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Xeroxobenm – :
Had the tiniest drop in a very old mini and bought a brand new 3.4 oz spray today. The reformulation is very nice for a modern blend. At the same time, in comparison to the real stuff, sadly, it is but a pale, anemic, echo. The vintage flings you back into your grandma’s handbag and into another place and time. The old scent has edges and a rough sort of rawness that is intriguing. The new one is simple and shallow and linear. It is still nice and a fine daytime fragrance. I am now still smelling the vintage drydown, so nice. The modern one leaves a slightly sweet nice trace but the vintage takes me away.
goe273speagoessenda – :
All of us bookish, nerdy college girls wore this stuff in the 1960’s. Probably the best dime store/drug store fragrance ever. Absolutely adult, without being obvious. You don’t wear this stuff to seduce someone; it isn’t bait like Shalimar or the old Tabu. You wear this to feel wonderful about yourself when you’re out. Or anywhere. Maja sort of projects that you know what you’re doing.
I haven’t tried a bottle in the last 10 years; the newer stuff that came out in the late 1990’s didn’t smell the same as the stuff from the 1960’s, and judging by the other comments the stuff sold now may be even worse. Sandalwood and a lot of other base notes were a lot cheaper in the 1960’s.
But lots of this stuff sold in the 1960’s, and especially sets of it sold at Christmas. Not every woman liked it then, so there may be some of the older stuff hitting the estate sales now. Some of the bottles even came with those little rubber stoppers. If a bottle from even the 1940’s has one and no one displayed it near sunlight, the fragrance is still likely to be good.
подорожник – :
Obviously the precursor for Paloma Picasso… or maybe Picasso is a blatant copy? I love both because you can’t come by good Maja anymore and Paloma Picasso is GOOD.
REVCOM – :
Seductive, classic, delicate-sharp, bright and cozy fragrance. I used to wear this as a little girl! Lol. It is a beautiful fragrance and I
I haven’t seen it in ages.Would love to have it again fragrance again.
shura13 – :
Maja, the EDT (made in Spain, and the current formulation) was a very lucky blind buy. If you enjoy Chanel Coco or Lanvin’s My Sin, I think you will enjoy Maja. My Sin was created in the 1920’s as well, however Maja is much milder than My Sin, with a softer clove and carnation combination than those two notes usually provide. Maja is elegant, but fleeting. Fortunately it costs very little so respraying isn’t an issue.
While Maja EDT is subtle, I am most definitely not renowned for that virtue, so I went ahead and purchased the body lotion, made in Mexico, and hand wash, made in Hell.
At least I think that the Maja hand wash could be produced by the devil himself from the sulphurous stink of it. Unlike the lovely body lotion, the handwash reeks of sulphur and brimstone. I’m sure it kills germs in any case. Possibly even Super Bugs. Now this should have been called My Sin.
Mewsk087elipseskism – :
I scored a box set of the original Spanish. The scent has not deteriorated..makes me think of spicy dark red roses on a hot day. I feel happy wearing it…”saving” the lovely soap…
Recently I bought the Mexican produced Maja intensive care body lotion…the scent is not overwhelming (a plus when I need to go in public)….this is funny, but it reminds me a little (pleasantly) of old fashioned “cold cream”. Another nice thing is that it actually agrees with and heals my 70+ year old skin….many other more expensive “organic” products do not!
барабас – :
I scored a box set of the original Spanish. The scent has not deteriorated..makes me think of spicy dark red roses on a hot day. I feel happy wearing it…”saving” the lovely soap…
Recently I bought the Mexican produced Maja intensive care body lotion…the scent is not overwhelming (a plus when I need to go in public)….this is funny, but it reminds me a little (pleasantly) of old fashioned “cold cream”. Another nice thing is that it actually agrees with and heals my 70+ year old skin….many other more expensive “organic” products do not!
vadon1972 – :
So I scored an old box of the “perfume” rather than the EDT and whoaaaaaa mama! Civet, civet, civet…Don’t know if it’s just due to the age of it or if it is something used in the old formula. Once it dries down, however, the civet mellows and you no longer smell like a feral cat in heat. You’re left with a smoky soap smell with some powdery carnation. It’s nice. Nothing to write home about per se, but definitely different if you’re tired of the fruit bomb fragrances of today. It smells mature, but not old. You can tell it’s from a different era…but I think it’s a good thing.
greka – :
It would be so great to try a vintage sample of this. I can imagine it must have been lovely.
