Bahiana
Maître Parfumeur et Gantier (2005)

Grapefruit, tropical fruit, floral and woody notes. Closely resembles Minotaure from Pablo Picasso, and to a lesser extent South Bay from The different Company. Both Bahiana and Route du Vetiver share a pleasant sort of bitter freshness.

From January, 2015:

To me, Bahiana comes across as a fruity-green sweet citrus fragrance almost candy-like at times, but also quite natural so it remains smooth and pleasant throughout. It leaves a mellow, tropical impression and makes me imagine walking by a garden somewhere in the South Pacific on a pleasant, breezy day. There are crisp, watery green notes, light florals, and something vaguely resembling a refreshing cocktail. Although coconut is listed in the notes, Bahiana doesn't enlist the sweet, creamy variety that's found in scents like Philosykos and Virgin Island Water. So if you're looking for that, you're better off looking elsewhere. Instead, coconut as it's interpreted here refers to Agua de Coco, or coconut water, and its cooling green transparency, much different than and not to be confused with coconut milk. Bahiana's a light scent, with maybe a foot of projection at the most, but it's okay in this instance as it seems to be the intention rather than a flaw in the perfume itself. As it dries down, it fades into a subtly clean and fresh base of woody white musk and it serves itself well as a classy, understated conclusion.

A nice choice for the spring or summer, what I enjoy most about Bahiana is its subtlety. Besides its soft sillage, the sweet notes never become too sweet, the florals serve as accents, and rather than coconut milk, which might be the obvious choice, Bahiana incorporates coconut's greener and more watery facets. Thumbs up and worth sampling, Bahiana is 100% unisex; there's nothing in here that would be difficult to pull off for men or women. If I have one complaint, it's that the longevity is a bit short-lived. I get about 4 hours with it, though it's an enjoyable four hours and sometimes that's all I really need.

EDIT: Having worn this a few more times since my review I have noticed some creamier aspects of the coconut note come out as well. It's subtle, but provides a nice soft texture and just a little bit of that classic coconut milk smell in the

This is not my genre. The woods in this do not work for me.

I cannot shake the association of the synthetic smell from the Guerlain Aqua Allegoria fragrances.

Lively ‘wake up, wake up' citrus at the start – mainly lemon to my nose with a bit of something mandarine-like as well – a good burst that includes citrus leaf accents among the peel. Faint cologne-like spicing; the coconut is just a hint of something creamy and foamy; discreet woods in the backdrop. I can see how this ticks the ‘refreshing' box for summer. But it is also all much of a muchness, settling minutes into the wear into its pretty boring and somewhat soapy citrus and light woods statement.

I was going to stick this one with a downer review but I feel the soft, warm spice of elemi saved this composition from just being a party girl's mixed drink. Sure, Bahiana smells playful, sunny, and juicy, but it is very much fleeting, and without depth. There are most certainly people who would just as soon consort with airheads, bimbos, and playful, puppy-like drunks, but I myself usually prefer company with more substance.
If you think Jimmy Buffett is a great songwriter you might like Bahiana just fine.

I was offered this as an "Alternative" to Ananas Fizz. Fresh and citrussy-pineapple fruity to begin with, then dries down to Pina Colada, with a pleasant green afterthought. It does not last for ages, but is very pleasant as a summer fragrance. Smells almost good enough to eat. I didn't detect much flower in there.

Bahiana is a fruity-vanilla scent (perhaps what I call vanilla it's coconut: it smells vanilla to me, though) with zesty fresh head notes and a subtle white breeze of flowers. It is so linear it's basically all there: fruits, vanilla, citrus, flowers. For hours. Decent, but utterly boring and a tad cloying after a while.

5/10

Bahiana is an absolute delight from beginning to end. Part of the delight comes from surprise – this is the rare tropical fruity floral that manages to side step all of the “flip-flops and pina colada” associations that usually go along with the genre. It opens on the most realistic note of freshly peeled mandarins that I have ever smelled. It is so good that I blinked in astonishment and then spent the next few hours spritzing it on again to play this part of the show back again.

