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.

I know there’s a lot of Cherry fragrances out there at the moment, but this blows them ALL out the water! It’s maybe my favourite fragrance of all time, it is so so good! If you love luxuriously rich, deep, sexy fragrances this is a must try. I was a guest at a wedding recently and another guest asked me what I had been wearing at the hen/batchelorette party. She had smelled it on me then and said she couldn’t wait to see me again so she could find out what I was wearing. It was of course Mandorle. I would go in search of a sample of this if you: a) enjoy Sugar Leather b) enjoy cherry almond fragrances, but want one that doesn’t resemble lost cherry. c) are bored of traditional/literal gourmands. d) like a little bit of leather and booze. e) want to smell like a sex siren and/or how Dita Von Teese looks.

To me, this one is very true to the name, because the almond note is very strong on my skin, along with the cherry, for about 30 minutes. I bought a few 2 ml vials and sprayed it 4 hours ago and the fragrance is still strong, leaving the main role to the leather and cocoa. I haven't tried the Tom Ford cherry perfumes, because I have other TF fragrances which are not very worthy, so I am kind of done with this house, hence I can't really say whether this DNA is repetitive or not, but I can definitely say it left quite an impression to other noses, because I was asked what perfume I was wearing. The price point is high, but I haven't received such a positive feedback so soon after trying a perfume for the first time, so I might get a full bottle after the samples are over.

Not your typical gourmand. I understand why Mandorle has become so popular, it’s amazing! It’s definitely unisex. I sprayed this to leave the house, and my boyfriend said: “WOW, this smells so good! What is it? Is that a tester? If so, you need to remember this one!” - he is never so excited about my fragrances, so I was impressed. On my skin, I only smell the icy cherry in the beginning, the first 10 minutes. Then the almonds show up (lots of them) together with the sweet, boozy suede. Further in the dry down, I am left with a musky vanilla scent. Delicious and super unique! It was a blind buy, so I am glad it isn’t very sweet because I can’t handle real gourmand perfumes.

My God, I've found it! The cherry amaretto scent of my dreams.... absolute perfection. Opens up with a relatively strong but extremely pleasant composition of Rum, cherry, almonds, heliotrope and of course that sexy leather/suede note. As it dries down the vanilla becomes more creamy and powdery and that same delicious cherry amaretto and suede combo continues to linger in the background. Highly recommend! For me this is a personal 10/10, and is one of my current favorites if not my current favorite in my collection. If you don't like cherry or almondy based fragrances I'd stay away. But if that is your cup of tea, please get your nose on this immediately!

I just can’t explain what this fragrance makes me feel, it’s otherworldly. My literal fragrance dream came true. My favourite notes mixed so well together: tonka bean, almond, cherry, rum and a little bit of smokiness and leather. This is a gourmand scent but not edible rather seductive and sexy. It’s boozy, smokey, creamy and dark at the same time. I really-really love Bodicea - Bodacious, but this one is even better for me. It leans a little bit on the masculine side on my skin, but not that much. I wouldn’t say it’s an everyday, every occasion scent, it’s more like a nighttime fragrance, but if you like sweet and dark, leathery fragrances, try this!

ok, im gonna need some time on this, i am alternating between liking and disliking this on one side, it fits my fav genre of fragrances: a vanilla or similar thicker sweeter type note made darker, smokier, deeper and/or spicier, it's very boozy with the rum which kinda makes the cherry note, and it's over a base of a smoky leathery undertone, which is the suede i think. on the other side, it is a bit chemical smelling, and it does smell like carmex ong, im probably gonna need more time with this, cuz even tho i feel like im supposed to like this smell, it's weirdly artificial to my nose which kinda makes me a bit sick i think.

