Mahora Guerlain for women

Mahora is the perfume that helped me to appreciate tuberose. I decided that in order fully understand scent in general, I had to be open to trying ALL of the scent categories, florals included, even though I'm not a big fan of them. One of the floral notes that I'd dismissed early on was tuberose. Having first experienced the note in vintage White Shoulders and then in Michael Kors (both are screechy), I came to dislike it tremendously, especially after the legendary Fracas was such a disappointment for me (in all fairness, I've never smelled a vintage formulation). Then came Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower, which I found to be hearty and "interesting", but too abstract in the beginning and hardly any sillage once it dried down. My 1 ml sample made me, at least, re-open the investigation of the note of tuberose. That investigation eventually lead me to Guerlain's Mahora. Now, after all of that, I'm still not a huge fan of tuberose, but I am a huge fan of Mahora. This is tuberose done just right. In comparison, Fracas seems candy-like and thin. Dior's Poison, while more substantial, is honeyed and even sweeter, which leaves it a little too cloying for me. Mahora, which falls into the "tropical" floral category, is just right. To my nose, this dries down to warm and mellow, tuberose, soft woods and vanilla and its beautiful, and hauntingly seductive sillage, is amazing on a hot humid day...if it's dabbed lightly. Some say it was the name that prevented Mahora from catching on, which lead to its eventual discontinuation and if that was the case, it's unfortunate, because in my opinion, Mahora is the best tuberose perfume out there. Highly underrated and easily found on ebay for very reasonable prices. Mahora was reincarnated into Guerlain's very expensive, Mayotte, which I experienced at Saks Fifth Avenue recently. It was nice, but I suggest you save your money and purchase Mahora instead as the "adjustments" were minor.

After I applied Mahora from my mini bottle, I was striken by its similarity to another scent I have and love. Here's my comparison. Mahora is much drier than Creation, as if you breath dry and hot sand in, which is unusual experience, almost physical. As I compared both of them simultaneously on two wrists, I find Creation richer, softer and more wearable on my skin today. Mahora is more animalistic and sweet, while Creation is more floral and fruity-woody. I absolutely love blackcurrant note in Creation, and Mahora too soon starts showing too sweet vanilla base. The similarities end in the drydown stage, where Mahora's a bit too simple though lovely sweet vanilla, while Creation is mostly bitter animalistic scent, which is totally not sweet but rather dusty, in this last stage resembling Rumba, another love of mine. And for me bitterness in Creation makes it an absolute winner in this duel.

I adored the impressive opening but then it just died on
me leaving behind a vetiver down that I did not adore ..
I am glad to have this for the occasional use when I am alone.

I agree that the opening is a little startling from the spicy animalic but Mahora rapidly settles into a balanced composition, through the creamy floral heart, the heady whites floral are tempered by the earthy, slightly dirty base. The sandalwood and vanilla evokes that sweet, slightly musky, salty smell of hot sand, is as rich as they come, using principles from classical perfumery. My only complaint is with my only body chemistry as it doesn’t smell that strong or last that long on my skin.

This is my third review of Mahora. I tried so hard to appreciate this, but I cannot. Toxic is the best adjective to describe Mahora. If you hate someone, spray Mahora on her hair! :-)

Mahora can also serve as a torture perfume!

Sorry Mahora Lovers but this is not a good perfume at all.

I am selling mine at a local online bargain site. I hope someone in my country loves this unconditionally.

You want Mahora? YOU CAN'T HANDLE MAHORA!

So now it's Mayotte, or something. Pfft. Whatever.

I wore my Mahora loud and proud until I drained that bottle. The people that cringed away? I'm sure they survived. The flies that fell from the sky? Flies get on my nerves. So Mahora served double-duty as fly spray; so what?

I smelled better than EVERYONE!!!

I have a large EDP spray and a mini. This is an intoxicating fragrance that starts off with an almost unpleasant smokiness that turns into a buttery white floral over a base of woody vanilla. It is powerful. Too much can make it smell almost overripe so use carefully.

Interestingly enough, the mini I have bypasses that smoky stage and goes straight to the yummy goodness.

