Mashael

Mashael: a sweet, fresh and sparkling olfactory experience. Mashael is incredibly original, I have never smelled anything like it. This perfume lifts my spirits. It opens with the sparkling fruity note of green grapes and apples, a citrus touch and shy floral notes, appearing in the background a light note of Vetiver and Patchuli to give more character to the perfume, but to summarize I would say that the phrase that best describes Mashael is: “smell of sparkling green grapes.” It could go for the vibe of L’Interdit by Guivenchy but only a very distant relationship because it is not a dupe at all.

It's okay but too feminine. I like exploring grape scents, but this is too feminine.

Sure, it's nothing new, it has been done (successfully) many times before: from the first Armani Code (in the convexly shaped bottle), Alien, Euphoria, Poison... and Christian Lacroix Nuit by Avon, with a distinctive grape note, not revealed by the pyramid notes, but quite memorable to all who have ever owned or wore the scent. So, if you feel a bit nostalgic about the long discontinued CL Nuit, this scent will take you back in time. You might not recognize it immediately, for the first splash is a bit of a clash of the fruity notes and herbaceous patchouli, which does retreat in 10 minutes or so. The grape note becomes more prominent and sweeter, reminiscent of fresh and juicy grapes (thanks to the apple note in the background, orange is less perceptible). After some 20 min the middle notes join in, and by then you will recognize the familiar scent. In the drydown white florals take the stage while the trail of the grapes remains. The scent becomes deeper with a smoky trail, but never overly sweet, thanks to patchouli and vetiver. This combination also creates a hint of dark chocholate (I have retested it several times, it always ended with the same result). And last, but certainly not least, patchouli here is very well-behaved, it adds depth to the composition, but never turns nasty. I cannot compare them directly, but I remember CL Nuit to be a bit smoother, better blended and with a more distinct smoky, balsamic note - whereas Mashael has a slight chocolate-like twist. So, the two fragrances are not the same, but perhaps close enough. Like, day and night versions. The scent has medium projection and good longevity, but performs better in the colder months. Although marketed as unisex, this is definitely a traditionally feminine scent. As a side note: it's the first fragrance from Adyan that I've actually enjoyed (I found others to be way too sweet). On the positive side, from what I have tested, I found Adyan's and Anfar's fragrances to be better, compared to some other ME fragrances in the same price range, both in terms of quality of materials used (no screechy synthetic smell) and performance – they don't need time to 'mature' once opened.