Castling

GREEN in the opening, on my skin that fresh air opening lasts about 1 hour and leaves this beautiful powdery soft cloud of a scent. The sandalwood is not that wood shop sandalwood. It's creamy and linear and done so well. The vanilla is perfectly blended with the iris and sandalwood. This is signature scent worthy! Castling dries down like a Cloud and reminds me of Musk Therapy with a salty, green, stemmy twist. Some say this scent leans feminine, but I disagree it is completely unisex. This is Iris forward for me. When layering this with an herbal, fresh scented lotion it made me so happy! A cool fact I learned about Mind Games: they are all Extraits and the creator makes an effort to ensure the operation is sustainable. They check all of the batches themselves and know where all of their ingredients are sourced from. If you buy a bottle, it will tell you where all of the notes are sourced from. It's amazing. I genuinely believe these are worth the price point. EDIT: I've been wearing this almost every single day. It's a perfume for when you get tired of perfume. It's so soft and creamy I think the lotus adds a watery feel. I would label this as "serene". This is the perfect scent in terms of projection. I believe a scent should be personal for YOU to enjoy and if others can smell you from an arms length it's impolite. This is an intimate skin scent and I can smell it all day - 6 to 8 hours. I like to layer it with all of my fresh/juicy ones and it's perfect.

Opens really green and the mellows out to something soft, fruity, beautiful. And I say beautiful in the purest sense of the word. It's very serene while still packing a bit of an oomph! I honestly don't understand why a lot of people say they are not long lasting. Perhaps I got lucky with my skin chemistry, but all of these have lasted at least 6 hours (and this is without moisturizing before hand). I think part of it is a combination of people going scent blind and the fragrances not being beast mode projections. All of these fragrances I've been able to smell at arms length. Very preferable if you want to wear in a more professional setting. It won't choke out the room. Would also recommend spraying more than once for best results. I usually do at least 3. I saw someone else mention in this comment section that this is unoriginal and honestly... they are trippin'. I've never come across anything like this house before. Also trippin by saying these are not quality perfumes. The price is steep but honestly I don't feel as if it's a rip off of quality. You're getting what you pay for with this house.

This is very nice. It reminds me of Millesime Imperiale. I can't believe no one has posted that before. It definitely has a Creed DNA smell to me. Im talking about the Creed we all fondly remember. I still love the house but l have to agree with the majority something has changed. Anyways, Castling, similar to MI but not the same; longevity much better, it is richer and has more depth than the MI. Not sure if one needs both and honestly, l think because of the longevity and depth, l would choose Castling. Can't believe l just betrayed my love, the HOC but yeah, l liked it very much. Oh, leans male to me. I see that is not the consensus but that sea salt opening says hombre to me. Also, this particular version of musk underneath is male leaning but that's my perception. While, I said male leaning, l do find it unisex and women should wear it if it's their vibe. So 9/10 I originally said 8 only because it has been done before but because it's done better I gave a point back.

LOVED this one. Smells very unique, and I just love perfumes with a salt note. Makes them feel more natural. I get a coconut note, which is funny because coconut is not a listed note. Clean and fresh but still delectable. My only gripe is it is definitely a skin scent. Does not project well, but some people are into that. The price is kinda high for a skin scent, in my opinion. If you got money to spend? I recommend. But I'm not rich, so I'll stick to savoring my sample. EDIT: I actually ended up liking this one the most out of the 20 sample discovery set I got from Mind Games. I ended up buying it from a discounter for $200, and it's become my everyday wear. Love this one. It smells queer-coded in a good way.

Love at first sniff. Here I will add a disclaimer that I love creamy figgi sandlawood fragrances. I could wear this one and only for the rest of my life, the only issue is the price. It is green yet smooth and creamy, just magic in a bottle . Honestly, it is just like VC & A Santal blanc and Diptyque Fig, if you like those , Castling will be a hit! All in the same way creamy, airy , fantastic fig and sandalwood fragrances, this is less green than D and creamier than VC&A but they all are are the same family. I have all 3 and I LOVE them I wish I could find a cheaper alternative, all 3 are so expensive!! Help! Who know a secret gem for less than $200?!