I just love this fragrance. (EDP, the EDT is much less memorable). A tiny bit goes a long way. Sweet floral, vanilla, a touch of spice... I don't have a perfumista's language, but in the dead of winter, it makes me smile :)

This is such a beautiful warm floriental. At first I thought I smelled patchouli but I see the list says green notes generally (I still think there's patch in there- I'm a patchouli lover) and it blends beautifully with the white florals. I am so happy that the jasmine does not dominate- all the white flowers blend so stunningly and it all warms up with the woods. This is amazing. Don't know how I missed it when it came out but I'm loving my bottle which I think now counts as vintage since it is from 2000. Thank you to the wonderful Ebay seller who found this in her mom's cabinet and sold it to me.

I almost forgot, the almond blossom note gives it that little bit extra something that takes it over the top and makes Mahora a little different.
And I had to add that I do not find Mahora to be a sillage monster. People will know you are wearing it but this is definitely not a scent with anything like the power of Obsession or Original Poison.

Despite the current and seemingly endless 1980s revival of cheap fashion for tweens to twenty-somethings, the 80s are gone. Thank god! Don’t let that horrid decade haunt you! Still, if there were one thing that I could tease out of the 80s and bring to the present it would be polarizing perfumes. To the propagators of 1990s-styled apologetic perfumes, to the radiant Iso-E Super wearers, to the nanny perfume mob who would rid the world of fragrance (Watch out! Color is next, then oppressive fabric.) I say wear Poison! Wear Giorgio and Opium. Blast yourself with Lou Lou and walk in public in the light of day!

Better still, try Mahora. 1980s in scale, 1970s in indulgent style, 1920s in complexity and sophistication, Mahora (2000) paid tribute to the decades that preceded it as it dived headfirst into the new millennium.

From the spicy animalic start, through the creamy floral heart, to the woody-vanillic drydown, Mahora is as rich as they come. Using principles from classical perfumery, but seemingly new compositional tricks, Guerlain laid claim to the fairly unpopulated genre, the spicy-animalic resinous tropical woody floral. This perfume does draw attention to itself. So what? If you don’t like it, don’t wear it. Polarizing is great! Part of the aesthetics of perfumery, as in any art form, is that in addition to critical consideration, we should identify what we like and what we don’t. How else can we proceed in what is both an artistic discussion and an exercise in pleasure?

That said, I disagree with those who do not like Mahora and therefore say that it is a bad perfume. In addition to its volume and attention-seeking, it is calibrated, dissonant enough to hold one’s interest and shows textbook classical evolution. Mahora shouldn’t have been discontinued, it should have been studied.

This stuff falls into the nuclear blast category of perfumes occupied by Amarige, Spellbound, and Poison. It's nice and not too linear, but it's really sweet. After about six hours of relentless sweet floriental violence, it dries down to a nice woody vanilla. It is at this moment it finally feels more like a Guerlain than a 90s Dior or Givenchy artifact. Crucial elements are missing here from the typically meticulous Jean-Paul Guerlain style - this feels more like a Christine Nagel fragrance. It's not as balanced as it should be and feels a bit unadorned, rough-hewn and at times a bit pedestrian.

Try it if you like florientals with tuberose, but don't buy it blind just because it's supposed to be an authentic Guerlain.

Finally, a bottle of Mahora arrived in the mail late this afternoon! As I had to go out soon, I sprayed it on my apron to test it out..... then there appeared this beautiful six ton dragon in the corner of the room. Heavily lidded emerald eyes gazed at me. With every scale on her body dripping with floral nectar, she starts to gently sing a piece of Wagnerian opera. The volume increases, but her voice is so gorgeous!!
I had to leave her there, but her singing trailed out the open window to bid me farewell.
I can tell I'm going to enjoy this one... immensely

I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful Mahora is! Such wonderful tuberose and jasmin. What's not to like? Glad I bought it. Yum!

I bought Mahora from a local perfume store which sells surplus perfumes. I gave it to my mother but hated it. IMO Mahora is a very good perfume. Warm, heavy, humid... like aromatics elixir but more on the oriental side.

