Friday, January 11, 2013

Inexpensive Perfume Delight: Mauboussin



Luca Turin and I finally agree.  Mauboussin is an amazing perfume, especially in the winter.  It's kinda oriental, kinda gourmand, a bit herbal-spicy and truly incensy.  Not in a Belle en Rykiel faux incense, squeaky clean way, but in the authentic, dirty, smoky sort of way.  I love that.

Mauboussin, introduced in 2000, is everything L'Agent tried to be, but isn't.

Of course, true to my style, I stalked Mauboussin for months before finally making the purchase (under $30, by the way).  Upon application, I smell rum, even though the top notes are listed as plum, bergamot and red tangerine.  Thrown together, they smell like booze.  I'm just sayin'.

Very shortly after comes the smokiness as the base notes seep through all the others and make their way to the top.  Sandalwood, cedar, patchouli and vanilla are present early on in the development of this perfume, giving it both earthiness and depth from the beginning.  Fifteen minutes in, I catch the slightest whiff of BO, which works beautifully and takes its rightful place among the other elements. 

There is a place for BO, after all.

Mauboussin is fuzzy and familiar, like the childhood blanket that stinks of food, naps and toys - the one you can't bear to part with.  Sillage is moderate and lasting power is very good.  Strong at first, Mauboussin quickly settles into itself and blends into the smell of my own skin, like a scratch and sniff patch where the scent is always there, but intensifies with friction.

I'm working from home today following a large snowstorm, and Mauboussin is perfectly reflecting my mood; engaged and relaxed, cozy and warm.  Reveling in what could be my best blind buy ever.

Image from fragrantica.com

7 comments:

  1. Funnily enough, this is one I expected to love and blind-bought -- or sort of blind bought. I went through a bottle of shower gel before buying the perfume. But I could never get comfortable with it in perfume form. The top notes smelled like Flinstone vitamins to me. A lot. Whereas the shower gel was mostly just the woody drydown.

    Back to Belle en Rykiel for me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is too funny! I'll have to pay closer attention to the top notes next time. To me, Mauboussin is wonderfully...grubby, which is hard to find. If you ever want to swap bottles, email!

      Delete
    2. I swapped my bottle away a year or so ago. In fact I think I got Black Cashmere for it, major upgrade for me! Otherwise I'd send it straight to you.

      Delete
  2. It sounds nice. I like anything with incense in it. I've never seen it here in the UK, but I wouldn't really know where to start looking for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Michael - I know you are an incense lover and I think you might like Mauboussin as well. It is available on some perfume sites in the US, but I would never have known anything about it had I not read Luca Turin's review. Obscure, but worth seeking out.

      Delete
  3. I love this one. To me it's much better than Belle en Rykiel. I hadn't noticed the BO part of it, but come to think of it, you're completely right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Joan - I'm glad you like Mauboussin! It does have a BO vibe, but in a good way. Perfect for cold winter days.

      Delete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails