The Night by Frederic Malle

A fragrance that delivers what’s expected from a niche: quality, creativity, and exclusivity. The star is Indian oud, which starts so animalistic that I wouldn’t recommend stepping out on the street for the first few minutes. After that, the oud remains powerful but without that almost fecal trail from the start. As it dries down, it becomes addictive, and a secondary rose with a balsamic touch gives it a magnificent polish. The rose isn’t as overwhelming or feminine as in Oud Satin Mood by Kurkdjian; don’t be scared, here it just serves the master (the Oud) from the back door. An aroma right at the edge of legality due to that animal addiction. While all oud has an animal component, in some it’s elegant and luxurious, while in others, like this one, the animal side takes charge. It’s sexually seductive, created for ruleless desire. No one will ask you to marry, but almost everyone will desire you from the deepest depths of their olfactory senses. It’s The Night.

Final Boss Oud. The kind that kills you and brings you back to life only to kill you again. You need an ally to your spirit and soul so your body doesn’t give out, throwing you a couple of Phoenix Downs. If you survive the first 15 or 20 minutes, you’ve completed the challenge, like Ilki the Phoenix. It becomes an elegant, lordly scent, smelling like a million-dollar bundle. It’s an olfactory experience; don’t ask the world to understand you, love you, or applaud you.

When I first got hooked on niche perfumery, one of my goals was to someday smell the mighty The Night. After years, I finally managed to get a decant thanks to an Italian shop that gives you decants of your preference when you buy any fragrance. Today, unfortunately, I can say it’s not the wildest or most challenging oud out there. But if you try Oud by Burgas, everything else is a children’s game. Maybe, after Burgas, it could be considered a heavy oud, although the opening of Oudh Al Boruzz Indonesia by Rasasi seems even more animalistic. It’s the classic rose-oud combo. It’s not Oud Ispahan, which smells a lot of rose. This one is a bit more challenging, but nothing impossible. It smells rich, elegant, and expensive, no denying that. The quality of the ingredients is there. I consider it doesn’t worth the cost and that you could easily find an oud perfume with those touches for half the price. If you’re the type looking for challenging perfumes, better jump to Oud by Burgas and go down from there. If you’re looking for elegant perfumes with oud, better try Uncompromising Sohan, which, in addition to roses, brings spices to make it less clogged. You can still try it and form your own opinion, but I consider that even Risk by Azman is a bit more challenging.

Hardcore Oud/Agar made by Messrs. Malle/Ropion. Either you love it like the most put-your-own-money-on-the-line thing in exclusive luxury perfumery or you hate it with all your might because it’s a snobbish pile of shit that smells like a stable/dirty goat leg and you wouldn’t put it on yourself even if you were crazy or drunk. It’s clear that now the coolest, most snobbish sibarites no longer want to smell like Bleu de Chanel, Dior Homme Parfum, some Parfums de Marly, or Creed Aventus original, but rather Indian oud with a little Turkish rose garnish. Snobbery and nonsense elevated to the nth power. Get your balls out, Josemari. The most expensive and fucked-up night of your life, buddy. Every atomization of this is worth as much as a bonobus ticket in many Spanish cities. Animal-icos,…hahahaha. If you’re curious about the smell of this hardcore oud, there are some Arab perfumes from the new Dubai/UAE perfumery invasion that emulate this The Night by FM quite well for around 40-50 bucks. As an olfactory experience, it’s awesome. Smelling this attracts green flies.

I read all the reviews for this magnificent perfume, and while everyone has a point, wearing it on skin is a different story: it’s impressive. I don’t doubt the quality and craftsmanship, but I think it’s exaggerated; it’s become the holy grail of luxury at its €1,480 price tag. The scent is excellent, but it’s not that brutal opening people claim. I was let down: it’s from 2014, and there are already many Oud-Rosa fragrances that have nothing to envy it.

Now everyone talks about a stable smell, as if we lived in the Wild West. What does Indian oud have to do with a stable? You’d say Lovers Tale or something animalic, but it doesn’t. This is the downside of the internet: anyone comments without basis. My review: an extraordinary natural Indian oud with top-quality rose and subtle amber notes to soften it. Undoubtedly a masterpiece. If people don’t like it, perfect, that way we’ll be the only ones wearing it.

What a nightmare referring to a stable to review perfumes. Now it seems like on Sundays we spend the afternoon in a stable riding horses like Kevin Costner. Not a normal stable, but a luxury one in Dubai. I’ve been at the Emir of PSG’s stable walking with Mbappé and Neymar, and I can assure you this smells like a Qatari stable. Aside from the nonsense, the scent is one of the Oud-Rosa combos that borders on wearable. It’s challenging, but not the most; Burgas Oud, Dusita Oudh Infini, and Extravagant Oud are truly imposing. The worst part is the opening, but it mellows quickly. It’s a superlative quality, high-potency natural Indian oud. I don’t know why people compare oud to excrement; it’s simply an oud scent, nothing mundane. Once it settles, the rose takes prominence and the oud turns resinous and ambered, metamorphosing into Portrait of a Lady. If you can handle the opening, it’s wearable. Your surroundings won’t freak out if you’re seen from the mid-phase. If your partner smells it when you apply it, they might leave you for the neighbor wearing Oud for Greatness who has a stable in Ciudad Real with pure-blood horses, donkeys, and a Galician white cow. In the end, you can win. Impossible they’ll discontinue this; it’s become a reference, boosted by negative comments. And I think it sells well; in fact, stable managers signed an agreement to use it as an air freshener to make stables smell like stables.

Animalistic… farm-like, horrible for its price.

