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BeedVadet – :
A very warm and comfortable scent. Opens with a juicy orange note, followed by carnation and civet which gives it a nice fleshy touch, but it does come with a urine trace. The cinnamon that joins works well, putting some spice into the warm concoction. The orange is barely there at this point, but it does blend into a delicious caramelized desert, which is quite surprising.
Scent: 6/10
manuk88 – :
This is wonderful!
I am hyper-aware of the building-blocks of the scent, as I smell my wrist, testing this beauty.
The orange is as clear if I had just sliced open the fruit itself and splashed my wrist with its citric juice. For me, this lasted a good 5-10 minutes. Just this – it was lovely.
Next came a bouquet of pink carnations. So pretty and spicy! It played so well with the orange, and it was a combination that I would not have thought would work. Rose pushed its way in, and turned up the volume to a more sensual character. Really liking this!
OH! Now I am getting the cinnamon! This is delightful! The rose and cinnamon have moved into a more dominant role, while the orange and carnation have taken more of a supporting role. Oh this is most certainly FBW!
And now (about 30-45 minutes in) we are hitting a luxurious dry-down, complete with sandalwood, patchouly and very mild civet.
This is a gem only unearthed by the gift of friendship.
vadstiv – :
Judging by a number ov reviews I’ve read, I assumed that this was going to be a big, sweet Oriental, but while it veers into Oriental territory I wouldn’t have thought of it that way if I had smelled it first without reading reviews. I’m saying this so that people who aren’t into oriental scents won’t make the same assumptions I did about it before trying it. Descriptions of it can sometimes conjure visions of Guerlain’s Shalimar, but Maharanih is nothing like that. It has a huge orange-ish note in te opening but unlike some others have said, it isn’t a candied orange as there is something more bitter and dry about it. I get cinnamon, but I don’t get cloves. I get hints of sandalwood, but I don’t the get chocolate or civet at all. What I do get (I’m testing this sample in one of the coldest February’s on record here in DC) is a bitter, dry, almost peppery, woody orange insense scent that is straining to blosssom under the weather conditions, but can never quite make it. Even with that, I like what I am getting from it. But I agree with veruska, the first person to review this scent: it probably needs to be tested during the warmer end of spring or in summer to experience the fullness of the scent, so I’ll save my sample until then.
adv2000 – :
I have discovered my “orange Jello” test….*blink* I looooove Orange blossom and several other Orange notes but this one never leaves the Jello world on my skin. Major bummed.
dymin_ilia – :
This is a question mark for me as I adore any fragrance that is spicy and rich. I put some on before bed and was amazed that it lingered so well throughout the night but sadly there was something that smelled harsh and sour which deterred me from loving it totally. It very well may be the bitter orange or the orange itself.
All her perfumes are worth a good try and I will do so. The unique quality of her confections are obvious and lovely to experience, whether they work well with one’s chemistry or not.
sprinter80 – :
Maharanih Intense is lovely. My main comment is that on me, it really comes to life in warm weather/heat. I’m wearing it today, and outside where it is warm and humid, it is gorgeous, spicy, citrus and enveloping. Now, inside in the AC it is a bit more tame. An interesting scent that can easily be worn by women or men.
TampemispROXBURY – :
I get a completely different impression of Maharanih Intense than everyone else, apparently! I don’t get a loud or rough opening at all, and not a not a sharp citrus/orange either. To me it opens very fresh and clean, sort of like a summer morning still with dew on the grass. It soon turns quite sweet, but still very clean. I don’t usually combine sweetness with this type of cleanness, but this fragrance manages to do it. It makes me think of good soap. (I never found out what “soapy” means perfume-wise, so I don’t dare say that). After about 4 hours I detect “summer spices” (does that even exist?) and the sweetness is now very faint, but definitely there still. Patchouli and civet discreetly sneak in through the back door. The patchouli is very, very discreet here, and the civet doesn’t seem animalic at all. Another contradiction, how can civet not be animalic? well, that’s how it is. An elegant civet? Don’t get me wrong, I love civet, but it’s not usually elegant in this discreet way – more bossy if it doesn’t have that raw animalic vibe that most civets have. All in al very elegant. Warm, fresh, aloof. An impossible combination, I’d say. I would wear it mostly on not-too-warm summer days and it would be great for work. The longevity is amazing, about 10 hours! Sillage is discreet. I get whiffs when I move around, but I don’t think others would notice it more than maybe a foot away. A very good blind swap!
vitya.denis – :
On me this is uber-oriental. Lots and lots of vanilla, benzoin, or similar, and unfortunately those sweets smell very synthetic. I also get a nice big animalic note about an hour in; my favorite surprise appearance. Otherwise, warm spices. Nice enough. I wish I got that patchouli that others seem to be rating highly.
olenka_fomina – :
Very original and classy… although at the beginning a little bit agressive…
One must-have for me !
DAG STYLE – :
Impressive! One of the best feminine fragrance that can be easily worn even by a man without fearing of being fussy. Super persistence.
дод – :
The basic sketch of this perfume (orange, lavender, and amber) could be steered in a number of directions. Those elements would suggest harmony to me. But then again I’m not Patricia de Nicolai. Maharanih is all about angles and contrasts. It’s loud and actually rather rough. The contrasts are not so much intriguing as unresolved. The notes struggle against one another and never enhance each other.
The ongoing conflict means there’s not a lot of development over the course of Maharanih. Loud and constant. Unfortunately, this gives Maharanih more the feel of a parfum d’ambiance than something you’d want to wear.
I find there’s something similar both in tone and in composition between Maharanih and de Nocolai’s Patchouli Homme. Their effect is that they sit on you, not that you wear them. I’ve never quite been able to wear them comfortably, though I’ve worn each a good number of times.
123vova – :
I tried Number One and Maharanih Intense. I loved both, but Maharanih is my favourite! It’s a glorious ladylike, Indian-like, exotic yet elegant fragrance that stays true to its end, only fading very gradually. It needs a little time to set on my skin, but after a few minutes it blooms with strong flowers mixed with spices. The orange effect is very strong but doesn’t last too long. The patchouli and soft animalic effect are there and stick to skin.
As soon as I smelled this one I thought “India!”
Maybe patchouli is the trigger for it, but I expected to find more notes in the list, because it is a very complex scent or at least it smells so.
I imagine this on an exotic elegant lady, not too shy anyway, because Maharanih screams power! I think that the name means “great queen” and is suitable!
The lasting power is very long and fading gradually as it usually happens with high quality intense perfumes in the line of old Guerlains, but no Guerlinade here and sometimes it comes as a relief.
sergei1167 – :
Sadly, on me this fragrance was a disappointment. I got a huge blast of ‘fizzy’ orange that refused to go away for ages – eventually some woody vanilla emerged but then it all faded away. I was hoping for deep,rich orange,cinnamon and incense as others had found but mostly I got orangina! But it is January so I shall try it again when I go back to buy a bottle of Sacrebleu!
Tileromix – :
Parfums de Nicolaï is one of my favourite niche line. I still haven’t found a scent in their catalogue that i least didn’t like. This one is definitelly one of their big hits, but do sample it in summer because it doesn’t work well in wintertime.It starts with a luminous orange note that becomes woody and spicy and with a very beautiful carnation essence.The main body is very alive and active.A particualary breezy thing that fills the air and soars effortesly. A smooth and earthy patchouli ends the show. But i’m pointing it out again.I’t somehow loses it’s oomph! on chilly winter.