Today though it’s just soap, all the way. Nice soap admittedly – warm and cosy, with hints of carnation. But I don’t use perfume in order to smell of soap, so it’s not for me.
Upri4nik – :
It’s a powdery fresh scent that stays close to the skin. To me, I can smell the civet. Also cinnamon. A cold cinnamon, when it really should be a hot cinnamon.
It’s an exotic scent, but it’s ‘cold’. Visualizing a red satin dress without a wearer. It cooould be sexy, but there is no heat to it.
I can say it’s a very, very toned down EL’s Estee , with cinnamon? It’s not ethereal, but it could be earthy with a pinch of cinnamon oil….
Hmmmm….. I’m giving to have to give this one another try.
alsuhazieva – :
Not sure where or when I first tried this, but it has been a favorite of mine since the early 80’s. Whenever I would visit my mom in Ca. we would go all day shopping just to buy up all the Myrurgia soap and powder we could find. I am still working on them – I told her I had a lifetime supply! The perfume was a bit much for me, I tried it again recently and maybe my age or my composition have changed things, I am now able to wear it when applied lightly. But the soap and powder — I use daily, and it is always a sweet reminder of my generous and thoughtful mom.
wtcfher – :
This was a signature fragrance of mine in my teens (which was back before time began).
It was always a cheap and cheerful, but it was well composed and had the quality of being both fresh and sexy concurrently.
The new formulation is a sore disappointment. The basic fragrance with the base notes removed, and a tinny cinnamon/carnation top/mid note.
The soap still has a touch of the old magic. I don’t actually use it, preferring to let it do it’s thing in drawers, where it imparts a fresh, rich fragrance.
ivaeorv1988 – :
My most recent fragrance is a cheap under 20 buck bottle of the eau de parfum of what appears to be the reformulation of Maja which used to sell as a dab-on fragrance that was manufactured in Spain. Maja’s new formula is quite lovely but it’s not as potent and as long lasting and memorable as the old formula. I have worn the old vintage fragrances that sold in the 60’s and they came with a matching soap. The original was a spicy Oriental incense with a Gypsy Romanian flair. I smelled red roses, carnations, lavender, rosemary, patchouli, moss, musk, vetiver, spices and resins. It was more of a fully formed Oriental with a soapy like dry down of clean musk and herbs. It reminds me somewhat of Krizia Teatro Alla Scala as well as L.T. Piver’s Pompeia and of the two it’s more like Pompeia, an aromatic floral with unisex qualities and spiciness. . The new formula is best described as a subdued green soapy unisex cologne.
The opening here is of fresh citruses, pure orange without the heady orange blossom I would have liked but with sharp lemony tones. Then it embraces the minimal flowers like rose, carnation, lavender, rosemary and geranium. These are reddish flowers except the lavender which because of the rose it can turn into domestic hand soap with a rose scent. But it’s not as feminine as most rose perfumes. The spices and green notes of nutmeg, cloves and patchouli, not to mention the musk dry down, is quite masculine in the aromatic green and musky man’s cologne sort of way. I wish the cloves were more pronounced. This smells really good and clean but it is very light and fades fast. This is on me no longer than an hour. Either my skin is getting too old for perfume and it eats it up like a Venus fly trap or the fragrance was designed to last that short a time.
Otherwise this is a very mature and unique but tame unisex Oriental fragrance. It’s mysterious and exotic, a Spanish Gypsy flamenco dancer with a red veil and dress, a fan, and roses in her hair. This is definitely Spanish but glamorous and seductive. One visualizes Dolores Del Rio. This is glamorous and elegant but the scent is totally unisex. A gentleman can easily wear this fragrance if he has experience with many perfumes and colognes, including women’s Oriental perfumes. I think if a bloke has worn Opium by Yves Saint Laurent this should be a pleasant and easy to wear unisex cologne that sells as a woman’s perfume. This is somewhat like Opium except with less notes and with very soft soap and subtlety.
