Mandrake

This one starts very moist, damp and green. In just a few seconds after application the scent gets really high pitched, intensely shrill, bright green, juicy and tart. I detect the crisp green apple note and the sour leafy rhubarb. A gorgeous, cool toned spiciness from cardamom appears and rounds out the sharp edges of this toxic green opening. The entire opening of this scent reminds me of the scene from Harry Potter where they lift the shrieking mandrake "babies" from one pot and replant them in another. The cardamom leads the way for a deep, velvety floral feeling. I can't really put my finger on what type of flower it is (it says mandrake flower accord in the notes, so it is obviously supposed to smell like the flower of the mandrake plant), but I can't detect what type of notes they've used to create this accord. It smells floral in a violet-rosy-exotic, blushing, velvety kind of way, and the smell has depth, a bit of darkness and weight - it feels heavy, but not suffocating. The green fruity and slightly sour smell from the opening is still present, and lifts the more heavy feeling of this floral accord. This floral phase feels very sensual, attractive and enveloping. The base makes its presence known with a smooth leather and creamy, semi sweet vanilla-tonka combo. There is still traces of the rhubarb left in the scent, and together with the vanilla it creates a dessert like feeling. It smells a bit like a less sweet panna cotta with rhubarb jam. Almost edible, but not quite. You feel like taking a bite, but you know you really shouldn't. There is also something in the base that reminds me of a soft, smooth, buttery caramel. Again a really gorgeous and unique creation. I'm impressed! Longevity is great, I get about 8-9 hours out of this. The scent is strong right away, but dries down to a soft medium.

Mandrake opens with a burst of swirling, bright, and juicy tart fruit of which rhubarb and green apple are most prominent to me. The effect is like swimming in a gigantic bowl of Starburst and Skittles. The fruit stays for a while, mingling with a soft vanilla and some toasty tonka and eventually dries down to a comforting vanilla with hints of patchouli. The leather/birch notes do not stand out strongly for me. A google search reveals another name for the mandrake plant is Satan's Apple and has psychadelic and narcotic properties. This fragrance has the same fun appeal for me as watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or Alice and Wonderland. A colorful, kaleidoscopic adventure ending in a deep, exhausted sleep in the dreamy comfort of a gigantic down bed from which you may not want to wake up. UPDATE: My review was based on sampling it sprayed in a store. I'm wearing it today from a dabber vial I took home and it pretty much faded after the fruity opening. A small dabber sample is probably not the way to go with this one.

I find this a fruity, lady of the Forrest kind of scent. The bold and intoxicating fruits, give way to citrus peel and hanging moss. Later the fruits juice begin to fall on the Forrest trees and leaves as rich earth tries to make a appearance. You are left with the memory of heady pomegranate, young moss and rustling leaves in the wind. I do not not find this unisex and find this very feminine, but strong and distinctive. This is a daring fragrance for sure and like Wolfsbane a love for me.

OMG I absolutely love this fragrance. It took me a few wears to really appreciate all this masterpiece has to offer. The dry down is another level of perfection. The performance & sillage just goes & goes & lasts the entire day. I get endless compliments wearing this fragrance. It's absolutely stunning & become one of my all time favorites. This will always be a staple in my collection. Going on my 3rd bottle! Please don't ever stop making this!!

Mandrake is some wicked stuff. First off, you get the apple and rhubarb, then slowly finishes to a nice clean leather smell. Never smelled “deadly addiction accord” before, but after smelling this, I am hooked! Full bottle worthy and I will be getting one in the near future. (NOTE: I have a full bottle now :) )

On a warmer day, Mandrake marks an apropos retry of Parfums Quartana, the full house of which I sampled some weeks ago at Perfumology and am now making my way through again. Mandrake is a fresh and fruity fragrance on the whole, a mix of bergamot, apple, and pomegranate (though I mainly detect the first two) in concert with the mandrake root itself, a healthy helping of rhubarb, (with which I'm not really acquainted) as well as some woody and sweet players: sandalwood, patchouli, cardamom, birch tonka, vanilla. It reminds me a little bit of Imaginary Authors Sundrunk with the rhubarb/fruit duo, a fun comparison as both fragrances are pleasant summertime options. Its performance is quite good, given that I (and a handful of others, it seems) label it a warm-weather fragrance, and good performance seems to be pretty consistent across the label. Pricing-wise, the sole 50ml bottle size is priced at $145, on the lower end of line’s pricing, and is sold at Perfumology, among other boutiques in the US and abroad. It might not be my very favorite but it's a strong entry in the line, quite agreeable, not overly floral, something befitting almost anyone, a little less divisive than, say, Bloodflower or Poppy Soma. 7 out of 10

Very interesting and nice frag, I really like Rhubarb smells for the nostalgia (and also love the taste of the real deal) and the tart Rhubarbe Ecarlate is one of my summer faves. Unfortunately that is EDC and lasts as you'd expect but is superb for when it is around. I saw Mandrake and I was instantly intrigued by the Rhubarb note but there are very few reviews on it here and on YT etc. So a successful blind buy leap of faith it was...this has that mouthwatering tart (but touch sweeter) Rhubarb note like Ecarlate but sits it on top of light leather and apple. Sounds bizarre but works very well. Imagine Colonia Leather for those who have smelled that but the bitter leather toned down and the orange replaced by apple and rhubarb. While this doesn't seem to be the longest lasting frag in the world either it goes much longer than the Hermes does and will be a great one for using this and summers to come.

initially juicy apples and rhubarb...stays like that for about two hours, keeps the green freshness. after that it sweetens up slightly and dries down to a less interesting base with vanilla. I don't get much suede, maybe if I really force the idea, then there's some in the drydown. Nice offering overall but I can't help feeling that I smelled this one before. To me this is more on the masculine side than feminine. p.s. 7 hours later the drydown has changed again and get some of the more interesting tart apples back. could this go from like to love? oh, one more thing, it has changed sides and become feminine at this stage ... intriguing! love a shapeshifter!

