if I wouldn’t define it as a clone of them. It’s just to give you an idea of the type of fragrance, so creamy, fruity, and salty.

Royal blend announces itself with an alcoholic explosion, immediately followed by a powerful fruity accord, as if we were faced with a mixed fresh fruit salad, with common and tropical fruits, passion fruit, and so forth. Warm, creamy, floral, - fruit and spices, the pineapple is ripe, and the cinnamon adds that sweet touch that we encounter when we taste fresh whipped cream with a generous sprinkling of freshly ground cinnamon on top. Meanwhile, from the base, I immediately get the salty and musky notes of amber and white musk. The opening is straightforward, amber and fruity, with a sensual white floral background.

I get sweet, powdery, and resinous accords in the heart. Let the fragrance develop, and after a handful of minutes, the spiciness of the cinnamon amplifies with a kind of clove-like aroma from the eugenol ingredient. Meanwhile, the salty and smooth amber comes through. Deep in the background, I catch a sort of nuttiness, creamy, milky, and not bitter at all, more akin to hazelnut than almond, with a coconut slant. Besides, the resins come from benzoin, maybe myrrh, and other ointments that recall the places where spiritual massages are given. Royal Blends offers even a floral facet, with a perceivable note of heady jasmine. Perfectly balancing femininity and masculinity, jasmine emits an unmistakably powerful floral and fruity scent.

And then there is another change. The drydown abandons the initial fruity blast, to reveal a trail full of powdery and salty nuances. If there is patchouli, this is very tamed and soft. Instead, dusty and vanilla coumarins compete for the stage together with a salty amber with reflections of soft and sweetish white musk.

To wrap up, it is a sort of warm, comfy, and charming, with a balmy feeling. It goes through several stages, and the character is pretty non-linear. Like Royal Delight, the performance is great. It lasts several hours and projects strongly in the first bunch of hours. Despite its dominant sweetness, the perfume should have a good yield in the warmer months, from late spring to late autumn, and will be noticed on summer evenings. Finally, it has that feminine slant on my skin, but I am not saying it is for women only.

These are my impressions based on a bottle I have owned since April 2024.

-Elysium

If you’re intent on blindly buying this Arabian perfume, don’t expect something Middle Eastern-style, because Royal Delight contains no opulent roses, medicinal oud, or leathery saffron in its recipe. Far from it. Instead, it is a sort of predominantly fresh, very aromatic perfume, with green, herbaceous, semi-fougère tones, with a masculine slant on my skin. If I had to find a place for it, I would put it next to perfumes like "Fierce (Cologne) | Abercrombie & Fitch", "Coach for Men | Coach", "Legend (Eau de Parfum) | Montblanc", and "Percival | Parfums de Marly". They all have the same common thread, fresh, aromatic, and green. Yes, the blend of lavender, geranium, and coumarin, is the template of fougère family, still there is more to it.

Royal Delight opens immediately with fresh, aromatic, and green accords. If the bergamot gives a sour and citrus touch to the opening, in reality, it is the lavender, very aromatic and herbaceous, that dominates the scene. On my skin, the citrus appears tart, while the lavender releases sweetish tones, with mentholated and balsamic influences, never pungent, but rather greenish and fresh. The first impression is that of a perfume that smells clean, airy, and fresh but not aquatic, with the fresh-out-of-the-shower effect.

As the citrus tones subside, the rosy and dewy notes of geranium emerge, herbaceous, with a minty profile. The green cardamom rules the middle stage, with a smidgen of spiciness without leaning towards an Indian market. The spices are cold, with no trace of warm nutmeg, clove, or cinnamon. Not mentioned, I catch the green and dewy facets of the violet leaves, which add a smidge of cold powderiness with no petrol inflexion. This cold balminess, courtesy of green leaves and purple lavender, lasts hours before Royal Delight turns into dry-down mode. If I smell it from close range, I get that effect of the balsamic essences that clear the nose and help to breathe better.