Maja’s a winter time cologne with warm spices and musk that matches up with coats and scarves but the feeling it gives you is more exotic, RED, smoky and aromatic, like a really bold woman in red high heels, dark hair, red lipstick, a street walker in Seville (but in a sexy way). There’s also something 1920’s about it and I suppose that’s because it IS a vintage from 1921. Has a sort of a flapper juice vibe. The aroma chemicals give it a tobacco flavor and smoke like from the cigarette of a flapper. Smells like a flamboyant liberated 1920’s flapper in pearls and skirt who would alternate this frag with Shalimar . Evening and formal but spiced up and seductive. Absolutely gorgeous but I wish the EDP new formula would last longer and have more of a body.
mightt – :
soap, soap, and more soap. Bearable with the patchouli but will be passing this one on.
Januso – :
I would love to smell the original Maja. I love mildly spicy perfumes so when I saw the cloves and patchouli, I got it. It is light and soapy, which I love, with a bit of patch and cloves. A beautiful clean smell. My sister dropped a whole bottle on the floor, so now my broom has the most beautiful fragrance … permanently !!!!
ranert – :
My mother had this perfume when I was a child. And it was one of my first perfumes.
I remember the last bottle she had, a small (20 ml?) bottle with a dancer, relegated to the bathroom together with 3 or 4 cheap-looking small bottles of something called “Chipre” (spelled like this) that, if my memory is correct, smelled strongly like patchouli and moss and something green but dark. She had stopped wearing Maja when she discovered Choc de Cardin, which became her signature scent.
A few years later I started wearing those, the “Chipre” one when I wanted to wear something darker, unisex and not floral at all, the Maja when I wanted to wear something feminine but feel more like a woman than when I wore my Don Algodon.
If I recall correctly, Maja smelled strongly of carnation and spices. I have the memory of something floral but warm, vaguely carnal but still classy enough that I was allowed to wear it.
I loved the bottle, and the dancer. I even took the bottle to drawing class to school once, when the teacher wanted us to bring something to draw.
I wore it till the last drop. Those “Chipre” small bottles as well. These I wore to school with pleasure when I wanted to feel special. (The samples of the expensive perfumes like Samsara, Shalimar or Panthère, those I would reserve to use a single drop when I really, really needed a pick me up).
Later, there were years in which I only had and wore my one perfume, Don Algodon, and later still the dark years of having a skin problem and being unable to wear any scent at all, unless it was the scent of the treatment products.
And then thankfully my skin got better, and slowly I started wearing perfume again.
I have several perfumes I love and wear.
Maja, I miss it.
antiDMX – :
I know nothing about the original perfume. I have smelled the soap though and the to are different the soap being more spicy. With that knowledge you notice immediately that the perfume is a pale version of something that used to be more complex from the beginning. I can’t single out any specific note but it is a combination of a very pale Paloma Picasso and, in my opinion or at least on me, Shiseido Zen. I like wearing scents like this on rainy days.
I sometimes use Chanel Chance Edp but I find this is a good alternative if you feel Chanel Chance Edp is overwhelming. It was not expensive, worth the price.
Lopa – :
I don’t want this to be another review moaning about reformulations but I promise I have something constructive to say later on! I do like to give reformulations a chance simply because vintages in good condition are so scarce in Australia. It seems Maja has changed quite a bit.
I wish my sister still had her original bottle from the 80’s. I remember it being so wonderfully rich and intriguing. I have the new reformulation which is nice enough, but seems to be a toned down version of the original.
While experimenting one day, I layered Maja over CK Secret Obsession and discovered that it worked so well! It gave Maja some of the woody, spicy backbone of the original. It’s not a perfect match but I wanted to share because it may help another hopeless nostalgic.
