YETI

The beast is in your face! This is quite challenging and complex so let's start from the beginning. The opening is damn strong and quite challenging, the beast is already there, in front of you! Reading the notes and seeing "thai oud" I was expecting a non aggressive oud, yes animalic but with the tipical honey and green facets with an hint of sweetness, but it is not the case, this oud is animalic and aggressive, straight up cheesy and sweaty (not blue cheese, more Alps cheese, fontina, emmental like), expecially on the mouillette, with some green facets that are axalted by the aromatic spices. Around the beast which is the center of the opening we have the smell of its forest, resins, greeness and some sort of humid soil smell (probably some oakmoss). This can be challenging if you are not used to oud scents expecially on paper, on skin it is less aggressive (at least on me, but I can wear very animalic things without resulting offensive or too harsh somehow, miracles of skin chemestry I suppose). At this stage the fragrance is roaring, very projecting, defusing, loud. After some time the wild animalic part starts to tone down, the yeti is gone without killing you apparently and the forest takes the main stage. This forest is both green and earthy, there is for sure some vetiver even if not listed and a big dose or fir resin that gives the perfume its balsamic green characteristic feeling. During the drydown the whole thing turns softer and woody, a very aromatic woodyness, with a slight hint of sweetness due probably to javanol, yet it remains a very original composition which doesn't remind me of nothing else I tryed so far. On this stage of the evolution the fragrance is less defusive and tends to stay closer to your body until it becomes almost a skin scent after about six seven hours (the beast is gone and you are finally safe...maybe). I must admit that I'm liking it a lot, and it is so original that is hard to me to categorize it and suggest some practicalities for it. It is green, but it is not a freshy, it is woody but it is not warm, probably if it fits your style you can wear it whenever you want, in whatever season. For me it requires a certain elegance in the dressing because I like the contrast in wearing elegant suits wearing a such animalic wierd fragrance, and it is for sure not an easy everyday grab, nonetheless the quality of material is high and the concept is very intriguing so I suggest you to at least sample it, it is worth the experience and maybe you will find the companionship of this wierd beast pleasant.

Fabulous new release from Rajesh and Maxim. As you might expect from the name, the scent is equal parts cold and animalic (like a yeti), initially opening with a fresh, frosty, piney character, which gives way to spicey, oud-y nuances as the scent develops. Rajesh’s compositions always do a good job of portraying their subject matter, and this one is no exception. It also contains a couple of notes I’d never smelled before, including Sugandha Kokila, which I’ve recently learned from a handy Google search is a “therapeutic essential oil steam-distilled from the dried berries of a Himalayan evergreen tree, primarily in Nepal,” as well as Valerian Root, which apparently is lending the scent its earthy, almost fuzzy je ne sais quoi. There’s a familiarity to the blending style here, so if you’re a fan of these collaborations in general, this certainly won’t disappoint, but where I think it truly shines is in its balance of wearability and unconventionality. While fragrances like Sheherezade or Santa Sangre land in the territory of pure indulgent wearability and scents like Sleepy Hollow, Aranyaka, and Haxan play more into the experimental, daring side of things, Yeti is very much the best of both worlds. It’s not so audacious or head-turning that it couldn’t be worked into day-to-day life, but you do definitely get some intrigue from the oud, and the valerian root provides a welcome curve ball that keeps the fragrance interesting for its duration. This is a great option for those looking for a refreshing but decidedly out-of-the-box scent that doesn’t lean into aquatic territory. For those inexperienced with oud and valerian root, sampling first to confirm those particular notes are up your alley wouldn’t be a bad move, but the blending here is top notch, and ingredient quality is excellent as well. Big fan of this one.

Smelled this in a store in Mexico City and left without it. Huge mistake. Went back and the store was closed. Flew to NYC the next day and found a bottle there. Not joking. This thing is cold and wild and animalic from the first spray. There's a pepper in here called Timur pepper that I had never heard of before and it opens like nothing else I own. Electric is the only word. And underneath it from the jump there's this earthy almost feral quality that just stays the whole time. The heart is Himalayan fir and oakmoss and black tea and it smells like being somewhere enormous and cold and serious. The base is where it gets really interesting. Spikenard and valerian and this rare Himalayan berry called Sugandha Kokila and Thai oud. It sounds insane. It works completely. This was made by Maksim Bortnikoff and Rajesh Balkrishnan who is literally a health economics professor with almost 300 published academic papers who makes perfume because he loves it. That detail kills me every time. Nearly all natural materials. Incredible longevity. Animalic as hell. Not for everyone but completely for me. One of my favorites right now.

