I didn't buy anything, but I'm rating it highly for the experience.
You really get the feel that these individuals, (4 in the entire company!), like the rest of Portland, are masters of their craft and truly care about creating an amazing product rather than spending exorbitant amounts of money A) convincing you that you're lacking something and B) that their product will fill that void. Screw the psychological mindgames the ad-world has taught us, and rely solely on quality product that stands for itself.
Maak has done numerous collaborations, and hopes to be in Opening Ceremony stores in NYC soon - and I cross my fingers for them, because I really want them to make it over here!
The scents were unique, powerful, and engaging. The person who runs the stock in the store was extremely patient, explaining the notes of each scent and how they came upon it for inspiration. I was really impressed by how knowledgable he was and clearly how thoughtful the company was in creating the experience in the scents. Moreover, I walked away with sizeable free samples of the liquid soap and the daffodil perfume, so I was even more elated.
Here are a list of recommendations to bump the score up to a 5-star experience:
1) They have testers for all the products - which I dig - but they don't have a functioning sink for customers to try the more sticky/soapy products. I would have loved to admire the scents after washing, as the formulations always tend to smell different in the various modes (ie. soap, shampoo, candle, parfum).
2) Prices - nothing had a price on it! And I genuinely still don't know how much anything cost, and I was afraid to ask. This creates an unnecessarily anxious experience for customers who want to enjoy your product and see where it stands.
3) Notes - the worker was able to explain the base notes, but not all of the parts of each scent, which I think is important. I was interested in the Myrto for my partner, but as we know, scents are tricky and if you can't have them physically present to try, you need a sample to figure out the interaction with their body chemistry. Well, my partner lives in another state, so the next best thing would have been to explain it was vetiver +... but I never got an answer in person, and when I tried e-mailing, as they directed, I never got an answer (about a week and a half ago). read more