Expaxidiola – :
I have got the soap today, my client brouht it for me from Spain. Dont know if to keep it, or start using it in my collection. ….
tusik – :
First off, I know NOTHING about the vintage version of this. I have (likely) a newer reformulation and just love it. It is everything I love. Warm, spicy, elegant, unique and not the least bit sweet. I think that as much as I like this formulation, I would have loved the vintage as I am a big fan of cinnamon fragrances. As it is, this is likely more wearable for daytime work situations as I imagine the vintage is more of a powerhouse for date night! But I love mine and plan to get a back up bottle. Longevity is good, I can get 7-9 hours and if I use it with the soaps and lotions, I can get a good 12+ hours and still kind of smell it the next day. While I can appreciate the loss of the old Maja, I feel this one is an elegant, classy lady. I don’t find it the least bit old ladyish.
boxivideokurs – :
What i can say about this well-known worldwide classic is that the current formulation doesn’t smell like the original formulation my latina mother and grandmother were familiar with. The original fragrance was much more bold and spicy, as were a lot of the yesteryear fragrances of my grandmother’s era.
The new formulation is milder, a bit soapier, and a paler version of its former incarnation. In today’s world of fragrance, it isn’t too impressive, but not bad either. It’s a fragrance down the middle. I suppose in another era, it would’ve been more inviting, but i would rather cough up my money and get something more compelling elsewhere.
You can pretty much find gift sets that feature the fragrance and soap at many grocery stores and Hispanic drugstores here in south Florida where i live. And you can find the bath gels easily at the grocery stores as well. If anyone is really in need of this fragrance, just come down here. It always seems to be in stock.
Menvd037bedyWelty – :
I would describe it as Palloma Picasso legere. In comparison to PP Maja is much more friendly. Cosy and feminine frag for colder days.
palace – :
I tried first its soap…a luxurious soap that smells creamy herbal. I like the soap very much, and eventually I had chance to try the perfume…it is good, somewhat watery and light. Reminds me a little of Dana Tabu but much lighter. But I’d preferred the soap than the perfume 🙂
VAKA – :
A lovely, surprisingly modern spicy floral. This isn’t your typical big, old school oriental: Maja is spicy but not heavy, light but with substance, interesting but likeable. It has a flowery lightness that fits in well with the modern style but a dirty, earthy edge as well. I wear niche fragrances all the time and I’m actually getting bored with them, and mainstream fragrances are uninteresting from the beginning. This was a refreshing change from both. I don’t think I have the vintage but I’m enjoying this very much. Great value for the price!
Ethigecinee – :
MAJA
MYRURGIA
GROUP: ORIENTAL
NOTES: nutmeg, carnation, patchouli, cloves, vetiver, rose, geranium, citruses and lavender
SILLAGE: MODERATE Radiates Within Arm’s Length
LONGEVITY: MODERATE 3 to 6 hours
REMINDS ME OF: HABANITA MOLINARD
Launched in Spain in 1921 by Myrurgia, this Oriental perfume is a spicy, sexy, seductive, aromatic tobacco scented Spanish dame. She is Carmen from Bizet’s opera. This is a strong unisex fragrance with a lot going on for it: spices, patchouli, cloves, and floral notes of rose and carnation. When it starts it’s like a fougere as it contains lavender at the top and some fresh citrus. It reminds me of men’s colognes and aftershaves. It then turns slightly floral with rose and carnation and of the two the carnation is the stronger scent. As it dries down it’s a lot of cloves and patchouli. It’s dark, spicy, aromatic, and filled with smoke. I can see how it was popular in the early 20’s as it really does smell like something on flappers. Women were smoking cigarettes and cigars for the very first time out in public when they were not allowed to do so in the less liberated pre-20th century times. This scent is unisex but for me it’s more feminine like a woman who smokes in your face. Naughty, sexy and spicy. I find it less Oriental and definitely more Spanish although it does still wear like an Oriental. This was one of many of the Orientals that were coming out before Shalimar. Incense, tobacco, cloves and carnation for days. However the scent is more like soap on your skin and does not project outwardly too much. There are matching soaps too that smell like this fragrance. I have the soaps and also I have the Nueva Maja or New Maja which is not a reformulation but a reissue and smells the same as the original. If you like Orientals and spicier smokier scents this one is a beauty. Great for evening wear and date nights. Hot. Sure to seduce anyone around you.
vitalie bejan – :
Suzy, I think it’s the new formulation. I just bought it offline and think it’s the Mexican made version.
