Mandate

I've been aware of this stuff for years but was reminded fairly recently when I saw the old Sacha Distel advert for it, kinda wish I'd been around in the 70's to smell the original but the Eden Classics version will have to do. I'm keen on Classic fougere fragrances and this was very much what I was expecting from this and to a large degree it exceeded those expectations because I think Mandate smells unique. It's not a fougere in the rougher sense like a Paco Rabanne for example, it's much smoother and more mellow, with more of a powdered focus of geranium and lavender up front with the classic touches of pine cedar and oak moss and cloves very much lower in the mix. The one note that jars for me from the outset and until it settles right down, is a sweaty unpleasant smell which I can only attribute to clary sage and I wasn't surprised to see it amongst the notes here. This is the only thing that puts me off because when it fades this is a nice scent, which smells inherently cheap but very cheerful, performance was not great but I wouldn't say poor. For 3.99 worth a punt and I actually will wear it. Paradoxically I think it's that stale sweat and cumin smell which although unpleasant actually gives Mandate it's character it would be a very much duller and more forgettable affair without it...strange when that happens. Update: Mandate is superb. I've worn it three times this week and that's unheard of for me. I totally got over that smell in the opening and as I said above it actually contributes to what is an excellent fragrance and it was only £3 for 50ml...amazing. I bet the original was an absolute treasure.

This has been my regular aftershave since 1981, and for the price you really can't beat it. It starts out all fresh and soapy with a rich spicy accord of lavender, rosemary and pine, before morphing into more of a citrus, cinnamon, clove, cedar and rosewood affair. The base notes offer a sensuously warm benzoin, amber, tonka, and white musk finish. The overall impression is one of it being a spicy, soapy, herbaceous, woody, amber fragrance. Though classed as a Fougère, the generous use of cinnamon and clove combined with the underlying amber belies such strict categorisation, as an Oriental influence is clearly evident in its composition. I find little trace of oakmoss in the Dana (1996 - 2008) or Eden Classic bottlings, and only a hint of it in the Procter & Gamble version (1990 - 1996), but it is richly evident in the original Shulton formula (1976 - 1990), giving a depth of body and longevity that is sadly lacking in the other three companies bottlings. Though the quality of the ingredients has dropped considerably since the original Shulton days when French essential oils and genuine ambergris were used in its original formulation (now replaced by cheap Chinese synthetics), Mandate has always maintained its distinctive trade mark scent and is still recognisable to the original fragrance. 9/10.

This was my signature sent back in the day, I never had gotten one bad remark about it while wearing, girls seemed to like it as I got compliments and asked what it was ha, it was not expensive back then just like today and my friends were wearing kouros, fahrenheit, aramis and so on and Mandate stood in amongst those big boys and at least held his ground. Yes it may have changed some but this underdog can still hold ground. Memories oh memories. I find with most bottles of fragrance that the first ( up to a dozen ) sprays, does not give a true reading of the sent when the bottle is new so I spray my bedroom curtains a few times to get to the lesser oxidized good stuff, I think I got this from jeremy fragrance from youtube. This fragrance can really be worn anytime, lightly or go heavy when required. I had a miniature bottle in the glove compartment of my car and would lightly top up now and then. It's not too complex and works well reapplying, not like some fragrances were reapplying just doesn't work so good. Without breaking it down I'm giving it a 9/10 just because I love a true underdog with big ba*ls as my friend, ye,ha.

Peak aromatics for those who enjoy a good fragrance with such. Mandate starts off with a punchy, fresh, herbaciousness and then quickly begins to mellow into an almost incense-like blend of warm clove, pine and cinnamon. It reminds me a lot of those Nag Champa incense sticks you can get in hippy shops, and I'm all for it! There's also a hint of sweetness, someone mentioned a mystery honey note and I can definitely see that! Beautifully blended fragrance - only a bit let down by it's performance as I'm sure its revisions over the years haven't been kind, thus making it last only for a few hours on clothes and even less on skin. You can still get the deodorant from B&M in the UK if you're lucky, try that for £1 to see if you'll enjoy the EDT because they're both exactly the same in smell. That being said, Mandate isn't priced very high at all so you can splurge £10 on a bottle without regret as it's a super comforting and approachable fragrance from the 70s! A smell-like for this one would be Homme de Cafe, another from the 70s with heavy clove and musk, just a bit sweeter.

