Mat; Very Male by Masakï Matsushïma, 2005

For anise and licorice fans this is the pure straight forward answer to what you crave. Nothing else...just tons of black gooey sticky licorice. I LOVE IT

I forgot to rate this. I love love love this fragrance. It embodies woody masculine in its dry down in a way that is honest (no pretense). To avoid being boring, there is a sweet anise and licorice in the opening. This causes the jus to pale in comparison to one of my holy grail frags, Encre Noir. But where Encre Noir is strong and downright overpowering, Mat; Very Male is soothing. What does Encre Noir and Mat; Very Male have in common? just the vetiver bond really, but I find myself bouncing back and forth between the 2 sometimes, just depends on my anise/licorice tolerance at the point in time. If you like Lolita Lempicka's Au Masculine, I don't see why you wouldn't love this. Same for Givenchy Play Intense.

A bit strong at first, with a clear, sweet anisette liqueur note. Then subtler bamboo and lotus flower notes chime in, along with other woody notes. Finally, patchouli. licorice, and cedar complete the scent. Overall, quite captivating; I would say almost addictive, because of the anise and licorice complemented by cedar and other woods. A stroke of perfumer genius made to flatter the male ego.

Fan of anise notes? This one's far more subtle in its use of anise than are Rive Gauche (star anise) and Lolita Lempicka for Men (traditional anise times ten).

Still, I would think twice about buying this one for a romantic frag or a "party" frag as it's got longevity, yes, but very little sillage. Nice office choice for colder climes.

Mat; very male is a stronger fragrance than mat; male, and I think thats a good thing mat; male disappeared on me. The anise note that takes over the opening accord is fresher than many anise notes Ive experienced in different fragrances: The first several times I tested the fragrance, I thought it was quite interesting and well done I really enjoyed it. But now with repeated testing, the anise opening seems to be getting sweeter and sweeter. The fragrance no longer impresses me, because the sweetness is beginning to wear on me. The middle accord of lotus, bamboo, and woods still carry with it vestiges of the anise note its quite nice, but I would prefer more lotus, bamboo, and woods. The base is my favorite part mainly patchouli supported by cedar. Mat; very male is a very competent fragrance. I like it but it ends up being a little too sweet for me.

Anise, vetiver and musk. The sweetness comes from the musk I smell and the herbal and licorice note comes from a combination of vetiver and anise. Didn't seem to last long on me but it was wonderful.

One of the best uses of Anise I have come across. Recommended.

Very Male has little in common with the original except for a few floral notes. Very is a more acquired scent, very sweet and gourmand sambuca to begin with but then the florals start to soften that. There is a great sense of wood and patchouli in the base which is where the scent really does its best work. It lasts well but is not too overpwoering after the initial hit. One to gain compliments with.

This is one that I purchased immediately after smelling, and I never regretted my decision. A fresh anise opening soon settles into very comforting warm notes and a serene floral-fruit vibe that is somewhat sweet. The composition stays close to the skin, but it is a complex and addictive smell. By blending warm gourmand notes with fresh sweetness, Very Male is both versatile and unique. I highly recommend this!

A blind buy, this one was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure whether I should not expect another hypertrendy synth bomb confusing a good composition with a list of fancy pseudo-ingredients, but no: While I'll settle for anise or licorice rather than Sambucca accord, it is quite nice. Fresh yet elegant, staying closer to the skin rather than projecting widely, and drying down into a nice, relaxing cedary base, which has some synthy notes but really works quite well. I do like Douce Amère better overall, which is a different, very rich and heady take on the anise, but mat would be the perfect choice with a cool, modern black designer outfit. Will be fun to wear in fall and winter.