Donimusuuu – :
Oh, Maja, the chypre of my dreams! Dry but not sharp, soapy but not nose-burning, “Maja” is exactly what you’re looking for if you want a classic chypre that isn’t too murky and green.
“Maja” opens on a spicy, plummy rose note mixed with a hint of creamy carnation. Spikes of velvety green seem to emerge around this bouquet and a tart sweetness sets in. Slightly berry-esque but not too jammy. Just an underlying, wine red berriness is evident.
As “Maja” goes on, its greens take on a castille soap like quality and the spices smooth into a subtle hum. To me, the spice feels like a mix between cardamon, coriander, anise and pepper; not quite as sweet as cinnamon but imparting a sort of overall spiciness that’s very subtle.
On drydown, the patchouli in “Maja” really shows itself and it’s the liquored, jammy, suede patchouli found in older blends. Clean but not ethereal. At this point, the anise has totally merged with the rose into a dark red feeling mix, that reminds me a little of currant cordial. That sort of fluid, jammy, smooth liquor scent. All over shadowy, sueded patchouli and slightly bitter but creamy castille soap.
If you love dark rose blends like “Voleur des Roses” by L’artisan Parfumeur and prefer mysterious “church incense” blends, you’ll love “Maja”. It is totally clean smelling but in a very classic, vivacious and textured way. There’s something very nostalgic to this for me and I must have smelled it on women around me when I was a little girl.
Update — I just realized i’d already reviewed this! Sorry! I stand by both, though! I love the hard castile soap drydown.
жека88 – :
Maja, you are beautiful. How true having a flamenco dancer as a poster girl! And if this formulation is a pale imitation of the archetypal I can only think how marvellous this scent used to be. For some time now I have been trying to find a scent similar to the spicy version of Sacre Intense. Maja is not the same but it belongs to the same category of bold,spicy, fierce rose. To me, roses will always be red, carnal, aromatic and bold, like the ones my maternal grandmother used to grow in her garden. An Anatolian woman, through and through, she loved her roses, they revealed something of her character, her love for life and creativity and her indomitable spirit. This is exactly the rose of Maja. It opens up spicy, but not harsh. The rose rounds up beautifully the carnation and cloves and adds a silky touch to it. These are the main players. The rest of the notes contribute enough adding a touch of freshness preventing the composition from becoming too girly or sugary. Over time it gets more powdery but still aromatic. A scent for a Woman, (or Man, it is quite unisex), and one that is confident and flirty. I will get the soaps too as they seem to be identical to the original Maja which I only wish I could try. One of my favourites.
alfastar – :
A girl friend of mine from Cuba who lives in Miami told me about this perfume and said she’d love to smell it on me. I’m a professional singer and dancer and I perform tangos and I’d heard from reviews on Fragrantica that this is a sexy spicy scent for tango dancers. Ok I gave it a shot. Wow. This smells so good. It’s an aromatic spicy scent and I normally don’t care for too much spice but this is really nice. The lavender and carnation combo is what most stands out. It opens with citrus, nutmeg, cloves and it softens too floral scents of rose and lavender. The carnation is clearly the big player here. There is patchouli but it’s not too intense, there’s also vanilla. I don’t think the list of notes on here is accurate. There seems to be more going on: incense, myrrh, spices, oak moss. But it’s not as intense as one would imagine. It’s actually very soft and a skin scent. It works with my skin chemistry. It is so incredibly sexy. I do feel like a tango dancer from Argentina wearing this fragrance. After trying it on I can’t find any other event to wear it except for my tangos. Love this. Thanks Fragrantica for filling my life with fragrance.
