Mandorle

Still reeling from the disappointment I got from yesterday's fragrance, I'm moving onto a true blind buy experience with a fragrance that I have zero pre-conceived notions of. Up today is Mandorle from the house of Sora Dora. Now the only reason I know of this fragrance is because it was brought up in a single video I watched a while back. I can't even remember what the topic of the video of, but Mandorle was mentioned as one of those "hidden gem" fragrances to look out for. Will it indeed turn out to be a hidden gem? Or will it fall flat like yesterday's fragrance? Let's get into it and find out; Scent: The opening is leathery, sweet, and boozy. The primary notes I get are suede, rum, tonka bean, and vanilla. The strongest of the notes are the suede and rum. The suede starts off the fragrance with a blast of soft, supple animalic tones. It's undeniably leathery and animalic, but not like a hard leather note. It's gentle, sensual, and buttery, like the inside of an expensive suede bag. The rum comes in behind the suede with a boozy, warm, and sweet accord, reminiscent of a dark spiced rum. Up next is the tonka bean and vanilla. Both notes are similar in that they are sweet and vanillic, but the tonka bean is distinguished by its warm, spicy, and fruity cherry-like undertones, while the vanilla brings in a gourmand creaminess in the base. I also get hints of the caramel in the background. The dry down is leathery, sweet, and powdery. The primary notes I get are still suede, vanilla, tonka bean, and rum. The strongest of the notes are the suede and vanilla. The suede is still the star of the show in the dry down, with the same soft and supple leather accord. It still has animalic tones, but a bit more subdued than it was in the opening. Meanwhile, the vanilla has opened up and strengthened in the dry down for a powerful blast of the creamy vanilla from the opening. This is followed by the tonka bean and rum. The tonka bean still brings the same warm, sweet, and spicy accord. The fruity cherry accord is still there, but to a lesser extent. Lastly, the rum has moved to the background with its same boozy, warm, and sweet accord. Performance: Initial projection within the first hour is very strong and can easily fill a room. Sillage matches that intensity with a dense and heavy scent trail. After a few hours, the performance was largely unchanged. Around the 7-8 hour mark, the projection was still about 3-4 feet, and the scent trail was lighter but still noticeable. The fragrance became a skin scent around the 11-12 hour mark. When to wear: Mandorle is a fall/winter fragrance best suited for evening wear. I don't particularly perceive this as a casual wearing fragrance. It could potentially be worn casually, but it's really made for special occasions and/or formal events. This is not something I'd wear to the office. Blind buy: If you like sweet, leathery fragrances, this is a safe blind buy for you. Final verdict: From the moment I sprayed on Mandorle, I knew I had something good in my hands. The blast of sensual suede, the sweetness from the vanilla, the boozy warmth of the rum, and the cherry undertones from the tonka; they all coalesced into a fragrance experience that brought an involuntary smile to my face. When a fragrance can do that, I know it's something special. It's worth mentioning that I do get whispers of other fragrances in Mandorle, namely YSL's Babycat, Hugo Boss's Bottled Absolu, and even a little bit of PDM's Herod. Performance was excellent too, with very strong projection and sillage for at least the first few hours, and continuing on until around the 11-12 hour mark when it became a skin scent. When it comes to versatility, Mandorle isn't taking home any awards. It's made to be a fragrance worn during special/formal occasions on cool nights, but that's about it. In terms of mass appeal, it's above average. The strong vanillic tones give it a great compliment factor, but the suede keeps it from being just another mainstream vanilla bomb that everyone will like. I would bet most people think this smells great, though. To wrap this up, I think Mandorle is indeed worthy of being called a hidden gem. There's something about this fragrance that's just addictive, and I will be adding this to my list of full bottles to buy. I'll have to look into this house some more and see what other treasures I can find. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 8/10 Sillage: 10/10

Decided to add this to a sample haul order after hearing some rave reviews about it. When my order arrived I smelled it n was like ok, not bad. Out of the 9 samples I ordered this one and another made the cut but I wasn't blown away. Day 2: Decided to take it for a spin so thought I'd put it on for my Dr. Appointment. I remember thinking, yo this actually smells really good today! Maybe I was sniffing so many fragrances from my sample I didn't really appreciate what this fragrance was putting out. Anyway, arrived to check in and after a few minutes the receptionist said "I just want to say you smell really good by the way, what is that?!" I came home and placed an order for a full bottle 🤣 Day 5: : 2nd time applying this sample, Back for my Dr. appt. follow up at a different facility. Check in and the receptions at that location says: "excuse me, I hope I don't offend you by saying this but you smell amazing" I came home and checked the status on my order 🤣 Now with that said; forgive me for what i'm about to say cuz once i say it you'll never unhear it. This is 1:1 Vicks throat spray, cherry flavor...but it's an addicting Vicks spray lol Scent: 8 Projection: 10 Impression: 9.5 Longevity: 8 Uniqueness: 8 Value: 7.5 Overall: 8.5/10

And i have tried it longer so i've gotten to like it more, yes it does open up to be this wacky artifical carmex type smell, but you just gotta let it sit for a while, as it starts to dry up, the notes get more rounded, and it gets a lot less artificial, it is def mass appealing, i rlly like this, overall it is a boozy cherry type smell over a smoky leathery suede with a "roasted" feeling to it, the cherry smell probably comes from the rum note combined with some other notes here cuz it is quite boozy, also i do not pick up on the almond, so maybe im blind to that note When it comes to who it suits, and the personality of this fragrance, im thinking, if you like a sweet, "half gourmand" type fragrance(i like to call scents like babycat, herod, or whatever spicy sweet fragrance that some ppl call gourmand but i dont this), and if u try it out and feel like u can tolerate the artificial opening maybe, yea go for it! As for personality, this fragrance is more on the deeper more sensual type of feeling, and yea just by looking at the notes you can guess what vibe this gives off, i feel like anyone can pull this off honestly, but i will say it's better if ur introverted

Please be aware that even though the note list doesn't state CHERRY, the smell is quite prominent. Here is the description and note list from the brand website as of 22 June 2025: "Mandorle tells the story of seduction. Unabashed seduction that never hesitates. An unmistakable charm that never shuts up. After the initial explosion of almonds in the top note, an icy cherry in the heart lures us into the powerful leather accord in the base. A dreamy pairing of intoxicating gourmand notes and ardently magnetic musky roundness. Tones of Mandorle captivates with its sensuality, swirling - for hours on end - on smoky leather backdrops. This fragrance, invulnerable with grace, will be your first choice when attraction arises from intuition. Here's to your bewitchment." Top notes: Almond, Absolute Cacao, Tonka Absolute Heart notes:, Heliotrope, Rum Co2, Suede, Cashmere Wood Base notes: Vanilla, Caramel, Sparkling Woods, White Musks.

Well, I almost gave up on this one...almost. The first 2 times I tried it on my hand it started so shockingly bitter that it was like a punch in the nose and I just thought: what are all those reviewers talking about sweetness and caramel and comparisons to Italica??On my skin it was bitter to no end, a lighter version of ,,Cherry punk",which I totally hate, luckily without the ,,ashtray" note.And the third time it finally happened:it still started with very bitter almonds, but then I detected a very dark and sensual cherry note (Sora Dora describes it on their page about the scent as ,,icy cherry in the heart"), slightly leathery and smooth,very well done.The sweetness came much later to me, with a spicy caramel, rum and vanilla.It is a very good interpretation of a sexy,mature cherry scent without being overly sweet,ideal for a fall or winter evening.