Mahora is a Buttery, spicey, white floral. I was shopping in Trader Joe's one day and a lady kept passing me by and finally asked about my perfume. She loved it and had to find it she said. I own and wear SO MANY perfumes - rarely receive comments that I smell good. (which drives me on....) in the past 30 years I have had comments on Halston, Rive Gauche; Bois des Iles; Coco Made.; Chanel 19; LouLou; Knowing; Elixir des Merveilles; Cardinal; Cabaret Gres & Mahora.

For anyone who's wondering, many consider Guerlain Mayotte to be a re-issue of Mahora. Both might be discontinued now. On ebay, Mahora is plentiful and more affordable than mayotte, at least as I write this (;

Mahora by Guerlain is tuberose done a little differently. I should have realised just by looking at the advert, (with Australia's landmark Uluru as a background feature in the Mahora photoshoot), that this was not going to be a straight-up, luscious tuberose scent.

This tuberose is dry, a little bitter and green, mixed in with some wet sand. When I first spritzed on Mahora, I thought that perhaps my skin was turning the scent bitter and dry, so I dabbed it on paper to see whether the tuberose was fresher there. I then discovered, much to my surprise, that Mahora is composed to smell like this. It is the quintessential desert scent, alongside Dior's Dune for Women.

Once I got over Mahora's puzzling nature, I began to enjoy the scent for what it's worth. I welcome its different approach, and applaud Guerlain for having changed my opinions regarding tuberose and other white florals. Who knew that white florals could be dry rather than moist and green?

I'm hesitant to suggest Mahora for cold weather, as on my skin it strikes me as best suited to humid or intense heat. The heart makes me think of a red, hot sun and a wilting bouquet of naturally sweet ylang ylang and orange blossom. Aldehydes and sandalwood create an interesting dusty feel.

The drydown introduces a buttery quality, which is perhaps the only traditional aspect of the tuberose that has been kept. In addition to the buttery florals, the sand accord is quite prominent, as is the slightly sugary whisper of vanilla. At this point, Mahora sits very lightly on the skin, almost as if transforming into a skin-scent.

The lasting power is good, but not great. However this fragrance's complexity makes up for most of it. Actually Mahora could possibly be one of Guerlain's most overlooked fragrances. It's a pity to realise that many consumerss are unaware of this fragrance's existence.

After reading Turin's review on this fragrance, you would not even try it. But I'm stubborn, thank god, so I bought this one online and love it. It's sweet, has a tropical feel to it and lingers on my skin for hours. The bottle is also quite beautiful, it matches really nice with what I find exotic about this perfume.

Sweet, long lasting, warm floral. Very nice. Just spray it once, that will be enough for the 8+ hours.

Mahora,2 my nose, smells like scented insecticides! No offence, but this is what I smell from a formula which's comprised of "more is more" vs "less is more!" No wonder Mahora was short-lived & and had to face its destiny.Any suggestions 4 my idle bottle?

I had this many years ago and have only just finished it.... wanted of make it last. Such a shame it is discontinued as this scent is DIVINE. To me its a spicier version of Shalimar....without the over powering powdery smell.

In 2000, Mahora debuted in a radically changing world. Its was next in line in the Sanscrit inspired tradition started with Shalimar. It was a big, juicy oriental. Remember Nahema and Samsara? This was right up there in size and drama!

I have the mini EDP that is so luscious and destined for glory. Neroli, jasmine, tuberose, ylang and lots of sandalwood and vanilla grabs your attention! There is a creamy coconut spice melange hiding in the wings. This was what Guerlain was all about-delicious seduction from a bottle!

Guerlain was ground zero in the great "perfumaggedon"! The battle between the corporate titans(LVMH) and the real perfumers was waged tragically on an unsuspecting audience. One reformulation came after another. The real menace was the IFRA. They claimed many ingredients were dangerous and too provacative.

The history of Mahora is strangely short. It could have been an international best seller. Instead it is now forgotten with plenty of bottles on E-bay!