This is the most perfectly crafted almondy bright cherry tonka bean note. I absolutely love this. The suede is very present as well and manages to be so perfectly buttery soft and smooth. I feel like the cherry presence is strong, but remains unique from all the other cherry fragrances out right now. This is sex in a bottle. This was love at first sniff for me. I had a 5ml decant which I went through the entire thing while waiting for my full bottle to arrive. I wish this came in 100ml bottle. That is my only complaint. It is pretty expensive for being 50ml, but I do not regret my purchase.

a cross between Rouge Smoking and Creme de Cuir by BDK! I own a full size bottle of Sugar Leather as well, and nope, that's not it. If you are really in love with this one, try BDK - if it's this realistic suede combined with caramel and spices aspect that you are after, then Creme de Cuir, and if it's the heady boozy almost edible cherry with florals that you are drawn to, try Rouge Smoking. BDK is also an expensive niche house but those perfumes are older, you are likelier to find them discounted, Sora Dora I only ever saw for full price which is biting

Incredibly Sexy, boozy, Smokey, Cherry Fragrance! Its Sweet, cozy, warm and slightly powdery/leathery. The opening reminds me of a cherry Halls and also instantly thought of Chapstick. Love! Every other Cherry I have tried is either sour, medicinal, synthetic, water-down/weak. This is very strong, longevity is 6+ on the skin for me and it projects about 4-5 feet. Its delicious! Alluring! Addictive. Date night worthy. My only issue with this fragrance is the 50ml for $300CAD price tag(100ml please!). no bueno.

On my skin this is first and foremost a leather dominant fragrance and a beautiful one at that. Supplementing the leather is the metallic almond and a faint cherry but it’s overshadowed by the musk, heliotrope and rum. I also detect a faint powdery lip stick iris note that may be the cacao. This was a blind buy purchase based on positive reviews. Up until now I’ve liked very few leather fragrances with Puredistance M 03 being the best of the bunch, and imho Mandorle is leaps and bounds better.

Reminiscent of Herod in the beginning thanks to rum, vanilla, and the overall cinnamon-y vibe. Later in the drydown, when the cherry and amaretto notes step to the forefront supported by leather in the background, I get an unmistakable Red Tobacco -esque vibe. Performance department is in check. A good 2 to 3 sprays should definitely get you through the day. Goddamn this is a fine scent. Makes waves in the fragcom for a reason. Had to get a full bottle for the winter.

Cherry liqueur and spicy suede. Particularly boozy and leather the first hour on skin then fading to a simple sweet vanilla. The cherry lasts longer on clothing, but softly. Sillage is okay, longevity good, not a room filler by any means. I think it’s more successful than Cherry Punk at the cherry/leather combination, it has more complexity and depth. Would be nice if the top notes hung around a little longer but still the most enjoyable cherry I’ve come across.

Mandorle is a lovely creamy, cherry-esque fragrance. The heliotrope, combined with the cacao, suede, rum, and vanilla create one of the best evening scents that I have ever tried. I get a cherry vibe from it rather than suede which I much prefer, which hovers in the background giving it some strength. Performance is good, and the bottle itself looks great. I don't see how you could go wrong with this fragrance.

There’s a real smoky quality to this fragrance that turns me off from it. Smoky notes are not my jam but if you’re into smoky warm, cherry vanilla fragrances this ones for you. At first it was rather pungent, then the cherry came out to play and the smokiness subsided....but then it came back and I was not here for it. I’m glad others love this one because it wasn’t for me.

I'm no perfume expert, but this Mandorle is something amazing. I got it yesterday and for the first try I didn't like it, it smelled kind of weird. But then I liked it more on my wife, then on me... now I'm working for a few hours at my computer and I'm constantly smelling my hand or the bottle, like I can't stop doing it, it's like a drug :)) Such an amazing smell.

This is the perfect gourmand fragrance, it’s not too sickly, sweet It’s like a jam tart dessert with a little bit of suede in there . I thought were seeing the notes, it wouldn’t be cherry dominant, This is what I wanted italica to be like It’s the one of the most beautifully blended fragrances Can’t believe I hesitated on buying this one for so long

Love it, the opening is a little weird, but weird in a good way, then comes along the dry down, and thats where the similarities of sugar leather come into play, at least to me. Both dry downs seem similar but to me mandorle is slightly more complex, i have sugar leather and mandorle would be redundant to own.

