Smart

I wish this weren't so expensive, because I do like it a lot, but I don't know that I find it special enough to justify the price tag. Smart smells clean, warm, and stripped down. It's a bit powdery at first, but for me that phase passes quickly and I get to the suede, vanilla, musk base. At this point, it smells like high end lotion crossed with a leather watch. The Smart woman is clean and sophisticated, with an expensive but classic wardrobe. She accessorizes pragmatically: a leather bag to tote around necessities, and a simple watch so she's always on time. Smart certainly leans unisex, but I think it's a bit more on the feminine side of unisex (though maybe that's just how it performs on me - a woman. I should try it on my husband...). The musk smells more like clean linens than animal, but the suede gives it a tiny bit of a warm animalic edge. The powdery violet is always there, but it's soft, and not overly feminine. Overall, it's quite lovely, but I think there are other white musks that cost much less that fit similar niches, at least for me.

I love this. I do like a lot from Andrea Maack, actually-- Soft Tension is in a class of its own and Jest, Pavilion, and Ceramic are all standouts for one reason or another. I am just surprised this one is so... controlled. Knowing her brand and her approach, I would have thought there would be more of a kick in that suede note. This is lovely, cool but comforting, smooth as water off a duck, and has so many hints that it wants to be creamy without ever getting too milky or lactonic. I just want... More. Maybe that's as high praise as it gets? Leave them wanting more? A little more intense on the suede note or the violet leaf note and this would be one of my personal top favorites of all time. Knowing her brand ethos, it just seems like a strange one to show the amount of restraint it does show. Who would I recommend this to: someone who is open to the idea of fragrance but claims things are often too screechy and intrusive, but who also has no interest in sweet.

This is a Beautiful creamy soft skin musc and sandalwood perfume, the sandalwood is very much like the real wood. This has a silk feel just like crepe de chine to me, that silk texture, i feel this should have been named "Silk"! The composition of notes, including vanilla and suede, is seamless, it just melts into your skin. This is a must try! I think you could wear casually or dressed up, there certainly is an elegance to this. Just a tip, first few goes I could not smell this perfume (I can be really anosomic to Musc), as i was overwhelmed with too many perfumes sampling that day. I tried it again with a clean nose and voila!

Very pretty clean scent. It's powdery, which puts some people off to this perfume but I would recommend trying it on skin for a day. It's very cozy, clean, and intimate. "Smart" gets me a lot of compliments when I wear it, which is surprising considering it lingers pretty close to the body.

This is a gorgeous creation and I’m glad that I found it. It reminds me of my beloved Bvlgari Black, but in a spring/summer direction. Also, I would like to add that I couldn’t be more fond of this scent profile. Which makes me extremely bias towards fragrances that smell like this. 8.5/10

So intriguing, such a conceptual fragrance, it almost feels like my IQ has risen since I first sprayed it. It's perfectly musky, a tiny bit of leather which gives it a "brand new" vibe, love this on myself and would love a full bottle.

i do feel smart when i wear this

Two words: Hella weird. (I am from San Francisco, and we say "hella" to mean "super, duper") Smart is inescapably creamy. Right off the bat you get a huge cloud of fluffy, creamy, white musk. It's one of those creamy-musky concoctions that I go wild for. Oddly, it also smells like there is a touch of plastic in it. A little floral in there to keep it from becoming cloying, but jasmine or violets, I can not say for certain. Smart is the right name for the perfume because it seems very well thought out and put-together. I absolutely love it. My only wish was that it was even stronger, but its elusive, ghostly sillage seems well-suited to the ethereal scent. The scent of this perfume makes me think of Enya. It took some time to figure out what from my childhood Smart reminds me of, other than plastic dolls. It finally occurred to me that it reminds me of Bill Blass Nude from the late 80's. My mom received a gift set of Nude. She never wore perfume, so she let me have it. I cherished it for many years. No doubt Nude has been reformulated by now. Smart is a nice reminder of it while simultaneously being a different perfume. Fluffy, white musk goodness!

Musk, musk, and musk. And did I say musk? It’s a medley of clean musks with a little fruity vanilla sugar on top and a dry, dusty note along with it all. I think this dusty note is sometimes described as the smell of “rubber tires”. There’s supposed to be jasmine in the mix, but thankfully it blends in and does not create yet another jasmine and musk perfume. I suspect that the musks are so overdosed that they overpower the floral notes completely - and that’s just fine with me. In the end, it’s just a very long-lasting (12+ hours) fruity musk, which I like. I suspect this could fill a large room and leave a musk trail wherever you go, so caution is advised.

the top was a blast of powder (violet leaf) then a little citrus and a weird/odd note I didn't like then dried down to a lovely lovely buttery creamy leather/suede with a hint of vanilla. This reminds me of a sweeter Bvlgari Black without the asphalt. Also a little like Fan di Fendi with less vanilla prominence. Very much a skin scent. Not great on sillage or longevity.

