Reviews of Mat; Male by Masakï Matsushïma

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Cardamom and bamboo are upfront prominent in this.
It is not for everyone as it can present a slight funk.
Very Japanese, undoubtedly warm and alive in its vegetal strength.
25th June 2022
260895
Weak scent that isn't very well made IMHO. I find the scent to be slightly herbal with no originality with some spicy notes. Not sure what is going on with the opening... a complete downer. Better to avoid.
14th June 2016
175240

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Malt;Male is a very casual fragrance in my opinion, suitable for the warmer spring and summer day wear and not much else. It has this strange quality that my inexperienced nose just can't pinpoint. It's most likely the parsley, but either way, it seems incredibly herbal and almost medicinal in the opening, with a little mint and citrus to give an intriguing fresh opening. As it develops, it becomes more mellow and sweet, and you start to get a bit of that tea and the melon. Unfortunately I don't get much after that, which is a shame because I actually really enjoy the middle notes, but after this is just dissipates into nothing.Which takes me on to the longevity. I get absolutely awful longevity. I think possibly the worst of anything I've tried on my skin. It lasts for about 2-3 hours before fading into the background, with you having to put your nose right up against the skin to smell the faintest of smells. Linearity - 3/5Longevity - 2/5Projection - 3/5Versatility - 2/5Smell - 3/5Overall rating - 2/5A somewhat unique hot day fragrance, but the incredibly poor longevity and not many situations to wear this make me pass on a full bottle.
2nd May 2010
62728
Minimalist herbs. It's cool but warms up after a while. Lightly salted and mint. The drydown is good. It's a very clean, herbal feel to it. That's the part I like. Very hesitant thumbs up as the opening really distracts me from the rest of the fragrance.
16th August 2009
48304
flowery and green.very cheap . good scent but i am not a fan of the earthy,fresh,floral types. plus paul smith the original does it better.
29th July 2009
53672
I have to agree with a previous reviewer... After a couple of hours, the base of green, sappy wood - bamboo, I suppose - with some dusty, fruity florals hanging on in there, is really, really good.But the shrill opening, like an animated, brightly coloured confectionery counter, commandeered by some frightening ninja lychees and a samurai watermelon, attacking your olfactory organ with lots of sharp little citrus swords and badly-aimed berry nunchucks, is enjoyably strange but not particularly pleasant.
3rd July 2009
62742
It's a fresh, sensual and vibrant scent. There is little competition out there, Versace Eau Fraiche having a similar scent but with a younger appeal. It's not strong but does strike that great accord between green, floral and musky without being too feminine.
21st December 2007
21006
I am a fan of mat;male, but only felt it pungent when I first wore it. After a few more tries, however, I began to appreciate its concept of contradiction. While its flowery sweetness is warm, inviting, and really feminine sometimes, sharp lines are drawn by the spicy notes of juniper berry and white leather, which make the scent tender and stern at the same time. A very unique blend indeed.
27th October 2007
43921
Fresh, citrusy, fruity, green, a little spicy – none of the notes overbalancing the others. To my nose, the grapefruit, bay leaves, mint, and parsley come though nicely in the opening, in a citrus / green accord that is pleasant but not really anything special. The middle notes are dominated by the watermelon with a strong rose note supporting it. And the base provides primarily white cedar and leather with a bit of musk – I feel there's something missing in the base. It's a nice fragrance and I've worn it several times but never really got into it. There is nothing in it that I dislike, but there is nothing in it that really grabs me, either.
15th October 2007
7201
I got this fragrance as a gift, this is one that I hate and love. I love the dry down, but I just can't stand the top notes. Call me crazy, but the top notes smell like piss. Even though I love the dry down (aromatic/green/ spicy), I just can't stand the top notes, therefore I can't really use it.
13th April 2007
39947
It starts out with a fresher, cooler, lighter, less sweet version of the licorice in Very Male. More like traditional men's cologne anise, but not quite. I don't know where I get the licorice/anise from and in the drydown it disappears, turning into a more fennel-like scent. Green and spicy/herbal/aromatic, a quite classic masculine scent.
17th August 2006
27155
Fresh. Summery. Average.
6th April 2006
5205
I had a bottle of this, wore it fairly often, and then "lost" the bottle (along with all my other fragrances) when I moved. Sorry, had to get that off my chest... As you can see from the reviews, this one is tough to classify. I always found that it was an in-between fragrance. What I mean is that it was a little too musky to be feminine, but too sweet, soft, and floral to be truly masculine. When wearing it I felt it was a tad too pungent for the summer, but too light and, again, sweet and floral, for the winter. I never got into a groove with this one, but still liked it. One reviewer said this reminded them of the color white. I say it is light purple. I'm not sure why, but the floral and sweet notes take the heavier notes down and notch, and for some reason I always felt this one was a light pastel purple scent (compared to Mat Very Male, which is a dark purple scent - more masculine, more musky, but still kicking out that one signature sweet floral sort of note). Maybe it is "purple" because of the combination of watermelon, rose, and black currant. There is a distinctive sweet note that sits on top, which is probably the result of those three scents combining. Overall, I like it for its distinctiveness, but always felt I could not find the right time, place, or weather to wear this one.
27th February 2006
19401
very clean and "white", I would describe it as white suede. interesting smell, some people will compliment it other people have a worried look on their face when they smell me. those are usually not usefull people anyways so thumbs up!
22nd February 2006
4232
I thought it couldn't be done but someone invented a cologne worse than CK Contradiction and Puig's Quorum. Burn a bamboo forest, sprinkle the ashes and--well, you get the idea. Same lavender stuff you smell all the time in the 2000's. Boring! boring! boring! Get a real cologne and don't buy this.
21st February 2006
8509
I think this is a potentially great one, unfortunately the rose accord ruins it for me, making it to girlie. Mat; Male is the one fragrance best capturing the real aroma of both watermelon and parsley - 2 very cool notes that unfortunately haven't been used well before. What a pity that they added those florals to...
26th September 2005
15080
Mat Male is a great summer based fragrance. I hated it for the longest time, but realized I had a bad bottle. I usually hate citrus, but there is something wonderful about the smell of lime. This is a sharp and invigorating fragrance that evolves wonderfully on the skin. This is also much more interesting and multifaceted than most other citrus fragrances. It's a shame I swapped it away.
20th September 2005
10317
the smell reminded me a bit of Dolce&Gabbana at first, and then settles nicely into a fresher and floral scent. Top notch.
4th December 2004
9061
A green scent...by that I mean this smells like: cut grass, hay, green tea, etc. It changes, of course, over time, but that is the general scent description. I think Chaleur d'Animale pour Homme (2000) is similar.
8th July 2004
23050
I first sampled this almost a year ago, along Yohji. I don't recall what I ended up purchasing (Givenchy Pour Homme, perhaps), but I never forgot the impression Mat;Male left. Recently, I began looking for a soft "white" fragrance that would do the trick for me in the summer. Immediately, Mat;Male came to mind, and I stopped by the store to sample again. I returned with a gift set including a small bottle of EDT, and a larger bottle of ASB, which dispenses through a spray mechanism as well. The fragrance itself is a complete joy: from it's opening notes of Water Melon and Grapefruit, to the middle notes of various roses, and the base of white leather, it's a very soft and sensual fragrance that wears close to the skin after a while. If you're a fan of scents with floral notes such as 212, or like Sung's latest Hei with its bamboo note, Mat;Male should be on your list. A big thumbs up!
18th April 2003
22578