I have no idea why this was discontinued. It's a shame because Mahora is glorious! It isn't listed on the ingredients, but I'm sure I can smell coconut, mango and melons in there. I've kept a bottle of it for old time's sake and still smell it from time to time to remind myself of how lovely it was.

Now on hour six, and the drydown is a delicious, soft oriental floral. Really nice to stay with and worth the wait. Found the opening to be a bit dry and woody, just hiding the masterpiece underneath. I'd use it during winter/fall, and now it's off to purchase a full bottle!

Beautiful fragrance which was unfortunately discontinued. I found it very, very similar to Champ Elysees also by Guerlain which is my all time favorite, hence would recommend it to those who no longer can get Mahora.

This is a tuberose overload...but soooo beautiful and classy! This perfume took my breath away at first spray....definitely the kind to wear if you want to make statement. One of the strongest Guerlains I own....crazy sillage and great longevity.

What an incredible perfume! I heard about it in 2001. One of my friends said that it is disgusting tobacco scent, so i've never dared to try it. What a huge mistake. I saw it in our local perfume shop last month and decided to consult fragrantica as no sample was available. Then I bought it blindly relying on reviews. OMG! One of the best oriiental florals. I can find similarity with original Coco Chanel, same oily sweetness. The only problem is that I keep on spraying and spraying. Bottle will be empty very soon. To my luck, there are 2 more bottles available in the same shop, i am going to take it today. :)

TUBEROSE--this has such a huge cncentration of tuberose in it that it smells overly rich and viscous. It was headache inducing to me--enveloping you in such a cloud that nothing can penetrate it. I prefer my tuberose a la Carnal Flower with little greeny bits to lighten it up.

The opening was really strange - sharp, hard to pinpoint and on the verge of being sour.. but then it settles down into a creamy tuberosey (?) almost-sweet softness that very much reminds me of the heart/base of Versace's Jeans Couture, only Mahora is so much more classy..

Mahora surprised me with a bitter-sweet smoky opening and then developed into a very well-crafted spicy tuberose frag. It is sweet in a very pleasant and wearable way and I think I find it somehow similar to Dior's Poison and Cacharel's Lou Lou, but spicier. I am glad I had the chance to try it but I am not sure whether I would repurchase, at least not soon. The staying power is good - around 5-6 hours, at least on my skin.

This perfume caught me off guard at first: it started with a strong tobacco scent on me, smokey and somewhat skanky at the same time.
But I'm so grateful I didn't rub it of right away: the skankiness disappeared and it was a beautiful tuberose on the bed of vanilla and vetyver. This is not a "wrist sniffer", Mahora has to be admired from afar, when somebody wearing it passes by leaving a wonderful trail. Very feminine, but not bland or uninteresting, a must-try!

This perfume makes me sad because it is a forceful reminder of how great Guerlain perfumes could be before IFRA decided that sensual adoration of magnificent scents was bad for people's character or morals. This doesn't reach the heights of Mitsouko or L'Heure Bleue but it is soul satisfying and can honestly be called a masterpiece.
The EDP opens with a spicy alcoholic note that I finally recognized as the sweet sherry that's made with raisins. As it warms the orange and almond blossom appear and stick around until a dry almost leathery vanilla peeks in to greet the tuberose. Then the oohing and aahing begins...
Several hours later I'm marveling at tuberose,almond blossom and vanilla with an underlying spiciness (sandalwood presenting as mace or possibly cardamom).
Inadequate words? Rich, heady, grand, prodigal, extravagant, unforgettable, towering. Mahora is discontinued but can still be picked up on eBay and other corners of the internet. Buy a bottle and hide it so you can let your grandchildren experience what it was like when giants crafted perfume.
Sillage: medium to close
Durability: 5 hours and starting to fade
Fabulosity: the top of the scale
Price to value: seriously, who cares?
10/10

I love this scent; to me it was very different and I was surprised it never became popular. Very delicious-smelling. However, I read that it was the very first perfume to use the frangipani flower, and that is not listed in the ingredients ... odd. For those who want to buy it, it's readily and abundantly available all over e-Bay :)

This came out very spicy with carnation notes on my skin. It stayed spicy as tuberose poked its head through. The spiciness continued to evolve to a carnation/nutmeg and then it fell flat, like the life was sucked out of it, and it just died on my skin. Also became a headache-inducer as it died its slow carnation death.