Maksim Perfume’s Yeti, created by Maxim Bortnikoff and Rajesh Balakrishnan, is absolutely phenomenal. These two masters collaborated on the masterpiece Oud Indochine previously and have done stellar work here too. Wearing this feels like charging through a frozen Siberian forest in pursuit of the Yeti itself — crashing into towering fir trees, brushing through juniper thickets, and getting covered in fresh, sticky sap. But this isn’t just any forest. Somehow, hidden among the fir and moss, there are trees with oud sap adding this dark, noble edge that takes the whole composition to another level. It’s deeply foresty: rich fir, crisp juniper, resinous facets, and earthy oakmoss all wrapped around a beautifully smoky oud backbone. That oud doesn’t overpower; it elevates everything, adding depth, sophistication, and just enough darkness to make the scent feel wild and majestic. Performance is classic high-tier Maksim: excellent projection and outstanding longevity. This is bold, atmospheric, and incredibly well executed. 10/10.

Yeti is a new scent from Maksim perfumes, created by Maxim Bortnikoff and veteran perfumer Rajesh Balakrishnan. I really love this one. I find it is extremely versatile, and can be worn by anyone, at any time of the year, and for any occasion. It may lean slightly towards male, however. The notes are the best of all worlds and have a bit of every category, and are blended perfectly to work in complete synergy. It creates a mood for the wearer and his or her surroundings. Yeti is the is the perfect name, as it conjures up visions of an alpine forest. It's spicy, earthy, foresty, crisp and has just the right amount of animalic qualities. If you close ypur eyes, you can smell the fir trees and the crisp alpine air. Two thumbs up from me on this one. I would definitely recommend it. The longevity and projection are both well above average as well.

Oh this is good folks!! This is wonderful. The opening is refreshing, with the elemi and pepper and a bit of spice. And the black tea is still following that fresh feeling. It all gives the fragrance a true weightlessness. You have all the gorgeous woods, spices, resins, tea but it somehow manages to stay refreshing and veil like. Soooo rare for a fragrance with these notes to have such lift! The oud and valerian does bring in a subtle animalic but it’s very subtle I assure it, it’s perfectly intriguing. This could be worn year round by all genders. I can’t think of any other fragrance quite like it. Im so happy with it. Congratulations perfumers for a job well done!

Cold mountain air and moments of dappled sushine through the shade of giant pine trees. It must be experienced to be understood or imagined as it thankfully doesn’t resemble anything else on this theme. The first 20 minutes have a slightly off-putting scent that reminds me of the smell of an Agway Store (fertilizers and mulches in the air) but this quickly starts to reveal itself as an unusual cold pine and oud accord that comes straight from long-buried memories of the great outdoors. Get a sample and evaluate on skin not paper. This makes me excited about perfume again. 5 out of 5.

This one smells like cold mountain air mixed with trees and spice. You get a fresh, slightly sharp opening (like pine and pepper), then it settles into something earthy, smoky, and woody. It’s not sweet at all—more rugged and outdoorsy. Kinda feels like walking through a misty forest with a campfire in the distance. Strong, unique, and a little intense—definitely not a safe everyday scent, but really cool if you like bold, nature-type fragrances.

Yeti is as mysterious as the mythical creature itself. It comes and goes. Different stages. Bright and green woody green, balsamic resinous. An experience Constantly evolving. Uber artisanal perfumery. YETI, so easy to love. We will be spending much time together.

Boring green tree resin it's nice but nothing ground breaking I've smell this quite a few times before the Thai oud is a great touch as it gives it more depth. No real projection first spray is a blast to your nose but dies quickly and sits as a skin scent .

I have tried a lot of Rajesh’s collabs in the past, and they are usually a success. Even if the scent isn’t for me, I can still smell the artistry and passion behind them. Even though his collabs have come at a faster pace more recently, I still think his creative design is intact and the passion is still very much there. When Rajesh told me about Yeti a few months ago, I had to have it. I have built a reputation on reviewing evergreen scents, but let’s just say there is a stagnancy in the market for conifers. They mask shadows of Slumberhouse Norne or Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles, which are great scents on their own. However, they mask an underlying flaw with evergreen scents: that they need a dark, brooding incense to be palatable. I find this is far from true, and I think Yeti proves this. If you aren’t aware of what a Yeti is, it is a large mammal with white fur that inhabits snowy places. It’s a monster of sorts, a bit akin to a snowy mountain version of a sasquatch, but with carnivorous teeth. It shows up in European folklore, but the idea of a yeti originally came from the Indian subcontinent. I am not an expert on them by any means, but I did slay quite a few during my time playing World of Warcraft. Upon the first spray, Yeti threw me back, and not in a great way. I wasn’t expecting that cheesy, animalic blast from the valerian note. I have had valerian root tea before, but I never really noticed the smell, and I can confidently say it doesn’t taste how it smells. However, I let it rest for a week or so and came back to it, and it calmed down quite a bit. I will touch on that more in a bit. Outside of the valerian, Yeti is quite peppery. It seems to have timur pepper, which reminds me a bit of pink pepper’s warm, fiery edges but without the heat. It feels a bit cooler. I also detect echoes of juniper berry’s peppery bark and a slightly pungent cracked black peppercorn underneath the scent. Now onto the best part: the conifers. There is something to be said about Rajesh opting for a silver fir for Yeti. It’s colder, almost snowy with a medicinal camphor lift to it, which helps to replicate the snow habitat of the scent’s subject. I assume the other fir that was used is Douglas fir, since it has that dried needle on a loamy forest floor feeling to it, which reminds you of the sap oozing from a freshly hewn pine tree. The scent moves into earthier territory as it dries down. The oud is a bit incense-like with dried soil from a mossy floor with the oakmoss added to it. It still keeps that foresty feeling to it, along with trails of cold spices. Overall, Yeti is a great forest scent, in my opinion. It doesn’t always feel snowy to me, though. At times, I can imagine myself walking among the trees in the evergreen expanses in Maine, and I can just smell the autumnal essence of the wilds there. The sun has dried the pine needles on the forest floor, along with a cooling breeze blowing the scent of an old campfire that was long extinguished. That same breeze carries peppery juniper bark with it, which is the result of the sun drying out the bark along with the wind. I won’t tell you that it’s the greatest conifer around, but I will tell you it does represent a very specific type of forest, and it’s one that has been claimed by a primitive creature. It does firmly sit in my top 5 forest scents, which is saying something when you consider I probably have around 100 of those alone.