I avoided this brand because of the price and, frankly, the truly dumb bottle design. I got it as a sample with another order and oh hell is good. Fig is my favorite note along with bergamot and iris - so yeah, this one is a new favorite. It does not smell overly synthetic. The fig is cocooning and not syrupy or weirdly amped up by some never-ending ambroxan (or similarly annoying aromachemical). It is well blended, sweet, woody and perfect. It is also too expensive and I will have to live off the decants and samples.

This is my Favorite Mind Games scent for daily wear, super versatile able to be dressed up or down. Castling on my skin opens with this salty figgy with a bit of that bergamot and stays there for about an hourish, which around that hour mark it turns to this woody iris lotus masterpiece, super likeable but not blind buy safe. Get your nose on this ASAP, going to be a beautiful late March-April spring scent. Also 100% capable of being a signature other than the price point...

this one turned heads on me, but only within an hour after application. it’s so expensive & not worth it for the longevity, but i love it so much. the opening salt notes are incredibly short lived but some of my favorite. if anyone is selling the spongebob gary dupe hmu

Will have to write a longer review later but for now - this is a gorgeous, clean powdery fig. Stumbled across at Neiman’s today and could not stop smelling my arm. Would go so far as to predict it will have an “it” fragrance wave as people discover this new scent!!

I've been on a quest for the perfect fig scent and this Castling is close. This is a smooth, pleasant fragrance that reminds me of Philosycos without the coconut.

Fluffy creamy figgy soap. Very comforting. Perfect for a cool spring day. Similar vibes to Kyse Fichi e Panna

#84 of My Fragrance Journey – Castling Mind Games: Controlled opposition There's a move in chess where defence becomes architecture. You don't retreat - you reorganise. Two pieces shift simultaneously, and suddenly the board makes a different kind of sense. Castling is named for that. It wants to smell like the logic behind it. I tested it on a Wednesday. Heavy training in the morning, strategy session by noon. Body still running warm, mind needing to run cool. The question wasn't what to wear - it was what to emit. The Opening: Light through structure It starts clean. Calibrated. Quietly, almost suspiciously, alive. Castling doesn't announce itself. It just... aligns. Which is either very cool or slightly unnerving, depending on your mood when you spray it. First spray lands cool - not cold, controlled. Fig leaf and bergamot arrive with a green salinity - not aquatic, not tropical, just light bending off early-morning stone. Less like a landscape, more like a coordinate: here, this time of day, this temperature. Air, but shaped. Then the fig does something interesting. No sugar, no ripeness tipping toward rot - it goes creamy. Almost lactonic. Iris threads through it like brushed metal: powdery, pale, a little distant. Stabilising. Every note knows its role. There's this tension underneath - nature translated into design. Organic materials are refined until they feel nearly synthetic. Not harshly. Just... intentionally. The Mid-Game: Skin interface As it settles, it lowers its voice. Projection tightens, and it stops performing for the room and starts performing for you, specifically. On warm skin, it behaves like a second surface. Body heat activates the creamy iris layer, softening that initial precision into something more lived-in. It breathes with you rather than sitting on you. It doesn't fight the body. It calibrates to it. There's a quiet contradiction in all of this - physical presence versus olfactory restraint. Which is either a flex or a flaw, depending on what you're after. Here's where I have to be honest, though. For nearly £300, performance feels optimised for minimal output. Longevity is moderate. Sillage is intimate, bordering on shy. It doesn't travel. You could call it an anti-noise philosophy. You could also call it slightly over-controlled. Both things are true, and I keep going back and forth. The Endgame: Residual warmth By midday, most of the brightness has dissolved. Soft sandalwood and clean skin musk - creamy, lightly woody, almost weightless. This is the most human part of it. Less engineered. More felt. It sits close, as fabric warmed by your body all day. Comfortable. Quietly reassuring. But there's a sense throughout the dry-down that something's been held back. Complexity, maybe. Risk, definitely. The architecture holds. The volume doesn't. The balance (or lack of it) Built on restraint, and it understands restraint - proportion, spacing, material feel. Avoids excess with real discipline. But in doing so, it edges toward neutrality. Beautifully made, obviously. And yet sometimes it feels more like a concept of calm than a lived-in expression of it. There's a difference between restraint and withholding, and Castling occasionally crosses that line. At this price, the sustainability angle - clean lines, minimal projection, not dominating shared airspace - should probably come with more transparency around sourcing. It reads as considered. The brand stays quiet on the details. Verdict Elegant. Intelligent. Precisely executed. But maybe too refined for its own good. The move it's named after is decisive - a reorganisation that changes everything that follows. The fragrance opens with that energy. Then quietly folds. The price demands more durability. The composition earns most of the rest. Vibe: Soft tailoring. Natural fibres. Light moving across matte surfaces. Presence without pressure. Performance: Intimate. Close-talker energy. Reapply if the day extends - and it will. Longevity: 4–5 hours. Best on warm skin, morning into afternoon. Fit: Someone who values control, clarity, and quiet luxury. Someone who prefers systems over statements. You know who you are. More scent stories and visuals on Instagram - @lavendercloudsjd

