Reviews of Mandragore (2005)
by Annick Goutal

Fantastic, if there's one thing I love it's something that confounds expectation or has a ssting in the tail. Mandragore starts off smelling docilely citrusy, very prim and proper, then hits you with a weird sideways slap of star anise. Normally I hate aniseed above all things so believe me, this is a fabulous perfume...

My four year old summed it up: "Whaaaaaat? Pepper?!"

I only tried a spritz of it on a card, along with about 10 other AGs in rapid succession, so I won't try to review it. But the black pepper is the big first impression for me, too.

Smells like absinthe with mint and lime. Very refreshing, but not my kind of perfume.

Mandragore is a mouth watering, zesty citrus - undercut by a soft, creamy quality - which develops into a very accomplished and well supported fresh ginger fragrance. Very wearable and seems to last for hours (on me at least).

fantastic! smells like an intense dior cologne blanche on my skin!
at least some lasting power!

Update: I now own the big bottle. The citrus and greenness with a bit of sweetness pack a one-two punch I find appealing this spring.
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This is the first Goutal I've liked, but it leaves me frustrated for its meekness. I have to plant my nose right on my skin to appreciate its classy spearmint aroma. I've been looking for a scent like this, but if it has no sillage, I'll have to keep searching.

The opening is green, aromatic, and a little bit citrus — the aromatics are very important to this fragrance, and they are presented quite stunningly. At first I thought that “sparkle” of the opening was caused by aldehydes until I realized that those soaring notes are really some sort of crystal clear aromatics. These high-flying notes do not have a strong aromatic ambiance so they rather lose their identity as herbal notes and take on an identity as texture — it’s quite an impressive accomplishment. The middle notes are spicy green, star anise, and mint, and they provide a real change from the opening as well as giving the fragrance a rather tea-like persona. The mandrake finally shows up in the base where it is combined with a light wood accord. To me this is a unique scent because the most edgy accord is the base. The ginger and the mandrake combine to form an interesting tangy, aromatic, light wood accord — quite an attractive way to finish the progression. Mandragore is an excellent fragrance; however, it is like most of Annick Goutal’s other works in that it suffers from poor longevity.

Mandragore - Annick Goutal
This a similar tart-sweet/dry-woody effect as Eau d'Hadrien. However, instead of lemon and cypres, it uses pepper, spearmint, and anise. I enjoy Mandragore, but not as much as the mouth-watering lemon of Eau d'Hadrien. The pepper or ginger is a bit overdone for my taste. This genre does offer a nice alternative to mainstream sweetness.

Bland and ephemeral citrus on a base of woods. Gone before it had a chance to impress me.

Foetidus' analysis is, as always, quite rigth on. This is a stunning scent; unfortunately the dry down lasts about fifteen minutes.

This juice should be classified as the "idea" of a perfume. I've tried it both on arm and on strip, and the impression has been the same: too fresh, surely charming, but actually too light and evanishing. Reading the composition of the fragrance you discover a plenty of notes that come to your nose only for some minutes, not more, like a suggestion. I'm not talking only about the top ones (conventional orange). That's why in my opinion this is just an "idea" of a perfume, or a "souvenir" if you want. Nothing more than a good, fresh, sunny eau de cologne (but pretending, as the price tells you, to be a parfum).

This is a beautifully composed fragrance, there is nothing I would disagree with in terms of the composition. I really like it, this is the type of perfume I had been looking for, something greenish & lemony but not too bitter/harsh. Yes, the longevity and sillage are poor, just like most of Annick Goutals except Songes. But I'm not ready to give up this one yet, I'm getting a EDP.

Nice fresh woody scent on the skin with a hint of anise, but the EdT doesn't last at all. I know someone who wears Mandragore, however all I smell on him is nothing more than citrus. Sorry, but I won't spend $100 if it falls short of precious. I suppose it's a great everyday scent, however. There's no way this could offend anyone.

To my nose, this is just a toned-down version of Duel, with some minor note tampering. Short on longevity and spices, if any. Another fine, but not essential, variation on Goutal's signature tea and citrus themes.

Neutral on this one -- pick it out if you like bright florals masquerading as citruses, or vice versa. I for one can't smell the spice here. It's just a little too citrusy and feminine for my taste (and Eau Sauvage is a personal favorite).

Nice scent but rare fragrance in my country (all Annick Goutals)

My favorite hot weather scent. Green and lemony. In fact ,easy to wear, all year round.

i own the edp and it's far far better than the edt that i previously tried ,definitely you must own this

Nice blend of tea. My favorite scent from the Annick goutal line. It has a lot in common with Duel, but without the tart citrus notes. It's pretty versatile and could be worn during warm and cold months. It's sweet but not overly sweet, so it doesn't get cloying, unless of course you bathe in it. Even then I don't see it becoming overpowering. It lasts exceptionally long for an AG scent, but still rather short-lived on me.

This fragrance is really extraordinary. It starts off with a lot of anise and ginger, giving a very elegant and special first impression. It slowly shows notes of black pepper and mandragore (although I am not sure what mandragore smells like), but also maintains a minty freshness. Absolutely wonderful, I have a great time wearing this fragrance.