White Nights: Malaoke – running low

The wildflower fusion of cassie and mimosa covered with a blanket of caramelized tonka bean and wild Cambodian oud. Succulent notes of peach and lisylang give a jammy savoriness to the buttery star of the show: iris. 

But that wasn’t quite enough… and that’s how the Iris Noir OG composition got jacked up with vintage orris butter from the 1950s poured on top to intensify the creamy tone and make the flowery heart even whiter.

But the intense creamy floral beauty you smelled now wasn’t enough either! That’s how this sweet blast of iris got layered with the most incredible 3D syrupy resinous baklava effect of the OR1 level Marokes that for me hold their own special place at the very apex of the agarwood “high” I get from smelling the sickest oils possible from each region.

That blast is courtesy of Malaoke (2.5 grams per 30ml!) that makes the iris heart of White Nights total oud-iris bliss to wrap yourself with.

Malaoke is one of my most impactful aromatics. It’s also fantastically malleable, which makes it a super versatile ingredient. The problem is I can’t find or make it again…

We’ve scoured the oud world in search of its like and have fallen short. Vintage Maroke oud has become like fine Terengganu or Nha Trang oils that are impossible to replace. Maroke even more so because the vintage factor appears even more pronounced in gyrinops from these jungles – you simply cannot mimic its incredible HD earthiness or that caffeine-infused core that almost makes your mouth water, riding a wave of incense that’s never been made into incense sticks – all that comes after many years of inner-compounding.

That’s why I use Malaoke with extreme discretion, choosing only select compositions that contain it. Smell White Nights, and you’ll know why…

You know how with peppermint crisp you get to taste an ‘enhanced’ coco flavor – it’s chocolate but brought to life in a way you wouldn’t have tasted otherwise. Same with caramel and salt, or chocolate and orange peel. 

There’s no other perfume on Earth that gives you an enhanced iris fragrance. A fusion of honeysuckle, melissa, thyme, and rosemary would already convert the creamy iris into drops of sensual zesty zen. Then there’s that low-key peachy animalic undertone that makes White Nights so addictive. 

Think of all that as the chocolate – and Maroke oud as the mint. It takes the truffle-ish taste of vintage musk and imbues it with the aged Maroke’s peerless jungle earthiness – green, dark, like sticks of incense wafting from you – all dipped into the sandal-creamy orris butter bath that makes this fragrance so ravishing.

It’s a stunning perfume. One that takes every facet that makes Iris Noir “a true 5-star fragrance” – and adds a resinous minty pitch redolent of the highest grade Marokes & New Guinea oils that defined the Sultan Series distillations (2013-2015). If that’s not enough, I can’t help you!

*Features a limited edition white stone cap.

Featured Testimonials…

I was always intrigued with this fragrance, having sampled iris noir OG many years ago. This semi bespoke version has taken the original DNA and added some beautiful oud and fruit notes (peach??)

The Malaoke oil is earthy in nature which plays beautifully with the Iris note. I can almost imagine the smell of the orris root pulled from the ground covered in soil as an inspiration for this fragrance. That soil texture is the earthiness of the Malaoke oud wrapped around that familiar powdered iris root/orris butter.

As a fan of Iris, this fragrance has quickly taken itself to the top of the list of some all-time favorites. Running a close second to Iris Ghalia

—Sam G / USA