ebd956Bessinepome – :
Lucky me! Groupon had a”deal” on Maja. I DID NOT buy it, but something tickled my memory. I remembered these fantastic soaps my grandmother and mother had. …and then remembered the pretty much “nearly” empty bottle of Maja, sticky, resinous, and strong smelling just from the perfume’s use, sitting for years on my mother’s dresser, most likely handed down from my Grandmother from her travels in Europe. After closing the Groupon app, I went off in search of that bottle which has nestled in one drawer or another reminding me of my mother and grandmother both, and my “genes” for loving perfume. There it was, and now is in my hands. My bottler is simple with a label that says Spain and made in Mallorca, Barcelona with a street address. The cap is red, lettering red (actually brickish red), juice is amber brown red and thick with age, not green. It is heaven in a bottle, very thick, sticky and syrupy and after decades, going strong just from my touching the bottle where perfume has leaked. Merely by touch transfer of hand to bottle to my neck, I get a spicy amber, carnation, somewhat sweet scent like honey and tobacco, rose powder, even trace tuberose, incense!, sandal wood, touch of orange flower, very light patchouli, wood smells overall, and other florals my nose cannot identify. It is simultaneously spicy, soft, powdery, old fashioned in the best way. Longevity is’till the next day. The 80s went for this in perfume. But this is far grander. For those of you who remember Vallee Des Rois, this has an echo in the dry down only (not at all in beginning), or vice versa since VDR came much later in 90’s. I’m so glad I found this gem again.
guartiptuplep – :
Reformulation Blues. I really do miss Maja.
It was sexy, but not overpowering.
It was easy to wear, but distinctive.
The new version is so different from the original formula as to be a new species. A family member bought me a gift set because they remembered that I loved this fragrance. Unfortunately it was the new formula and was nothing like the Maja I used to wear. I still have a few of the wrapped soaps to remind me of what Maja smelled like in its’ glory days. Hopefully, it will be Ebay to the rescue!
Immuddefoddes – :
MAJA THE SPANISH TANGO DANCER
Maja wears like a fragrance for Carmen of Bizet’s opera. She is a liberated, independent and very sexy femme fatale who is passionate, lively, strong, confident and devil-may-care. The vintage original is a totally 1920’s fragrance which had a dominant rose accord with some citrus notes, incense, civet, musk and sandalwood. It was rather strong and had a unisex quality could wear like a man’s cologne. It was a Gloria Swanson Rudolph Valentino both wore it type of fragrance. I can also smell it on Dolores Del Rio. The 20’s version sold through the 30’s and 40’s. Sometime in the early 60’s it was re-issued but not reformulated. They called Nueva Maja or New Maja but it was the same old formula. On ebay if you find the Nueva Maja it’s still the vintage original and it smells terrific. The fragrance comes with matching soap but the soap smells like the fragrance and it somehow turns more masculine. I did like the vintage more than the new version although I have a new reformulated version as well. The new one is softer, inoffensive. The civet was removed as was the incense and sandalwood. Instead it has some notes I never thought could be used on Maja: nutmeg. It was like someone said “add nutmeg”. It’s actually quite good. It makes it spicy and can still feel very Latin. The rose note is soft and barely perceptible. The carnation is stronger in the new formula. Thank God it has patchouli as the only “incense” type of note. Patchouli here really makes it true to the original as it’s the only strong masculine note in it. The lavender and geranium notes may be here but I coudln’t feel it. It smells more of a carnation-patchouli to me. The new one is not unisex because the carnation is coming off as highly feminine. It’s seductive, sexy and soft. The new formula wears more like the same Spanish tango dancer from the 20’s that has now aged and become more sedate, quieter, and just sits down to watch others dance. It’s really quite beautiful. I recommend both the old and new formulas and the soaps. This is a rich, luxurious evening fragrance to wear for black tie galas dinner parties and other special ocassions that take place at night.
mib2005 – :
I saw Maja while fragrance shopping and instantly thought of my late grandmother, who was known to stash Maja soap about the place amongst clothes, linen etc. It must have been the done thing!
What I got was something so fleetingly nice, fresh, crisp and carnation and fortunately I didn’t blink, otherwise I’d have missed it. Within minutes, the scent turned to soap, soap and more soap and then silence.
Looks as though I’m going to have to buy a cake of Maja soap to get a feel for the fragrance, as the juice in the bottle certainly gave me a feel for soap.
