Gaiac
by Martine Micallef

An incredibly honest and well crafted spicy/woody composition which strikes me as extremely wearable and balanced. Woods are joined by a remarkable clove note that slightly leans towards the medicinal aroma but never gives the idea of going to the dentist. The drydonw is a comfortable woody/vanilla combo with just a tad of vetiver. Unpretentious but solid, sweet but never cloying, rich but not complex. Moderately powerful. Very, very nice.

7th December, 2011.

At first I thought that Gaiac was a tad too sweet for my taste, and while I liked it, felt I would rarely wear it. After subsequent wearings, I have come to really enjoy the scent and recommend it after all.

It starts off with a gaiac wood opening that is quite sweet... almost a mix of wood and honey. That might be the part of the scent that I like the least as the sweetness is just a bit too much for me... Then things calm down and the sweetness dissipates somewhat, allowing the gaiac wood to remain, mixing with clove. The dry-down is a very nice semi-sweet mix of jasmine, clove and vanilla, with just a hint still remaining of the gaiac to round it all out. Very nice close to the skin scent. Another good one from Micallef.

2nd November, 2011. (Last Edited: 30th November, 2011.)

Martine Micallef's Gaiac enthralls like a bonfire, fuelled by caramelized leaves and milky gaiac, with a clove-tinged nighttime breeze gnawing at the edges (this clove note is daunting at first, but eventually mellows out). The scent is more sweet than woody, though not syrupy, and is closer to Christopher Brosius' Burning Leaves than to Annick Ménardo's Gaiac 10 (Le Labo), while also bearing comparison with the smoky, jasmine-anointed vanilla of Gorilla Perfumes' Vanillary. All in all, Gaiac is an uncomplicated delight and strikes an admirable balance between log cabin rusticity and dinner party chic.

18th July, 2011.

Gaiac starts with a semi-sweet, creamy wood smell with some soft spices. And that is the predominate smell all the way through this fragrance. But about half way in, the vetiver emerges. If I sniff close to my wrist, I smell a vetiver predominate scent. If I just let the fragrance waft up from my chest and neck, I smell mostly the creamy wood with a hint of green (vetiver). The wrist smells almost identical to Hermes Vetiver Tonka, which I own, and this was the comparison I did not get the first time I tried this fragrance. The vetiver is really popping out this go round, and although I'm not a hugh vetiver fan, it is bringing the sweetness down a notch, and that is not a bad thing at all. The scent fades out in a similar vein, soft and easy, semi-sweet but earthy.

Wonderful, semi-sweet, woody, creamy and slightly green scent. I'm not entirely sure it is worth the hefty pricetag, but worth a sniff for fans of this genre.

15th May, 2011.

I'm on a mission to find an alternative to Le Labo's Gaiac 10, so I tried this. The Le Labo Gaiac is more minimal, austere and a bit drier, exactly what I'm after, but do to its annoying exclusivity, I have to enjoy my small sample instead.

The M Micallef Gaiac is completely different, IMO not even similar enough to compare the two, but I put the comparision in here, in case there are people like me wanting to distinguish the difference between two fragrances both named after Gaiac.

The M Micallef version is a very good soft and sweet woody scent that gets more captivating each time I wear it. It's calming, rich and well blended, and I look forward to sampling other scents from this line. Very unisex, not too sweet, just right .

My only complaint is that for a good one hour its too clove heavy for my tastes, and thats the only reason I rate it a 3.5 instead of 4.0. (At first I rated this a neutral, but changed it to thumbs up.) Clove lovers should really give this a try. After the clove fades away, it is replaced by a smokiness, and at this point this is when I love this fragrance. It becomes sweet, but not too sweet, a little bit resinous and smokey. It's a snuggle worthy fragrance that my boyfriend should wear.

Added bonus: sniffing it all day has calmed and soothed my nerves. I might have to get a bottle of this.

6th March, 2011.

Though Unisex fragrances are not usually my vibe, I find this to be extraordinary.
Soft, sensuous, luxurious and mesmerizing. I find this to be almost spiritual with it's calm, yet alluring effect. Really enjoy this, just wish i could afford it!

Two thumbs way Up!

26th October, 2010.