Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle has been one of the most innovative brands in perfumery. One of those innovations was the release of The Night in 2014. Working with perfumer Dominique Ropion they produced a perfume which used a large concentration of Indian oud. This was unapologetically oud-y displaying all the power and nuance of this now famous ingredient. For many who tried this I suspect it was the first time they had encountered the real thing over a manufactured accord. Four years later it is time for the flip side of The Night with the release of Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Dawn.
Frederic Malle
M. Malle has tapped perfumer Carlos Benaim to collaborate with him on Dawn. One of the things which Dawn mimics The Night in is as a simple composition around oud mostly and rose. Where it differs is M. Benaim adds in a set of ingredients which serve to take Dawn in a different direction.
Carlos Beniam
The source of the oud in Dawn is a Laotian version. Of the oud oils I own the Laotian version is my favorite. I find it the most versatile of the sources of oud because it never is too confrontational in its less pleasant aspects. That is a matter of taste because I like the more stinky parts of oud. Dawn is a perfume where those aspects are attenuated by using a set of notes to dry it out.
The early moments of Dawn is that Laotian oud paired with a very judicious amount of baie rose. Baie rose adds a catalytic amount of herbal-ness. What this achieves it to bring out the greener pieces of the Laotian oud along with a greater presence of the floral undertones within this type of oud. The rose comes next. As in The Night this reinforces why rose is such an ideal floral counterpart to oud from its earliest times. What changes here is M. Benaim uses an assortment of resins and ambrox-based woods to dry things out. When I say that I’m talking about dry as a desert desiccated. Over the middle phase of Dawn these ingredients mummify the Laotian oud to such an extent that if I hadn’t smelled it early on, I wouldn’t believe this is it. One of the things I missed was this kind of aridity also removed much of the grace notes which make oud such an interesting ingredient. This drying out creates an ashy kind of oud.
Dawn has 24-hour longevity and average sillage.
This is another high-quality oud perfume from the brand. I think for those who want their oud tightly controlled this will be a winner. As I wore Dawn this was one of those times where I wondered if an oud accord would have been better. Dawn dries things out so much it elides away some of what makes genuine oud so fascinating. If M. Benaim could have used an accord, I wouldn’t be missing what I know to be buried under the resins and synth woods. If you want your oud as dry as it can be Dawn is the desiccated oud perfume for you.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle.
–Mark Behnke
I was quite taken aback by this one (did not expect to smell so much woody amber in a high priced perfume). Still I enjoyed reading your take on it. I guess you found it interesting for the unexpected journey.