A Maze (2007)
by People of the Labyrinths

Never did care for saffron as a note in fragrances. Usually I can grudgingly get along with it, but in AMaze the saffron dominates my olfactory sense to the point of overwhelming the other notes. What I get out of A Maze is a disagreeable leathery saffron note overshadowing a very nice rose note. There is supposed to be civet – I wish I could smell it – that would be a tremendous improvement over the saffron note. I just don’t like this one.

This review is under revision.

Upon introduction to the skin, A.Maze is an icy-cold and ultra-bright, sharply hesperidic and herbal, alchohol-infused blast. Being a lover of rose, I didn't even register rose for a few minutes...to find it is a feat. Once recognized, it's a peppery, almost aldyahidic rose. The next 10 minutes are anxiety-ridden, waiting for the rocky start to take a dive and run ruin on the skin...but thank goodness, the fear is not realized. The fragrance begins to soften, and continues to do so until musk and woods are uncovered. The rose starts warming and becomes sweeter, the early sharpness recedes, and Amaze becomes compelling and very much likable. Likable with a twist throughout. I would not call this a 'dark' rose...maybe a 'cold' rose being warmed by the rising sun. It's certainly never a simple rose, never static, always changing...and wearing it is much like chasing after it through a maze. Aptly named. This is an incredibly complex and modern scent...what a ride if you're paying attention.

I found this an extremely complex rose scent – though perhaps a little TOO strong (note: I sampled the EDP)

‘Dark’ rose scent predominate this, I didn’t smell any other notes except for a little of the candied-roses that some other reviewers mentioned in the drydown. Just LOTS OF ROSE! Reminded me of Rose Poivre (The Different Company) but A.maze is NOT peppery – however I think they both share animalistic qualities (not musk…animals). It smelled like I had arrived at a circus tent & the person sitting next to me was holding a bouquet of roses (smile)

I probably won’t buy a bottle (there are so many more rose scents I want try before I commit to one so EXPENSIVE).

Not a rose scent for the faint hearted – that’s for sure.