I hate to bash a house in it's infancy, but...this house is unimpressive, massively overpriced, and do not sell well compared to other niche houses from what I've heard. So based on sales, I guess I'm not alone in being disappointed. Tbf, I have not thoroughly tested them all, but I have tried them all, on both skin and tester. They don't smell awful or anything, they're just uninteresting, and fail to stand out imo. The brand aesthetic of chess pieces was initially interesting when I first saw them in person, but upon my second visit to Neimans, the novelty had already worn off. The bottles feel pretty well made, but I just don't have any interest in having a bunch of chess piece bottles. However, a broken clock is right twice per day, and this is one of those lighting strikes. I like this scent profile of fig, musk, sandalwood and iris. Performance is not nearly as good as the smell of the fragrance unfortunately. I'd consider this for around 75% off retail. Ymmv, but probably won't vary, very much. Scent 7.5/10 Performance 4/10

This smells very similar to Moon Carnival by Vilhelm Perfumerie...but this one lacks the quality and performance and costs $345, unfortunately...the scent is beautiful, you get smooth iris and white flowers that dries down to vanilla musky, sandalwood, woodsy base. Unfortunately like most of Mind Games perfumes, this one disappears in hour...you have to sniff the skin so hard to catch it...No projection whatsoever...it is shame, I could have loved it, it’s feminine, gentle, airy and mysterious at same time, very appropriate for many occasions. But it’s a NO for $345

That initial woody green slap to the nose is wonderful. It's such a pleasing smell of earthy woods and fresh fig leaf. The iris and lotus start to come out as the fragrance dries down. Meanwhile the woody notes are present at all times providing a continuous well rounded scent. The projection starts off strong and quickly dies down. Its a nice skin scent after about an hour sadly ,but a darn good scent nonetheless. I just wish it projected and last more.

I’ve never been ghosted by a fragrance before. The opening is very promising and the best part of the wearing...aaaaand it’s gone. Aw figs, I’m as salty as the scent coming out of this bottle. Niche, iris centered, mildly flowery and citric; turns powdery and earthy... Sounds good; is just okay.

Extremely well blended vanilla, sandalwood, iris, and fig leaf. Beautiful but a little too unisex for me to wear it personally, but definitely my favorite from mind games. Very versatile, not overpowering, great for all seasons

I get a creamy sensation almost like coconut flakes, that then goes slightly powdery and woody and an undertone of fig. Nice one and an underrated one, one of the better ones from Mind Games, but not in the top 5.

A very nice, powdery take on fig leaf. Like a lot of the Mind Games perfumes, if feels quite ethereal. Much creamier and less figgy than Philosykos. Very comforting and light, yet somehow deep at the same time.

I don't know how no one has compared this to Gucci Gorgeous Orchid. This to my nose is literally the fig version of it, not as vanilla, but soooo similar, which is fine with me, I love them both!

I really wanted to like this but it smells too similar to Philosykos/Debaser, and at this price point I’d buy one of the latter. Incredibly well blended though.

First time I tried this fragrance in the store, WOW. I just fell in love with it. At the time, I couldn't afford it so I got a dupe and I was mystified. It smelled nothing like the original. Grass clippings. I was disappointed so I went to the store to catch that high again. The second time I came across this scent... something had changed. It smelt nothing like I remembered, and was just weird. The longer it sat on my skin, the weirder and weirder it got. I feel like this scent either has massive batch differences, really smells different based on how it just happens to be sitting that day, or maybe I was shown very different perfumes by sales reps who had mislabeled or mixed them up? I don't know. I want to love this scent but it feels too volatile and unpredictable. I will certainly give it another chance in the future to see if I can catch that same fragrance from my first interaction... Just so weird that it hasn't captured me the same way since.

