Maroussia
Slava Zaitsev (1992)

This just hits me in all the retro loving feels. It smells like it’s from the 80s or early 90s (and it is), and I love that. This starts off soapy and a little animalic, but that softens rather quickly and it turns into an elegant, powdery and spicey well I don’t know what. It smells like there is a lot going on, but in a good way. Spices, flowers, woods and maybe musks. Definitely aldehydes… they’ve gotta be in here. I don’t know, all I can say is that it’s a pleasure and a joy to wear and lasts a really long time.

What Chanel failed to achieve with No.5 (add civet in an intelligent, non-disgusting way)

Super-loaded, floral combination. At first, it reminded me of Chanel No. 5. As it dried it became its own monster mélange. It has everything but the kitchen sink. I damn near detect all its notes, at one sniff or another. After a few hours it settles down a bit -- just a bit. It lasted all day.

Reminds me of the powerhouse frags of days gone by. There is a little too much going on here. And, I don't care. I love this as a winter scent. Crazy good floral for a dreary, gray day.

Notes screaming to be noticed are aldehydes, civet, ylang, amber, benzoin, vanilla, tuberose, musk, Tonka bean, heliotrope, jasmine, iris, and orchid. After it takes a long nap on my skin, the notes of carnation, rose, and orange blossom sing their song.

Sillage was long and hard, on my flesh...

On me it starts warm and very animalistic (I guess that is the civet) and something else between oily and volatile (could be the aldehydes, I do not know what those smell like). The start is very intriguing but unsettling, and leaves me thinking whether I hate it or love it with a passion.

As it dries the civet becomes smoother on my skin and I can smell several other notes, still warm, a little sweet (honey/spice sweet, not candy sweet), some hint of wood, amber and maybe leather, and I guess it's vanilla?

I can't understand how something that smells so unsettling at first becomes so serene and cozy afterwards, but this strongly adds to my fascination. In my head, it's a night that starts with a misunderstanding between two lovers, who then make up, have a nice long romp and go cozily to sleep. Not a bad story in any way ;)

Not a summer/spring morning scent, but for cooler days or nights it sounds good.

As it is inexpensive and I really like the drydown (and the start unsettles but fascinates me) I bought it :)

Aldehydes opening with flowers and green notes, a white musk (ketones) base, with a subtle dark mossy side, nothing bold nor "realistic" – all quite plain and synthetic (not in an "avantgarde" positive way obviously, just rather cheap and boring-bored). The opening is quite metallic but somehow aerial and thin. Quite unexpectedly, it all then becomes denser, drier, darker, the floral-green accord kind of disappears leading almost to a complete change of scenario – less lively, more gloomy and shady. Still a bit plain, but different. It emerges – and won't go away – a frankly disturbing, heavy note halfway sweet and pungent, like burning plastic/rubber, which may be some odd benzoin-tonka note gone wrong, however it's a bit unpleasant – and as I said, it just stays there like a fat cop supervising you. The only fascinating side of this is a sort of camphor-stale aftertaste, kind of a "dirty chypre" mood, which gives a nice shady and almost erotic feel. Overall I must say it's more "odd" than "bad", it reminds me the bizarre, nostalgic, decadent, even a bit creepy world of Oriza L. Legrand – just less romantic and less well-developed. An odd floral-green-chypre scent with a bold aldehydated/metallic soul. Interesting in a way, but not that well-made (and overall, despite I said it's oddly interesting, it's negligible).

5,5-6/10

The opening starts with a very sweet aldehydic lipstick blast, that soon settles and gives was to a floral cluster, mainly rose, lily-of-the-valley orchid with an oleander vibe. This floral phase leads to a base of wood, benzoin, civet and vanilla. Now it is much less sweet. This is a voluptuous, intensive and rich scent that is quite convincingly blended and not for the fainthearted. Nonetheless, it is overall a good scent for a winter day. Great silage and projection with 7h of longevity.

Maroussia starts out with a floral soapy vibe. Remembers those "old" fashionable soaps where the smell was all about flowers? Well, that's the kind of smell we get when first applying this fragrance. After some time, we will get a blast of flowers (sorry, I can't distinguish between them) and at the final stage of this fragrance, we have musk and some other animal derived notes.

It is as if you are in Russia attending a Russian Oprah wearing a gorgeous burgundy velvet gown, with dazzling diamonds and a mink wrap If Princess Anastasia was to wear a perfume, this would be it. This scent is as rich as it is haunting. The bottle is as attractive as the smell it contains. The perfume smells expensive and exotic with a mossy earthy dry down. I do smell some Carnation in it which makes this perfume unique, very different and definately sensual.

Notes from fragrantica.com*********************************Top: aldehydes, bergamot, orange blossom, peachMid: heliotrope, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, orchid, iris, tuberose, ylangylangBase: amber, benzoin, cedar, civet, musk, sandalwood, tonka bean, vanillaAttractive looking bottle. Impressive set of notes. And of Russian origin to boot. Needless to say I found it intriguing enough to sample it on skin (1 spritz on my forearm, another on inside of elbow). MAROUSSIA opens with something vaguely familiar, a touch of aldehydes and a fleeting peach-like note. Then it's gone, rather too soon, chased away by a blooming floral bouquet. I could detect hints of rose and jasmine but for the most part, the florals are all pretty muddled up, the blend not as finely executed as say Patou's 1000. Unlike Lauder's Beautiful, it is far from heady but more musky in a sexy-and-dirty kind of way, the warmth from the base amber almost palpable within the heart along with sweetness from vanilla and benzoin. A naive girl this scent is not, nor a lady of class. But a woman of raw passion? Perhaps. That's the impression I got anyway.I find sillage to be decent enough but longevity could be better, the drydown leaving little trace after 4-5 hours. Yes, there are far better quality ambery florals out there but at the available price, getting acquainted with this Russian beauty has been more than a guilty pleasure for me. Hmm, somehow that doesn't sound quite right, does it?