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Collection Grands Crus

Maasaï Mara Berdoues 2017

8.0 / 10 397 Ratings

A popular perfume by Berdoues for women and men, released in 2017. The scent is spicy-sweet. It is being marketed by Groupe Berdoues.
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Main accords

Spicy

Sweet

Gourmand

Resinous

Fruity

Fragrance Notes

Spanish labdanum

Egyptian chamomile

South African buchu

Perfumer

Philippe Romano

Ratings

Scent

8.0397 Ratings

Longevity

7.6338 Ratings

Sillage

7.2336 Ratings

Bottle

8.0305 Ratings

Value for money

8.5164 Ratings

Submitted by Franfan20 · last update on 01/10/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Collection Grands Crus collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Dolcelisir

Farah / Harâm (Eau de Parfum) by Brecourt

Farah Eau de Parfum

Ambre Narguilé

Oajan

Sugar Leather

Khaltat Night Eau de Parfum

Reviews

13 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/11/2024

7.5Scent

DogiCoco
637 Reviews

DogiCoco

Helpful Review 4

Tonka in disguise

I'm absolutely flabbergasted that this doesn't have a tonka note. It smells like your typical tonka scent with all the different facets of the bean: Cherry-like sweetness, dry marzipan and cookie dough, powdery facets, even a hay-like undertone... But if we believe the notes list, it all comes from other things.
Parfumo has a very minimal list for this anyways, but other sites have more notes listed: vanilla, cinnamon, benzoin, patch, plum, dried fruits, bitter orange, rose, artemisia and angelica. And some of these are very noticeable.

I can definitely sense lots of vanilla and cinnamon here, this is a warm, sweet, autumnal/wintery kind of scent. The balsamic notes like labdanum (and benzoin I saw listed on another site) also make sense. I guess the chamomile is what I perceive as hay-like, like a bag of chamomile tea. Or maybe it's the buchu, a note I'm not familiar with at all? Or the angelica? There is something undeniably herbal about this.
The dried fruits might be the culprit for the cherry note, after all cherries can be dried, too, and this is not the juiciest cherry anyways.

Maasaï Mara is very enjoyable, smooth, warm and cozy, but it doesn't stand out to me among all the other spicy tonka/cherry winter scents like Khaltat Night, Brecourt Farah or even Fève Délicieuse. They have the same effect on me, but with more depth and individuality. If I hadn't already smelled many similar perfumes, I might have loved this, but well, I did.

07/08/2022

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Mykonosgyros
1 Review

Mykonosgyros

2

Love it

Personally, I think this is a really nice perfume.

You can smell the plum, which I love!

This kinda reminds me of the opening of 1 Million Prive. For being a niche perfume house, it is well priced too.

It lasts long, and contrary to popular belief, I don't think it's feminine at all! I think it's rather manly if you can pull it off. Just because it's sweet doesn't make it feminine. To me this is as feminine as Ultra Male would be, except this is a lot less sweet.

Both genders (or must I say all) can pull it off for sure. But this is one I really enjoy from their house.

Have smelt the Assam of India too, that's nice as well but at that price point, you can find better alternatives for it.

01/12/2019

pudelbonzo
2404 Reviews

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pudelbonzo

Top Review 31

Wildly Determined

Yesterday, I was wildly determined to finally get myself a Berdoues - only difficult because I like the entire range.

Decisiveness is not exactly my strong suit, and so I visited the Berdoues corner countless times - and always left it hesitantly.

I like the light, carefree attitude of this label overall - all very approachable, uncomplicated without being directly simple.
Fragrances don’t always have to be heavy on interpretation for me.
Life already poses enough questions.

And so, Mara caught my fancy yesterday.
Softly spicy and rounded, it greets me.

The chamomile offers a calm opening - mild like a cup of tea.
Aromatic and currant-like, the buchu joins in - but spicy like the currant leaves on the bush.
No jam impression.
The labdanum feels deep and sweetly rounded - but doesn’t stick at all.

