Nirmala

This is one more of my recent blind buys among Molinard frags: even in France they are difficult to find in stores (and to test), and the last time I was in Paris no time to drop by the Molinard boutique. I couldn't resist, indeed, the perfume pyramid above which is in fact quite accurate. We do get some citruses notes during the opening, but they are short and globally not significant, as very quickly they are overwhelmed by a fake-gourmand passion-mango association, mango being IMHO the dominant scent. This association acts like sort of an orchid-like twist, while vanilla is struggling to enhance jasmine and hibiscus as a counterpart. The woody notes never succeed in providing a real base to these airy scents, so my next task is to combine this frag with high-quality oud frags, as I expect that this will probably be quite amazing. All in all, one more outstanding and neverless classical work of Molinard from Grasse (actually it is a vintage frag).

First of all I grew up in a tropical city, eating mangoes every day. There's no winter, only summer. Granted all noses are wired differently, I smell real ripened mango first, then a bit of the passion fruit, and little flowers. The drydown is great because is slightly different than most gourmand. I always just smell vanilla with the rest but this one I smell mostly vanilla, jasmine and sandalwood. I like that is similar to Innocent TM because I get the most compliments when I wear that one. I bought it because my Innocent is 40% and they cost like $190 2.6 oz now (I bought this one for $54, 2.5 oz, Amazon). I am happy with my purchase and I am using it starting now at 66°F here in the OR Spring. It's more refreshing than Innocent and more fruity. I enjoy both very much. Will probably purchase again. My fiancé likes it, he says it smells yummy like mangos 🥭

This is a really peculiar scent. the very beginning was so tart and sour that it almost smelled like some citrus cologne gone bad which I guess is what another review called "cat pee"). That didn't last and Nirmala soon became so much much better! Forget the opening notes: this is some sort of... patchouli free Angel? The resemblance is there, for sure. I'm really intrigue by it: because his is supposedly a vintage fragrance that hasn't changed much. Is this Angel grandma? Or another beautifully done Angel clone? No way for me to know! What I can say is that it's a wonderful fruity rich scent. It's SO much better than Angel! Lighter and more airy, without that super dense gourmand note. This gets better after every sniff: you get mango, and jasmine, and tons of vanilla, and tonka. Blind buy it, if you see this one around. you won't be disappointed.

This is a quirky delicious thing, nothing indolic about it. Some of the reviewers suggest strong resemblance to TM Angel Eau Croisiere and since I have both I can not fully agree. While TM is some juicy tropical coctails in paradise, Nirmala is an exquisite small wooden candy shop, full of open cedar chests that contain all sorts of fruity delights. Icing powder lifts in the air every time the candy is moved around and mixes all the smells together, leaving the bedazzled customers in a happy trance, walking among the goods while filling the little box they are going to take with them. It is a bliss when it lasts, but you can not stay forever in the shop, can you? Sooner or later you have to leave, enjoy your candy and alas.. be left with an empty box. The whole experience lasts about 4 hours for me and I enjoy every minute of it.

Nirmala was the start of my perfume hobby two years ago. I was looking for a better, more mature Escada fragrance and I found it in Nirmala. Nirmala opens with a blast of sweet juicy mango. It dries down creamy while avoiding being musky, with an interesting slightly spicy note present in the background, all the while retaining the mango note. My skin tends to amplify musky and powdery notes, but Nirmala never follows down that road and stays fresh and clean throughout. I don't think it projects too far, rather it creates a close, intimate bubble around you and you get lovely whiffs of it throughout the day as you go about your business.