Parfums de Marly Haltane Eau de Parfum

What It Smells Like

Parfums de Marly Haltane is an aromatic oud fragrance with a sweet praline heart. It takes the lavender-and-herbs opening of a classic men's fragrance and sets it on oud, which is why it smells both familiar and distinctly luxurious.

Lavender, clary sage and bergamot open it with a clean, herbal brightness. Clary sage has a tea-like, slightly leathery quality of its own, and it leads naturally into the heart, where saffron adds warmth and praline brings a roasted, nutty sweetness.

The base is oud and cedar. Oud, also called agarwood, is the resinous wood prized in Middle Eastern perfumery; it can smell medicinal or animalic, but here it is polished and smooth, closer to fine leather and dry wood. The praline softens it without turning the scent into a gourmand, and the lavender keeps the opening familiar, so the move into oud feels natural instead of abrupt.

Fragrantica's community ranks oud as the leading accord, followed by aromatic, sweet, warm spicy and woody. It is rated 4.33 out of 5 from nearly 5,000 votes. The fragrance was first released as an exclusive for Harrods in London.

Who Made It

Parfumo credits Haltane to Jordi Fernández; Fragrantica does not list a perfumer for it.

Jordi Fernández is a perfumer at Givaudan with a very large catalogue across niche and designer houses.

Who It's For

Haltane is a good first oud for someone who has found the note intimidating, and a satisfying one for people who already love it. Fragrantica lists it as a masculine.

If you like Layton but want something darker and less sweet, this is the step. If you want a raw, smoky oud, it will seem too polished. Within the house it is the most formal of the masculines, the one that goes best with tailoring.

When to Wear It

Fragrantica voters put it in winter and fall, with spring a respectable third, and night ahead of day. The lavender gives it more range in mild weather than most oud fragrances have.

Wear it for evenings, formal occasions and important meetings. Parfumo's community rates both projection and longevity as above average, so two sprays are enough.

About the House

Parfums de Marly was founded in Paris in 2009 by Julien Sprecher. The house takes its name and its imagery from the royal château of Marly and from the perfumed court of Louis XV, an era when fragrance was worn lavishly and horse racing was a royal passion. That is why every bottle carries a crest of two rearing horses, and why several of the fragrances, Herod, Godolphin and Darley among them, are named after celebrated horses.

The style is generous and easy to like: rich, long-wearing compositions, each built around one clear idea and usually signed by a well-known perfumer. Parfums de Marly is a boutique-only house at Redolia. It is sold at our perfumery at 92 West Main Street in Somerville, New Jersey, and not through the website. Read how our boutique-only houses work, then come in and try it on skin before you decide.