I was taken aback by this one! Quite the blast you get when you first put it on!!

It's Fizzy, full of aldehydes, blasting with floral and citrus plus a touch of ash (not tobacco, ash!!).

Howver, it ends out being a VERY heady tropical floral.

I love this!
Mahora is a mix between Organza (the sexy side) and Champs Elysees (the summer touch). The sandalwood and vetiver in the base are prominents, but well balanced with the vanila notes and the ylang-ylang, this combination makes Mahora a strong and feminine fragrance.


Mahora's sillage is outstanding!

This is an intoxicating tropical heady fragrance with a dominant white flower heart yet sits without the cloying sweetness you might expect. Typical of the classic Guerlains it retains the signature 'dusty' base that shows off its bloodline due to the vetiver and sandalwood base. This is a magnificent perfume and once I've used my decant, will definitley purchase a FB as it will be a staple for me during the coming tropical summer.

really interesting
there is something i can't put my finger on in the guerlains
but which is present in avon's timeless, as i noted in another review

maybe they use a certain vanilla?

this is good when used sparingly
beautiful, even
the bottle alone makes it worth the price of admission

Delicious fragrance, timeless, warm and floral. But that bottle! Classy, but the shape makes it unstable. A slightly bumpy surface will see the bottle fall over so annoyingly easy.

Its resembels to me slightly to Micheal Kors. Same tuberose.To heavy for my taste. But its a good perfume

This is a deeply rich and exotic scent.
Lovely to wear and it dries down really well giving it a sweet, lovely, powery smell on the skin. Very sexy.

Top Notes
Green and Fresh .

Middle Notes
Tuberose, Frangipani blossoms, Neroli, Ylang-Ylang, Jasmine.

Base Notes
Vetiver, Vanilla, Sandalwood.

MAHORA, O MAHORA, how I find you intoxicatingly delicious! This fragrance fits into a special category, apparently used only by me: viscous lusciousness. It seems so thick and substantial, so syrupy but without being sickening. Another member of the viscous lusciousness category is IL BACIO, by Borghese, which apparently many people do not like--it's practically given away for free at TJMAXX!--but which I have consumed gallons of over the course of my adult perfume life.

I do, however, understand why some are put off by these heavy, thick, commanding fragrances. They are so very assertive and so unyielding. They blanket you in their lusciousness until you have no choice but to capitulate to their captivating charms.

MAHORA is a special fragrance for special occasions, not to be worn every day, for that would be too much (also not a good choice for gifts to the uninitiated, I learned by making that mistake!) Now and then, however, I crave the warmness of the sandalwood, vetiver, ylang-ylang and neroli, the sweetness of the vanilla and almond flowers, lightly tempered by orange and green, all folded together into a sumptuously smooth elixir. In a word: Yum!

Mahora is really a great creation. it's very warm and intense. It makes me dream about exotic islands.
It is available now as Mayotte, but it is not completely the same. It is more an interpretation. Mahora was withdrawn due to regulations. Very pity, because this jewel could still be standing as a great piece of olfactive art!

one of the most misuderstood fragrances in guerlain history... it is a masterpiece annd I can give a hoot with wwhat the bloggers say

I adored Mahora. I tried it several times years ago, when I worked in a cosmetics department. On me, it was intensely sandalwoody, and very real. It was perhaps a bit overmuch in the first few moments, but then the scent lingered and progressed. Please pardon me, I can't describe the dry down since it was tried so long ago, however I recall that it progressed beautifully and had just the right amount of staying power. I will be buying one of the few remaining bottles available online shortly.

I love Guerlain, but Mahora is too sweet, and really strong for me, the whole composition is not well balanced, it is too feisty and cocky, not at all woody. A long time ago I tried it on, and a lots of people commented on my poor taste.

