Dehn el Ood Malaki
Swiss Arabian

Dehn el Oud/Ood Malaki opens with a sour slap of leather that wakens as a feral waft of the medicinal kind, a vapour that rears beautifully ugly with a latrine pungency, strangely enticing and morphing like a polished mahogany woodcut, ceremoniously littered in scratch and rawhide that calls out for heavenly pastures. This is strictly traditional blend of Cambodi, Vietnamese and Hindi oud strains or approximates, where respective facets of honey tinged, tarty pepper and smoky dung take the pulpit, together give off an unusually addictive leathery bark of holy wood that may be best suited as catnip for the mighty angels hovering above. Surely, this delicacy for most mortals will remain one that is curious and possibly ominous, apart from the few daring talisman who dare to understand its properties… In a nutshell, a leathery, musky, oak trunk of funk riffing for whipping ascetics and nodding monastics. Certainly, one for the initiated order!

TLDR: Very Good (3.5/5). Arabian style oud in all of its barnyard glory. Great bargain. Recommended.

I recently (03/2021)brought a new bottle of this fragrance back from Dubai, where it was on sale for just 109 AED (just under $30 at current FX rates). What a great bargain! This is the third bottle of Dhen el Oud Malaki I have purchased between $30-40 in the past few years. Variations between the bottles are minor.

This is oud. Stinky and animalic at first. Leathery. Neither sweetness nor smoke shows up in the early phases. It does get sweeter in the dry down and takes on a mildly fruity note at some moments but retains the leather throughout its life. There may be a bit of date in here and also perhaps a touch of honey. Or the oud in this juice may just have these notes. Oud predominates.

This is very good stuff. Longevity is about 4 hours with moderate projection and another 3-4 as a skin scent in spring time Chicago. In the Dubai heat and semi-humidity, the projection and longevity were stronger and longer, respectively. In tropical Port Vila, Vanuatu, the fragrance is nearly overwhelming and eternal. I move between these three places regularly (more so in non-pandemic times) and have bottles in all three. I rarely leave one of the residences with this scent on, but love to wear it for myself when at home.

Presentation is good from far but suffers up close. The atomizer is cheap and weak.

I reserve higher ratings for more complex oud fragrances, but considered as a "cheapie" that you can feel good about spraying whenever the mood for oud takes you, this stuff gets a big thumbs up.

Try to sample first unless you are already an initiate into the wonders of natural Arabian-style oud, in which case, buy a bottle. You'll be glad you did.

I have, of late, been mesmerized by Oud fragrances. I stumbled upon this product and had to give it a try. This Oud is straight-no chaser juice. I am quite sure it is heavily diluted, considering the immense price pure Oud fetches, but this is definitely Oud. I don't get the barnyard skank that is so often referenced, but rather a dark forest, which perhaps endured a fire some months in the past and after many rainfalls, is coming back to life MIXED with the decayed part of the forest. I know, that was not a terrific description. I also use this fragrance as a base-layer for my other designer and niche Oud fragrances. One example is with a real sleeper Oud juice: Avon Premiere Luxe Oud. The combination of these two is amazing. I also pair it with YSL M7 Oud Absolu. (this one may be overkill) If you want to take your Oud fragrances to the next level, Dehn Al Oodh Malaki is the product for you.

Hard to find, but if you can find it get it.

THIS IS OUD. Period dot. A good tincture of nothing but quality oud wood chips. No other ingredients...so you get straight oud. The nicest part is that it layers very well with whatever, or you can just rock it alone. Effortless and gorgeous.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.