There’s been a fair amount of talk lately about the extent to which current creations from the niche world are little more than reactions to the mainstream: pious homages to retro values which satisfy the needs of nostalgic fume-geeks but do little to further the art of fragrance. I’d say that particular criticism is often justified, but when indie brands get the backward glance right, they come up with startling pieces of work. A case in point is 2014’s Maai from the Italian brand, Bogue. It owes its soul to masculine chypres of yesteryear – those glorious Cary Grant compositions that are more expertly put together than an origami-folded pocket square – but it dresses its body with lean, modern finery. To put that in olfactory terms, its core is a grandiloquent, brazen mix of animalics, woods and urinous, medicinal herbs (lots of sage) whereas its external layer presents sheer, uplifting blossoms, ready to break into a smile at a moment’s notice. It may lean on its niche credentials too heavily, but as a union of the assertiveness of Kouros, the sophistication of Cacharel Pour Homme and the romanticism of Fleur Du Male, it is a fascinating creature indeed. Do seek it out.
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Hi Persolaise. I have tried Maai and it is very potent even for me and my scent eating skin. I got flashes of vintage smooth Opium mixed with vintage Joy parfum extrait and then an extremely tenacious and long dry down of skankiness …sweat and poop and sharp animalics . It is a very interesting scent and I love it however, the dry down is not socially friendly ….imho . I have been known ot mix my perfumes … Oud Cashmere Mood by MKF and Shalimar EDP ..did not go down too well in a crowded Starbucks. As you can imagine … in socially clean USA ;D
Mimi, as always, thanks for stopping by. I was fascinated to read your thoughts, because I actually found the drydown to be the most socially friendly (great expression!) section of Maai. And as for crowded Starbucks… you just keep knocking them out with your Shalimar!!! 😀
Wow Persolaise..that is so weird about the dry down because it is so sharp-skanky on me for hours and hours.
Maai was like a trip down old Memory Lane .. bits of this perfume and that perfume flashing by .
Haha yes rocking Shalimar ..need a new bottle !
Mimi, yes, the retro feel is gorgeous… and you can never have too much Shalimar 🙂
I've been wanting to try this for ages. There's a shop in London which sells samples for £10 which seems a little steep but I'm very tempted. I love animalic classic chypres like 1000 and Mitsouko and I'm always looking to try new things. I love Salome btw, it's just deliciously filthy
Greek Mike, I'd say you definitely need to try this, then. Which shop do you mean, by the way?
Bloom Perfumery in London charges £10 for a little sample online. I live in Liverpool so getting to London is a pain. It's tempting but £10 for 1.6ml is a little steep. I use Les Senteurs a lot and they are a bit more reasonable but they don't stock it
Ah, okay, thanks for letting me know. It's a tricky decision. Maybe you could wait until the next time you have a reason to visit London.