Early morning, the phone rings and they tell me to come, my father has worsened. When a doctor says that, you know they’re using euphemisms. Nervous, I got out of bed and dressed. For some reason, I grabbed The Night. In a state of frenzy, my hand went to the strongest perfume. Setting aside the emotional aspect, my subconscious sought strength and courage to face the loss, and my olfactory memory chose The Night. It’s a perfume that will never please those who don’t like natural oud, but it moves feelings, conveys strength, and value. Maybe it smells like a barn, but not in a pejorative sense, rather like a stable of an Arab sheikh where the best Andalusian thoroughbreds are pampered.

My brief and only experience with this fragrance: absolutely repulsive. I had the audacity to test it on my skin, and it horrified me for hours. I can’t even tell if the rose or the amber were supposed to emerge, because that pestilent Oud smelling of manure wouldn’t stop trying to disgust everyone sharing my living space. It’s impossible for anyone to think the opening smells good. Recommended only for the bold and snobs who think fragrances that smell good are for regular people. And I definitely fall into the latter category.

Here’s my experience. I only bought milliliters because of its restrictive price, but those few milliliters were enough to make me fall in love with its scent. With many niche fragrances and some commercial ones, influenced by YouTube reviewers, I thought it would smell like the strangest, most animalic, challenging, vomit-inducing, and out-of-this-world scent in the universe, but nothing could be further from the truth. This fragrance is VERY GOOD. Its Oud is very opulent, very strong, and very delicious. Unfortunately, the price doesn’t justify the performance; the quality is excellent, but the performance leaves something to be desired. But aside from that, it’s a delicious olfactory experience. I highly recommend it. Ciao.

I smelled it yesterday for the first time on blotting paper. The scent was so strong and intense that I had to pull my nose and entire face away. My first impression was being in a stable, a concentrated essence of horse and stable, overwhelmingly strong. I smelled it again, and it reminded me of horse manure. The third time, I noticed countless nuances: it’s a mix of the area where the saddle blanket sits, oils for sensitive parts of horses, leather saddles, products for cleaning saddles and stirrups, hay, straw… and something very dirty accompanying it all. Impressive how it recreates the smell of a high-end, well-maintained stable. I don’t think I could wear it; with a full bottle, I imagine it would be enough. To smell this way, one would have to work in stables cleaning, tacking up, and riding horses, but wear the same clothes for several days without showering. I’d use it just to observe people’s reactions.

The scent isn’t complicated at all; at night, it smells like a stable. A clean, wonderful stable. I don’t know which part of the stable smell corresponds to the manure and hay, the woods, the bridles, the stallions, or the rose garden surrounding it. The point is, ‘The Night’ has all of those things. ‘The Night’ also smells like the owner of the stable. Pure luxury. I love smelling like this, especially if the stable is mine, of course; though I wouldn’t mind it as much if it weren’t. It’s not hard to imagine the attraction to this type of scent, nor is it surprising that some don’t like it. Personally, I adore them: complex, natural, and full of nuances. In my opinion, every oud is more than a note; it’s a perfume in itself. ‘The Night’ has temporarily calmed my craving for oud; I feel I don’t need to search anymore, that I’ve reached a certain point. My biggest question now is where and when to wear it. For now, I’ve preferred to wear it anonymously while walking around the city (it’s a perfume that keeps you company; you don’t stop noticing its bursts all day and all night). I think I’ll also wear it at home in host mode, my territory. For the moment, I’ll refrain from wearing it to social gatherings and dates… or maybe I won’t. Edit: I couldn’t help it, I wore it to dinner. Tons of compliments; I haven’t stopped smelling myself and hearing people say, ‘You smell great, you rogue.’ Now I find it harder to understand why this scent might not be liked (especially in the dry-down)… although I don’t really care about that. Edit 2: I just discovered Portrait of a Lady… and it changed my opinion on ‘The Night’… let’s say that what I like most about ‘The Night’ is in Portrait. Much more pleasant. Also wonderful.

After reading reviews and hearing YouTubers say it’s eternal, that it causes nausea and vomiting, I got the biggest rip-off of the century. Almost everything is exaggerated. It’s not that dirty, nor that animal, nor that potent, nor does it last as long as they claim. I’m not saying it lacks quality, because it does, and a lot, but I think the price, which is almost a worker’s salary in Spain, makes people see it with too much bias. When investing so much, we unconsciously think we’re buying an elixir of the gods and idolize it so we don’t cry over the fortune spent on a common Rosa Oud. The quality of the blend is superb, and that’s where the price comes from, but aromatically it’s a rose oud like many others. I tried the official sample, so don’t say I tested something else. The opening is difficult; it smells a bit like a stable, but it lasts minutes and fades. It’s not that dirty or animal as they say; it smells like a stable, but not exaggerated. If it seems vomit-inducing to someone, it’s because they haven’t tried Indian attars or Arab perfumes, because then they’d have to be hospitalized with their stomachs turned inside out. After this slightly dirty opening, a beautiful dark, smoky wood remains, where a dark red rose emerges very slowly and is a gem. Their conjunction prevails until the end, highlighting a small amber tone in the heart that blends perfectly. In the final dry-down, I sense musky nuances, but subtle. The quality is more than enough; you just have to smell it and pay for the materials, but aromatically it’s not the panacea. There are many similar ones at lower prices that might be more recommended, but you can’t say you’re wearing The Night and have spent half your salary. The performance is good; on my skin, it lasted 10 hours, but the last hour was close to the skin. The trail is intense at first, but after an hour, it stays moderate. I’m not complaining, but I expected a more exaggerated beast. It’s a nocturnal, cold, formal, and elegant character with little versatility. Would I recommend it? If you have extra money, yes, but I think there are similar things that might be more recommended. It’s very subjective; everyone knows what they want. If you’re curious, better to try a sample to see if it’s a good investment. In short, a very beautiful perfume with high quality, but with exaggerated hype that doesn’t do it justice.