Transilvania

Transilvania of course is notoriously associated with Dracula and this perfume lives up to and surpasses every association you have with the name. Transilvania opens up with a blast of black cherry followed quickly by jasmine. I almost never wear white flowers and jasmine in particular because on my skin the brightness always gives way to the scent of mothballs and at worst, something fecal. And I have never found a good reason to want to smell like either. That is, until now. The jasmine in Transilvania is heavy--indolic, hovering between the camphor of preservation and the funk of decay. It truly is a scent of things neither living nor dead. The mind calls up the mustiness of velvet robes rustling, the whiff of things moving furtively in the darkness. Combined with the black cherry, the scent is hypnotic, cloying almost repugnant. And then something really surprising happens. It changes. Have you ever gone back to watch a movie that terrified you as a child only to realize that somewhere between growing up, and the special effects that your horror film has become a comedy? Suddenly, Bram Stoker's Dracula has become a pantomime Nosferatu. I wish I could describe the conflicting emotions the progression of this perfume inspires. It's like that funny feeling when you hit your elbow and you don't know whether to laugh or to cry. But luckily, laughter wins. All the terror and dankness of before gives way to the sweetness and powderiness of tuberose, immortelle, honey--the warmth of vanilla with just a hint of the earlier animalic notes. The drydown is like a nightmare dissipated. As you stare at the sunlight, you wonder, was it all a dream? This is not a perfume; it is a story, poetry in a bottle. Part of me thinks "no one wants to smell like this" and the other half says "you'd be crazy not to want to smell like this." This is not a scent for those who want something simple and inoffensive or a crowd pleaser. I could not recommend it more.

The creation of TRANSILVANIA was inspired by none other than the famous Transylvanian vampire myth. Of course there is a twist in this: Flavius Calaj and Miguel Matos wanted to show us another side of this special and terrifying world. While retaining the positive aspects of the vampire myth, they gave a unique meaning: the result is a wonderfully intense, powerfully rich and highly magnetic scent, which attracts light into this dark world, thus keeping fear away. From the first sniff we can be sure that the outstanding scent of this perfume is the intense flavoured, almost black sour cherry juice aroma. The start is discreetly sweet and has a particularly dry effect. The scent of roses gives the special beginning an indescribable rusty background. We can definitely feel this metallic smell reminiscent of the taste of blood in our mouth. This chord is brilliant, I can hardly believe what I smell. The scent of the virtuoso sour cherry is still dominant, but a duet of tuberose and jasmine slowly emerging in the heart of the scent, which reminds us a bit of Love Toxin, but in Transilvania the aroma of sour cherry is absolutely dominant, subverting these two floral scents that would otherwise fight and strive for victory. This snow white, innocent-looking flowers are battling with the stray, red-blodded berries, hitting and tearing each other, but they don't stand a chance. As the fruitiness of the perfume becomes drier, spicy animalistic notes also pop up like a specifically honey-sweet garnish. Soft vanilla resin and a pinch of oud can be felt in the dry off, beautiful! It’s not just a perfume, it’s a bottled poetry itself!

I opened the vial to sniff and I was hit with the powerful scent of ear wax and metallic blood. I immediately thought of Dracula resting in his coffin with blood dripping from the sides of his mouth into his ears. And this is what the inside of his ears would smell like after being in his coffin for several days on the Demeter ship. But that was just the first impression. What I am experiencing immediately after this dries on my skin is dust. So much dust. Cobwebs from the chandeliers, and layers of dust forming chunky, greyish pills on velvet-lined coffins. It's as if someone just shook a rug that has been unmoved for several years. It tickles my nose and almost makes me cough if I smell it up close. Then comes a tinge of smoky, waxy, borderline-rotting sweetness--I'm guessing the cherry. But it is a waxy cherry, like cherry lip balm left in a drawer for several years, or red "cherry" candles, or those red wax lips they sell near Halloween. There is absolutely nothing juicy or fresh here with this cherry note. The civet is very prominent in this, and heavily musty and musky. It smells a lot like a run-in with a large, damp animal up-close. It smells how I'd imagine a wolf running through the rain would smell like. It also strikes me as intimate in a human way. The layers and notes all combine to create a scent that is ominous, both repulsive and alluring, and extremely ancient. It's a work of art, and I think anyone who likes gothic things, dark history, or Dracula should try it.