My grandad was a clean bloke. Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm during the war. He wasn't a strict disciplinarian but his service days were still evident in the mid 1970s when I was a kid. His clothes were always clean and pressed, I never once saw him unshaven and the scent of Wilkinson Sword shaving stick and Palmolive soap was always around him. He used Old Spice mainly but when he passed away in 1988 I found a bottle of Mandate in his things. He must've been given it as a present one Christmas and as soon as I smelled it I was taken back to him wearing it when I was a kid. So, is this a fragrance for old or long dead men? No. What's old about smelling clean and masculine? What's dead about smelling good? I've recently bought the 50ml edt of this obviously reformulated fragrance. It's fresh, zesty and dries down leathery and soapy like it always did. Rather than being outmoded and dated I regard it as rather modern and as an antidote to the demonstrable feminisation of young men we're currently experiencing.

I was amazed to find this on sale in a perfume store which had a really wide range of brands, including some pretty rare and expensive EDTs. There was even a tester available on the shelf! I tried it and was surprised that such a low priced EDT performed so well. Its aromatic opening is reminiscent of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme (albeit not as heavy and headache-inducing as the latter) – so it's unmistakably old school in composition. Its dry down is pretty linear and the skin scent is a pleasant herbs and wood soap scent. I'd say projection and longevity are around average – this isn't a powerhouse. However, for the price on offer (£6.99 for 50ml) I couldn't pass up on a very respectable and enjoyable fragrance. This one's going into my rotation. A quick postscript – the bottle design is now different to the photo shown here. It's now a more squat rectangle with rounded corners with the lid (in a rather tacky gold) the same width as the bottle.

Paco has a younger stepbrother. And only by a few years. Related by marriage not by blood. There's a mutual respect, a fierce rivalry even. And it's one that often leads to things turning physical when the tension between them becomes more than palpable They've both felt it. That need for the other, always pushed it to the back of their minds. The morality of it. Telling themselves they 'just can't'. They couldn't feel that way about another man, could they? And even if they did, would the other feel the same way? They might be fighting for real, or they might be playing. But this time is different. This is the moment. Paco's stepbro is stronger, but only by subtle degrees and in different ways. His firm grip sees both of them locked together, arms taught and bodies tense. Their faces only an inch from the other. Paco gnaws at his lower lip, his heart exploding in his chest. This is the moment they both succumb. Paco yields to his man date.

It's soapy, spicy and a little bit green. It's fresher than you might think, so you can easily rock this is in spring, but it still has that typical 70's dept fitting for the colder months. Especially with that cinnamon blast in the opening. This took me by surprise. Had no idea something this cheap could smell so good. Just tried Sauvage Elixir in my local department store and it's screaming synthetic from my right arm. This is smooth, calming, inviting and even more manly. It is an old school scent, make no mistake, but where I wear most of my old vintage perfumes for my pleasure only, this is going to please your surroundings as well. Even got a thumbs up from my GF (which is rare, to say the least when it comes to my oldies) And the performance is good. Insane value for money.

Late 1986, my first year at college. I had to get two buses, one to the city centre and then one to college. I always had a 10-15 minute wait and there was a Superdrug that opened early right opposite the bus station. I’d always pop in and just inside the door they’d have their tester bottles. Dressed in my stonewashed jeans, black leather jacket and dog tooth checked scarf, thinking I was Tom Cruise from top gun, I’d have a couple of sprays before catching my second bus. Mandate was my go to and got me heavily into fragrances, even as a spotty 16 year old. My scarf would smell heavenly, even days after spraying, I felt like a man. I’ve just ordered a bottle for under £10 and I’ll see if it takes me back to the 80’s, or if it’s a shadow of the great fragrance I remember!