The scent is cozy, almost snuggly - yet remains light and ethereal.
Like a delicate, yet warming cashmere blanket.

But the decisive husband leans towards the floral Yoshino - which I also like.

So, I take the blossoms to the checkout - but still have the soft Mara on my mind.

11/17/2021

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

ArneD
24 Reviews

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ArneD

Top Review 36

From Fufu, Rahah, and Thika

Rahah is awake early in the morning.
Her little hands still ache from the day before.
Little Rahah prepared Fufu with her grandmother Fufu.
Actually, one shouldn't have to prepare Fufu at home in Thika anymore, but Rahah's grandmother insists on it.
Thika, a town near Nairobi.
It is elaborate and sweat-inducing, exhausting and very traditional.
Cooking bananas and cassava must be pounded with a lot of strength.
In a large pot/bowl, cassava and cooking bananas are worked with the help of a large wooden pestle.
Time and again, the pestle must be used with great force to work the mix up and down, held tightly in the hands, painfully, and one or two blisters may form.
They spent half the morning pounding.
Only when enough starch has formed is the Fufu ready.
Rahah goes to school and is diligent.
Her father tells her about the Maasai Mara, about lions, about Thomson's gazelles, about Mara giraffes and zebras.
And about the poachers and the far too few rangers who try to prevent poaching day after day.
Rahah's father was a ranger before he was injured during a chase and now has to stay home.
Her father is so proud; he describes the rain in the national park, he describes the heat and the smell.
In his stories, Rahah feels very close, right there in the Maasai Mara.
She can feel the wind, she can smell the wind, and thanks to the wind, she can also hear the distant roar of the lions.

Rahah still remembers her father's stories.
She is now an editor at a World Nature magazine in Toulouse.
And Rahah always carries her Maasai Mara with her.

Whenever she feels nostalgic, Berdoues helps her with the Maasai Mara.

She loves the heavy sweetness that reminds her of Fufu.
The spiciness reminds her of her grandmother's kitchen and the scents in the streets of Thika.

Maasai Mara begins wonderfully spicy, slightly sweet, but not boringly sweet, no, rather a sweetness that piques curiosity, that tells of wanderlust.

The scent wraps around me, enveloping me in a pleasant fragrance.
I feel that over time it develops into a drier, leathery, spicy scent.
Even after 4 hours, I can still perceive the scent.
On a sprayed T-shirt, I can smell the Berdoues even after 10 hours.

I hope this little story wasn't too lengthy.

My conclusion:
The Maasai Mara is highly recommended and a great value for the price.

With thanks to Fer

04/28/2018

8.5Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

DonJuanDeCat
2047 Reviews

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DonJuanDeCat

Top Review 23

The Savanna is Creamy!

Ah, I always enjoy trying a new Berdoues fragrance. I like the brand because it offers some beautiful scents, even if they sometimes seem a bit simple. However, this simplicity is something that many people really appreciate.

And of course, I got to know the brand again because… I was searching for tea fragrances and came across Assam of India among others. With that tea scent, it was hard to resist for two reasons: First, of course, because of the beautiful, but also somewhat bitter tea scent, and second, because of the bottle. Yes, yes, one should never buy a fragrance just because of the bottle, but just take a look at it! A bottle where you can see lots of small, cute, and above all colorful elephants on the inner wall! Who wouldn't start smiling at that? :)

Anyway, now I come to Maasai Mara, a fragrance named after the national reserve in Kenya, and whose name is derived from the East African Maasai people and the term for spotted or speckled in their language (in this case "mara") (this is meant to refer to the landscape in the savanna, as from above, the solitary trees in the landscape look like dots!).
Speaking of the Maasai, we are back to a people who also wear wonderfully colorful garments… hmm,… :)

The Fragrance:

