Mandarine Mandarin (2006)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

It reminds me a cheerful cousin of Malle´s Noir epices without the rose and the overdose of cloves. In fact ,It symbolizes to me what Noir epices should have been and wasn't as a result of that cloying rose-clove-orange combo.
the spicy orange always stays on the top like a cheerful veil and the darker side stays in a discreet background.
It has a sort of burning caramel (like brown sugar) that blends perfectly with the bitter orange tones and carry it to more profound and intriguing paths.
very special indeed!

27th November, 2011.

This IS Tresor by Lancome! Add a little smokiness and you get Mandarine Mandarin. I am not going to paint some fairy tale and build up your expectations only for you to end up disappointed. I mean, I know how hard it is to get a hold of some SL so if there is a mall near you, go sample Tresor. If you like what you sniff from Tresor and want some smokiness then get Mandarine Mandarin.

I was in search of a deep, dry, complex and unique citrus scent (emphasis on dry and unique) and a lot of people recommended SL Mandarine but I ended up being reunited with Tresor. This is not a bad scent by any means but for me this was a let down. Tresor was one of my signature scents in high school. I was way ahead of my peers. No teenage fragrances for this girl lol! Anyways, I really really wanted something different.

The spices here are seriously deadened by the screaming caramel sugared mandarine so much so that you don't smell them unless you actively search. The smokey tea holds its own and nicely blends with the candied mandarine. In fact, I think the spices are mixed into the smokey tea and then added into the mandarine if that makes any sense. What I am trying to say is that whatever little spice is in there, I sniff them in the smoked tea and not in the candied mandarine. Smoked spiced tea + seriously candied mandarine= Mandarine Mandarin.

1st April, 2011.

This one is interesting and its growing on me, I find myself thinking about it later. On first wearing I gave it a 2.5. now I'd rate it a 3.8.

When I first tried it, I dismissed it because I was on a crusade of finding the perfect light, thirst quenching, citrusy scent to brighten up cabin fever in winter.

If I had to describe this I'd say its a slow moving 40 pound caramel scent, with a plate of spicey orange rind simmering on the side. It's worn as a winter coat and not as a summer blouse.

If you like Diptyque's L'eau de Tarocco, I'd give this a try. Where Tarocco is sharp and spicy and lighter this is its brooding and heavier next door neighbor. Could be worn by a man or woman.

8th January, 2011.

This was a blind-buy 1/3 of a bell jar. Usually scents that focus on citrus notes don't interest me, but when I say that this was available, I read up on it through many reviews, including the ones here on Basenotes, and decided to risk it since Lutens/Sheldrake have surprised me before. Well, they did it again. I won't describe it as others have done the job in the many reviews I've read on the net. I'll just say that this is strange in a beautiful way. It's fruity, but not in that cloying fruity-floral way that I've come to despise in contemprary perfumery. It's the smoky tea and spice notes that off set the fruity sweetness and it has a very comforting warmth to it that makes me think of the sun in some tropical place whenever I wear it. I acquired it in the winter and wore it then, but this is definitely one that really blossoms in warmer weather, in my opinion. I agree with Off-Scenter, this is a sleeper and I'm surprised more people aren't curious about it.

8th August, 2010.

A citrus-centred fragrance which instead of going in the fresh, light, green cologne direction surrounds the citrus with spicy and woody notes. It's not rich as one might expect from a Lutens oriental, and not gourmandy in a sweet way. Instead it's flat, thin, dry, even cool. The spices don't drown out the citrus as they might easily do, though inevitably they dominate more and more as the fleeting citrus note fades. I agree with robyogi that there seems to be immortelle (a note I'm not very fond of) in here, though the dry and aromatic aspect might also come from the smoked tea note I suppose. Unfortunately, the mandarine note taking centre stage does not smell lovely, tart and juicy like fresh mandarine at all, but sharp and synthetic, reminding me of fruity schampoo.

6th May, 2010.

You got 'Mackie' all over my dreamsicle!...
"You got your dreamsicle all over my 'Mackie' !"...
~~Gassp~~~ " Wait a minute!"

One has to wonder if the ton of fatty aldehydes and food-grade orange was an afterthought: Sheldrake having just created a solid-quality, symphonic, if-unoriginal nineties-era Oriental realizes it's in dire need of an outre make-over and begins to toy with 'fruity' notes.

I actually adore this one (because I already loved Bob Mackie's *incredibly-similar*, fruity-Oriental classic 'Mackie'), even though it's actually a sneeze-inducer with its INSANE dose of fatty aldehydes. I think it's a commendable, lascivious and cheeky creation, -- both in how it evokes a certain blowsy, Eurotrash, retro aesthetic and takes typically-demure 'fruity florals' into a wholly uncouth territory.

However, if you are looking for the ne plus ultra of cost-prohibitive, 'unisex', orange-candied, traditionally-complex, luxe Orientals... look into Nicolai's Biblical 'Le Rivages des Syrtes' for MDCI instead. She took Sheldrake to school in this particular showdown.

And it you love.love.love this stuff, but woefully cannot afford any, 'Mackie' is only like 25USD at your local Ulta mart. Another very-similar fruity Oriental is Yves Rocher's Shafali Fleur Rare''.You won't be disappointed. These are even the same color :).

23rd April, 2010. (Last Edited: 30th April, 2010.)