4711 Acqua Colonia Mandarine & Cardamom

Sparkling MANDARINE & CARDAMOM luxury shower gel-like scent. Opens with a burst of soft mandarin with faint cedar & spicy cardamom nuances that deepens into a fruity, aromatic & spicy heart resting on a musky woody base with faint pencil shavings & a faint, fleeting bubble-gum nuance on the skin. The mandarin is less forward here than the notes would suggest, and is very soft, and its underpinned by spicy, musky & woody facets. Overall I get a luxury mandarin shower gel with aquatic, fruity, woody, spicy & faintly soapy bubble-gum-floral tones. Average performance for a subtle wearing experience that's extended if layered over its matching body lotion. This was love at first sniff for me, and my favourite of the range. Contrast to Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic Guerlain: These are different but there is a similar fruity 'shower fresh' vibe. MB has a forward basil note and is more similar to scents like Un Jardin Sur Le Nil Hermes. MB has superior performance. Contrast to Mandarine Glaciale Atelier Cologne: These are different, but this is the most similar scent to MG that I've smelt, but the mandarin in MC doesn't continue throughout the drydown but evolves with more cedar-spicy nuances. Roughly equivalent performance, or slightly better performance with MG. Contrast to Cheap & Chic I Love Love Moschino: These are different, but the mandarin here is done in a similar way. C&CILL has beast mode performance. Contrast to Club de Nuit for Men Armaf: These are different, but there are some similarities with spicy citrus and a bubble-gum note. CdN has beast mode performance, and the bubble-gum note is more forward. Overall: Affordable and a beautiful scent profile with average performance that can be extended by layering over its matching body lotion. This is the perfect scent to wear for a 'shower fresh' vibe. It's a love for me. Enjoy!

My sister bought this for me because she knows I love Mandarin and Cardamom, both as food and as scents, and she couldn't have made a better choice. I absolutely love this. It is what it is named. A beautiful balance of juicy, not so sweet mandarin, with a light spicy cardamom note, which gets a little heavier on the dry down where it is later joined by light woody notes. Projects lightly off the skin for about 2 hours, but stays a skin scent for about 5. It is pretty linear, but that's okay, because I think it smells great from beginning to end. I honestly like this more than any of the Jo Malone orange scents (Orange Bitters, Lime Basil & Mandarin) that I either own or tried, and it performs about the same too. Price wise, this is about 1/10th the price of a Malone, which makes it even better. I can't get enough of this right now. I now want the moisturizing body oil of this scent too. That should make this perform even better than it does right now, but this is so inexpensive that I can spray away all day if I like. I'm no psychic, but I see a large 5oz bottle of this in my future.

It is currently about 8o (F) here so it wasn't very logical to give this a try but I got a bottle on sale and decided I had to try it to make sure it was good. And I must say this is very, very good. This is an extremely traditional citrus fragrant that has an unusual amount of presence. It does not do the more traditional trick of smelling sunny for about 10 minutes then dropping to either a white floral or shy musk for the next several hours. It is also very distinctly orange (tangerine more than mandarin so there's acid for structure) and the cardamom is delightful. I don't get a lot of cinnamon but I do detect something that's a bit crunchy to give the scent some spine and structure--perhaps a particularly salty vetiver. So, to summarize, I've got sunshine on a cloudy day and a citrus scent that presents itself as perfume rather than aftershave or cologne. It will be interesting to see what this does in the heat of summer. Sillage: 2-3 feet, not shy Duration: 2-3 hours in cold weather Fabulosity:a glass of fresh sqeezed orange juice. Value to price ratio: excellent 7/10

This is absolutely my favourite of all the fragrances in the 4711 Acqua Colonia line. Like the other fragrances, Mandarin & Cardamom is a linear fragrance - what you smell on your first spritz is exactly what you'll smell hours later. That scent is a lovely, zesty, and fresh mandarin with a hint of cardamom to take the edge off and round out the fragrance. The only negative about this fragrance is the longevity. I'm lucky if I get an hour out of it, and with negligible sillage - this is a skin scent on me. However, that's a problem I face with all of 4711's fragrances, so not a big deal. At this price point (I paid around USD 15), you could bathe in the stuff and not feel the pinch (figuratively, not literally). It's also available in a gift box with a matching shower gel, so you could also bathe in it literally, if you so wish.

So good! This is a fall/winter orange freshie. Just as good if not better than Geza Schoen's other fragrance Molecule 01 + Mandarin and much lower in price. The mandarin is fresh and slighly sweet while the cardamom elevates it to something a bit more than just fruit juice. It lasts about 6 hours on me, but I like continuously spritzing it often. More potent than the instantly disappearing original 4711, but still ultimately a cologne, so keep that in mind. A smile in a bottle and will definitely satisfy your spring-summer mandarin craving. Side note: I also tried the Blood Orange & Basil which is completely different, but still nice (more herbal and slightly sweeter) and Lime & Nutmeg which to me has a more complementary feel to M&C, but with an atypical lime note. I recommend them both too!

Fresh Mandarine! Last year I purchased "4711 - Melissa & Verbena" and was mind blown about the freshness and how long it would last. Last week I saw the whole range of 4711 on sale and immediately wanted to buy the yellow one (Lemon). Unfortunately Lemon wasn't lemony (in my opinion) so I tried the best next thing... Mandarines. The fresh orange zest bursts into your nose and the first feeling was: I like this. I tested it on the skin and since, it lasted quite a long period, I dediced to purchase it. I don't think you'll regret it either considering the price. Pros: very fresh, long lasting for its pricerange, cheap Cons: none... yet

Super refreshing! It smells like mandarin for about 30 minutes to an hour, with a bit of spice, then gets weaker and weaker until at the two to three hour mark it is almost gone. I can really smell iso e super in this. I really do like it personally and find it to be very nice. For me it is worth the price and would be great as a light cologne in summer or after a shower.

