Mahila

This is one of those rare perfumes which improves and mellows with age, glowing like a shaft of Autumn light for hours. Mahila has a funky note which initially felt discordant. I wasn't sure it would work for me for the first 3 minutes, but the scent came together rapidly. The opening is an odd fusion of oud with bitter orange and grapefruit (one of my favourite notes) which rapidly expands and deepens with champaca and a hint of rose. I became fascinated - almost hypnotised - by Mahila's development from tart-funky to rich, characterful floral-incense. This is superb. I feel enhanced and elevated by it, as if it injects a shot of high-octane energy from it's essential-oil-ness. I'll be immersing myself in everything the talented Teone Reinthal has to offer (woe to my ailing bank balance). Distillation: tart and funky oud made golden by champaca olfactory zen

This review is for the Mahila body oil, which according to the perfumer is more sandalwood-y than the oil parfum (which I am receiving soon). I love the Mahila body oil as a base. It has the ability to amp up the best qualities of other fragrances. My routine is like this: hot shower --> small amount of body oil --> do errands for an hour or two --> get ready --> spritz of a different fragrance, usually an EDT or EDP. Mahila brings out the opulent rose in Coco and the jamminess of rose in La Fille de Berlin. It highlights the myrrh in Armani Myrrhe Imperiale. It makes Aesop's Tacit freshness even greener than ever so that it's wearable in winter. And Santal Majuscule glows with Mahila underneath! Magic.

Mahila is just plain gorgeous, well, anything but 'plain' actually - capturing perfectly the erotic chemistry and language of the body. In a word, sex. In another word, sultry. Yet, is is much more. Absolutely suitable for blokes, and the faint hearted become bold. Teone has drawn inspiration from the Tantric goddess of ages, and since it takes two to tango, or tangle, its no surprise this fragrance is comprised of aphrodisiac ingredients, pretty well all of them, making it a must have love juice. Yeah - this one smokes, with a familiar fecund heat from the labdanum lab, and the strength of love and ageless beauty. The opening really heralds an event with its blast of tangerine, pink grapefruit and bitter orange. WOW!! Love it. But thats not all. This citrus cocktail is held in an erotic embrace right from the start by the woodsy smokey components. Unbelievable how the notes meld and sway in each others arms throughout, layers of beautiful champaca and sweet ylang ylang met by benzoin and oud, transforming the mood to the languid calm of a relaxed cruise where the dry down is long and gentle, trailing veils of vanilla and smokey leather. And then off you go to re-apply! I just love wearing it - everywhere - deliciously wafting about in my own ripe universe, until something pops up. Beware - Mahila will beguile you, body and soul.

This is a strange one. The short description: Mahila is a hesperidic incense, manifesting tangy/creamy/smoky tonalities all at the same time. Most of the incense frags on the market are usually done with rose, jasmine, iris, amber, resins, i.e. the usual suspects. And actually Mahila has quite a few of them; it is in fact a far more complex composition compared to the rest of the line. The one thing that stands out for me though, is that the top notes of tangerine, orange and grapefruit reaches deep into the base and melds with the sandalwood, frankincense and oud. The result is a perfume that develops with both the top and base notes in tandem. The effect is a simultaneous lifting of the heavier notes and a darkening of the lighter effervescent notes. Citrus in perfumes tend to fade too quickly to interact with the heart and drydown stages. Not this. The garden of hesperidic treasures persist till the flowers have faded and the incense has burnt itself down to embers. I'm not usually a fan of bigaradier in fragrances but even this makes me smile. So different, and so addictive. I put this in my hair sometimes, and when I catch occasional wafts of it with some slight movement, it's an instant beatific experience. In one word: JOYOUS. And it makes me feel beautiful. In short: Mahila will goddessify you.