Bought this thing just because it was so cheap and had such nice reviews, and wow. This thing lasts on my skin for a solid 8 hours and it is easily one of the softest and most comforting scents my olfaction has had the pleasure of experiencing. I myself am in my early 20's but this scent doesn't feel like it only fits on older chaps. If I were to describe it I'd say It feels like waking up on an autumn morning out in a rustic cottage in the woods. But despite it feeling like autumn, I feel like it'd fit in any season. If I just wanna smell clean and warm this is what I put on. For its price it's an absolute no brainer and I will definitely be rebuying it. Absolutely in love. 9/10 considering the amazing price for performance.

Additional to my previous review below: I've been wearing this a lot for different activities over the last few weeks in weather ranging from cool and damp to steaming hot. I'm enjoying it such a lot. Complements are not my reason for wearing this one but I have to report that this one has gained a few from friends used to me wearing a lot of fragrances. That's rare. Just watched Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the cinema which is set a good six or seven years before Mandate was released. But this in my opinion is definitely the signature scent of Cliff Booth, the Brad Pitt character. If you've seen the film you'd understand.

Went this morning to check some perfumes and stop at the cheap ones just for fun,saw this one for $2.50 ,the first what comes to my mind "i can imagine for 2 bux perfume" but i bought them as they had no tester,went to my car ,quickly opened and tested ,i was blown away how good is for $2.50 the scent reminds me on Fendi Uomo discontinued one that cost over $200 on ebay used bottle...WOW while i m typing this it still projects very very well just unbelievable ...I m gonna buy some more for back up...

One of the best cheapies. (If not the best) Similar to Paco Rabanne pour Homme. Lasting power and silage are good too. Mandate is really excellent especially if you consider its price. If you love a Paco Rabanne style perfume, try this - it doesn't cost much and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. It is a great juice in its own right though and I would pay 4 times the amount *Update* Wait for it to dry down.

I can see why some find it similar to Paco Rabanne pour homme. After initial spray both share lots of characteristics. However, Mandate drifts of into a warmer, cozier and spicier dry down and smells like warm and cozy jumper in front of a fire place. Paco Rabanne pour homme retains its green character, the creamyness and touch of powder during dry down. Mandate is one of the best cheapies I own.

For an inexpensive EDT it's surprisingly good. Starts fresh and soapy. Dries down to a pleasant soapy/herbal/spicy smell which is in the same family as Paco Rabanne or Worth pour Homme. Staying power is good and the sillage is particularly lovely. A retro scent definitely worth trying It's one of the THE best value men's scents.

Going through my midlife crisis I'm trying all the aftershaves I used to have when I was young man, Mandate takes me straight back to the 80s. Fresh barber shop scent pine, lavender, oakmoss... Very much in the vein of drakkar noir, one man show etc. Great nostalgia kick for me, maybe a bit to plain for frag heads but I love it

Initially I was like OMG what have I bought! Was unprepared for the initial onslaught of cinnamon and herb... but then the carnation heart kicks in and then the dry down! So Good! Pure 70s... I am getting 6+ hours with moderate to strong sillage. Very happy

This is still a classic 80s, a manly scent , screams masculinity like the younger sibling of Aramis..no need to over spray or you could easily clear the room the opening smells like soap a clean fresh spicy scent... Dry down is delicious

How anyone can vote against this smelling like Paco Rabanne Pour Homme is beyond me. It's 90% there. It's possibly even slightly more appealing than it, which for 5 x less money, is a bargain in my books. 8.5/10

Quite easily one of the best cheap fragrances on the market. I love wearing this after a shower. Smells so clean and spicey. Highly addictive stuff

A great scent of the past and still alive! very close to paco rabanne pour homme ! a fablous classic barber shop cologne worth a lot to me!

PR Pour homme ( aromatic fougere, oakmossy, lightly sweet honey in the drydown ) with clove and cinammon, for a better price. Love.

If there is ever a revival of manley clean old school scents for men, this one will be up there with the best.

Old school, superbly aromatic, magnificent and insane bang for your buck, that's all that needs to be said.

