Maja

Maja is a Spanish-heritage fragrance and beauty brand, the signature line of the Catalan perfume house Myrurgia, which was established in the late 1910s [5]. Named and styled after the maja — the fan-and-mantilla figure of a Spanish dancer that became its emblem — the brand has remained in continuous production for more than a century and is still commercially active, with recent fragrance launches and an active blog.

Beyond fragrance, the line today spans soaps, talcs, deodorants, body creams, body mists and makeup. The current operation behind the official site is based in Mexico, where the products are now manufactured, while the brand continues to present itself as Spanish in origin.

⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.

Maja belongs to Myrurgia, a perfume house rooted in the early-twentieth-century Catalan and European avant-garde. According to the specialist perfume history Grain de Musc, Myrurgia traced its activity "from its birth in 1916 to the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936," a period in which the Barcelona house was tied to the artistic currents of the time [5]. The house produced both Maderas de Oriente ("Woods of the Orient") and Maja among its earliest and longest-lasting successes.

The Maja name and imagery draw on the Spanish maja, a figure from popular culture depicted as a dancer with her fan, kiss-curls and mantilla. The portrait used on the classic Maja soap boxes and wrappings was based on Carmen Tórtola Valencia (1882–1955), a Spanish dancer of the early twentieth century; the image of the maja became the trademark of the Jabón Maja Myrurgia soap, described as one of the classic souvenirs associated with Spain [4].

Sources disagree on when the Maja fragrance itself first appeared. The perfume histories Grain de Musc and Perfume Posse date its introduction to 1918 [5][6], while Fragrantica and the editorial site perfumeson place the launch in 1921 [8][7]. The discrepancy concerns the fragrance specifically; the parent house Myrurgia is separately dated to around 1916–1917 [5]. Maja's own site states only that the brand has "more than 100 years" of history, without committing to a precise year.

In late 2024 the brand introduced three new fragrances — Maja Lucky, Maja Happy and Maja Romantic — described by the company as designed to connect with the emotions of modern women.

Maja is owned by Myrurgia, the Spanish house under which it was created and which is named across the brand's editorial and reference sources as the company behind it [4][5]. The official site presents the line under heritage marketing — the "more than 100 years" framing and an attribution of the signature scent to the perfumer Meisonier — but does not itself document the Myrurgia lineage; that connection is drawn from third-party perfume histories and reference works.

The brand positions itself around the idea of beauty and seduction, describing Maja as a figure that "embodies the beauty, seduction, strength and character of women." Its products are presented as inspired by fine perfumery, and the house frames the line as a legacy that has "transcended generations." The homepage groups the range under playful descriptors — creative and trendy, romantic and sweet, fun and intelligent, sensual and feminine — and carries the tagline "Consiéntete con Maja" ("Treat yourself with Maja").

The fragrance range centres on several long-running scents: Maja Clásica, Maja Plum Blossom, Maja Aqua Turquesa and Maja Love Rose. The company describes Clásica as evoking the mantón de Manila, the embroidered Spanish shawl, while Love Rose is positioned for younger customers who appreciate the classic but want a contemporary turn. According to the brand, the signature Maja scent — credited to the perfumer Meisonier — blends sweet and spiced notes with a comforting powdery, talc-like accord.

The wider catalogue extends well beyond perfume to soaps, talcs, deodorants, body creams, body mists and makeup. Among the house's historical products, Maderas de Oriente stands alongside Maja as one of Myrurgia's earliest and most enduring fragrances [5].

Maja remains commercially active. The official site reflects a Mexican operation, where production now takes place despite the brand's Spanish origin [6], and its blog shows a steady cadence of posts into the 2025–2026 period, with a "Maja 2025" copyright notice [3]. The most recent product activity recorded is the late-2024 launch of the Lucky, Happy and Romantic fragrances. The line is distributed across multiple markets, including Spain, Latin America and retail in other regions.