Maharanih (2006)
by Parfums de Nicolaï

A dull sandalwood spice that gives me a block of fragrance that I have to plod through in order to get anything I like out of it. Too bitter and stuffy for my tastes.

Maharanih’s sweet orange rind and warm spice opening leaves no doubt as to where this scent is headed. True to its name, Maharanih is a rich, sweet, spicy oriental scent in the tradition established by Guerlain’s Shalimar. The foundation of sweet amber, opopanax, and sandalwood supports a heart redolent of rose, orange blossom, cinnamon, clove, and vanilla. The composition is dense and somewhat syrupy, as befits the genre, but a very bright candied fruit accord keeps Maharanih from becoming suffocating. The blend of citrus, cinnamon, vanilla, and opopanax is very close to Shalimar, but Maharanih is a woodier scent, with more prominent opopanax and less vanilla. It shares little of Shalimar’s smoky quality, and has none of the civet that puts the lascivious animalic edge on Shalimar’s eau de parfum and parfum concentrations.

Maharanih is a grand, old-fashioned perfume in the very best sense: it is complex, dense, and sophisticated, yet also beautifully balanced. It projects well off the skin and leaves ample sillage in the air, but it never feels overblown or oppressive. Maharanih’s longevity is quite good, too. It remains intact for six or eight hours, drying down on the way to that deliciously smooth amber, opopanax and sandalwood accord, seasoned with ample labdanum and just the right dose of vanilla. If you’re looking for a spicy oriental scent in the classical mold, but want something a bit cleaner and fruitier than Shalimar, try Maharanih. It’s a well-crafted example of its kind.

Maharanih is an aromatic scent that disturbs as much as it intrigues. There’s a green-floral earthiness about the composition that is complimented by a sharp orange zest accord. On first impressions, it most certainly is an intoxicating brew but, unfortunately, it never goes beyond that level of fascination for me.

Admittedly, Maharanih is very well composed and there is no question that high quality ingredients were used to create this. However, after several wearings, its weirdness becomes more evident leaving you even more confused (rather than certain) about whether you like it or not.

The use of amber provides a sensual, and slightly sweet, foundation for the rest of the notes and succeeds in smoothening some of the sharp edges. Unfortunately, this isn’t sufficient for the orange zest accord that never fails to fade into the background or dissipate completely. With each consecutive wearing, the orange zest becomes more noticeable, so much that I’m left with a sharp and overwhelming accord that, to put simply, harasses my nose for several hours. Even throughout the drydown, I can still detect it amongst the traces of sandalwood and patchouli.

As much as Maharanih is unique, it is also too nauseating for me to completely tolerate or pull off.

[Original submission date: 05 January 2009]

I have very mixed feelings about Maharanih. It's a lean Shalimar with an extra big shot of orange. There is a brightness about this that reminds me of the old Shalimar, but the heavy orange peel really "puts me off". If you are a man who likes Shalimar but wants something a little more masculine, Maharanih might be for you. If you are a woman, just buy Shalimar!

Maharanih opens up with intoxicatingly rich notes of orange flower, sandalword, amber and perhaps a wee bit of pepper. Its drydown is measured as one would expect from a well-made perfume and the middle to base notes emit a soft patchouli-like earthiness. Maharanih would be beautiful to wear in the fall. In fact, it is very much an autumnal perfume with all that that implies. If Maharanih were a color, it would be a deep luxurious russet. Lastly, if you like Maharanih, be sure to give Becker Eshaya's Golden Amber and/or 10 Corso Como a whirl!

Here are Maharanih's notes as shown on the Luckyscent website: Bitter orange, geranium, lavender, cinnamon, sandalwood and amber.