Mona Lisa
by AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

Much like its more famous namesake, MONA LISA stumps me with her enigmatic charms. I find it tough to peg it down as it switches gears as rapidly as a Formula 1 racer negotiating a series of bends. Spicy indolic floral one moment, soft animalic musk a second later, even dry black tea leaf-like notes at some point. I don't get the fleshy rubbery texture I usually associate with tuberose either. Maybe it is there, maybe it is not. Other than the composer himself, who can really tell what else is in this sniff-worthy fragrance? But I can tell you the civet is rather playful. And this is probably why Mona Lisa smiles the way she does.

2nd August, 2011.

Civet, Tuberose, Mandarin
This is a lovely and pure, if short lived, fragrance experience. The tuberose is gorgeous – starts off rubbery, then I get some menthol. It almost smells edible. And there is something old fashioned about it (in a good way) that makes me think of a floral that my mother or grandmother would have worn, back in the day when it was a given that a fine fragrance was a quality fragrance. The civet doesn't smell hugely fecal to me in this. The mandarin gives it a juiciness. I actually like this better than Fracas.

1st July, 2009.

Notes include: Mandarine, Tuberose, Civet

On paper, Mona Lisa has a beautiful citrus accord top that reminds me very much of petitgrain which is woody, fruity and fresh. It becomes creamy almost right away, not like the sweet orange-cream of ice cream, candy or soda, but creamy like a soft, inedible vanilla with a faint tinge of orange. The label says it has tuberose. I don't detect strong tuberose, but ML does start to develop a sort of chewy, almond-like note which is simultaneously sweet and bitter. This is something I can take very deep inhalations of--I wish it were a bit stronger and longer lasting! I think of all the almond-like fragrances on the market, and this blows them all away.

On skin, and the civet note really blossoms, and I smell the tuberose more strongly. I have smelled this same tuberose note in Piguet Fracas, Malle Carnal Flower, etc. It is so subtle in Mona Lisa, not overpowering at all. It is a close to the skin scent, very personal. I love how the civet turns creamy and how it carries the tuberose and citrus into the drydown. Later, I get the almond-like scent that I smelled on paper.

On full wearing, Mona Lisa smells of citrus and cream. The citrus is listed as mandarine in the notes, and indeed it does have an "orange with and edge" quality about it. It is not as sweet as orange, and is slightly more woody and bitter. The creamyness comes form the civet which is less overt at the start of the development. Soon after the fragrance dries, the mandarine becomes quite a bit more green, and this is facilitated by the emergence of the tuberose note. I have never smelled tuberose in isolation, nor have I smelled the actual plant. My only other exposure to this note has been in other fragrances, as I mentioned above. Mona Lisa's tuberose seems more dirty in comparison to Fracas or Carnal Flower, and it is almost smoky, with hints of slightly musty wet cardboard and bitter almond. The natural civet seems to play an important role, giving the tuberose and mandarine some hefty substance without weighing down the delicate top and mid notes.

Mona Lisa develops very rapidly and wears close to the body. It is mostly a skin scent after about two hours. It is amazing how natural ingredients of high quality can have such complexity. In a way, I am at a loss for how to describe such fragrances--I smell mandarine, I smell civet, I smell tuberose. However, there is a synergy that occurs in this and most of the other perfumes I have tried from this house. I smell all the ingredients, but I also smell the whole composition which shifts to emphasize one or two of the component ingredients. Surprisingly, the mandarine stays strong for most of the development. The tuberose comes and goes, and moves from indolic floral to a bitter and sweet nuttyness. The civet, of course, remains to the end, and is a beautiful finish, soft, creamy and musky.

27th June, 2009.