Maderas de Oriente

It's been about 35 years since last time I had a bottle. I could just sit and sniff my Maderas de Oriente for hours and hours, deeply inhaling it like a drug. The sandalwood sticks floating around in the bottle gave it a certain magic. I went through several bottles in my early youth and never grew tired of it. Back then I used to go to Spain on holiday and I always bought it there. I remember they sold it everywhere, in every single tourist shop they had bottle after bottle lined up. It cost next to nothing. I mean, literally. It was SO dirt cheap. I actually found it on ebay recently. At $325 for a bottle. I was in shock! So I thought I'd just cling to my fading memory of "The One and Only Perfume" from my youth. But - a while ago I was offered a large decant of Maderas de Oriente, just out of the blue! I was almost afraid to spray it. You can't trust memory, not really. I recognized it instantly, this soft woody oriental. I don't feel the same way about it now - I've encountered so many great perfumes over time, and objectively I can see that Maderas is not a masterpiece beyond everything else. It's still lovely though, and I enjoy wearing it. I have the loción concentration and it has a decent longevity and a soft sillage. It's a very cosy perfume, like a light blanket on a rainy day. EDIT: It was first launched in 1918 and was on the market for a long time. I think I bought my last bottle is 1979 or so.

The first time I smelled Maderas de Oriente was in my childhood, when a classmate introduced me to the soap with the same smell as the fragrance. I was completely addicted and mesmerized by the exotic packaging. For a child used to the innocent smells like Johnson's baby shampoo, this fragrance was a whole new olfactory experience. Years later, I bought a bottle (the one in art deco shape with sandalwood stick inside). While my friends wore Lou Lou or Anais Anais I was very happy wearing this very cheap perfume sold in the supermarket in the small town where I lived.

I have an old bottle of this, most likely 50years. I would say this is mainly woody, not much else. But it ́s very nice and very natural IMO. A very good mix of natural woods, sandal, cedar and oud plus something more, rather linear.

My mother loved this perfume as it was one of my grandmother's favourites. Recently, I've been wearing Kenzo Amour Florale and my mother says it reminds her a lot of Maderas de Oriente. If you loved Maderas de Oriente, but cannot find it anymore, maybe you'll enjoy Kenzo Amour Florale. I've never tried Maderas de Oriente myself, I'm basing this review on my mother's opinion. A mi mamá le encantaba este perfume porque mi abuela lo usaba. En América Latina ya no se consigue. Recientemente he estado poniéndome Kenzo Amour Florale y mi mamá dice que le recuerda mucho a Maderas de Oriente, tanto que le regalé una botella de aquel. No es un substituto exacto, pero quienes aman Maderas de Oriente y ya no lo encuentran quizás disfruten de Kenzo Amour Florale. Yo nunca he olido Maderas de Oriente, estoy basándome en la opinión de mi madre.