Mayotte Guerlain for women

Mayotte is the re-edition of Mahora according to blogger Perfume Shrine. And it's named after the island where Jean-Paul Guerlain has his Ylang Ylang plantations. Mahora was an unfortunate flop probably due to the impolite associations the name had in english speaking peoples minds according to her. So I guess that if you alredy know Mahora you don't need to get aquainted with Mayotte.

OK, I "like" Mayotte, but for what I paid, I should love it. The smell is lovely, but I become anosmic to it in minutes it seems. Can't smell it on my wrist at all, but it lingers under my shirt. Unfortunately, sticking one's nose down the neck of one's own top to get a sniff would be considered horrendously bad manners.

I got the "bee bottle" with no atomizer, along with a "complimentary" refillable purse spray bottle. I find dabbing some straight from the bottle onto a half a wad of cotton and tucking it into my bra does give the fragrance a little more presence.

Lesson learned: stay away from those scary sales assocs at Bergdorf's, and get a decant of anything pricey from The Perfumed Court and live with it for a few days before deciding on a purchase.

In some ways, Mayotte reminds me of Panthére de cartier, tho a bit creamier, plus PdC has better sillage and staying power. Maybe I'll layer and see what happens.

Follow-up: My nose seems to be getting educated (I love tuberose!) so I can detect this tropical floral on me for hours now. Summer's coming and this will fit in with my floral dresses.

Sweet island flowers against a sweet gourmand base produce the olfactory equivalent of seeing a tomato red sweater over a fire-engine red shirt: each one appears to be a shade off. The flowers alternatively screech and sour, then fade away. As in so many of Guerlain’s newer formulations, the heavy-handed use of vanilla takes its toll, bullying the blend and leaving nothing but dried up petals in its wake.