Testing this blind, so I do not initially know the notes or anything, but this opened a little sweet and fruity and moved into a more powdery arena with an soft woody background, remaining a little dreamy. Nice, leaning gourmandy, but remains musky and powdery. Kinda of a musky less-sweet empty marshmallow bag later in the day. Definitely comes across as feminine from opening and onwards. Good longevity but silliage smaller when compared to price point competitors.

A slight, powdery iris and fig combo that is very light and "dusty" feeling on the skin- a tad woody, not something I haven't seen before, a la Parle Moi Orris Tattoo or Xerjoff Apollonia. It's very much fig leaf rather than fig fruit, since it leans more green than ripe/juicy if anything. But overall, I mostly just get a papery, starchy orris.

I am so perplexed by the audacity of this house to charge $400 for this fragrance. It's nice, it ok. Middle of the road performance, no projection, no artistic expression, 0 value for money. It makes no sense to pick this up even at discounter prices.

Fresh fig at first then watery florals. Coconut, or something like coconut. Could it be the iris and the vanilla? The salt is present, and then notes start to fade. I don't like coconut, so sadly this unlisted note is leading me to move on.

Opens as a figgy soap (headkase was spot on) and settles into a creamy baby power. Not unpleasant, but not my thing. Smells like a sweet, eastcoast grandma.

Ohhhh I want to love this perfume so bad! But there's something horribly coconut about it, alas. On the opening, coconut. On the dry down, coconut. Something about this blend just doesn't sit right with my nose, and all I get is blasted by coconut, with kind of a shea butter aftertaste. If I put my nose really close to my skin and sniff, then the white florals and the gentle sandalwood come through and they're pretty and feminine, but while my nose is catching my scent trail, all I can smell is coconut. It's a shame, because I can totally get where this scent is trying to go. I can see the comparisons to Gris Charnel as well, so if you like that and don't mind coconut you'll probably go for this. It's definitely a try before you buy especially at this price point. As for longevity, it was average for me - I think people go scent blind to this and that's why they're voting it as low longevity, but I still got a comment from folks even 6 hours in. Unfortunately it was a lady commenting on how wonderful I smelled... and asking if it was a coconut moisturizer. For $300 I can smell like 50 different coconut moisturizers all at once, so this will not be full bottle for me!

The pencil shavings smell that so many smell in other scents is loud in this. This smells like straight pencil shavings. Not for me. The longevity is good and the sillage is moderate.

All I can smell is coconut to the point that makes me nauseous.... I regret buying it.

This smells foul, I got a sample and tested it on the body and quickly scrubbed it off because it smells dirty, like body odor and bad breath please don’t spend $300+ dollars on this garbage. No one would want to smell you like this.

I know it's not possible for a fragrance house to trademark a scent but if I was Diptyque I'd be finding SOME way to send a cease and disist to Mind Games for taking Philosykos and rebottling it and charging triple. If I had bought the full bottle instead of this sample, I'd be googling ways to make a class action law suit. We have got to stop letting these overnight luxury brands play in our faces people. Go to Diptyque and smell Philosykos before you purchase this one I'm begging you. Okay, maybe arguably there are some nunaces that are slightly different. Like copying your friends algebra homework and writing your name at the top and using two different writing utensils to make it seem like you worked on it in two different places so you couldn't have possibly copied. See? It's different! Notes also play no part in whether or not a scent is a dupe of another, these are made up in the marketing department to sell you an idea. Neither do votes, and even reviews on this site, which can be downvoted into oblivion by bot accounts created by these brands protecting their profits. Trust your own nose! It's the most valuable weapon you still hold in today's perfume market. I don't want to hear another word about the ethics of dupes on originality when this exists. Just because you can afford it doesn't always mean you should. I bet Bezos would've bought the Diptyque too. The silver lining in all of this (don't go looking at the actual bottle for that either) is now I have a sample of Philosykos to keep in my purse.