Sillage: Soft
Longevity: Po.. (that’s the word ‘poor’ being cut short)
Ddimmikk – :
SUZYSCHNABEL, i live in Mexico and i got a vintage version of this perfume and the new one (not reformulated) Maja body spray that is the Original Scent…. to me both the vintage version and the body spray (new) smell EXACTLY THE SAME WAY and both have very good longevity too. i also buy the soaps and the powder, very affordable products that i love to wear everyday, i keep other more expensive perfumes when i want to indulge myself but this Maja is a real comfort everyday fragrance to me. i had the petite robe noir (didn’t repurchase it because the lasting power was very poor on my skin) but i liked the fragrance and Maja is very similar to it, i find the same sweetnes in the patchouli and orange flower composition. so if you have the chance to get the Maja Body Spray (comes in 200ml, plastic bottle) buy it instead of other vintage versions
alexkutaisi – :
When I was living away from home, I had a Japanese housemate who bathed with Maja soap and left opened cakes of the stuff in his drawers to scent his clothing. I’m talking about the round, tissue-wrapped soap, not the cheaper rectangular ones, which I later discovered don’t smell quite the same.
At the time I knew nothing of Maja, not even that it was for women–the carnation-geranium-vetiver-incense scent of the soap smelled quite masculine to me–so I absent mindedly purchased a giftset on a steep discount while at the pharmacy picking up a prescription one day. It came with talc and the rectangle soaps.
Eager to smell like carnation-geranium-vetiver goodness, I opened the box and sprayed with reckless abandon when I got home.
What a mistake. No, mistake is an understatement. It was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions! Whatever they’ve done to this fragrance, whenever they did it, I hope they realise what a mistake they made, and I hope they fix it. It smells NOTHING like the large round soaps, which I now understand smell closer to the original perfume. I don’t know how to describe this more accurately, the best I can do is this: Maja smells like old people. NOT old fashioned perfume/cologne (which I like). Old people themselves. When we age, we get a build up of a kind of fatty acid in our bodies that is responsible for ‘old person smell.’ This smells like that, only amplified twenty-fold and doused in rancid Red Door, with a lingering smell of stale cigarette smoke. And it clings. Boy, does it cling. I had to clean the bedroom top-to-bottom twice to get rid of it.
Five stars for the soap (wonderful stuff!), minus five for this!
baburdim – :
I got a vintage version of this perfume and it’s just lovely… at first spray I can smell sweet patchouli wrapped in a delicate veil of nutmeg and citruses (like mandarin and fresh cut oranges) the scent it’s just so beautiful and the cloves in this composition is so subtle… longevity is good enough to last up to 6hrs. but I also reapply it when i want to keep it lasting more, the smell lasts also in my clothes until i do the laundry the next day….
so cheap too…. in the drydown it smells very similar to La petite robe noir ( I think it is very similar to it as i find the same smell of citruses, patchouli and spices) and it is as delicately sweet as LPRN… to me this is the cheap version of Guerlain’s petite robe so if you like this perfume and don’t want to spend all the money in this perfume this one is the best option
kotuk3434 – :
Thank you to the previous post, the soaps are still fabulous…don’t mention the pretend Maja perfume! I used it exclusively as a teenager, sadly it is no more, truly a great loss.
nafTwimi – :
Don´t buy this unless it´s a vintage. Maja is dead. This is not even a reformulation but an entirely different product. The old Maja was powerful, dark and sexy, special and peculiar. The new Maja is just like those generic EDT given for free in small plastic flask at hotels, unsexy and impossible to remind. Someone at Myrurgia had too many brandys and decided to screw one of their classics, the precursor of Opium. I hope that some day they´ll rectify this mess. I´m trying to find the EDP just in case it is still unreformulated. The soaps, luckily, still smell the same.
snow888 – :
My mom used to wear this and I love it so much.
fear195 – :
Maja hard-milled hand soap was brought back to me by a friend travelling Portugal 40 years ago, & I’ve used it for years in my guest bath & to perfume my drawers because I like the fresh, clean, spicy scent. I don’t care for the cologne or perfume. Best now is the shower/bath wash & the liquid soap, both of which smell wonderful and are inexpensive and now available from CVS.
kareno76 – :
In the late 1950’s my mom received a bot