Out of my whole collection, sora Dora makes the most unique beautiful scents my two favourite from the house is jany and mandorle The thing with mandorle is that it smells amazing 10/10 it can’t get better than that, but the longevity and projection kind of disappoints me for the price 💔

Very sexy vanilla scent! Love at first spray. Smooth, deep and rich with a boozy accord. I also get a bit of the leather it's a nice clean leather nothing animalic. This would be a perfect date night scent and great for the Fall and Winter 9/10

Opens up heavy with a beautiful cherry suede then dries down to a really sweet vanilla Reminded me of Divin'Enfant in the drydown but with vanilla Following day i could have whiff of carambar

This gets better the more i wear this! Smelt like cough syrup at first, but it now smells like youre in a dim lit room and theres a cake with cherries soaked in rum right in front of u

It's a nice perfume if you like cherry notes. I would expect it to be more boozy and leathery but I didn't get any of these notes. So for me, it's a decent cheery fragrance.

Got a free tester of this and fell in love, omg its so good and lasts ages, I could smell the creamy dry down the next morning, intrigued to try more from this house

Listen to me, this smells exactly, EXACTLY like Cherry Chapstick. OMG, sweet, addictive, delicious. Smells just like a cherry chapstick. That’s it.

Very very very good , worth to try but the price is overrated in my opinion

reminds me of xerjoff italica but better. long lasting. delicious.

The opening of Mandorle smells like a boujee smoky cherry liquor stirred with a vanilla bean. The smoke is velvety and smooth. The cherry is dark and sweet, but not sickening. The character is sensual, romantic and a touch daring. Perfect for a date that holds the promise of a happy ending. Though unisex, Mandorle leans feminine in nature, and her appeal is perceptive, intelligent and sultry. I can see her falling into the femme fatale category. I believe that she might be too sweet for some people, perhaps those who prefer a woodier sexy fragrance like Oud Satin Mood, but I believe Mondorle falls into the same category of mature, confident sensuality: She’s not a girl. She’s a woman. An hour in and Mandorle has become a touch more powdery, which adds to the creaminess, and has a moderate projection. It’s managed to stay well away from becoming too cloying, but I’d be careful with overspraying. 5+ hours in and she's a full bodied boozy skin scent. The cherry remained the star of the show through the entire test day. Final thoughts: To my nose, this perfume is the deeper, less extraverted (and more sultry) twin of Bodacious by Boadicea the Victorious. Mandorle’s cherry is more juicy and less sour and the perfume is less complex and not as chaotic. I missed the chaos of Bodacious... but hands down Mandorle would be a safer date night pick, and I can see a lot of women and men enjoying her!

This fragrance is for those who love suede and booze. The first time I sprayed this I thought of a motorbike - lots of leather and maybe some petrol but in a pleasant way. I received a sample of Mandorle and have layered it with BDK's rouge smoking. Together they are amazing! It gives some more depth to Rouge Smoking and makes it last but also provides more cherry and sweetness to Mandorle. Love the combo and would definitely try it out if you can, but don't blind buy this fragrance, it won't be for everyone.

Smokey woodsy suede bouys up the sweeter heavier notes in this very appealing fragrance. It opens almost entirely marzipan with a hint of a suede surprise that takes over and grows louder in the drydown which is sweetened nutty smoke. The booziness is not prominent, just a subtle hint of fermenting fruit. Made for autumn and winter I'd say. Mind you this fragrance lasted an entire 12 hours on clothes and skin, even though the sillage is not too loud. I like Mandorle a lot.

Leathery, cherry, dry, warm, and strong. It’s perfectly unisex, in fact my husband and I shared my decant with him actually finishing most of it. Best for cold weather. Smelling the Sora Dora line in person, this is the only one I’ve been interested in and seems like the best of the line. Some others, especially the gourmands, smell more suitable for candles rather than perfumes.

I really like the opening. Leather cinnamon with a touch of cherry to me. Problem is it doesn't last and it quickly dries to a skin scent. I wish it performed better and must on some people according to reviews but not me. It reminds me of Mykonos Sunset Destino Paris in the beginning, not the same but same vibe minus the slight cherry.

I can't decide if this has cherry or if it's just the almond note - nevertheless, it's very nice. It's a smooth, dark composition with the right amount of sweetness. And, most importantly, out of all the "dark cherry" scents I've tried so far, it's one of only two that don't clash with my skin chemistry.

* Does anyone know where I can find a full bottle in the US? * For me this wasn't a love at first sniff, but it really did grow on me. I think it's a super sexy cherry almond leather scent. If anyone is selling a bottle - please let me know!

