Mania

Armani has released and discontinued several "Manias", but none have the uniqueness and sensuality of the original Mania from 1999. Created by Jacques Cavallier, it has notes of bergamot, orange blossom, iris, green notes, cloves, nutmeg, saffron, amber, white musk, incense and vanilla. After its bright citrus opening, Mania reveals its heart of soft spices and subtle florals, on a base of incense, amber and silky woods. Unlike most heavy spicy orientals, Mania has a radiance and lightness that makes it not only versatile, but comfortable. It is not as dry as the notes suggest, as it has a very well-constructed harmony between spices/woods and musk/amber, making it deeply elegant and sensual. Mania is a different oriental, one that wears you like silk, rather than a warm coat. Its frosted bottle interprets its contents well and transmits the effect and sensation of steam, like a glass that fogs up, in a steamy bath in an Onsen, surrounded by incense, candles and essential oils... a sensual scene, not lustful, that reflects peace and comfort. Cavallier had (I don't know much about his current creations) a magic touch for creating original, challenging and polarizing perfumes — an undeniable quality. Perhaps that's why Mania and other creations from his past were not a sales success, leading to their rapid discontinuation, as they went against the trend of their time. Mania is the middle brother of Chaos (1996) by Donna Karan, and Nu (2001) by YSL... being more affable than its older brother, but less daring than its younger brother. Totally unisex, Mania is another masterpiece by Jacques Cavallier. A semi-fresh, semi-warm, spicy oriental perfume, one of those compositions that we no longer find in designer perfumery. Time passes, some perfumes disappear, but the mania of being unique remains, through formulas that are ahead of their time.

Radiant , bright , sweet and slightly powdery. Not as spicy as I thought it would be , it’s rather soft and musky. But there is an oriental facet to this fragrance that makes it unique. Unisex but a little more feminine leaning. Definitely very vintage Armani - understated , elegant and high quality. It shares these house aspects with the original Code EdT for men (aka Black Code) which I’m very familiar with. The vanilla is not the modern sweet gourmand vanilla but rather something that is more realistic to the actual vanilla pods. It’s a flowery and slightly bitter vanilla. Like 80% sweet 20% bitter. Phenomenal creation. I could see this worn year round with some care needed on warmer days for the spicy / vanilla aspects not to become overpowering in the sun. It does have some similarities to YSL Nu which I also own , but they are remarkably different. Nu is VERY 00s YSL Tom Ford era and is much more in your face , exotic and daring. Which also makes it sometimes stand out too much. This one has all the appeal but it’s much softer. The softness in it actually remind me of a more modern creation, margielas matcha meditation. They have something similar to them which surprised me. I am reviewing this based on the spring 2000 PARFUM concentration 15mL bottle which is honestly some of the best packaging I have seen for a bottle. The composition should be the same just that this is a oilier dab version. It’s definitely very potent.

Vintage SAFFRON & WHITE-MUSK Scent with Nutmeg, Cloves & Guaiac-Wood... After the spray dries and the sillage starts to open up, I can feel the clean & sour-citrus tones of orange-blossom & bergamot sweetened by vanilla & labdanum with saffron peeping through. As it transitions to the heart, I get a bittersweet & sour spiciness from saffron, nutmeg & cloves. White-musk & vanilla-woods in the base keep everything together with a fluffy sweetness. It gains powdery sweetness the longer it's drying down, with some powdery tones from iris. The use of saffron here is unique, and ahead of its time. This has above average performance for year-round wear, but with the vintage amber-spicy profile I would be more likely to wear this in cooler months. I fell in love with scent back when it was released, but it was quickly discontinued. When I first sprayed this vintage bottle, I found that time hadn't been too kind to it, opening with sour citrus, and a long wait until the delicate beauty emerges. It's still a love for me, if only for nostalgic reasons. Enjoy! Update 07/27/24: Sprayed this on this morning to check if how it's evolving (after I sprayed out about a quarter of the bottle many months ago). The sour citrus is still there but it only lasts about 5 minutes or less. The vanilla & labdanum are starting to age now giving it a sweet depth and bringing it closer to what I remember. I'm glad I didn't throw it out.

I love it, too and won't start with babbling about the meanness of the discontinuation ;) I try to review this, since there seems to be some confusion. This version of MANIA is totally different from ARMANI MANIA, which can be found frequently in the shops. Where the new one to me is just a floral-sth., this perfume is special, although I have to admit that it's more fresh and less spicy than I would have thought when I saw the listed notes. Mania is fresh, orangy, slightly bitter and light. The orange blossom is very strong in the beginning,very flowery fresh, then it becomes creamy and more settled with earth and wood, I think it's the safran which becomes strong. After 4 hrs I smell woody-nutmeg, with a hint to the citrus/orange of the beginning. The first hour can be too strong of this perfume, but then it becomes more toned down - very nice and interesting. unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a smell-alike, my bottle is almost empty.

One of the most perfect fragrances ever made. It's such a shame the original formulation has been discontinued. It's newer version is a mediocre replacement and smells nothing like this. I had no idea of the notes until I saw them here and I'm surprised. It's not as spicy as the notes suggest. This is more of a very well blended harmony of citrus, floral and mildly spicy notes. It's more of an oriental than spicy. It has to be experienced to be appreciated. I wish this was relaunched in all its original beauty.