Transilvania, the place where my heart beats it's most beautful songs. Home. Never ending longing. It was very clear that I had to try this fragrance. My perfume journey started long ago, as a teenager mostly with cheap catalogue scents, than later came the drug store scent department and everything the internet has to offer. Still, I never owned a niche scent, so maybe my opinion is not very valuable - I am not a connoisseur, but an average woman who owns maybe a bit more fragrances than average. But Transilvania...I had to try it, so I ordered the sample pack. It starts with cherry, honey and some wild, animalic note I haven't smelled before- civet, is that you? It mesmerizes and pushes me away in the same time. A spell was cast, and the magic is working. It is indeed more than a scent. It is a story. A story of love and abandon, rapture and emptiness. It has color - dark! and depth. It has texture - velvety. It has both something transcendental, scary and from beyond this world and something very carnal, like the smell of the wet skin of a loved one after making love for so long that you started to feel empty. On my skin the cherry lasts forever- I could still clearly smell it after 1 day, the animalic note silently fades away, and a balsamic, flowery-tonka bean base remains along the cherry and honey. I love it. And I feel very proud, that this amazing scent was born in this place I call home. It is truly unique.

Transylvania is above all a precious perfume. That fruity mix of cherry, with the floral part and a sweet and animal part in the background seems simply spectacular. The cherry is quite discreet, in my opinion, and it gives more of a feeling like cherry gum when it comes out ... It reminds me a bit of the bubaloo gum filled with cherry syrup that I had when I was little. Towards drying, the aroma becomes slightly dirty but not too dirty. Although it looks a bit like Sarah Baker's jungle jezebel, it is not as powerful and animalistic so I see it as much more versatile. Still it is dense and intense and has a very good performance. It seems to me a very good perfume that comes from the hand of Miguel matos and that goes directly to my wishlist !! I see it totally unisex and for a wide audience. Scent: 10 Longevity: 9 Projection: 8 Versatility: 9 Originality: 10 Quality / price: 8 Overall: 9.5

So beautifully dark & sexy! Big dose of civet here so yes it will turn some off at first but it's the type of scent that haunts you until you circle back & grab a bottle. Initial shocks aside, wearing goes better; It's an excellent performer with a very satisfying black cherry that lasts awhile & reminds me of Luden's Cherry "throat drops" a bit in the most comforting way. Black cherry with honeyed floral sweetness placed against this backdrop of animalic darkness results in a fantastic perfume. It fits the brief perfectly, Miguel did a great job here. Few scents make me think of rules... But Transilvania does demand a confident personality of a certain age. It's a super powerful, not office safe, almost strictly evening-only "center of attention" perfume... in the best way. Try before you buy but it's definitely worth sampling. Just don't expect Lost Cherry.🍒

I agree that the prominent note on this perfume is the cherry. The cherry is ever present from start to finish. The oud is there too, and the other prominent note for me is the civet. When I tried this on the blotter, the civet was so intense, almost like the one on Zoologist Hyrax, thankfully when I tested it on my skin, and gave it a full wear, the civet was not that skanky. Like I said before, the cherry is always there, along with the oud, the tonka, and many other notes that I cannot pick out, but I cannot put aside the civet that come and gone over and over again. The final dry down for me resembles a playdough slash a coffin smell.... in that sense, I get where the transilvania name comes from. Outstanding longevity, more than 12 hours, with strong to moderate silage and projection. Wonderful perfume from Miguel Matos.

I don't even know where to start. It is surely the most extraordinary scent I ever wore. And the strongest sillage. I have a sample vial - the whole box I keep my 100+ samples smells like this now. It is strong. It is very present. Unique. Not pleasing - a personality of it's own. And indeed, very cliche: it absolutely evokes an old, abandoned castle, full with spiderwebs, it absolutely has that animalic character which interestingly hits in waves during the day, but also a wonderfully intoxicating blend of cherries, honey and woods. But the civet is prominent and gives it a strong melancholic vibe. To me it is beautiful. But I can imagine very few situations someone could actually wear it. It is more a piece of art, true perfumery, than a cosmetic product.