Old Classic, very aromatic with lots of Spice and wood. Settles very quickly with the same top notes existing throughout, not an overly complex fragrance but its simplicity does it credit in my opinion and makes it a good all rounder. Best worn on those colder days as the spice does it credit. That said this could be used throughout the year as a daily scent including for work but also those date nights out. Sillage is around 3-4ft, certainly no more than that but it does get compliments when people get close to you. Longevity was around 4-6 hours for me at the most, it actually starts to deteriorate quite quickly after 3-4 hours. Verdict: Lots of warm, spicy wood notes with a hint of Cinnamon. This is a safe option for any guy going on a date or even as a daily work fragrance. It smells clean yet sensual and soft although it is a little sweet at the beginning. NOTE: As of 2016 there is a new bottling which looks different but i can confirm it smells the same as before A classic well rounder "safe" fragrance i'm glad to keep in my collection but it's nothing special 3.5/5

Google image search Magnum PI and the first image you see of Tom Selleck's hairy chest is the smell of Mandate. In fact, it is entirely possible that a hairy chest activates the powers of Mandate. I am surprised there is not an animalic accord mentioned as it really comes across for me. It does have that musty chemical note that I think is the current cheap oakmoss substitute that I smell in recent Quorum and Polo Green reformulations but it is well tempered by other notes. I think that you would be hard pressed to find a cheaper '70s style masculine fougere of this quality but you get what you pay for in terms of projection and longevity. Would have loved to smell it in its heyday.

Mandate is one of those vintage scents that wearing them can end in two ways, you will be wearing the fragrance or the fragrance will be wearing you (despite being a skin scent), let me explain. From the very beginning you get a blast of bitter mix of cloves, oakmoss, pine and cinnamon with cloves dominating. You will have to wait a while and your nose will realize that Mandate can seem bitter, but it's actually sweet in some way, it's warm and bitter, but has a thin sweet and green (in some way) layer around that. Skin scent that you will be able to smell, wandering around you. For me, Mandate is a bitter looking gentleman with a warm, welcoming charmer's heart.

This is very surprisingly good. For £8 for a 100ml on Ebay(including next day delivery!) this is a good quality fragrance. It's been around since the early 70"s and it's still up and running today. Instead of paying around £25-£30 for this you get it at a very decent price indeed. It smells classic and classy and a must have in amongst your collection. I'd give this 8 out 10 easily as it checks all the boxes for a great scent and money well spent. There is nothing not to like about this fragrance and it will bring you compliments too!

I got a box set of this given to me as a gift, with 100ml & 15ml EDT, aftershave balm and shower gel. Have to say I like it, was surprised at the price which is extremely reasonable for what you get. It's an old school woody masculine fragrance, starts off a bit strong but mellows out lovely. On a side note, the aftershave balm in this series is fantastic and highly recommended. Good Stuff :)

Wow, I like this! I got an aftershave strength of this last week. This is a prime example of a classy 70's fougere fragrance. It has a soapiness which is tempered by a rich herbal spiciness. The aftershave strength of this is long lasting and strong, so I imagine the EDT would be impressive.

A nice clean, fresh classic scent. This is one fragrance where I prefer the aftershave to the edt, the type of fragrance which feels good to be splashed on.

You know what’s wrong with this fragrance? The price. If this was near Ten times more expensive it would sell in large numbers. Look what’s happened with Drakkar Noir; that too was a fragrance no one over 40 would consider buying. But thanks to Fragcom it’s become a ‘Hidden Gem’. This is such a ‘DILF’ Scent it’s almost wrong to wear. I like it I would love (in fact I might just do this) have a collection of fragrances just for those days when I want to bomb about in Dad jeans, new balance trainers, pastel yellow, green and blue sweatshirt and wraparound sunglasses and just wonder around large DIY SHOPS or Supermarkets looking either purposeful or frustratingly lost. 7/10

Clean soapy with a bit of woods.

