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

First of all, a word of caution to others - do not trust the wax sample interpretation of this fragrance! Sample first, sample first, sample first. I was warned, but it still came as quite a shock how different the actual juice is.

The top note is an oddly flat satsuma note. It's difficult to explain, but it's as though all the effervescence and tang inherent to citrus has been squeezed out, leaving an almost sombre mandarin. ( I, too, have soap associations with this smell; it reminds me of certain dish- and hand-soaps with a satsuma scent. This fragrance is not at all soapy to my nose, though; it's just a very similar fragrance note. ) Slowly a warm spiciness starts to creep in, and the top note takes on a strangely savory character; doughy and fruitier and almost... like ketchup. As the spiciness develops so does a floral aspect, in what smells like a collision between the aforementioned satsuma, celery seed, immortelle, and another Serge Lutens fragrance, Fleurs d'Oranger ( i.e. orange flower, jasmine, and tuberose ). This core is the most beautiful and interesting stage to me. Gradually - very gradually - this mix fades into a sweet, musky, animalic, slightly ambery base; very subtle and not smoky or "dark" to my nose.

One of the unique qualities of this fragrance is an ultra-slow development, which I've heard of, but haven't experienced elsewhere. It seems to slowly go through numerous stages, a different facet of its character emerging here and there.

The biggest flaw I find with Mandarine Mandarin is that is has the most minimal sillage I have ever encountered. It's as though after the first half an hour, the fragrance disappears into the skin. I can only smell it by pressing my nose to my skin, making it useless as a personal fragrance for me. I've never had this problem with any other Lutens; and it seems it others don't share this experience. The longevity is otherwise fine.

Very cheap and synthetic smelling Lutens, but I don`t complain simply because I like that aroma. You know, "synthetic" and "cheap" isn`t always a bad thing.

Anyway, the smell in MM is strikingly similar to one soap that is in favour of many here in Finland, especially children : It is a teddybear shaped mandarin-honey soap bar, almost transparently orange in color. Really, comparing especially to the top notes of MM, the smell is stunningly similar.

Funny how we sometimes take these things so differently : I don`t find Mandarine Mandarin complex nor smoky in a slightest bit.

If someone is intriguied by this, I suggest you to try Opium PH Eau de Parfum, because while it doesn`t actually smell alike, it certainly shares a similarities in charachter; they both are mandarin-heavy orientals.

The structure in volume wise in MM can be confusing : It is shockingly strong at first, but the drydown is quite subtle and it doesn`t last that long after all.

This sleeper has become my uncontested favorite in the Serge Lutens line. It’s never developed the kind of cult following as Muscs Koublai Khan, Chergui, or even Tubereuse Criminelle, but I think it’s no lesser a fragrance than any of those. Though Michael Edwards classifies Mandarine-Mandarin as a citrus scent, it could just as well pass as a very rich oriental. Mandarine-Mandarin goes on with a burst of beautifully rendered orange rind, backed up almost immediately by a truly odd mix of fresh hay, honey, and rich spices. These top notes kept me guessing as to where this scent was going right from the start, and raised expectations of a darn interesting road trip.

Next to emerge is a very rich, velvety honey and smoked spice accord that’s lively by a lingering bitter orange note and an ambiguous animalic element deep in the background. It took me some time to recover from the shock that this mysterious and profound episode caused after the bright candied citrus top notes, while in the meantime Mandarine-Mandarin continued to evolve.

The smoke intensifies over the next hour, while the spices meld and deepen into an exotic accord so thoroughly blended that I can’t distinguish the individual notes. Floral notes rise up as well, soon followed by a small hint of amber.

Now I’m bracing myself for a catastrophe. In my experience, the Sheldrake-Lutens fragrances fall into two broad groups: the few that don’t smother me in amber, and all the rest. But lo, Sheldrake and Lutens manage restraint once more, as they had with Chene, Sa Majesté la Rose and Un Lys: Mandarine-Mandarin steps away from the amber abyss. Instead, the amber blends with delicate white flowers as a background for the sustained smoke and citrus, and the entire composition grows to resemble a floral-infused bitter marmalade, dusted with lightly charred spices.

Unlike many of the Lutens scents, Mandarine-Mandarin effortlessly blends into my skin. As it develops, its projection becomes somewhat limited, but it fits me like a perfectly tailored garment. In fact, it’s the easiest Serge Lutens scent for me to wear. The drydown is a subtle and extended study in tonka, smoke and ambergris that’s miles and miles removed from the citrus opening. Quite a trip!

Absolutely unisex, by the way, and shares with the otherwise remotely distant Ungaro II the distinction of being a “citrus” that suits me in the wintertime. The official notes are orange, nutmeg, candied mandarin, orange peel, smoky tea, labdanum, tonka bean and ambergris.

As with many Lutens scents, there is a lot going on here. It starts off with a sweet, candied orange note, this is balanced with what smells to me like immortelle, lending a bitter, herbal quality. In addition to these there are clove and honey notes, and all of that sits on a base of amber, which adds a warm animalic sweetness to the end of this fragrance. Overall, it reminds me of a very good candle for the home, one that is tailor-made for the holidays, or perhaps a pomander ball. Something about the combination of oranges and spices always brings to my mind the holidays.

This combo of course begs comparison to other orange/spice fragrances like Creed's Orange Spice and MPG's Secret Melange. There really isn't much comparison though, as this is a totally different beast. At times Mandarine Mandarin calls to mind Cuir Mauresque, only minus the leather of CM and with a more noticeable amber note. As tmp00 mentioned, a comparison can also be made with Chypre Rouge, probably because of the immortelle. While Chypre Rouge was almost unbearable to me, in its overly bitter Goutalishness, Mandarine Mandarin is to my nose a deft use of immortelle, using it to balance and embitter a typically overly sweet mandarine note.

It's a very interesting scent, complex, with the usual Lutens layers-of-development quality, and I can see myself wearing this this holiday season, in the right setting, probably with a sweater. But after that, I am not sure I will reach for this often.

Brilliant- for me everything that Chypre Rouge should have been and wasn't (it's development is very similar). Opens with a bright splash very much like ripping into a fresh Satsuma, then is softened by immortelle and spices and sweet candied peel. Too bad it's not available here