Check Please

I was sent samples for this and Playmate and I gotta say.. I’m absolutely mesmerized. I LOVE Double Attack but other than that I haven’t found anything from Mind Games that blew me away so thoroughly that I felt I needed a bottle right away but this sample from the first spray and sniff had me in love. I first experienced a love for how plum and green apple play together from Jest from Andrea Maack.. now they aren’t even close to each other because Jest is dark with chocolate and it’s heavily boozy while Check Please is far more feminine leaning and lighter. But the way green apple and plum play together here is reminiscent of Jest and I love it. The opening already had me with those two notes swirling together being so tart and juicy but then you get hints of cinnamon and hazelnut and a bunch of sweet nougat. It’s so good! This is the first Mind Games fragrance where I’m absolutely blown away in love and I know I have to get a full bottle there’s no other way around it but since I already got Lucid Dreams from Reinvented last week and Muse from YSL I knew a full bottle is gonna wait a bit but I did order a 9ml from scent split because I needed to have a bit of this to play around with and enjoy and wear just to make sure I’m as obsessed as the sample has me believing but I’m positive that I’m going to end up getting Check Please. I am a gourmand girlie and plum is one of my absolute favorite notes I mean.. Lucid Dream is also plum heavy and I am obsessed with that as well as Jest. Plum is a decadent note and fragrances that use it have been killing these compositions lately. I don’t think it’s blind buy safe but I do think it’s feminine leaning and if you know you love the notes in check please then there’s a good chance you’ll love how special and how damn good this is! But be sure to sample sample sample! I don’t know if I’ll review the other but just a disclaimer Playmate is too floral. I just don’t like florals very much but I will say I don’t think either offering leans masculine I think both lean feminine in my opinion buuuuuutttt I’d be more than okay with my man smelling like check please because it’s that yummy.

Mind Games consistently excels in gourmands. Check Please by Mind Games is a perfect example for me. This fragrance delivers a beautifully blended composition that feels luxurious, indulgent, and effortlessly refined from start to finish. The opening introduces a burst of crisp green apple layered with creamy hazelnut and sweet nougat. It's nutty and creamy. It creates an immediately addictive gourmand. The sweetness is smooth and polished rather than overly sugary, allowing nutty elements to feel balanced and sophisticated. The apple doesn't stick around long. As the fragrance develops, black plum and cinnamon emerge at the heart, adding a subtle spiced richness that gives it an alluring, almost mysterious quality. The plum note enhances the fragrance’s dark fruity character while the cinnamon creates a cozy warmth that transitions seamlessly into the base. The dry down is where Check Please truly shines. Notes of oak barrel, bourbon, vanilla, and amber create a beautiful boozy warmth with a creamy, elegant finish that lingers on the skin. The combination feels decadent yet wearable, offering both comfort and sophistication with impressive longevity and projection. Overall, Check Please is a standout gourmand that successfully combines fruity sweetness, nutty warmth, and boozy depth into a fragrance that feels sweet, smooth, and undeniably addictive. It’s an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys elevated gourmand fragrances with a luxurious niche feel.

This is a very interesting fragrance - just like the entire Mind Games scents you really have to let it dry out before rating it. It does slightly lean more feminine with the green apple - yet very very low you'll be able to pick up a nice scent of amber, but it's so slight that only a nose for fragrances would be able to pick it up. Personally I would rate the quality of ingredients and smell at a 8.5/10. With that being said, the smell itself, for me, is closer to a 7 or 7.5. Very beautiful but not really the best for men to wear. The type of men that would wear this would be someone who is wanting a lighter scent, wanting to smell good but not trying to turn any heads. Maybe a unique office smell or a driver for a summer. Could be a really nice base fragrance if you like to layer different ones together, but I'm not sure it's worth the price for me otherwise.

Of all the Mind Games frags I’ve purchased or sampled, this is my favorite. And I’m not one for obvious fruity frags! My visceral response is that it makes me feel happy. Why? The fruits are so delicately jammy, and the nutty, woody base notes anchor it to the skin. Cinnamon adds the unexpected twist. So, happiness is the unexpected combo that elevates Check Please beyond gourmand and blends the notes into a jewel that is much more than the sum of its parts.

Best pick up so far of the fall hands down. This is just amazing from start to finish. Not a fruity gourmand lover but this with the Apple/nougat accord just great. Well blended and super high quality ingredients. Can be worn anytime in my opinion except Summer unless it’s a really cool Summer night. One of the better fragrances out right now.