If you like Dame Black Flower Mexican Vanilla and Molinard Habanita then this is worth checking out at least. As mentioned,it's powdery with touches of floral and spice and mostly sandalwood. Sadly the 2 that I mentioned perform better and are less expensive.

This is such a cozy scent, really pleasant and easy to please anyone, I feel it is blind buy safe if you like a soft musky vanilla scent. It slightly smells like fabric softener too in a way. It's not a fragrance I would buy but I do enjoy it.

Clean, sweet and floraly. I have to say that this fragrance has a hint of feminine energy to it. I can agree that it reminds me of baby oil in a way but it’s so good!!! Any woman that likes musky floral scents might want to try this one out!

A tame, schoolmarm take on Bvlgari Black, retaining the soft vanillic musk without the rubber kink. Which makes it all the more wearable, and it’s even still available (unlike BB) - a win-win.

The only fragrance from this house I'd consider owning, most everything is just weird. Smart is a pleasant musky floral.

hit with a giant powder puff & thrown into the trunk of a new car (consensually)

Begins metallic, grey, and clean, like wet smooth river stones alongside a spa. The spa is in a chilly mountain forest with hyper-modern, Scandinavian architecture. A very synthetic, chrome cleanliness. The heart notes bring in a more milky-soil like scent, while the metallic note lingers and then turns into a very rubbery, almost latex-ish smell. I imagine this on a very angular, practical person - cold but not necessarily intimidating, rational and unflappable. I'd say it's pretty unisex. Very much not my thing, but I appreciate it.

It reminds me of the plastic toys I used to play with as a kid. Think My Little Pony or Strawberry Shortcake.

Everyone's a perfumer these days. So why not Andrea Maack? To be honest, I had no idea until three samples were sent to me by a friendly sales associate at Henri Bendel. First up: Smart. This is a perfectly nice musk composition with a bit of sweetness and an underlying texture reminiscent of ambergris, but here the note is identified alternately as suede or rubber. I guess that it does not really matter what it is called since notes are for the most part metaphors intended to evoke images in our minds. I do see why someone might call this suede or rubber, but it reminds me more precisely of the soft material used to produce the linings (mats) put under throw rugs to prevent them from moving about on hard floors so that people do not slip and break their hip. This then leads to a kind of carpeting image. From there I start thinking of upholstery and by the drydown pictures of car interiors start to pop up in my mind. The vanilla eventually dies down to the point where I am no longer reminded of the sweet baby bottom's musk perfumes which the opening called to mind. This is a perfectly fine musk perfume. Not skanky or dirty in any way, but with a bit of an interior decorating vibe. Is it smart? I'm not so sure that it's smart for contemporary artists to add perfume-making to their resumé in the way that fashion designers have been doing for nearly a century now. It's hard to see how Andrea Maack's perfumes will ever get much exposure--or why they should, with all due respect to the Lucky Scent staff person who reportedly "shrieked with joy" upon smelling this perfume. To each his own, I guess.

At first spritz, I thought I owned something pretty identical to this. A perfume oil called Moonshine by Ginger June Candle Co. But the truth is that one leans actually more toward powdered sugar/resinous and gothic vanilla for me. This smells very similar to me but it has some plastic or leather in the drydown, like the inside of a new car. I think it smells good but only lasts for a little while even after moisturizing for me so I will probably spritz on clothes until I finish my sample. I do like it, but it’s not a love like I had instantly for Dual by Andrea Maack. Would suit a professional looking woman who loves The Cure and wants a witchy vanilla, haha oh me!

It makes sense that Smart began its life as an ambient fragrance for a gallery exhibition. Smart knows that it's not the star of the show and is happy to quietly play its supporting role. This makes it perhaps underwhelming as a perfume but also highly utilitarian as a discreet scent. It's simple and clean: musk, powder, vanilla, and leather with some florals playing far in the background. It smells like a good leather purse and cosmetics. I agree with those that detect a plasticky/vinyl note that reminds me of dolls, though I suppose that everyone has their own plastic scent memory.

At the start I could not determine if I was attracted or distracted. The musky scent grew on me and after having over time finished the bottle I am missing the smartness it made me feel. I have just purchased Coal - which given time may hook me - but more for a cold winter day. But for sure one has to give this scent to settle in... in my case about an hour or can be quite overpowering.

This is my favourite of the Andrea Maack collection. Subtle yet complex, the sandalwood and musk keep the floral notes from becoming too sharp.

This smells like you just opened up brand new floaties for your kids

So far, this just smells like baby powder to me. Very light also.

brand new floatie for your kids (complimentary)