Maharadjah
Nicolaï (2006)

First of all I don't know why Maharadjah seems marketed to women (was it, actually?). It's listed as "for women" on Basenotes and elsewhere.

Maharadjah is a classic masculine spicy oriental, transitioning from minty-peppery lavender laced with cinnamon to a sublime dry-down of patchouli, vanilla and sandalwood. It smells somewhat like a more refined version of Jaipur Homme, which is itself a remarkable perfume. While the opening is a "pleasant" lavender accord, the magic starts to happen approximately ninety minutes after application.

Maharadjah is definitely in vintage Heritage territory in terms of quality, abstraction, complexity, separation of notes, wonderful transitions, and a lush dry-down – rich without being heavy. It is exquisitely crafted, and wears extremely well with a gentlemanly sillage and excellent duration of a work day. You are not going to get such stuff elsewhere – all the quintessential elements of the best Nicolaï and vintage Guerlain masculines are unmistakably present in Maharadjah.

I have no idea why this was discontinued (and when). Every time I smell it I feel sorry for those fans of Heritage or New York Intense who never got to try this.


4.5/5

Genre: Woody Oriental

The type “A” guy in me always loves it when the men's and women's versions of a scent are actually variations on the same theme. It happens in the two Amouage Gold offerings, and again with Parfums de Nicolaï's Maharanih and Maharadjah. Both scents are traditional spicy orientals with huge opoponax notes, amber-and-sandalwood foundations, sweet vanilla, cinnamon, and clove. But where Maharanih garnishes its center with a candied fruit and rose accord, Maharadjah sticks to the woods and spices, leaving the opoponax even more exposed and ratcheting up the impact of the cloves and cinnamon. With its warm, woody-spicy heart, Maharadjah is a sterner, darker scent than its mate, very close to Diptyque's Eau Lente in style, and even vaguely suggestive of Michel Roudnitska's monumentally austere Noir Epices for Frederic Malle.

The relative absence of fruit and floral notes in its heart leaves Maharadjah feeling more linear in its development than Maharanih, as the amber, opoponax, and sandalwood base notes are exposed earlier in its progression. This isn't necessarily to Maharadjah's detriment – those who prefer the woods and spices can experience them undiluted for longer here. Maharadjah's lifespan is at least six or eight hours, and it projects well for most of that duration. Sillage is significant, but not overbearing, and you'll leave a perceptible but still subtle cloud of fragrance behind you when you wear Maharadjah. Ironically, as a pair of male and female named scents, I think both Maharadjah and Maharanih are both perfectly wearable by either gender.

This is the scent that is most beautiful in the late drydown, it just smells heavenly!!
The opening and the mid of it is not so sophisticated, it reminds me of india, lots of spices, but lavender is disguised by huge dose of cinnamon, its thick sweet and spicy scent!!
I gave it thumbs up because of exceptional drydown

This one stands somewhere between PdN pour homme and Maharanih.

I think of this as seamless, although I can pick out the lavender, and cinnamon too. I get along well with all the notes listed so it's no surprise that I enjoy this fragrance. Solid and comfortable. Love the warm spices.

This smells familiar, like a part of the Nicolai family. I'm getting echoes of New York, Nicolai Pour Homme, and Maharanih Intense. I think New York is my favorite of these but Maharadjah is definitely no slouch. I wouldn't mind having a bottle of this.

This is a rich spicy oriental, and a bit unusual; it starts out with a fair amount of lavender, and a pleasant red apple note underneath it with some dusty wood. At first, I really don't like the sweaty character that the lavender imparts--I almost never do--and it gets worse for a few minutes as the apple blast quickly recedes. As the sweatiness abates, though, a fairly straightforward cinnamon/clove combination appears, a lot like Eau Lente as was remarked below, but without the vanilla, maybe more like Diptyque's original L'eau. Even though this shouldn't be so amazing, I think it's rare enough to find the spices on their own that it stands out somewhat because of that. The cinnamon is very realistic, and it maintains that paradoxical state of being very sharp and zingy at the same time as it's smooth and sensual, as only an actual cinnamon stick can do. As the hot burn fades a little in the base, a bit of mild sandalwood steps in to back it up. I'd call it moderately masculine rather than unisex, both from the scent alone and considering that it was given an obvious "feminine" counterpart. A very well-done spice fragrance.

This one's gonna be my next full-bottle. I too get the full-frontal assault of lavender, but the usually medicinal herb is beautifully tempered by soft spice - what appears to my nose as cinnamon, clove, patch, and perhaps some vanilla. Fresh warmth. I love the contradiction, the juxtaposition. It would never dawn on me to class this as unisex or masculine or feminine. It just smells damn good. Different. Wish more houses would explore the magic of lavender is such ways.