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Maya Njie Les Fleurs, Nordic Cedar & Vanilj ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Jessica on 28 August 2020 15 Comments

I've never been a minimalist — not by nature, not by nurture. I'll never live in an airy space with bare white walls or limit my clothing to a capsule wardrobe. My taste in perfume typically matches my taste in clothing and decor, leaning towards retro florals and cozy ambers. But in fragrance, at least, I'll occasionally experiment to some extent. 

In this spirit, I ordered a few samples from the Swedish-born, London-based indie perfumer Maya Njie, who founded her fragrance line in 2016. (It's only recently become available in the United States, where I live.) Njie describes her olfactory aesthetic as "the spirit connected to the classic 1970s Scandinavian idyll, combined with the soul of her esoteric Gambian heritage." That reference to Scandinavian 1970s style, plus the clean design of her perfume bottles and labels, made me expect minimalist perfumes. 

Are they? Yes, in the sense that they're streamlined, focused, and unified as a collection; however, each one still has enough color and texture to hold my interest. I started with Les Fleurs. It's described as "green and vigorous...an unbound celebration of life, love and creation," with notes of bergamot, neroli, fig, "citrusy magnolia," floral musk and "unwilted wood." It was inspired by Minnie Ripperton singing "Les Fleurs" (do yourself a favor and listen!) and it's a transparent yet lasting fruity-floral that wears perfectly in warm weather. It gives more emphasis to its bergamot, sheer woods, and twiggy green notes than the fig or magnolia. I've come back to my sample vial over and over; it's relaxed and earthily romantic, and it hooks me just like that Minnie Ripperton recording did.

Next in my sample trio is Nordic Cedar, an "animated and spicy...warm and piquant" fragrance with notes of cardamom, patchouli, musk, cedar and amber. I like this one too. It's very smooth and solid, but not heavy; again, I was able to wear it in 90-degree weather without feeling overly perfumed. It's more wood than spice, although the subtle cardamom does chime in, and it has an almost vanillic base note mixed into its cedar and sandalwood. Nordic Cedar is a great option for anyone who wants to wear a woody scent that merges with the skin but finds Le Labo Santal 33 too blunt and musky, or maybe just too played-out.

Lastly, we have Vanilj, billed as "Nordic Cedar’s sweeter, more softly spoken sibling" and featuring a "distinctly traditional Swedish combination of Vanilla and Cardamom" for a  "powdery gourmand" effect. Vanilj's notes include vanilla, cardamom, patchouli, musk, cedar and amber, and you can see that it does overlap with Nordic Cedar, yet it's also its own scent: more cream and sugar, more cloudy musk. It's a little boozy, but the cardamom saves it from being too sweet. And it brings back a hazy memory of L'Artisan Parfumeur Vanilia — discontinued, alas, so I can't do a side-by-side comparison.

I'd like to bring back my earlier reference to a capsule wardrobe, because I've tried layering these three fragrances and I found that they combine and interlock comfortably, due to their common threads of wood or spice. I'm especially fond of Les Fleurs over Nordic Cedar. I've yet to try Maya Njie's two other fragrances, Tobak and Tropica, but I'm imagining that they fit easily into this "family" as well.

All in all, this trio does what I always hope an indie perfume collection will do — embody a specific point of view through good-quality ingredients and creative (yet balanced) compositions, then convey its aesthetic with appropriate text and visuals so that I'm inspired to try it. And sometimes, as in this case, something that doesn't initially seem quite my style (too contemporary and minimalist?) will turn out to be just what I've been craving without knowing it.

Maya Njie Les Fleurs, Vanilj and Nordic Cedar are available as 50 ml ($130) and 7.4 ml ($25) Eau de Parfum via Maya Njie's website (in the UK) and MUSE (in the US).

Possibly of interest

Les Parfums de Rosine Vanille Paradoxe ~ fragrance review
Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Banane ~ quick fragrance review & a quick poll
Burberry Her ~ quick fragrance review

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: cedar, fruity floral, maya njie, vanilla

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15 Comments

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  1. hajusuuri says:
    28 August 2020 at 8:14 pm

    And thus, a lemming was born. Nothing that screams SMELL ME! The one that interests me most is Vanilj; even the name has a certain quiet quirkiness to it.

    Would you say these are office friendly? Asking for a friend – ha, not really. I’ve decided that were I to go back to the office, I can probably continue my 8-spritz routine.

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    • Jessica says:
      28 August 2020 at 9:02 pm

      I do think they’d be office friendly! None of them SCREAM, like you said. Les Fleurs would be really hard to overdo. The other two could be office scents, for me, if I limited them to a couple spritzes. Then again, with everyone in masks, who will even know?!

      MUSE is expecting to restock these in early September, I’ve read. Keeping an eye on their site!

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    • Deva says:
      28 August 2020 at 11:41 pm

      These sound really good! If you decide to indulge in a large sample and want to split, count me in. (Hint, hint!). If not, I think I’m going for the travel size when it’s back in stock.

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  2. Deva says:
    28 August 2020 at 11:47 pm

    These sound really nice, and right up my alley. My only concern is cedar, which tends bully all other notes on my skin. I really like the straightforward packaging and press. No ridiculous word describing notes like “the first tear of a newborn,” or “puppy breath and wagging tails,” or “the scent of disappointment, squashed!” Thanks for the review, I’m going to try for the sample set when it becomes available again.

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    • Jessica says:
      29 August 2020 at 11:18 am

      hah! What you read is definitely what you get…in a good way. And I like the use of family photos and their colors to give you an idea of the inspiration and what you’re about to smell, as well…

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  3. sistine says:
    29 August 2020 at 10:14 am

    These sound really nice. Putting them in my “to try” list!

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    • Jessica says:
      29 August 2020 at 11:19 am

      I hope you will! I’d been curious about this brand for a year or two, but it wasn’t available in the US until recently, through MUSE in NYC. It lived up to my hopes!

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  4. makescents says:
    29 August 2020 at 10:25 am

    Hi Jessica, have you ever written a list of your favorite amber perfumes here? I am looking for a cozy amber fragrance for fall with woody notes, but one that isn’t heavy on patchouli.

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    • Jessica says:
      29 August 2020 at 11:19 am

      I don’t think I have…but I should ponder this for a future post! I don’t wear patch-heavy scents, either, so our tastes might jibe…

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      • makescents says:
        30 August 2020 at 11:25 am

        They probably do, because I remember agreeing with everything you wrote about Poppy & Barley (which I drained my 9 ml bottle of last fall). I like that one much more than this year’s JM September releases.

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  5. nathanthomas50 says:
    31 August 2020 at 2:34 pm

    In the UK they’re also available from Liberty

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    • Jessica says:
      31 August 2020 at 8:13 pm

      Yes!! I usually prefer to go directly to the company’s website, so they keep more of the profits… but Liberty is a pretty wonderful retail venue.

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  6. AngelaB says:
    29 September 2020 at 12:48 pm

    I saw these at Arielle’s shop and immediately zoomed in on the cardamom. I can’t wait! Thanks so much.

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    • Jessica says:
      4 October 2020 at 12:04 pm

      I’m so happy Ari has started carrying this line. Two excellent USA vendors now!

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  7. MissGoldsmith says:
    27 November 2020 at 3:37 pm

    For the benefit of anyone else like me reading this months later: Tigerlily in San Francisco is also carrying this line now.

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