Midnight Gold

Wow this is truly a beautiful beautiful oud. #Similarities# One of most unique oud forward scents I've ever smelled - I'm not kidding. I dabble into ouds, artisinal, occidental and in eastern perfume and I have smelled this particular scent profile only twice so far and it was in the perfumes and oils of Rasasi. Rasasi Atheer Cambodia Al Boruzz and Rasasi Sahar come to mind. If you've ever smelled those this will only remind you of them it is closer to the Atheer Cambodia which is very oud heavy and bar-none an imperial scent on its own but this one has its own regality where its oud is toned way down. #About the oud# There is absolutely no bacterial harshness or body odor smell to the oud accord that is used in this rather the oud in this is a foundation for all the other ingredients to support themselves. Where other western niche or artisanal houses continue to do jubilation XXV clones (oud and blackberry), sad, oud rose forward, oud saffron forward, or oud vanilla forward combinations or a mixture of all three - Mancera experiments artfully in the background with other more unique combinations. #some downsides# The fragrance is not that strong at least to my nose or diffusive in the air as other Manceras tend to be. Midnight gold may be fresher than expected for some. #About the scent# On my skin Midnight Gold sustains a dark oriental woody base where sweet neroli, warming cardamom, and juicy, ripe citrus harmonize graceful on top of a tropical oud. The combination is uncanny and confusing yet fascinating and fantastical - like watching a plate spinning balancing act complete with explosive gymnastics and contortionists at a midnight circus show. I can't even properly describe a specific thing or give a simplistic image of how this scent smells like I usually can. It smells almost green like pastel-green in the far dry-down. Off my skin this also smells slightly floral. However the oakmoss gives a fresh mentholated (minty) feel to the composition to keep it unisex-masculine leaning and daytime applicable. This smell is mature, serious and authoritative and maintains this slightly fresh sweetness while the oud stays in the background throughout the entire life of the fragrance. Midnight Gold will smell fresh but it is a dark freshness like a dark herbal freshness not so much a bright citric freshness. The oud is discreet, a nice duality between light and dark elements! #performance# The scent is not very volatile spreading modestly from the application point probably only in your personal space and you will smell it's freshness in small doses ever so often. This is not a sweet or candied fragrance so you will feel confident and put together when wearing it. In my opinion a good interview or office or formal fragrance. It lasts about 6-8 hours off skin but in my opinion this might not be a sillage powerhouse. #Experience# Midnight Gold has transported me to a beach (I'm always on a beach - well whatever, it works) on a pitch black night where there is no moon. It is impossible to see the horizon and the space over the ocean feels like an endless maw of nothing. The water is black like ink and the ocean breeze is blowing strongly as if the darkness is breathing. Please test before buying - but I'm sure you'll be impressed too. 9/10 Edit: The subdued unique, oriental dark sweetness that the oud accord brings to this is almost reminiscent of its cousins - Mancera Gold Prestigium and Gold Aoud - two of which I own. Those who like Gold Prestigium or Gold Aoud may like this. Although this smells totally different from those this specific DNA of an oriental citrus-forward oud accord does feel present.

In summary: To me this smells citric and floral with only an implication of oud which weighs the brightness of the scent down slightly and creates a darkness, a mature character to the scent. The scent will smell unique, heavy but clean like a bar of orange blossom soap. It lasts once again 6-8 hours. But I go back on what I said, it has decent sillage so far even in cold weather in my opinion. right now the scent proves to have potential to be very potent in the warmer seasons of summer, spring, and fall. It is a small bubble around my personal space in cold indoor spaces or cold outdoor environments. But so far in the cold no one else has noticed it off me. The DNA shares very slight similarities to cousin fragrances Gold Aoud and Gold Prestigium both of which feature an oriental citric-oud accord so far in the background that those not familiar with eastern perfumes, or manceras may not detect. Dior Homme Parfum has an oud accord in it that for the most part is undetectable because it enhances the leather and chocolate-like qualities. In the air Midnight Gold is floral and soapy in character rather than citric thanks to the oakmoss. It almost wants to be a Chypre without the scary old-fashioned leathery, amber, or sour resinous facets of a Chypre almost a semi-Chypre which might throw some people off but grants this scent a more unisex appeal leaning masculine. I agree with ToddProjects that this might smell feminine to some men. If you prefer typical Chypres - like Aramis Aramis 900, Geurlain Mistouko, or Chanel Antaeus you might scoff at this one because of its floral, soapy skeleton without the animal. I recommend this one to those who like their Chypres less dry and more diluted and soapy like Terre d'Hermes, Chanel no.19 eau de Parfum or Chanel Cristalle. This is an incredibly unique offering one of the most unique I've come across this year in terms of new releases especially involving an oud from Mancera. People are going to be pleasantly surprised if not love this when the get a chance to smell it for themselves Edit: This scent filled out a room at warm room temperature and people were asking what I was wearing. I guess that proves my point this will be potent as hell in warm weather!

