Reviews of Mat; Male (2002)
by Masakï Matsushïma

Minimalist herbs. It's cool but warms up after a while. Lightly salted and mint. The drydown is good. It's a very clean, herbal feel to it. That's the part I like. Very hesitant thumbs up as the opening really distracts me from the rest of the fragrance.

It's a fresh, sensual and vibrant scent. There is little competition out there, Versace Eau Fraiche having a similar scent but with a younger appeal. It's not strong but does strike that great accord between green, floral and musky without being too feminine.

I am a fan of mat;male, but only felt it pungent when I first wore it. After a few more tries, however, I began to appreciate its concept of contradiction. While its flowery sweetness is warm, inviting, and really feminine sometimes, sharp lines are drawn by the spicy notes of juniper berry and white leather, which make the scent tender and stern at the same time. A very unique blend indeed.

I had a bottle of this, wore it fairly often, and then "lost" the bottle (along with all my other fragrances) when I moved. Sorry, had to get that off my chest... As you can see from the reviews, this one is tough to classify. I always found that it was an in-between fragrance. What I mean is that it was a little too musky to be feminine, but too sweet, soft, and floral to be truly masculine. When wearing it I felt it was a tad too pungent for the summer, but too light and, again, sweet and floral, for the winter. I never got into a groove with this one, but still liked it. One reviewer said this reminded them of the color white. I say it is light purple. I'm not sure why, but the floral and sweet notes take the heavier notes down and notch, and for some reason I always felt this one was a light pastel purple scent (compared to Mat Very Male, which is a dark purple scent - more masculine, more musky, but still kicking out that one signature sweet floral sort of note). Maybe it is "purple" because of the combination of watermelon, rose, and black currant. There is a distinctive sweet note that sits on top, which is probably the result of those three scents combining. Overall, I like it for its distinctiveness, but always felt I could not find the right time, place, or weather to wear this one.

very clean and "white", I would describe it as white suede. interesting smell, some people will compliment it other people have a worried look on their face when they smell me. those are usually not usefull people anyways so thumbs up!

Mat Male is a great summer based fragrance. I hated it for the longest time, but realized I had a bad bottle. I usually hate citrus, but there is something wonderful about the smell of lime. This is a sharp and invigorating fragrance that evolves wonderfully on the skin. This is also much more interesting and multifaceted than most other citrus fragrances. It’s a shame I swapped it away.

the smell reminded me a bit of Dolce&Gabbana at first, and then settles nicely into a fresher and floral scent. Top notch.

I first sampled this almost a year ago, along Yohji. I don't recall what I ended up purchasing (Givenchy Pour Homme, perhaps), but I never forgot the impression Mat;Male left.
Recently, I began looking for a soft "white" fragrance that would do the trick for me in the summer. Immediately, Mat;Male came to mind, and I stopped by the store to sample again. I returned with a gift set including a small bottle of EDT, and a larger bottle of ASB, which dispenses through a spray mechanism as well.
The fragrance itself is a complete joy: from it's opening notes of Water Melon and Grapefruit, to the middle notes of various roses, and the base of white leather, it's a very soft and sensual fragrance that wears close to the skin after a while. If you're a fan of scents with floral notes such as 212, or like Sung's latest Hei with its bamboo note, Mat;Male should be on your list. A big thumbs up!