Reminds me of a mix of Italica by Xerjoff and Lost Cherry by Tom Ford but with more of a richness to it. It really kicks out and is perfect for the colder seasons 😍❤️

A very leather+cherry perfume, it smells like maraschino cherry liqueur. It's good but I am tired of the same DNA over and over

Smells like if lost cherry was going through a hard time.

I really wanted to love this fragrance. I enjoy Rouge Smoking by BDK Parfums but the fragrance only lasts about 2 hours on my skin (I do live in a climate with very low humidity though) and I wished that the smokey cherry almond vibe would last throughout. When I saw reviews for Mandorle I thought I had found exactly what I was looking for. Long lasting smokey cherry almond fragrance that is well blended and unisex. It’s true that the opening has a realistic tart cherry like the cherry in a freshly baked pie and there is a characteristic smokiness that lasts. However, there is an unmistakable resemblance to Cherry Carmex. I don’t get the same amaretto almond notes that are present in Rouge Smoking. But since both are within the cherry almond universe they work great when layered together. I own samples for both and prefer them layered. Definitely do not blind buy if you are familiar with Carmex because once you make the connection between the two it is impossible to undo. And if you are not familiar with Carmex, don’t ever become familiar if you want to enjoy this fragrance. I ordered samples through Jovoy and highly recommend sampling first.

Curious to try Mandorle entirely because of the hype. Don’t like their bottle aesthetics but everyone online praised Sora Dora for the quality and intensity of the juice. So, I said let’s give it a try... Opens absolutely beautiful. A sweet, delicious caramel vanilla, chocolate dessert. Something very decadent. Soft, powdery, smooth. But this gorgeous phase doesn’t last more than 1 minute on my skin and than it takes a turn. The suede shows up overpowers the rest of the gourmand notes. I can get the faintest impression of rum besides an overwhelming leathery tone. And that’s it. It stays like this for hours until it disappears from my skin. It’s good if leathery scents with minimal gourmand notes is your vibe... but it’s not mine. Based on my experience, I would not consider Mandorle a safe blind buy, after just checking the pyramid notes and listening the reviews online. Unless you’re strictly wanting a new leather fragrance. I’ll pass on this one!

interesting boozy gourmand, mostly cherry booze, vanilla and leathery suede that comes out the most, I'm usually not a big cherry fan but this cherry is quite pleasant honestly, maybe because it's more in cherry liqueur form, over time on the dry down it turns into a soft vanilla with the suede still going strong not sure why but there's something in my memory that keeps triggering that this smells really close to a specific school supply I used to have as a child, not sure if it's a glue stick or a marker, but it's really close, and it kinda bothers me how accurate that comparison is. so at least on me, I just can't find it wearable

I wrote a review and came to edit it, oddly I can't find that one so here's a new one. MANDORLE is a very sweet, almondy fragrance. The metallic almond in this is very similar to Pegasus. I can see why people would love this one. Unfortunately for me I didn't like that metallic almond in Pegasus and I don't like it in this either. For me the almond mixing with the cherry gives off this carmax type smell that I just can't get passed. If you love cherry and love Pegasus than you'll love this one.

I don't see any resemblance or similarities with Herod like a couple people have mentioned. The cherry in this is definitely the star note and very sweet. I really don't get any vanilla out of this so I don't know why they have vanilla listed as the most prominent note. It's a very nice strong scent but when I smell my skin or clothes up close it gives off a very strong carmax smell and that for me is what makes this Not full bottle worthy.

Black leather and dark cherry liqueur with a hint of almondy powderiness. My husband really liked this when I sampled it. It’s definitely a sexy night time autumn/winter heavy hitter. But something about that pervasive cherry note becomes quite syrupy and synthetic and grates on me slightly. If cherry is not a problematic note for you, you might love this. It reminded me of Oud Nude by Guerlain but I much prefer that iteration to Mandorle.

I agree with other reviews. It does remind me of Herod. But it just reminds me, it's not a dupe. You can still have both. This smells like a cherry rum with bitter almonds and some smooth like suede vanilla base. Stunning. Highly recommend if you like fragrances like Xerjoff Italica.

this reminds me so much of triumph of baccaus there is plenty of differences to make it it's own fragrance but it just smells like the cheaper brother its good but not great way overpriced

I like it but the suede/leather element is a bit too prominent for me to want to consistently wear.