Mad cherry, that got really drunk, wants to fight and there will be blood. The opening reminds me of a home-made cherry liquor that is kept in an old wooden cabinet. There's something leathery in it too, maybe the bottle of this liquor is protected in a leather case. Then comes honey and all the rest. It's wild, it's dark and absolutely gothic party night worthy. Yet... a party without baby-bats and teenagers. This kind of gothic dance party where they play mostly bangers from the 80s, and the average age is 35<. If you're addicted to cherry notes, but are tired of Sakura or cherry-coke or find them immature, and happen to be looking for some craziness, you'll be pleased. Its depth reminds me a little of Jezebel by Anka Kuş Parfüm.

I am writing this here, because I don’t know where else to put it! This is about the brand, and not specifically about this perfume. Right now there is an abundance of perfumes! It gets so overwhelming sometimes and it becomes difficult to just choose something. So I started to look at something else that sets houses apart: customer service! I was in contact with this house a few times during the past couple of years, and it has by far the best customer management. It felt like I was their most important client, every time! Prompt, personal and professional every time. I want to lift this upp because it is so rare nowadays that brands make this kind of effort!

“It brings the light in the dark, it is attractive instead of frightening.” says on their website. Fragrance is so dark as under the bed, it’s more correct to say brings dark in the light. It’s so powerful and toxic it’s unbelievable. Even by removing cap from bottle you will feel it in whole room. This is not something you wear with your boyfriend/girlfriend. It smells awesome when someone is 3 meters from you, anything less and it will stink to them. Compliment getter, you can only lie if you say you can’t smell it. Sillage is enormous, longevity too. Awesome thing to wear, but you need to dress as Dracula to make whole experience.

I absolutely love this fragrance. To me, it smells like a cold, damp Orthodox Church. Interestingly, the more musky parts of it remind me of "Dracula's castle" in Bran. Absolutely do not wear this in summer, especially if you overheat. You'll smell like Dracula's stable, unfortunately. The fragrance ignited beautiful, dark and vivid memories of my childhood, funerals and the embrace of macabre tales/practices.

This is phenomenal!! The opening is strong and actually reminds you of blood,kinda scary opening in a good way! After few minutes, oh my, it's just beautiful,warm, attractive, a smell that I can't have enough! I really can't, just stunning. The honey and cherry works magic! Will buy again for sure,love it bravo!

smells like your average sweet, fruity cherry fragrance but with a dirty, animalic twist. When I first smelt it, I was very weirded out yet intrigued. It added the illusion of blood or something along those lines. I just couldn't get enough! It was not what I was expecting at all!

Delicious, warm, intense, sweet, mysterious and so different and unique ... and another Beast Mode in my collection, it lasts about 20 hrs on my skin. Love 💓 Chapeau Mr Miguel Matos ❤️❤️❤️

this one has again the tipical miguel matos dna. to make it simple, this is jungle jezebel with cherry and a hint of blood. nice, but i prefer jungle jezebel.

The best cherry fragrance I’ve tested. Dark, strong, full of character, and definitely not mainstream.

What a niche perfumery so artistic perfect for Halloween i love it first sniff

I got this 2 or so days ago, The opening and drydown the black cherry is always the first note I pick up The opening smells like not in a bad way like opening on of those cherry-flavored cough syrups. When it dries down it still the most prevalent, you get a touch of rose and then the wood on the back which makes a nice well-rounded scent. it reminds me of some of the winter fragrances like a super dark Herod from PDM because the cherry note which tobacco can share. Just wayyy darker. I wouldn't say this is offensive or to anamalic/musky I feel like it's because the rose pulls that with the cherry to make a good touch of sweetness.

Calaj is brave enough to let Miguel go where he wants to go, everything he's done for this brand is an ode to niche and artistic perfumery. I just wished the opening lasted forever, it's magnificent, the kind of thing that makes a true perfume lover roll his eyes with joy. Unfortunately to me it turns a bit too sweet and syrupy for my liking as I prefer his Twisted Tuberose, where you can smell this kind of vibe without being overly sweet. Still...an amazing and beastly perfume.