Of course, the volatile citrus cannot be sustained, but it is a testament to the skill of perfumer Jeanne-Marie Faugier (who did Vespres Siciliennes for MDCI and Caravelle Epicee for Frapin) that what follows is as interesting and well-done as the start. It is basically a light rose and citrus duo resting on a bed of creamy guaiac wood and coconut. The coconut here is not the shouty, suntan oil type of coconut used in everything from Creed's Virgin Island Water (which I quite enjoy) to Serge Lutens' Un Bois Vanille (which I don't). Rather, it is present in the perfume only as a sort of breezy, salty wood accent that calls to mind more the fibrous husk of the coconut rather than the flesh itself.

The dry down is remarkable for sustaining the essential character of the fruit and woods accord right to the end – in my experience, tropical fruity-florals usually verge off into sourness (Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, to give a prime example) or die a sudden death on my skin after a mere two hours (Virgin Island Water). Make no mistake about it – this is no heavy-hitter in the sillage or longevity stakes. You do need to reapply after four hours, which is the most I can get out of it. But the scent is so beautifully light, balanced, and natural-smelling, that reapplying it just makes me happy to be smelling it all over again. If you are looking for a tropical fruity floral that has brains, class, and lasts longer than a traditional eau de cologne, then this one should be in the running. Its genius lies in making you feel like you are relaxing on a beach without actually smelling like a beach. Perfect for people, like me, who work in an urban jungle and who need a shot of sunshine (but not a shot of tequila).

Genre: Citrus

Notes: Brazilian orange, caipirinha limon, mandarin, tagette, green leaf, rosewood, gaiac wood, elemi, amber, musk, coconut

With listed notes like mandarin and coconut, I feared this might be a pina colada for the skin. Surprise! The opening is tropical fruit alright, but the accord comes off more like ripe mango, guava, and perhaps even a bit of passionfruit, rather than suntan lotion. Soon after application I found a buttery-smooth woody note welling up under the fruit. Could it be sandalwood? Checking the notes, I decide it must be the rosewood and gaiac at Bahiana's heart. And a beautifully handled wood it is! It blends with the bone-dry coconut note to form a warm cushion for the exotic fruits.

This is indeed tropical, and strictly for summertime. That said, Bahiana is the richest, most complex, and most lasting fruit fragrance I've encountered in a long time. It persists for at least 6 or 8 hours on me, with a lingering amber, musk, and wood drydown just lightly touched with fruit esters. How MPG gets those citrus notes to last so long is beyond me, but I'm certainly not going to complain.

Thank you, MPG!

Here is fuller notes list.
TOP: Brazilian orange, Caipirinha lemon, yellow mandarin
MID: Tagette, leafy greens, rosewood, gaiac wood, elemi
BASE: musk, amber, coconut.

First of all -- the coconut and amber are very subtle and (as a fan of neither) not a problem here. No suntan-lotion vibe, no buttery-rich sweetness.
This is a lovely unisex scent, certainly dry enough for a guy to enjoy.
Starts with lovely orange-citrus notes: soft and gentle, rather than acidic.
Then there are leafy and woody notes, all of which are very natural and subtle.
Settles into a very pleasant citrus-wood.
There is only the merest hint of coconut -- more in the green fig line.
Lovely woody dry-down.
A subtle scent, should have a broad appeal.

This one seems made for summer and summer seems made for it. Bahiana is very suitable for the hot typical weather of Bahia and seems a sophisticated and balanced composition of fresh, citrus notes over flowers with a soft and sparkling aroma, with discreet fruity touches and a light woody base. Very comfortable on days that you don't feel like wearing anything because of the heat.

Woodsy coconut - something new! This scent says "tropical" to me, right from the get-go. It is a fruity, woodsy coconut and is incredibly well-executed. This is not your typical summer fragrance–light, refreshing, and warm at the same time. During the dry-down the woods and musk take over, which to me feels confusing in a tropical scent, but I would definitely wear this every once in a while. It's so creative and fun in a grown-up way--a truly original summer scent.