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how would you categorise Maja?

post #1 of 6
1/28/05 at 2:18am
Thread Starter 
Wow, I just had a wierd revelation. Seeing as in the past I have ended up really liking fragrances I thought I disliked, (the best example being Cabochard) I decided to try Maja again. I had previously perceived it as an 'oriental' and it has some wierd spice in the top note that I'm not that keen on. (?)
However...after a little while I re-smelled my arm again- and was hit really hard with this strong Deja-vu feeling of "I KNOW this smell.. it's a smell I love (raw ingredient) ...but what IS it??? for some reason I couldn't place it and it was driving me crazy. Suddenly i leapt out of bed and ran over to my bottle of essential oil of....Oakmoss! It's rather a crude, oldish, very dark, but delicious drop that I have kept for ages, just to open and sniff occasionally. ;D and that was the smell on my arm of the Maja drydown!. Being a bit of a Chypre freak, I was both amazed and surprised...I can't believe I never gave Maja a proper go before.
Do you all regard it as Chypre too? It must be one of the best kept 'el cheapo' secrets, if Chypres are your thing? I may actually have to buy some now!
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post #2 of 6
1/28/05 at 3:29am
Oh yes....Maja is chypre all the way in my book, and an excellent one at that. I always have the soap in my shower, and it's actually strong enough to leave a slight scent on my skin...here are the notes according to one site:

Bergamot, lemon, lime, mandarin

Clove bud, jasmine, orris, rose, ylang-ylang

Benzion, musk, oakmoss, patchouli, peru balsam, vanilla, vetiver

I seem to rememer reading geranium somewhere else and I believe I can smell that in it...so perhaps these notes are slightly off...alot of them are right, though..
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post #3 of 6
1/28/05 at 3:57am
I'd say it's a fougre. Really lovely perfume.
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post #4 of 6
1/29/05 at 6:05am
Cheapie or not, I wear Maja frequently. 8) I would consider it a unisex scent. "Incense" pops into my mind when I take a deep sniff of it.
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post #5 of 6
1/29/05 at 1:10pm
Michael Edwards lists it as a "Soft, Classical Oriental", while Javaslublu classes it as a Fougre. I just put a little bit on my right hand, and honestly wouldn't put it in any of those categories (or chypre, either). Not much help, am I?
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post #6 of 6
1/29/05 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
mmm I guess Êthe lesson here is that categories may not be that useful at times. ;D
I totally agree abou the Unisex factor, too! (Men, do Êtry it if you haven't already)
But what I could smell on my arm was just Oakmoss, oakmoss, and more oakmoss...even the next day it hadn't gone away. Not that I'm complaining. Ê:-*
I should also say that it was an old, empty bottle I got in a joblot of mainly empties. I noticed a half drop in there so got it out. I guess it could have evaporated for years, and concentrated right down...? Maybe the oakmoss was the last thing to remain?
I am dead curious to try it out in Êa brand new bottle now, but also *afraid* that it will have been 'reformulated' or cheapened in some way. (The brand was bought out a few years ago by Puig apparently.)
Sure hope not!
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