Very green and fizzy opening with string cannabis note (extremely realistic one). Probably it’s rhubarb, but for me smells like weed..)) It mixed with juicy, sweet and fruity notes but the green rhubarb/cannabis notes is super dominant. Over time it becomes more very sweet - candy-like and syrupy sweetness. Follow me on IG: scent.guide

I ordered the Potions Fatales sampler on a whim, and I don't regret it, exactly, but I really don't like most of these fragrances, and the ones I do like, I don't like enough to buy; the sampler comes with $50 off a full-sized, but I'm probably not even going to do that. If I were to go back for a full-sized bottle, I'd go for Mandrake. I described this fragrance to my mother as leathery and spicy, and she said, "Like a biker?" I said, "No, like a librarian with a secret." There's a richness and an elegant/psychotic sense of mystery to this scent. Like some people have pointed out, it has a fruity-verging-on-putrid note, and I get why that's a turn-off for some folks, but personally, I put Mandrake on the right side of that line. The sweetness and acidity are unusual and weirdly compelling. Still, its intensity means it's not a scent I want to smell all the time, nor would I shell out $125 for it (let alone $175). Editing to add--while I wasn't wowed by this collection, Parfums Quartana's customer service was very helpful and fast-acting: somehow, I accidentally selected my friend's address for delivery (or the website malfunctioned, unclear), but they were quick to reply to my email and fix the issue and were super kind about it too.

Mandrake is my first introduction to the house of Quartana, and so far I am intrigued, but not quite impressed. This perfume is a pleasant, clean-fruity affair with a bright and soapy, almost floral aspect to it, despite no florals being listed. The rhubarb is very clearly present, it’s tart and sweet with a slight sherbet effect, tempered nicely by a subtle green apple. The slightly smoky, birch-y leather backbone is both sweet and thick, lending a soft powderiness to combat the saccharine effect of the fruits. It’s pleasant, but I don’t love it. I’m quite particular when it comes to fruity perfumes, particularly someone that can only be a synthetic accord like apple.

This opens up with a sucker punch of rhubarb, hold the strawberry, ALL rhubarb make-your-mouth-pucker tartness, then it morphs into green apple scented Suave shampoo that was all the rage in the 80s. It would show up periodically in my household bathroom as a child, as an alternative to White Rain or Revlon Aquamarine. I for one preferred the rare appearance of Fabergé Organics Honey and Wheat Germ shampoo, but I digress. The green apple shampoo grows more strident and fatiguing as a suede (Suederal, hmm) moves forward, which is not exactly thrilling to me. In fact it feels discordant, making me want to scrub it off, but I wait longer, until I realize that this eventually bottoms out to a vanlla/tonka. The only redeeming quality to this bilge is the delightful Suave apple scented shampoo flashback.

Rhubarb & leather. I detect some mango althou not listed... Green, leathery, tart fruity... Definitely different from anything I have smelled. No were near edible or gourmand. I would say chaotic. Like a hot day in an Indian market. It's like cooking rhubarb marmelade besides a pile of leather & stiring with a whole Birch branch. If you are looking for a very different leatherish fruity concoction that this is worth trying out.

Where is the juicy citrus! juicy fizzy orange! It's quite apples, summer citrus, and clear orange fizz blend! at least it starts with that and some rhubarb as well. This is a fizzy red fragrance. Oh GOD, as it calms down the birch starts to come up with the roses, pomegranate, and grand doses of apple roses. I just can't stand birch in general, but till now (5 minutes in) the birch isn't clear enough to make me dislike it, as a matter of fact, the rose apples pomegranate blend is making miracles hiding the birch, and helping the woody leather sued mix to come up. I'm just not sure that there are roses in here as i believe it's kind of weird, maybe it's the cardamom sued that makes the blend appears to be having roses! Weirdly, i like this one! it's like a bright fruitti yet dark blend with some spices, and woody notes. The calmer the more pomegranate. Edit (31st Dec 2021) 4+ years... this is rhubarb at max blended with juicy apples, pomegranate, birch, and suede. very simply and clear.

Initially this is a strong green and sweet fragrance. I get apple and rhubarb: crisp and green, but the apple is sweet (could also be the pomegranate?). I can smell just a touch of the darker leather scent peeking out in the dry down, but it feels discordant with the opening, and the surrounding fruitiness just seems to drown it out. This fragrance is definitely going for a shrill, intense vibe. The thing I struggle with is I'm just not sure it's done enough to separate itself from a standard but badly done fruity scent. I wish it kind of went in one direction or another with that. Some of the Project Renegades perfumes capture this type of composition but do it being both shrill and elegant. Even still, I do like and enjoy the fragrance and can see why a bunch of people really enjoy it. I only wish for my personal tastes it was a touch less loud in the beginning.

This one's a scrubber; rhubarb and suede are both notes that have to be hidden in the background for me to enjoy, and they are very much front and center in Mandrake. To my nose, rhubarb is always skunkily acidic and high pitched as bile, and suede is a layer of dry ashes. Everybody has notes that they can't stand, so obviously my assessment of mandrake is informed by that. I would try to talk about the performance, but I'm not going to let it sit on my skin that long.

Smells like walking into a hair salon. I can see the florescent lighting, black and white tiles, and customers sitting in faux leather swivel chairs with their hair covered in treatment between foil. The air is heavy with the scent of shampoo, conditioner, and various other products, to include that signature chemical stench of ammonia.

Zero leather or suede. Smells like shampoo.