Mister Marvelous

This was my first bottle of Byredo, which I purchased back in August 2021. This is one of my all-time favorite fragrances, as it is so fresh and so versatile! I bought it right before starting uni, and now I'm entering my last year, which makes the scent even more special and memorable for me. I was surprised that this scent is seen as a more masculine scent, as I think it is strictly unisex. The citrus-notes work well for both genders in my opinion, and I have gotten several compliments on it. I don't think the wood notes are as prominent as the citrus/fresh green notes, but they are still there. An underrated perfume in my opinion!

There are a lot of harsh reviews here, something that I didn't expect when I sampled this at the Byredo booth blindly. The lady there told me it is their go to masculine offerings, which indeed it feels like, since this very much falls into the realm of the ever popular green citrus freshie. However I find this one oddly authentic for a Byredo, a brand that notoriously sells 80-100 euro scents for 200 euro, a practice very common in the designer market, but in the last decade, increasingly common in niche houses that are owned by larger companies like in the case of Byredo. FM, Tom Ford etc. Focusing on the scent, it is actually a realistic petitgrain scent, specifically capturing the rich mandarin leaf smell I grew up with, with a pleasant herbal undercurrent, a woody cedar-y iso e boosted core with a touch of musk. Decent longevity on my skin. Given petitgrain and cedar are cheap natural raw materials, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the most natural-packed Byredo in the entire line. Presented in a less banal bottle, at half the price, with a less ridiculous name I think this would have been a much more appreciated fragrance. Personally i think it is eclipsed by many more affordable petitgrain scents in the market e.g. Hermes Concentre d'Orange Verte, but I would nonetheless pick this up if I found it highly discounted.

Few perfumes hit you this hard with petitgrain in the opening, fizzy and citrus like but lacking in any sort of yesty refreshment. As Mister Marvelous settles down a bit it does get slightly pissy I'm afraid, but hey I can deal with that as I sort of find it interesting when it's not too dominant. I think the neroli coming through gives it a saving lift but the base is a peppery cedar which again doesn't help with the overall vibe of this perfume. Not something I'd wear I'm afraid, Byredo aren't doing particularly well in my favour being a house I hadn't tried until now. I don't hate it but put it this way, we can't talk longevity I'm afraid, because it got scrubbed.

This is a manly and "serious" type of scent for warm weather. The boss's kind of scent lol! At the opening I get a very strong citrusy vibe along with cedarwood and a little camphor. As time passes the petitgrain and the mild camphor calm down and the woods become dominant.. at this stage it feels gorgeous! Perfection in a bottle with a manly vibe. The neroli & the bamboo support the woods so they are not very vivid. The only minus is its moderate performance. I'll try it again to confirm its longevity which is very important for me. Update Moderate longevity confirmed. I love this simple scent but it lives somewhere between 4 - 4.5 hours..

Fresh, crisp and comforting. It reminds me of my dad and all those times we went to the woods. It's like a day in the pine forest. It's slightly cold already, you are wearing a woollen pullover and lighting a camp fire with pine cones. Needles to say, I like this perfume a lot. It works fine on me, even though it's kind of masculine. Maybe it's the memory it evokes that makes me like it. I get a strong coriander note in Mister Marvelous, even thought it's not listed.