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Quattroventi - Maestrale 2008

7.3 / 10 16 Ratings
A perfume by Paolo Gigli for women, released in 2008. The scent is woody-spicy. It is being marketed by Nello Gigli & Figlio.
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Main accords

Woody
Spicy
Sweet
Fresh
Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Mandarin orangeMandarin orange BergamotBergamot JasmineJasmine White blossomsWhite blossoms LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
BasilBasil CistusCistus LavenderLavender SageSage
Base Notes Base Notes
AmbergrisAmbergris CedarwoodCedarwood SandalwoodSandalwood VetiverVetiver
Ratings
Scent
7.316 Ratings
Longevity
7.616 Ratings
Sillage
6.114 Ratings
Bottle
8.017 Ratings
Submitted by Tivellon · last update on 06/04/2017.
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Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Meggi

1018 Reviews
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Meggi
Meggi
Top Review 23  
Two and a Half Candy Attempts
The opening of Maestrale has a toffee-like, almost liqueur quality. It takes a little while for other ingredients to make their presence known. Mandarin is fine, its juicy fruit sweetness is initially a bit jarring in this context. Then I catch a whiff of a white floral nuance, and finally, a soapy, foamy twist develops in the background. Together, this comes off as extraordinarily strange. By no means bad, after a few minutes it becomes rather pleasant. But indeed strange.

Picking out such details is certainly a bit of a challenge, as everything seems to be closely packed together. I should probably just broadly summarize it as "mild-floral fruit, subtly spicy-clean undertones." Curiously, the blend becomes increasingly candy-like as the morning progresses.

So - the one and a half attempt (the toffee from above only counts as half):
“Gooooons exclusive - our original Kräuterbonbons de Grasse. Avec ordentlisch lavender. And a tiny bit of white flowers. A drop of fruit must not be missing.”
“Who invented that?” comes the reply. It smells, maliciously sharpened, like Ricola with clean lavender. Nevertheless, the tension between candy-like floral and foamy-clean is quite charming.

By lunchtime, the mixture undergoes a fundamental transformation, becoming straightforwardly sweeter, as if - second candy attempt - more and more creaminess is sneaking in. Fortunately, not pure, no, help arrives: The rock rose provides a saving twist into the oriental. Again, this can at least be described as somewhat original.

After six or seven hours, a blend of vanilla-like, if you will, amber develops, at least directly on the skin, along with otherwise more labdanum-ambery aromas. Overall, a somewhat conventional sweet-creamy mixture is created, which, however, deserves credit for a) not smelling like sweetened whipped cream and b) not unfolding a dull, synthetic, trumpet-like aroma. In fact, the whole thing remains somewhat varied: Occasionally, small remnants of floral or white floral nature flash by, almost pronounced near the skin, bordering on the stinky. Then again, reminiscences of a spicy nature waft past or one can sense characterful resinous splashes. At the very end, in the evening, vanilla-like let’s-call-it-amber dominates.

Friends of such soft-balsamic scents with a slight edge might enjoy this Gigli creation. Personally, Maestrale does not sweep me off my feet; I simply do not understand what it really wants. And what all this has to do with the supposedly cool wind of the same name, I frankly do not understand at all. I find nothing cool about it; on the contrary. [In the meantime, I have been informed by Yalla, the donor of the sample (thank you very much!), that said wind can indeed deliver sweet warmth. Aha!]

Regarding the irritation that the relationship between purchase price and what is offered has caused among my two previous commentators, I can report that the virtual store, whose “i” recently shifted from the front to the middle, already offered the fragrance for under a hundred euros. That might fit better now - the mentioned roughly 200 was indeed a bit ambitious.
14 Comments
Dobbs

100 Reviews
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Dobbs
Dobbs
Very helpful Review 9  
High Expectations
... I associated with this fragrance, as I was enchanted and thrilled by the recently tested "Alhambra" from the same house, setting the bar quite high. Unfortunately, in the perfume world, it is often the case that high expectations are difficult to meet with an already great reference scent, and the disappointment weighs heavier the less the new fragrance lives up to those expectations.

Maestrale therefore had no easy task with me, so I gave it every chance, dedicating myself to it several evenings without reservation and subjected it to a full-day practical test today.

The first impression right after spraying is that of a typical, spicy-fresh men's fragrance. Citrusy freshness from bergamot and lemon, along with the green spiciness of various herbs that I cannot identify individually. Not bad at all, but Maestrale is actually classified as a women's fragrance, right? Generally, I don't care about gender classifications; everyone should wear what they like and what suits them, but if there has to be a categorization, I would clearly choose "men's fragrance" here.

Slightly irritated and only moderately impressed, I wait for the further development of the scent. Quite quickly, the woods of the base become clearly recognizable, giving the fragrance a bit of warmth. Initially, sandalwood dominates, then cedar takes over, while the green herbs still frolic in the background. At some point, a slightly soapy note also comes in, which I attribute to the vetiver. Amber unfortunately only shows up at the very end, which is heralded after just seven hours.

So, what should I make of this? My conclusion is that it barely passes. Maestrale smells quite pleasant and well-balanced overall, at no point does it make me wrinkle my nose in disgust. However, throughout the entire duration, I can't shake the impression of a typical men's fragrance - not exactly one of the cheapest kind, but also nothing particularly special or surprising. Furthermore, Maestrale comes across as rather old-fashioned, lacking power and depth; it doesn't evoke any images that one would typically associate with the term Mistral. For a fragrance around €50, that might be forgivable, but for a scent that demands €200, it's simply not enough.
7 Comments
MissPiggy

57 Reviews
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MissPiggy
MissPiggy
Very helpful Review 7  
Mistral Wind, you cloud hunter, sorrow killer, sky sweeper, roaring one, how I love you! (Nietzsche)
A warm, dust-dry wind that sweeps through the landscape - taking and bringing scents. The Mistral is THE typical wind that blows through Mediterranean landscapes, with strength and power. The wind of Provence, with its lavender and flower fields...
And that is exactly what this fragrance conveys - in the opening, it wafts, a hint of lavender, a freshness, a coolness. Gentle sweetness of summer blooms, sun-warmed woods of ancient, crooked trees. Flickering dust in the distance, filtering the sun. Lavender, herbs, flowers, releasing their oils generously around them in the midday heat - their scent lingers in the landscape even as the sun sets, permeating it forever.
Unobtrusively, the fragrance composition of “Maestrale” unfolds from a refreshing breeze to a continuously warm stream of aroma, a note of caramel mingles with the resinous components and warm floral scents into a spicy-soft-warm, exceedingly pleasant blend.
In the background, I perceive a touch of incense - but just barely - not really disturbing (because: I find incense bothersome in higher doses - if I wanted to smell that, I would still be going to Sunday masses…religious deformation through a hardline Catholic upbringing)

This scent wind becomes ever softer, warmer, and more enveloping, laying over the skin like a veil of aromas. It does not become powdery or gourmand - nor is it distinctly bitter - but in my opinion, it is clearly to be assigned to the more “masculine” fragrances.
Good longevity brings joy, and what remains is an impression of precious wooden boxes, like those for fine tobaccos…. Soaps and jewelry.
A pleasant fragrance that does not push itself forward. However, it unfortunately does not justify the high price. I expect something a bit less inconspicuous.
3 Comments

Statements

1 short view on the fragrance
6
1
Sometimes you just need "simply beautiful" scents that still have a few edges: everyday wear. This one is one of those: floral-spicy.
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1 Comment

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