Mandragola

Signature fragrance. Replacing Un Jardin sur le Nil. In my top 10 to keep. I found this through the perfume blogger Kvasin and had high hopes. It starts with absinthe and lime to me. I don't really know what saffron smells like so maybe it's there. I enjoy the booziness and slightly bitter herbal notes at the beginning. The heart and base to me actually resemble Angelique Noire and a real gardenia. Just the way the rose, jasmine, sandalwood, and musk combine I am getting a very creamy, very real gardenia. Am I getting oud? Not really. For the base it is very woody and ambery though, with a hint of vanilla and vetiver. Not getting any powder. Masculine. Dark. Sexy. Warm fragrance: autumn and winter. Longevity is good, easily 10-12h for me. In my opinion: more is more. Edit: I wrote this in May and editing it December, and it's been below -10°C for many days now. Actually I think this might be better in spring, summer, and autumn than in winter. Something is off in very cold weather. Back to Kvasin: He says he sprayed it 30 times and went to the gym and everyone almost passed out. He called it a woody poison. So I was sold on Mandragola and my hopes are justified. I have not yet been brave enough to do what he did but I might in the future.

100% agree with those who say it's sex in a bottle. The opening is 11/10, magical blend of dark rotting woods and saffrony oud. It never turns explicitly floral on me, the rose only gives a velvety depth. It has a mysthical, gothic vibe, the oud is super smooth here, not animalic in itself, but together with the saffron it has bit of a leathery undertone, super sexy. I appreciate the complexity and development as well, this one takes you on a journey for sure. The fresh aromatic absinth on the top dissipating, the rose arriving then slowly smooting into a sweeter, vanillic, woody base. What I am not digging as much is the dry dow. I have a really hard time with superamber molecules, and even though I don't agree with those before me who compared Mandragola to an Orto Parisi (those are completely unwearable ambrocenide bombs to me), I do notice the superambers here, and they kind of overpower the dry down with their artificial, extremely dry and grating presence. An other scent which this has been compared to is Shaghaf Oud, well, let's just say that if they had anyting in common I would have thrown away my Mandragola in a toxic waste bag (Sorry)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: To my nose, Lime, Bergamot briefly appears, with Saffron a bit prominent in the opening. Within 30-45mins, I get this floral facet (perhaps the Bulgarian Rose and Jasmine), then Amber and Oud notes steady unrelentingly at the base for hours. In my humble "expert" opinion, Mandragola swings more on the masculine side my girl (now wife) confirmed this too. But it could be adjudged a "unisex" fragrance. So if you're a lady who loves frags with citrusy top, floral heart and a potent Ambery-Oudy base with woody facets, then Mandragola IS FOR YOU. It's an all-season frag which is ideal for the office (sans jacket, just pristine white shirt and tie with nice brogues or monkstraps)! Projection is well above par. Same with the silage. Longevity is 10hrs + on my skin. Still understudying this impressive esoteric olfactory masterpiece... UPDATE: This frag has slight olfactory vibes with Black Phantom ByKilian. I'll call this frag "Black Phantom Lite" in tech terms or "Black Phantom 2016 Edition" IG: @mr_cornells

Hadn't I noticed the release dates of this fragrances and that of Thomas Kosmola no.9 Bukhoor I would have assumed that this was a dupe of the latter. Now having put my nose on both, its clear that this is a unique production that Thomas Kosmola had imitated and sadly has more sought after and perhaps costs even more than the OG in the middle east. Just as TK No.4 took MFK BR540 off the charts by producing something longer lasting I believe the same was done here as well. This perfumes is an acquired taste due to the heavy Oud note in it. Therefore it will not be everyone's cup of tea. It is definitely not a blind buy. However, TK No.9 is a scent that is well within the top 10 scent profiles I enjoy and I own a 250ml bottle of... Therefore purchasing this I found to be redundant for myself but for a current sale on at the local perfume boutique it'll make a perfect gift for a loved one.

This perfume is a true love for me. At first I really didn’t like it. I had a tester that I found too sharp and grating. After several days of arm stiffing I became obsessed with it and bought the full bottle. This perfume has a dark mysterious vibe. It smells dark, gothic and beautiful. You won’t smell like everyone else on the street. Total recommend!