Amazing! A perfect summery refreshing good feel scent. Sweet juicy tangerine, lightly spiced with aromatic and delicious cardamon. The only downside is the longevity but then I guess it is a cologne and I have a massive 175mls of it so I can bathe in it lol! Just what I was looking for...now we only need good hot summer so I can put it to good use.

If you're looking for something to wear just out of the shower or to go to bed with, this is a good one. Cheap fragrance but smells very fresh and nice without coming across synthetic. My favorite from the brand!

I love this perfume,but unfortunately the sillage and longevity are a joke. if it were not for this i would make it my signature fragrance. it is really delicious. it makes me think of a trip to Sicily.

The most beautiful mandarine cologne ever. I love spicy feeling of cardamon. Unisex scent. Longevity is great... 6 hours on my skin. Worth trying.

To me this smells a bit like the dry down of Bigarade Concentree. That's just me. Nice, a little dirty (spice) and bright.

The best "orange" perfume ever!!!!! Even better than Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino at a fraction of the price!

I bought this frag like 3 years back and had to stop using it because it was too headache inducing, as like most freshies I was so used to overspraying. But little did I know the creator of this very fragrance was Geza Schoen , he is known for the use of Iso E super, up to this day. And yesterday I come back to this little gem, only 1 spray on my left arm, enough to last for 8hrs plus! I had no idea if Geza Schoen has mixed in some of the iso e super or not, but I am super confident he did because I had a very sensitive nose and my experienced with Terre d’Hermes wasn’t good (almost lost consciousness for 5 little sprays of it). Had no idea how much iso e super he used in this frag, but this frag blooms like crazy for me, just a spray is enough. Its amazing to found out that how citrusy fragrance like this could last more than 8hrs. This one smells like the fresh mandarin juice, after awhile the cardamom comes in just to add some spiciness on it while retaining the citruses and rest of it would be skin scent, the same vibe I had for my beloved Jo Malone wood sage & seasalt, smells so clean, fresh laundry vibes. In the end I could catch some woodiness, after 8hrs plus. So it’s safe too conclude that this frag really contained some of this eso e super. So beware for all those sensitive human being like me, spray sparingly.

4711's Acqua Colonia line is a great one. All the products are well-priced, especially for 5.7oz/170ml size bottles, and the ingredients are quality as well. As its name implies, M&C is not complex but rather a linear spring/summer fragrance. Personally, I think it's a tad heavy on the mandarins and too light on the cardamom, but this does not spoil the experience for me. I have received a few compliments about M&C, a rarity for an EdC, which speaks well for its sillage. Overall, this is a pleasing warm-weather fragrance that is nice to wear at an affordable price point, like the majority of 4711's products. For an EdC, M&Cs projection and longevity are above average; on a good wear it can last for two hours, really the limit for a scent in this category. Its concentration, therefore, sits likely between 3%-4%. Those irritable about longevity should look at 4711's "Acqua Colonia Intense" line. The intense scents are really more like EdTs, but marketed as "Cologne Intense" instead, probably to keep up 4711's profile as one main parfumeries marketing EdCs. Summary Type: EdC Season: Spring/Summer Time: Day Attire: Casual Blind Buy: Yes (due to it's linearity) Projection: 4/10 Sillage: 3/10 Presentation: 9/10 Versatility: 7/10 Longevity: 4/10 Value: 9/10

I have to say that at first it doesn't smell like a cologne. Feels more like a perfume. At times it reminds me of MFK Aqua Universalis. Sadly longevity is a big issue. And there is where I knew this was a cologne. I don't mind about sillage, I don't want to bother people's noses from 200 ft away. It's a shame because this is a wonderful fragrance. The mandarin is not the typical obnoxious "peel" scent, and the combination with cardamom is absolutely gorgeous. I still recommend Mandarine&Cardamom, but keep in mind that longevity is quite short. But in the meantime, enjoy it while it last.

I sampled this together with Blood Orange& Basil from the same line, and although they are quite similar in character, I liked the other one slightly better. This one is also a very nice, beautiful blend of sweet mandarine and spicy cardamon in perfect harmony, but the freshness of the basil note in the Blood Orange&Basil just got me. Sorry, Geza :) For an EdC it has great longevity, after a couple of hours I could still smell it. The bottle and box are lovely and elegant as every single one in this line. I am a fan!

I've got a set of mini's and this one is pure Mandarin at first (specifically and accurately Mandarin!) and is gloriously fresh and fruity, but the Cardamom comes in when it dries down and then it starts to lean masculine to me. It's the opposite of the Blood Orange and Basil which starts off a bit more masculine but get more feminine and fruity in the dry down.... I'm struggling to decide which one I want a full size bottle of..... I imagine I'll get both at some point!.

Live on the USA Gulf Coast, where it is quite hot & humid for much of the year. This scent does not fade as quickly as I've read from others; for example, I put it on in the morning & it was still quite noticeable at 3pm. It sits close to the wearer, so it's more for you than those around you. The cardamom & mandarin is quite nice & a solid middle ground for a unisex scent - a bit fruity, but still well suited for men.

Very lovely, sparkling and delightful. The bite of the spice is a great counterbalance to the sweetness of the citrus. Just one problem - NO sillage, NO longevity! Owing to the low price and large bottle, I sprayed VERY generously and within the hour, could barely smell the scent on my arm. What a disappointment, because it is a wonderful summer scent!