Castling is so, so pretty. The fig and iris create a creamy almost coconut-like accord in contrast to the warm sandalwood. On the Mind Games website, Christelle Laprade discusses how she was inspired by her childhood in the sunny south of France to create this fragrance. It's beautiful. White, creamy, luxurious and at the same time fresh without being soapy. Castling does not last at all. If this lasted, I would buy a full bottle even at that insane price point. No way, though. Ten minutes into it I have to stick my nose down on my skin and snort to detect it at all. The drydown is like expensive white chocolate, but so faint. Still, it's exquisite. The comparison to Sponge Bob Gary fragrance is not as ridiculous as it seems. The sandalwood and green almost-coconut accords overlap. However, Gary lacks the floral and orris heart of Castling. Also, Gary lasts several hours whereas Castling does not. It also begins to remind me of Ella by Victorinox Swiss Army in the drydown, except that Ella is loud and lasts.

I own and love Prada L’Homme. It is one of my first purchases in my fragrance journey. But I’ve always felt that it was sort of incomplete. Missing something. Castling has possibly decided that mystery for me. The fig and sea salt opening along with a smoother, creamier iris dry down makes Castling seem a bit more refined than Prada L’Homme. What Refleection 45 is to Reflection for those familiar. My comments are about scent only. At the moment, performance seems comparable with Prada but cannot say for sure. Still....$300+ worth? Gonna have to really think about that one. Supplemental: Can’t wait to see how this develops and performs in warmer weather.

This scent gives you a nice blend of Iris and fig, mixed with the vanilla and sandalwood it creates a creamy, light scent that feels comforting. On my skin, the Sandalwood gets a bit louder and has this coconut undertone....I am not sure if they added a coconut note or if it is the type of synthetic sandalwood doing it. The coconut becomes dominant. Then before you can question it...it is gone! The scent is ok but you need to like coconut...and you must like ethereal evanescent scents....at this price point...I pass.

As a fan of Debaser by DS&Durga and Parisian Musc by Matiere Premiere, I love this because it feels like an addition to that category. However, at first sniff, I was instantly reminded of my beloved discontinued "White Sandalwood" from Nest. I looked up the notes and there aren't too many similar ones, but there's the sandalwood/coconut/woods feeling that I used to love but about $300 more than what Nest's was :) Mind Games is one of my favorite brands at the moment and I would welcome a bottle of this into my life!

This a really beautiful fragrance but not enough to justify the price point. I could imagine this being a wedding fragrance. Super pretty. The florals are very light and support the fig beautifully. The sandalwood here gives off that paper kinda smell. This smells nothing like philosykos the only similarity is they both have fig. This is way more floral and wet , philosykos and has a lot more woods and way more green

Wolf, try the new line, it's really good. From this line I really enjoy double strike, grand Master? And diamond. All the frags in this line are extrait concentration. So at least 25 percent concentration. I have sand for skin and they have all performed well. I hope people test them before going off these reviews. This line is very nice imo minus their bottles, not a fan

I’m surprised there’s no coconut note listed because I get a super tropical and beach like vibe with fresh coconut, paired with a fruity fig, creamy sensual vanilla, and smooth white musk. Has a white cedar, powdery sandalwood on the dry down. This is the only scent worth investing in from this house hands down, I’m saving up for a full bottle.

this is very similar to jpg le beau le parfum in my opinion! opens up with a coconutty vibe. very summery! however, you might as well just get jpg LBLP since its 1/3rd the price and lasts 5x longer. although this smells good, only giving it a 5/10 for lack of longevity and performance and originality.

The coconut fig powder is so yummy, I know coconut isn't listed, but it should be. This fragrance leads more feminine, but oh boy can we men rock this masterpiece. This fall on a cool evening day this is going to be so festive and relaxing, good for fall winter and spring

I found this to be the weakest and least groundbreaking fragrance from the collection. Of course, it also happens to be the only one my fiancé adores on my skin. Just my luck.

Very surprised to not see coconut in the notes list, this opens with a very heavy coconut then fades into a green iris fragrance with a little sandalwood. Very tropical.

I can't pick out any particular scent in this; it's a wash of earthy richness, but also not anything special or unique.

Oooh this is so pretty! Totally full bottle wor.... Wait...what? I swear I sprayed it right here... Where did it go?

Fresh, flowery, sea scent. Reminds me of Tom Ford Soleil Blanc sunscreen vibe. Better mind games out there. 5/10

Too powdery for my taste. Likely the iris but I almost get a coconut vibe which I dislike so not for me.

smells like my paternal grandfathers house in rural Ohio during Christmas of 2008

It's nice...more of a light, airy green fig. Doesn't WOW me though.

You're better off buying gris charnel by bdk honestly