Macaque Yuzu Edition
Zoologist (2021)

My thoughts on Macaque Yuzu are virtually the same as Macaque Fuji, so read my review of the latter if you’re curious about Yuzu. They are the exact same except for Fuji’s apple accord in the top being replaced by a yuzu accord in the same spot. The yuzu is great. It’s sufficiently fruity, fizzy, tropical, and fun. But it leaves you very quickly, and the same incense that was in Fuji dominates the rest of the perfume’s life. It’s a good incense accord, but it’s spartan and bare; just as with Fiji, nothing has really been done to give it breadth, depth, or interest save for the fruity facet to the incense being amplified a bit. There are no animals or people here, just like Fuji. And, just like Fuji, Yuzu is too overtly simplistic and boring.

This fragrance combines the scents of HInoki and olibanum with a bit of yuzu that fades away as you reach the base notes. It strongly reminds me of a few fragrances from the incense and Monocle line from Comme Des Garcons. Specifically, it's like a blend of Quarzazate and Zagorsk, with that signature olibanum and labdanum base. The performance is pretty solid, and overall it's a pleasant and easy-to-wear scent.

The original "Macaque" has a stealthy rotten banana mid-note that I've never really loved. "Yuzu" covers it well with a pleasantly lemony topnote that dries down to a warm, mellow, citrusy mix. It's not revolutionary or groundbreaking, but it is very pleasant, and much more affordable than the higher-end citrus frags it mimics well.

More than most, I’ve a fraught relationship with the cola accord. And this has it. And arguably too much of it. And precious little else.

While not unpleasant per se, MYE is just not interesting enough to keep my attention. I really think it sorta bores me.

In fact, I’m amazed I'm able to continue our discussion about it.

No, I don’t like this latest Walkman. I still say it needs separate bass and treble controls.

Wait a minute—I’m back. The sandalwood hit and I’m now in love.

Sour, citrus-y, juniper berry combo.
Middle is a warm, woody, resinous thing, with myrrh, on the backside.
Soft olibanum and sandalwood in the base.

Overall, very pleasant.

I spend a lot of time in Japan, and I am very familiar with yuzu as a fruit, as juice and in various drinks and foods. This perfume has a vanishingly tiny relationship with yuzu, if any at all. There's a bit of bitter juniper, no real citrus, in the opening but this soon degenerates into a pretty synthetic and generic woody-mossy smell. It's a modern fougère, basically, and not an interesting one. Sad.