When the perfume becomes perceptible only close to the skin, I smell a smooth patchouli, with a little touch of earthiness, but which does not stand out from the crowd and does not bother those who cannot stand its earthy and dense aspects. It is a modern and clean patchouli that blends with a creamy, not overly cloying vanilla lingering all over. It is a spicy vanilla, with no gourmand aspects, just a bite of sweetness. A good bit of sweetness. For a sweeter and deeper vanilla taste, you’d better check Royal Blends Gold. On the finish, there is also a dry woody accord, that of cedar wood, which manifests itself with resinous tones without veering towards the typical aroma of sharpened pencil shavings.

To wrap up, it is a sort of clean and refreshing fragrance, with an herbaceous lavender touch. It does not go through a few stages, and the character is pretty linear without too many changes. But the footprint is clear, no question about it. Good performance, more than half a day, and great projection at the beginning. I will use it daily, office safe, sporty, during spring and fall days, and summer nights. Once more, it has that masculine slant on my skin, but I am not saying it is for men only.

These are my feelings based on a bottle I’ve owned since April 2024.

-Elysium

"Lail Maleki | Lattafa / لطافة" and Oud Lail Maleki are two Lattafa perfumes that have always attracted my attention every time they appeared on online sites, with that beautiful Arabian horse imprinted both on the box and the bottle, but in the end, I always gave up and opted to buy other perfumes from the same brand. And perhaps I was always wrong because in my last purchase, I also added this, and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I’ll tell you that I’m not sure I can perceive exactly the olfactory notes reported here or on other sites, and that I haven’t found any information on the official website since it has been discontinued in the meantime and only the original perfume is present. But I will try to describe my sensations, the notes and the chords that I perceive on my skin.

Oud Lail Maleki, which comes in a transparent bottle with brownish amber juice, is an intense oriental perfume with floral and woody notes, with a heavy slant towards Arabic fragrance. Its name in Arabic should translate as Royal Night, and it opens with a blast of camphoraceous and leathery accords, right in your face, and oud, so dominating from the very beginning. For the sake of clarity, it is not an unpleasant out, not barny, not fecal, not tarry, not skanky, but just a tad medicinal. Behind this dense and deep aroma, there is the presence of a note reminiscent of forest honey or honeydew, the slightly dark wild one, with all those bittersweet nuances typical of that variety of honey. Incidentally, forest honeydew, unlike other classic kinds of honey, is not produced starting from the nectar of flowers but rather from the bees’ collection of the sugary secretions present on different plant species in wild forest environments. The initial phase is therefore very leathery, woody, and medicinal, almost camphorous, which could make hasty and impatient people immediately throw in the towel.

Once the initial impact fades, the perfume evolves into a beautiful scent that keeps getting better and better, transitioning into a sweeter, fruitier, and more floral phase. I smell aqueous accords, those characteristics of freesia, but not marine accords of ambergris or calone, together with something dense, a gelatinous and dried fruit, that smell released by ripe fruit dried in the sun, like California plums. It’s a little caramelized without taking on the toffee or praline tones. Meanwhile, that balmy and medicinal undertone remains, which now joins a bouquet mainly composed of jasmine, lily of the valley, and gardenia, which emerge dense, carnal, and hypnotic. The iris is strongly tamed. It gives just a powdery veil, but it is not dominant and does not present its buttery lipstick side. The honeyed accord persists, perhaps thanks to flowers such as ylang-ylang, and in this phase, the perfume could have momentum towards fragrances associated with the feminine gender, while maintaining its virile and dark side.

The accords of the middle phase last a few hours before the perfume takes a new direction, this time rich in woods and vanilla notes. The base consists of several elements, but the ones that I get most are the creamy sandalwood and sweet vanilla, with just a hint of leather and musk. The last stage is warm, less scary and less powerful than the initial blast. The overall trail is sugary, but not cloying, rather caramelized but not burnt.

