# Chopard — Cedar Malaki

> Cedar Malaki is the 2023 woody-aromatic entry in Chopard's Middle East-oriented Malaki Collection, composed by Alberto Morillas. Its name and twin-cedar billing promise a Moroccan-and-Lebanese cedar s

## Essence
Cedar Malaki is the 2023 woody-aromatic entry in Chopard's Middle East-oriented Malaki Collection, composed by Alberto Morillas. Its name and twin-cedar billing promise a Moroccan-and-Lebanese cedar showcase, but in practice it reads as another expression of the line's dry, leathery, slightly rubbery house signature. That tension — cedar portrait versus Malaki blend — is the most interesting thing about it, and it makes the fragrance both a value standout and a lightning rod for the charge of redundancy.
## Scent Profile
The opening is the most distinctive phase. Rindy grapefruit meets rounded cardamom, the green bite of cypress and artemisia, and a lift of lavender — the classic Morillas aromatic-citrus signature. A creamy, suede-like quality often appears within seconds from the labdanum-and-tonka interplay. Some wearers also report an odd "mango bubble gum" sweetness or rubberiness in the first fifteen to thirty minutes, more pronounced on paper than on skin, and a minority find the start sharp before it settles. The bright top means anyone expecting a dense cedar bomb is usually surprised.
The heart is where the cedar is meant to lead, and where opinion divides. Some find the cedar subdued and the blend close to a generic sweet woody scent; others get a prominent, dry, sharp Lebanese cedar. What stays consistent is the Malaki house character: a slightly metallic, leathery, rubbery facet driven by cypriol that recalls Gucci Guilty Absolute and Halfeti-style woods. Patchouli is present but restrained.
The drydown is warm, earthy, and resinous. Labdanum brings a musky, faintly animalic sweetness, tonka softens it, and patchouli and cypriol ground the base. Late on, it reads close to Black Incense Malaki with the smoke turned down and the earthiness up. After the first hour it is fairly linear and wears as an opulent skin scent.
## Performance
Performance is above average for the price without being a beast. Projection is moderate and durable, settling into a skin scent with a detectable trail after a few hours; one careful wearer reported whiffs nearly twelve hours after spraying. Longevity ranges from roughly four to six hours on dry winter skin up to all day, commonly landing around six-plus hours on skin and noticeably longer on clothing, since the Malaki line clings to fabric. Two conservative sprays are plenty given the dense close-up intensity.
## Wearing Context
This is cool-weather, mature-leaning wear. It is best in autumn and winter, though some wear it across seasons and as a sharp woody on bright cold days. It skews formal-to-business and evening, shining in cold, dry settings where the dry woods and smoky resins hold, and falling flat in heat and small enclosed spaces where the rubbery density can turn cloying. Despite the unisex billing it reads distinctly mature and masculine on most wearers.
## Comparisons & DNA
The closest references are in-house. Black Incense Malaki (2020) is the nearest twin; late in the drydown many find them hard to tell apart, with Cedar being less smoky and more earthy, and the common advice is that owners of Black Incense Malaki may not need this. Oud Malaki (2012) is the leathery woody sibling without the oud. Outside the house, Gucci Guilty Absolute is the touchstone for the leathery-nagarmotha-rubber facet, and Penhaligon's Halfeti Cedar is invoked for the same metallic-rubbery cedar character. Among cross-shopped woody-aromatics, Nishane B-612 is described as more well-rounded but more than twice the price.
## Reception
Reception is polarized but generally favorable on value. Praise centers on a quality that feels more expensive than the price, a dry sophisticated drydown suited to formal wear, and the luxurious woody character. The dominant criticism is redundancy: a strong contingent finds it nearly identical to Black Incense Malaki and Oud Malaki, and some feel the name oversells the cedar, which they hear as subdued. The "mango bubble gum" top accord and the close-up rubbery intensity are recurring specific complaints. The axes of disagreement are cedar-forward versus generic-Malaki blend, luxurious versus redundant, and mature-sophisticated versus boring. On value, the consensus is that it punches above its price, especially when discounted.
## Versions & Reformulation
Cedar Malaki is a single 2023 Eau de Parfum composition with no known reformulation.
## Acquisition Notes
It sits in the affordable-designer tier despite Chopard's luxury-jewelry parentage. The official format is an 80 ml Eau de Parfum in a green flacon with gold accents, echoing the rest of the Malaki line; some buyers wish for a 100 ml option. It is officially retailed through department stores and frequently available below full price, which makes paying retail unnecessary. Authenticity risk is low for this tier when buying from reputable retailers.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- Chopard frames Cedar Malaki around the cedar as "the King of the Forest," a symbol of eternity and immortality.
- Morillas drew on the cedar forests of Morocco and Lebanon, incorporating cedar essences from both countries.
- The fragrance leans on the Mediterranean lavender-and-citrus framing Morillas, of Spanish descent, knows well.
- The Malaki Collection launched in 2012 with Oud Malaki and has expanded steadily since.
- Cedar Malaki (2023) preceded Leather Malaki (2024), which handed the line from Morillas to perfumer Dora Baghriche.
- Its reputation is defined largely by the in-house debate over whether it is meaningfully different from Black Incense Malaki.