• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Aroma M Geisha Marron ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 25 January 2018 7 Comments

chesnuts

Two weeks ago, I mused about chestnut perfumes. The topic must still be on my mind, because I just unearthed a vial of Aroma M Geisha Marron in a bag of samples on my desk and decided to give it another spin. Geisha Marron was originally released as an oil (in a roll-on bottle) in 2006, but Aroma M's founder and perfumer, Maria McElroy, launched a new Eau de Parfum concentration in 2017.

Like its "sisters" in the Geisha collection, Marron is an interpretation of a color —in this case, brown. Its composition includes notes of grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, muguet, chestnut blossom, magnolia, leather and musk, combined to make Geisha Marron a spiced fruity-floral fragrance that would be a good introduction to the rest of the line.

On my skin, Marron lives up to its description as the "scent of succulent overripeness, of sweetness that dares to skirt the edge of seductive decay." It starts off with an accord that reminds me of candied nuts, sort of sugared and woody at the same time. However, Marron isn't a purely gourmand fragrance: the blossoms of the chestnut tree end up playing a stronger role than its nuts. The white florals are creamy rather than indolic, and the fruit notes remind me of overripe peaches. The fragrance's dry down is a fruity amber with hints of honey and patchouli.

I used to have a sample of Geisha Marron in its original perfume oil concentration, and this new Eau de Parfum feels airier and a little brighter to me, like the composition has been given space to stretch out and let the light in. It doesn't last as long on my skin as the oil used to, but that's to be expected of an alcohol-based version. It cheered me up on a windy gray day the way a colorful patterned scarf might do.

Geisha Marron won't replace Geisha Violet or Nobara-Cha as my Aroma M favorite, but I like its feeling of easygoing chic. I'd recommend it to women who are just starting to explore niche or indie fragrances, since it's so wearable and smooth, without the quirk of Geisha Green or the drama of Geisha Noire — although I'd hope that they'd work their way up to those, too!

Aroma M Geisha Marron

Aroma M Geisha Marron is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum ($100) or .25 oz. Perfume Oil roll-on ($60). For buying information, see the listing for Aroma M under Perfume Houses.

Note: top image is chestnuts [cropped] by Zaytsev Artem at flickr; some rights reserved.

Possibly of interest

American Perfumer Colorado & Desert Flower ~ fragrance reviews
American Perfumer Desert Flower ~ new fragrance
Aroma M Geisha Botan ~ fragrance review

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: aroma m

Advertisement


7 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. littlecooling says:
    25 January 2018 at 5:01 pm

    Great review, dear Jessica 🙂

    This sounds like a wonderful close-to-end of winter-early spring scent 🙂 Like wearing a comfy cashmere sweater 🙂

    I like the bottle design and that it comes in a handy pouch 🙂

    The price isn’t that bad either..

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      25 January 2018 at 8:13 pm

      The packaging is beautiful for this house—traditional Japanese patterned papers! and you’re right, the price is very reasonable, esp for an indie brand that produces fragrances in small batches.

      Log in to Reply
  2. Elisa P says:
    25 January 2018 at 5:55 pm

    Thanks for reviewing this! I’ve been curious about this one being a fan of Aroma M (just bought Nobara Cha oil. Love it!) Most user reviews seemed dissapointed that it was mostly a white fliral and not nutty or a straight up gourmand. I have no idea what chestnut blossoms smell like.. But I like her Camelia which also has that creamy white floral on the verge thing going on.

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      25 January 2018 at 8:23 pm

      Hey, that’s a good comparison…the white flowers here are not dissimilar to the ones in Camelia! I do agree that some of the original users expected a very nutty gourmand fragrance and they were turned off by all the flowers and fruit. Oops. Got to read the full description!

      Log in to Reply
  3. lillyjo says:
    25 January 2018 at 6:45 pm

    I’m a big fan of the color brown, unless it’s an eyeliner. This sounds interesting to me. Is the honey and amber very pronounced though? I struggle with both of them. Thanks for the review!

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      25 January 2018 at 8:24 pm

      Well, it’s not a Honey Perfume in capital letters, but the amber is on the sweet side rather than the intense, spicy-resiny side, if that makes sense!

      Log in to Reply
  4. tiffanie says:
    25 January 2018 at 11:32 pm

    Thank you for this review. I love wearing Geisha Vanilla Hinoki and have enjoyed sampling a few other scents from aroma M, a house I think deserves more love and attention. I’ve sworn off buying full bottles for now, so I added aroma M to my list of houses I’d like to sample from this year.

    The edge of decay is a great place to be. Dyptique 34 boulevard saint germain has a subtly overripe undercurrent that I find irresistible. Now I’m hankering after a sniff of Geisha Marron. It sounds delightful.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

Browse by...

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023

Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

23 September ~ swapmeet

3 October ~ damage poll
7 October ~ fall reading poll
21 October ~ splitmeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2023 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.