Mardi Gras

This is an aphrodisiac (at least for me). An innocent but flirty clean and fresh neroli and orange blossom soaked in deep, resinous, and rich vanilla/benzoin opening that dries down with this absolutely INTOXICATING dirty and sexy musk that just oozes confidence. The person who wears this knows what the fuck they want and how to get it. Simultaneously innocent and white floral fresh while being slutty and vanilla sweet, stunning. While I don't see myself rocking this regularly (as it doesn't really fit my personality), I will 100% be giving my sample to my SO to see if I enjoy it on them as much as I do on myself and tester strips. The musk in here is next level amazing, and if you are at all interested in animalic/musky fragrances, but don't like super heavy ones (like me!), you need to get your nose on this. Leans feminine to my nose, but wear what you want. Any time, any place except for work, this would shine as a going out fragrance. Great performance and projection for me, 8-12 hours performance with strong projection for the first half. 9.2/10. Signature scent worthy.

One of the sexiest perfumes Ive tried, Mardi Gras is an insanely delicious orange blossom and civet fragrance, softed perfectly by a base of resins and vanilla. The civet is here is a bit feral, yes, but it sticks close to skin and gets tamed by natural orange blossom and neroli, creating a refined and vintage feeling contrast between bitter citrus and funk. Then, sugary sweet vanilla and resins comes in at the base, softening the entire composition. Mardi Gras lives up to all the promised indulgence of sex, sweets, and celebrations. I find it beautifully marries vintage skanky sexiness with modern gourmand i-want-to-eat-you-up style attraction, a perfect date night fragrance. The sillage is nothing to sneeze at either, forming a strong scent bubble. The orange blossom especially projects strongly for a surprisingly long time. As usual of Olympic Orchids, the longevity is also robust. It doesnt quite last all day on me but it very feasibly could on someone else. Verrry tempted to FB this given the price and performance, but I'm resisting, for now.

Wow. I'm quite surprised and pleasantly so! I ordered a sample set from Olympic Orchids in which I could choose 10 1mI samples from their catalog. I chose 9, and when ordering, I added in the notes that I'd like Ms. Covey to choose a 10th for me based on my other selections. I was excited to see which other one I'd receive. She chose this one. I'm not normally an orange blossom fan, but I applied this one lightly and I can smell the other musky notes, including civet (which I have had limited exposure to, but enjoy what I have experienced) and benzoin/amber. For being an orange blossom scent, I like it quite well! A little goes a long way with this one, as I understand is usually the case with Olympic Orchids. I won't buy a bottle of Mardi Gras, but I'll thoroughly enjoy my sample. edit: 12/11/22. I've since purchased this sample again from OO. I might actually buy it sometime. I really love it.

Perfect name and theme for this skanky white floral + vanilla combo. I get the "beignets dusted with sugar" imagery as promised, and the civet is indeed funky as hell, delivering all the sex and sweat you could hope for. Not surprised some folks find this too raunchy to wear - I've worn this a few times where the civet and musks can lean a bit fecal, in the way that the base of Jicky does - but most of the time it's a beautiful blend of orange blossom, vanilla, and benzoin with just enough funk to keep the blood pumping. My daughter caught a whiff and said it smelled like "doughnuts", so it lives up to the promise on that front. On my wishlist for a full bottle for sure. (I need to directly compare them, but my memory is that Golden Cattleya from the same house is very similar but without the civet funk; so if you like the profile but can't hang with the skank, definitely sample that one.)

What a scent! I've been waiting forever (literally, about a year) to get my samples from my niece in MN, where I had them sent. The joys of living in Haiti! haha This is an incredible experience! Right from the beginning, I get the skanky honey that I so adore. It's a sweet scent, and it certainly could smell like unwashed flesh to a particular nose, but to me, it smells glorious! The orange blossom and musk hover just below the surface for me, helping to orchestrate the overall aroma, but not really standing out. If anything, it's definitely the honey that dominates. For those of you who have smelled Olympic Orchid's Tropic of Capricorn, this has a lot of similarities. It's not a dupe, but both are beautiful animalic, sweet, floral scents that I adore. I intend to try them side-by-side at some point, since i have a small bottle of TOC.