Finally, I found Oud Lail Maleki an irresistible oriental perfume that is lavish with its appeal and very suitable for late afternoon, evening, and night events or festive occasions. Definitely a perfume to wear during the colder months of autumn and winter, and perhaps even early spring. I would exclude the summer months, the presence of accords that are too dense and sweet because of the high temperature. High performance, both in projection and in persistence on the skin. It is obvious that it is not a perfume designed for the masses, but I recommend it to those who love the Arabic genre, a perfume that leaves its mark, stands out, is affordable, and underrated.

I'm basing my opinions on a bottle I've owned since April 2024.

-Elysium

After purchasing Opulent Oud, and Blue Oud, I decided it was time to tackle Opulent Red by Lattafa, a perfume often associated with "Armani Privé - Rouge Malachite | Giorgio Armani" and "Alien (Eau de Parfum) | Mugler". To start, Opulent Red is beautifully packaged in a red and gold satin, velvet box containing a handcrafted glass bottle, crafted in the same gorgeous colours, a lacquered, metallic, intense and shimmering red. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta car I had ten years ago comes to mind. It was exactly this metallic cherry red colour. Well, the packaging is the same as Lattafa’s other Opulent items, both in the package and in the bottle. I can anticipate that this Eau de parfum is striking because of the intensity of its aroma and the fragrance that belongs to the fruity floral group. From the packaging and the bottle, the first impression could be that of something strongly fruity, sweet, sugary or gourmand. And this, perhaps, is what pushes people to refrain from purchasing it.

Opulent Red opens with a blast of aldehydes and strawberry bubblegum. I immediately perceive the dense, sweet and syrupy floral heart notes, with sambac jasmine and tuberose, which perhaps create a bubblegum effect. I can understand why other people associate this fragrance with Alien, they have too much in common in this explosive and intense opening. Yes, they are like two parallel lines, going in the same direction but never meeting. There’s a fruity undertone, not sure if it’s pear, but definitely something semi-sweet and juicy, I think, thanks to the blood orange peel and pulp. The cool spiciness of the cardamom is there, not too heavy, not overpowering, just refreshing, so it never becomes too minty or balsamic. But there is a generous touch of pink pepper, so you must like it because it is noticeable in the initial phase.

The heart is opulent. Here we are, thanks to heavy tones of jasmine, tuberose and heliotrope. The first two appear already at the opening, and jasmine is dominant compared to tuberose, while later the almond aspect of the heliotrope exudes and takes part in the scene. Even if it is not too nutty, its vanilla and almond characteristics are perceptible behind the pink woodiness of the Brazilian wood. Sometimes I even get a deep musky note from the green moss, like the moss that grows in the damp, shady forest. I think this dark musk blends very well with the sweetness, keeping Opulent Red from becoming cloying. Well, I don’t get any alcoholic accord in this or other phases, those of the Cognac which should be among the heart notes.

Finally, Opulent Red leaves a sweetish powdery trail. Oud is not used in overdose and is never medicinal, scary, or barny. A tamed patchouli balances the otherwise too-sweet base with notes of creamy sandalwood, velvety and mossy cashmeran and toasted tonka bean. If you add vanilla on top of all this, it might become cloying, but instead, it’s perfectly balanced. An oriental touch, not unpleasant, is what remains on the skin for a long time. I wanted to try the comparison with Rouge Malachite, which is very strong on the camphoraceous tuberose note. In Opulent Red, however, the jasmine note predominates.

Despite the adjective Opulent, this is not a beastly fragrance. However, it projects a lot in the first hour and lasts many hours, all day or until the next morning with nighttime application. For me, it was a blind purchase, since in Italian stores it is not available as a Middle Eastern fragrance for testing. Furthermore, the fragrance needs time to become pleasant. It took me several tries to completely love it, and now the more I spray it, the more I get the beauty out of it. I’m wearing it this cold spring and I have to say it’s perfect. But I think it’s also great in autumn, both during the day and in the evening. If you love floral, slightly sweet scents, with a strong hint of jasmine and tuberose, and an impulse towards the feminine universe, then Opulent Red could be for you.

I based my feelings on a bottle I’ve owned since April 2024.

-Elysium