When I first sprayed YETI by Maksim Perfume, I was immediately struck by how brilliantly it fuses a frosty alpine breeze with an untamed, earthy baseline. It offers a remarkably lifelike, atmospheric portrayal of a crisp, pine-laden wilderness that stands out drastically from any standard commercial scents I have tried. That said, the opening is a bit controversial due to a heavy dose of valerian root, which initially split my own opinion with its primal and deeply animalic introduction. Thankfully, I found that this fierce prelude quickly mellows out on my skin, transforming into a warm, sophisticated, and slightly musky undertone. Despite utilizing heavy Thai oud, the formula manages to retain a surprising, buoyant crispness that prevents the composition from ever feeling suffocating or heavy. For me, this unique, weightless clarity allows an otherwise dense artisanal blend to transition effortlessly into an approachable, everyday signature scent. I love that it easily breaks traditional seasonal boundaries, proving exceptionally wearable for me in both scorching summer heat and freezing winter climates. While it avoids an aggressive, room-filling projection, the premium natural oils guarantee remarkable longevity on my skin that easily exceeds twelve hours. Ultimately, I regard this creation as a well executed study in contrast, perfectly marrying raw wilderness with refined elegance.

Yeti evokes an alpine forest like few other fragrances do, but this forest has a creature, not lurking, but bounding through it roaring at you at the top of its lungs. Right off the start you're hit in the face with a ripe, barnyard vibe from the valerian root that dominates the perfume for much of its wear. Like Oud Indochine, it's not to my taste, but there's no denying Raj and Maxim nailed the brief. The note selection is really masterful, from the combination of firs and juniper, to the piney, balsamic tinge from the elemi and the interplay of the tea, spices and woods, nothing feels out of place and the blend is excellent. As the perfume settles and the valerian root fades, Yeti becomes deeper and sweeter, with the trat oud and sandalwood bringing to mind earth covered in decaying bark. If you can smell past or even enjoy the funkiness of the valerian root, this is definitely a unique one. Review based on a complimentary sample

There's not too much that can't already be said about YETI following the official description. As usual, Rajesh and Maxim have envisioned a clear storyline and concept and executed it with absolute precision. YETI is natural beauty painted with natural ingredients - nature bottled. As with all his previous collaborations, Rajesh brings history, mysticism and folklore to life for the sheer joy of art. The composition opens immediately with vast pine forests on mountainous terrain. All the elements support a rich, green, icy landscape. it's not all cold though, there is a warmth in the composition that reveals the living creature - probably through the warm spices of cardamom and pepper, also elemi. For anyone who loves fresh, spicy and aromatic mountainous scents, this is a must have.

Yeti - Bright Oud Riot The first spray felt like I was spraying cardamom oil on me; however, that didn’t last long. As soon as the juice settles on skin, sharp citrusy elemi and spicy pepper with juniper berry take over, which has a woody background but is still very bright and inviting. The black tea note is very robust and smoky, the way I like it. There is no holding back with the accords in Yeti. The drydown is all about oud and valerian root, which is somewhat new to usage in fragrances, but it plays its part well and brings animalic nuances to the fragrance. They’re not super sweaty, but they are present. Sillage and performance are amazing to go with its smell, and you would surely get noticed wearing Yeti. Good Job 👍🏻

Amazing fragrance. A spicy, wet, green forest! Masculine to the core, announces your arrival. Definitely not a mass appealing crowd pleaser, but surely a invokes mystery and mystique for the wearer as well as the audience