Maai Bogue 2014

In a rather impressive interview by YouTuber Sebastian from 'Smelling great fragrance reviews' with Antonio Gardoni, he talks extensively about his fragrances 'Maai', 'O/E', and 'Mem'.
Gardoni describes 'Maai' as: “... actually a battle between me and an idea I used to have about tuberose.” The scent of tuberose fascinated him early on, but also disturbed him.
I can absolutely relate to that, as I feel the same way about tuberose.
The finished fragrance, which was initially conceived as an incense scent but mutated into a tuberose fragrance after Gardoni stumbled upon a special green tuberose extract (with some incense in the background), is evaluated by the perfumer as follows: “...I don’t find it easy, still now, and still for me, I find it a bit of a conflictual one.”
I can relate to that as well.

Yes, 'Maai' is really not 'easy' and is indeed full of conflicts, inner tensions, and dramatic contrasts.
Above all, 'Maai' is a rather daring ride across all gender boundaries: from 'butch' to 'girlie' and back again.

The opening unfolds a tuberose accord that seems hardly more masculine: many green and mossy, but also smoky and almost camphor-like facets support the dominant and instantly trumpet-like penetrating white flower.
This first phase of the fragrance is actually my favorite. Here, this narcotically good, yet so femininely scented flower gets exactly the masculine framework I have always wished for. But unfortunately, Gordoni makes a drastic scene change and veers in the second phase of the fragrance towards an exceedingly girlish tuberose, accompanied by some hairspray and bubblegum nuances that remind me on one hand of the infamous 'Poison' by Dior, and on the other hand of Duchaufour's 'Nuit de Tubereuse'. It is probably the interplay with other flowers like ylang-ylang, jasmine, and rose, as well as sweet fruit accords that make 'Maai' suddenly appear so exceedingly feminine here.

But Gardoni soon prepares for the next, almost even more drastic scene change: from the girly tuberose to the macho leather chypre.
Yes, you wouldn't believe it, but he pulls it off!
First, the hairspray and bubblegum sprinkles fade away, and the fruits become increasingly ripe. The cotton candy sweetness transforms into the heavy, complex sweetness of dried fruits, while in the base, a hearty castoreum base begins to take command more and more clearly.
This castoreum base, with all its animalic and leathery nuances, is the longest-lasting phase. The first, distinctly masculine one is already over after about an hour, the second, the girly phase after about another hour and a half, while the last phase of the fragrance remains present for many hours.
Castoreum, castoreum, and once again castoreum, a hint of civet, light woody aspects, and plenty of oakmoss form the never-ending finale.
Now 'Maai' particularly reminds me of another fragrance, also dominated by castoreum in the base: Van Cleef & Arpels 'Pour Homme' - a leather chypre par excellence.

I cannot, however, understand the many comparisons with 'Kouros' at all. 'Kouros' is an animalic-aromatic fougère characterized by sage, honey, and civet - a completely different direction than the one 'Maai' takes. Only the animalic presence in the base somewhat refers to 'Kouros', but only insofar as both fragrances clearly showcase their animalic nuances instead of incorporating them shyly. However, Kouros' animality is clearly dominated by civet or a perfume base called 'Animalis' (which can also be found very clearly in Dior's 'Leather Oud'), while the animalic component of 'Maai' is no less clearly contested by castoreum (beaver musk). Beaver musk is often a component of many leather chypres from the 70s/80s, and thus 'Maai' is much more likely to reference fragrances like the aforementioned 'VC&A pour Homme', Jil Sander's 'Man Pure', or Chanel's 'Antaeus', which at least in its vintage version had a similarly pronounced castoreum-dominated base (which unfortunately is hardly recognizable today...).

Due to these unexpected and sometimes abrupt scene changes, 'Maai' remains for me an exciting yet also quite disparate fragrance that I can only enjoy partially.
I find the first phase, as I said, fantastic, while in the second I feel rather uncomfortable, olfactorily dressed in a girl's costume. The third phase, on the other hand, is for me a kind of throwback to my youth when I couldn't get enough of castoreum fragrances and even bathed in them. Today, it feels a bit too much of a good thing, but I can live with it.

What I find wonderful, however, is the seemingly unlimited use of oakmoss - I haven't smelled that in a long time. Great! Apparently, Gardoni uses here, in addition to the limited-use oakmoss, a fully valid oakmoss substitute, or perhaps that new allergen-free oakmoss, with which Thierry Wasser and others have been working for some time and which makes fragrances like 'Mitsouko' smell wonderfully (oak)mossy again after a long time.
Whatever it is, this aspect of the fragrance is fantastic!

What I also like about 'Maai' is that the fragrance, unlike 'Mem', is not overly orchestrated. The number of notes is somewhat manageable, the fragrance is not excessively loaded and has a pleasant, not overwhelming texture (Mem).

However, whether Gardoni can take over the legacy of the sadly deceased Vero Kern with his highly praised fragrances, as has often been read, I doubt.
As interesting and wonderfully scented as his creations sometimes are, I feel he does not reach the artistry of the Swiss perfumer.
Maybe not yet, let's see...