Maroussia Slava Zaïtsev 1992 Eau de Toilette

What on earth were they thinking, taking a perfume that has so many fans off the market, only to re-release it in grotesquely altered form?

The surprise was great when I had the chance to snag a vintage version a few weeks ago. It reminds me a lot of the old Samsara, which is one of my absolute favorites. You can clearly smell the real, creamy sandalwood, and the fragrance notes listed here refer to both the old and the new version.
Unfortunately, the quality of the ingredients and the blending ratio of the fragrance notes have completely changed. Civet and frankincense (which must be included) remain subtly in the background in the vintage variant, while in the new version, it almost overwhelms you, so it’s best tested at -20°. The sandalwood has lost its radiance, which is always a clear sign of a synthetic substitute, as I have yet to encounter a good sandalwood surrogate.

Still, I must admit that it is an unusual perfume with a very high recognition value, which not everyone dares to wear, and you really need a strong presence and healthy self-confidence to convincingly convey the poisonous sillage and longevity.

The top note doesn’t play a significant role here. Primarily, I perceive heliotrope, jasmine, rose, benzoin, sandalwood, tonka bean, vanilla, cedar, civet, and the unlisted frankincense.

I give the unreformulated version 100%, while the reformulated one gets "only" 80%, because it is still a special perfume, albeit not wearable by everyone, which unfortunately could not match the old quality.
6.2.2014: The current bottle looks a bit different again. I will test at some point whether the fragrance has been reformulated again.