Midnight Gold (MG) is a wonderfully pleasant, easy to like and impossibly to hate, perfume that suffers from label misidentity - for lack of a better term. First, MG is one of the more well-behaved perfumes in Mancera's lineup of heavy-hitters in that is has both moderate longevity and projection; it's lasts around 6-7 hours with a personal scent bubble for most of it's journey on my skin. I found it to be an attractive and pleasant scent that leans just a tad bit on the feminine side, but certainly with a strong unisex vibe that can easily be rocked by all. My biggest problem with MG is not the perfume--it's very pleasant and likeable as mentioned--but it's labeled "Midnight" Gold and classified as being an amber woody? Okay, I get the amber and woody elements in the dry-down but, to my nose, these notes and accords are not prominent and are merely backing players. I'm leaning citrus-aromatic-woody. I get the "Gold" part of the name (it actually smells like the color gold), but this is daytime scent IMO so I'm clueless as to the Midnight label. To me, "Golden Rays of Warm Sunshine" would be far more accurate label than Midnight Gold. She's girl next door attractive, but not a Midnight Seductress to my nose. Overall, I very much enjoyed this perfume...but it's better suited as a daytime office or casual scent. Finally, if you're looking for an oud fragrance...well, you find it here. But if you like a fresh-spiced, citrus-aromatic and cedar in the Gold colored backdrop, then you'll enjoy this one and it's worth a sniff.

My newest mancera acquisition and from first spray I wasn't sure if I liked it as it was a blind buy. But after the initial opening it became quite pleasant. Not a huge fan of the opening but luckily it settles pretty quickly around the 5-10 min mark into something pleasant. I've heard "reviewers" call this a freshie or summer fragrance and I disagree completely. This more of an early spring or fall, day or night fragrance. Is there citrus yes, but it's blended in and doesn't feel like a main player here. Instead I get a ambery (not sweet), semi spicy, and woody experience similar to burberry hero EDT and Dior homme 2020, but with the clear star of rose. Rose is by far the dominant note to my nose at least. As far as performance I would say it's around average, I get around 6 - 7 hours with last two hours being a light skin scent. For a house known for longevity and projection this might seem underwhelming but when you consider the two fragrances I mentioned (Hero and Homme) which are closer to the 4-6 hour mark, this does ok. Overall I am glad to have this in my collection even though I own those other two, so there's a bit of redundancy, however it does it's own thing enough to be satisfied with a purchase. Is it the best from the house? No not even close, but is it a solid addition, yep.

SUMMARY: 9/10 Well made unisex floral/rose fragrance. Fresh and easy to wear. More floral/rose than citrus, but the citrus is present and really helps balance it out. Great performance for a light/fresh fragrance. RAMBLING THOUGHTS: I love rose fragrances, but many are quite overwhelming and can be perceived as feminine if the rose is too dominate (at least where I live). Midnight Gold addresses both these problems, by balancing the florals with citrus and woods, in a way that leaves the fragrance clearly being a rose based scent, without letting the rose run too wild. The citrus and woods are also well balanced, as are the spices, amber, and oud. Everything in this fragrance is just well balanced and easy to wear (the opening can be a little herby/spicy, but only briefly). If I am being honest, I can't say this is a "special" fragrance, beyond how well made and how well balanced it is. There is nothing inherently unique about the fragrance and it isn't challenging in anyway. It is just a really well made, truly unisex, lovely and easy to wear rose fragrance. Performance is really good for a light and fresh fragrance. Projects well initially, and then stays on the skin (and clothes) for hours and hours. You will still catch it on the air as well even after hours, though only in close.