A soapy, spicy marvel. If you're not keen on soap, best steer clear of this one... It's no nonsense, but I certainly wouldn't describe this fragrance as cheap smelling. Brisk, clean and simple as it is, it still manages to smell pretty unique. The first time I sprayed this it was a bit of a full on scent assault, but subsequently it seems to have settled down quite a bit - so give it a chance if you don't get on with it straight away. I find the spice pretty non specific, but it does give a decent account of itself in the face of all that soapiness. The presentation is charmingly late 20th century - including a more than slightly "tacky" gold plastic lid on the 50ml version. It's going to stay in my cheapie rotation for quite some time because at the price it's a complete steal.

Cedar, oakmoss, tonka bean, clove, cinnamon, pine, amber & musk. One of the very first colognes ("after shaves") I ever bought at a local branch of Boots the Chemist in 1979. And unbelievably, still available. To me, as a fourteen year old, this smelt masculine, sexy and grown up. Of course it's not, and in retrospect probably smelt quite dreadful, but I think those early forays are good introductions to fragrance for young people. At least it gives them an idea of what's available and what they like. Thankfully I very rapidly moved on to Chanel, Guerlain, Lanvin, Givenchy & Hermes. Wise parents, relatives and family friends can play their part in gifting the right perfume or cologne to young people which will set them up for life.

Its at times like this you realise you can spend a fortune on the likes of niche fragrances boasting the best and rarest extractions, of some flower blossoming in the foot hills of the Himalaya costing the price of bottle of Champagne in a London High class building, yet this is as good if not better than all the pretentious boutique shops offering there wears, in Niche Arcades, boasting their products would only be sold there and in Harrods perfumery hall. Well this just shows them the two fingers and says I have done it and no heft price tag, no marketing hype no pomp, it just works, all ways been impressed with this and have rediscovered it of late. A classic scent if ever there was one. This fragrance is so old its new!

When i was around 18 years old, a mate of mine told me he thought Mandate was very good considering the price. So i opted to give it a go, I was actually astonished at how good it was, especially on my young skin. It was very clean and fresh as you'd expect, but it also drew compliments from females at the time. As i grew older i forgot about it as i advanced onto more expensive colognes of that 1980's period. I will now seek to found if any of the original is available as i have read it has been reformulated like everything else. For me i hope it doesnt disappoint, because it was a stepping stone into the world of becoming a man. Oh, the memories.

Strong, mature (not candy-like) cinnamon straight from the opening, that then steps aside briefly to allow the lavender and bergamot in. Sage gives an herbal transition, offering a voice to clove and carnation, on the cinnamon backdrop that is still there, dancing in and out of the herbal and earthy bouquet that is now present. The earthiness comes out with the pine, and that opens the door to notes of cedar, tonka, oakmoss, and musk. Amber is fleetingly present occasionally, as the Musk and oakmoss stay as the final notes. Moderate silage and good longevity.

Lots of my friends and I went through a stage of wearing this in the early 80's I can't really remember in great detail what it smelt like but I seem to recall us (girls) yes GIRLS loving it! We though it was like the fresh Spanish cologne that all the young Spanish students wore when they visited our country. I saw it the other day & it brought it back to me and like the other reviewers have stated its very inexpensive so I'm gutted I didn't pick up a bottle. Clean & fresh with a bit of spice to it. Sexy

I am surprised that something this cheap smells so good. I love the cinnamon bomb in the opening. Besides that it's warm, spicy, soapy, woody and it certainly won't offend people around you. It doesn't have great longevity or sillage though. I am so glad to have found this little gem.

As of Late August 2020, available at ChemW (Aust) for $5. This is soapy with cloves and a slight 'gold' zing. Complex, smooth and stays with you. Doesn't seem very synthetic, and the clean well-blended soapy note revisits occasionally. Superb!

Stunning value for this very pleasant classic manly scent, so much nicer than Rapport (also from Eden).

I'm getting Paco Rabanne Pour Homme at the dry down. Hmmm, maybe a redundant purchase if you own PRPH.

Horrible headache note in there, old, weak. Not my flavour. To those who do, all the best to you.

@AB70: you bought it? So, what is the conclusion?