I love Guerlain perfumes - they always have a complex story that unfurls as the fragrance opens up on your skin. Even if you wouldn't wear them, you can't help but admire their unique composition. Mahora will never be on my wish-list, because I would never be able to handle this kind of pushy, midnight lady.

Mahora hurts me - she forces her way deep into my lungs with her sahara sand, aldehydes & heavy, honeyed flowers. I can almost taste her! The sweetness is deep & low & excessive. There is a rich, heady spiciness & a strong tuberose accent. As her velvet grip hardens, a dark tropical night-forest begins to bloom: nectar drips, incense burns & there is the slightest touch of creamy vanilla-coconut.

Her thick, warm scent is excessive, opulent & almost too much to bear (she will try to drown you in only one drop!). Mahora is powerful & passionate & pungent - hers is a forceful & pervading sillage with substancial staying power.

This dark, sweet, spicy floral is not for the faint hearted, or headache-prone. Alas, this rules me out.

I had Mahora on my list of perfume to try. I was surprised to read that it had been discontinued. Fortunately when shopping for another perfume, i found a bottle of Eau de Parfum for a good price.

It's a bit more floral than i usually associate with Orientals. The first scents that hit me were not the top notes, but the white florals of the heart. They remind me of Fracas.

The underlying smokiness of the vetiver and the delicate woodiness of the sandalwood are there, adding a grounding note, but not overpowering the flowers.

The top notes are quite subtle, and i can't pick them out individually. But they add a bit of freshness to the richness of the ylang-ylang, tuberose, and jasmine.

As it dries down, the underlying woods continue to balance the florals, plus i get a hint of something herbal.

Fortunately, i smell no coconut, and the vanilla knows its place, and doesn't try to dominate - i am not fond of "gourmand" perfumes.

This is a strongly feminine scent, not for the office. I think it's a shame it has been discontinued.

Beautiful, words cannot describe the scent.
Heady, smoky and ethereal.
It's like being in the most rich, earthy, tropical flower garden.
I'm off to hunt it down in its new incarnation!

Today, I re-tested Mahora. In Hungary there is a honey named "mixed flower honey", which is a very sweet, creamy flavoured, rich-yellow delice. Mahora resembles this yellow-tinged richness, but there is tuberose to add sun, summer, suntan oil, coconut (hawaiian tropic suntan oil). And you get in your hand a bunch of jasmine too, as you walk at the beach at evening. And you eat those loukoumathes, those honey drizzled greek fried dough balls (there is somewhere a fried smell too, maybe the scent of honeyed, burnt oil, but positively, so crunchy, appetizing, you know). It is genial, a monstrous summer scent, evoking all those things and feelings. 10 stars out of 5.:)

Oriental florals are my favorite, but this one is very sweet, so much so that it takes away from any other nuances. I wouldn't want to be in a confined space with someone who had this on, think it would give me a headache. I'm forty-something and it feels too old on me.

Mahora is indeed reincarnated as Mayotte!
I prefer the original formule and gorgeous golden-disk flacon...too bad for Maison Guerlain, it is rich and lovely...

I pine for this scent of late , and yet upon first wearing I did not care for it , it seemed to be a straight up coconut. How it and tropical flowers in general grew on me, and now I regret not appreciating this one during its time in the mainstream. The notes probably do not even list coconut at all , must be the Ylang/Tuberose combo. I am given to understand that the original name did not fare well in the North American market and also it has been rereleased as Mayotte for a higher price tag, mores the pity, I shall treasure my mini of the original juice.

so unfortunate they discontinued a wonderful fragrance I loved this scent
was one of my favorites magickal perfume

So hard to find these days:(Smokey and magic.a must have in Guerlain's fan collection.

I love it! It's a pity that it's been discontinued. The most beautiful tropical-tuberose scent ever!

Long lasting, spicy and mystic. I like it very much. Not for everyday use, special purpose only.

This one reminded me of White Shoulders. It is aldehyde heavy and very strong and very long lasting. Mahora is one heady lady. Mahora wasn't my cup of tea, but it's worth a try.