The fragrance initially starts with a rum/whiskey note, which quickly becomes sweetly woody, so I would guess a combination of buchu and labdanum here. The impression of the alcoholic note disappears quickly and is replaced by a note that is not mentioned here, namely tobacco or tobacco leaf, which I find very noticeable. The sweetness also seems to come largely from a note that is not mentioned here: honey.
Chamomile is also present, which makes the fragrance creamier. Yes, one could say that the chamomile smells almost like chamomile creams. However, it is a bit weak, but as I said, still noticeable.
Over time, the fragrance becomes softer, creamier, and is simply very pleasant. Later, you also smell a mix of tobacco, honey, and woods, which remains unchanged for several hours and only gradually fades. As I said, it is a simple fragrance in itself, but it smells good.

The Sillage and Longevity:

The sillage is above average. You do leave a decent scent cloud at the beginning, but due to the gentle fragrance, it feels somewhat smaller.
The longevity is quite good. I could smell the fragrance on me for more than ten hours.

The Bottle:

The bottle is rectangular with rounded corners. A special feature is the inner wall of this bottle, as it is painted or shows a motif that can be seen from the front. Here, you see colorful, round patterns that match the vibrant appearances of the Maasai people, even though the people should prefer more red colors. A beautiful bottle that also feels good in the hand!

Hmm, the fragrance has turned out fantastic. It has a wonderful, slightly spicy woody, and above all creamy scent with additional notes like tobacco and honey. The tobacco is clearly noticeable here, but it is neither too harsh nor smoky, rather soft and creamy, and thus resembles something like the Jo Malone fragrance "Tobacco & Mandarin."

I would actually classify it as an all-rounder. Perhaps not entirely suitable for summer, but also not a pure winter scent, as it is a bit lighter despite the spicy notes. This means it would probably fit best in spring and autumn. In my opinion, it can be used both for everyday wear and when going out, and it definitely feels unisex to me.

As I said, Maasai Mara is a beautiful fragrance that one could try. Of course, not just because the background of the bottle has turned out so beautifully with its colorful patterns, although I still find the elephant bottle from Assam of India to be the best among the Berdoues bottles :D

More reviews

Statements

119 short views on the fragrance

Estbienla

2 years ago

2

I don't feel the notes listed, it's a tobacco/dry fruit (plum) perfume with a vanilla / benzoin coating

Saradonin

1 year ago

8Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

1

Dried fruits spiced with cinnamon on a sweet blend of labdanum and vanilla. It gives off a winter holiday vibe. Great bang for the buck.

Aukai

3 years ago

8Scent 6Sillage

44

24

"Cherry, cherry lady,
going through Labdanum,
smoke is where you find it
listen to your wood",
sings Ms. Kamille
with a gloomy look.

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FrauKirsche

2 years ago

6Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

31

28

A carpet of
chamomile floats
in the ethereal
gentle breeze
Searching
for hidden fruits
On luscious syrup
dances cinnamon powder...

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NuiWhakakore

4 years ago

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

29

24

After the marzipan
there's chamomile tea, lightly spiced
and candied buchu
a warm wind from the mountains
brings green smoke and resin liqueur

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JonasP1

4 years ago

7Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

29

22

In the tea house:
Chamomile tea with caramel and African Buchu
Served in a labdanum cup
Enjoy quietly
Now I want something woody

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Delightful

1 year ago

9.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

24

31

A song flutters through the Maasai Mara
Singing of dust devils
the balmy sun
Fruits drying on stones
And soft blossoms

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MonMedusa

3 years ago

7Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

25

12

"Heidrun! Where did you hide the chamomile tea?!"
"Oh there, behind the wooden box with the cherry bombs."
"Oh gosh, it's almost empty!"*

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April22Bee

3 years ago

7.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

18

15

a lot of tobacco, creamy undertones, pleasant spice from chamomile + labdanum. The desert sand of the Maasai blows in. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with my skin.

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