Bogue
MAAI
It's an olfactory paradox: Maai's best quality is also its worst quality. It has a vintage vibe; and that's just it--it smells old. Not old as in for the elderly. Old, as in literally this juice smells like it's 40 years old. You can find perfumes like this on eBay for a fraction of the price if you want something that smells like it's from a long time ago. I sought out Maai in the first place because of all the comparisons to vintage perfumes, and I had to see for myself. While I can understand that perspective, I also feel that Maai lacks the complex and full bouquets that much older perfumes offer. Having a big, genuine animalic note isn't enough for me to liken it to a vintage perfume. A generous Fragrantica friend was kind enough to send me some decants of her vintage Occur! by Avon, just one of so many perfumes of that time with similar notes and feel, and Maai simply can not stand up to it, not to mention the likes of My Sin, etc. Is Maai beautiful? I guess so. I can appreciate it as a piece of art. Taking away any comparisons to vintages and just viewing it more objectively for exactly what it is, I don't find it to be that unique. I smell an animalic note with heavy rose and aldehydes. Very simple; streamlined. Too flat of a scent with not enough development. I just don't get the kind of complexity that I yearn for in a perfume with such captivating notes.
It's an olfactory paradox: Maai's best quality is also its worst quality. It has a vintage vibe; and that's just it--it smells old. Not old as in for the elderly. Old, as in literally this juice smells like it's 40 years old. You can find perfumes like this on eBay for a fraction of the price if you want something that smells like it's from a long time ago. I sought out Maai in the first place because of all the comparisons to vintage perfumes, and I had to see for myself. While I can understand that perspective, I also feel that Maai lacks the complex and full bouquets that much older perfumes offer. Having a big, genuine animalic note isn't enough for me to liken it to a vintage perfume. A generous Fragrantica friend was kind enough to send me some decants of her vintage Occur! by Avon, just one of so many perfumes of that time with similar notes and feel, and Maai simply can not stand up to it, not to mention the likes of My Sin, etc. Is Maai beautiful? I guess so. I can appreciate it as a piece of art. Taking away any comparisons to vintages and just viewing it more objectively for exactly what it is, I don't find it to be that unique. I smell an animalic note with heavy rose and aldehydes. Very simple; streamlined. Too flat of a scent with not enough development. I just don't get the kind of complexity that I yearn for in a perfume with such captivating notes.
